I’ve been conference coaching for the past 2 days at a conference with 3000 attendees. This is where I, along with a team of other coaches do one on one coaching in 15 minute segments. Here’s the kicker: the sentiment I heard from most small businesses I spoke to was the fact that they were stuck at an income level and just couldn’t generate any more. They felt frustrated, exhausted and were often running on empty. Sound familiar?
What’s It All About?
The big secret that small businesses don’t know about making more money is that they haven’t figured out where they should FOCUS their marketing. Often, they are marketing to too many diverse target client groups (like say manufacturers, entrepreneurs, different industries etc.)  and can’t really build an expert status amongst any given one!
Dream Come True
The right ideal target client will not just appear out of thin air and hound you to work together.  No, unfortunately that kind of dream-come-true scenario only happens after a long time spent playing the field or by sheer dumb luck.
You need to strategically and systematically figure out who needs what you offer the most right now. Who is in so much pain and is looking for your solution and will pay you more than anyone else for it?
Pot of Gold
So if you’ve been wondering why it is that you can’t make more money, look carefully at your business strategy.  Once you find the right target group and become an expert in only their pain, then you’ll have found your personal pot of gold!
Convincing the Psychic
A very successful but exhausted psychic and I were having a conversation about her marketing. I was giving the secret to growing her business. I explained the concept of focusing on one target group’s pain point at a time. For example, she helped grieving adult children reconnect with their passed ones. At the same time, she was a pet communicator, helping owners understand their pets better. In addition to those two things, she was a healer; she could diagnose cancer patients just by touching them or talking to them.
When I told her to focus on one group’s pain first to grow her business, she was vehemently against this, saying “how can you ask me to pick just one group in this universe to help, they all need me! If they didn’t I wouldn’t have been given all these gifts!”  So I asked her if it was possible that amongst all these diverse groups of people who needed her, whether there was one who was most acutely in need of her help. I also asked if there was one group who would willingly pay for her high prices. She immediately said that the grief counseling was a big need and very profitable.
We then decided that her marketing plan would be built around reaching grieving adult children. How much simpler is that than trying to make a marketing plan around them, as well as pet owners AND cancer patients?
You too need to look at who you’re working with and ask yourself “who needs me the most” and “who will pay what I want to be paid for my services”.  Only once you identify this niche can you grow your business and finally make more money.
Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk

Related articles

• Are You Jumping In To Your Marketing? (coachtactics.com)
• 5 Tips to Help Find Your Ideal Target Audience (projecteve.com)
• What Should You Do IF Your Marketing Plan Stalls? (business2community.com)