Who is your ideal client?
If you said, everyone, here’s the good news. You’re right. As a trained coach, you are qualified to coach almost anyone about almost anything.
But here’s the bad news. That coaching principle doesn’t make for good marketing.
When we try to attract everyone, we usually get no one.
What I Did Wrong
This is exactly what happened when I first began coaching. Completely sold on the process, I went everywhere, telling everyone about the wonders of coaching. How it could help them find their purpose, improve their marriage, lose that last ten pounds, and build the life of their dreams.
They nodded. They smiled. And then they walked away.
While they thought it was interesting information, they had more pressing problems cluttering the landscape of their minds.
While it seems counter-intuitive to shrink your target market and the list of benefits you provide let me share with you why it works.
5 Key Benefits of Niching
1. You’re Intentional — On any given morning you could wake up and market your coaching services in hundreds of different places. How would you know whether to go to the Rotary meeting, serve on the building committee, or join that dieters group on Facebook?
When you’re niched — you know. Once you are clear on who you serve, you can find out where they gather and go where they already are.
2. You’re Memorable — Statistics tell us that potential clients need to hear from you an average of 7-12 times before they think about doing business with you.
Having a niche means you’ll narrow down the places you go (online or offline) until it’s so small that you end up running into the same people again and again. Since they see you repeatedly, they’ll remember you easily.
3. You’re Visible — Niching allows you to stand out, to be the big fish in a small pond.
No longer will you have to try to raise your voice above the thousands of other service providers trying to get a prospect’s attention. You’ll be one of few. A perceived expert. The go-to person in your field.
4. You’re Credible — Once you’ve narrowed your niche, you’ll get to know their desires and struggles intimately. Instead of talking in vapory generalities about such things as fulfillment, abundance, and satisfaction with life, you’ll be able to use specific, targeted words to describe the benefits that working with you provides.
Because your message will resonate deeply, you will attract them magnetically.
5. You’re Profitable — People expect to pay more money when they work with a specialist, and they are glad to do it. Recognizing that you’re an authority in your field, your target audience will be confident that you can help them quicker and better than the generalist who dabbles in many things.
Romans 12:6 says, God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well (TLB). Like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together perfectly, God uniquely designed you with strengths, spiritual gifts, and a one-of-a-kind personality to be the best possible coach for a very specific group of people.
Maximize that effectiveness by taking the time to discover and define your ideal niche. You and your clients will be glad you did.
Love the use of LeadPages with this, great content. Thanks.
Thanks, Mary Lou.
Love the use of LeadPages with this, great content. Thanks.
Thanks, Mary Lou.
Love this. Wonderful words of advice. Attended your session on this topic nearly two years ago at the AACC in Nashville. Best seminar ever! Taking the time to begin narrowing my niche was so beneficial. Thank you!
I’m so glad it was helpful, Deborah. Thanks for taking time to comment.
Love this. Wonderful words of advice. Attended your session on this topic nearly two years ago at the AACC in Nashville. Best seminar ever! Taking the time to begin narrowing my niche was so beneficial. Thank you!
I’m so glad it was helpful, Deborah. Thanks for taking time to comment.
I love the clarity here. This makes sense. I have been struggling with finding my niche since I became a wellness coach, teetering between Christian women with chronic health issues (which some coach mentors have said is still too broad) and Christian women struggling with relationships in transition (divorce, remarriage, etc. which coach mentors have said is still too broad). I get that I want to be a big fish in a small pond, I just don’t know which group to go with and if they will pay me well for it. Thought of narrowing to Christian women with chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia.or possibly celiac disease..Thank you, Kim for helping me a little with your post. I need to ponder some more.
Hi Jane, Good for you for thinking this through so deeply and for asking all the right questions. If I can make a suggestion, why don’t you interview ideal clients in both niches to find out what their thoughts are on potentially working with a coach and how much they would be willing to pay? Just a thought. Either way, keep up the great work.
I love the clarity here. This makes sense. I have been struggling with finding my niche since I became a wellness coach, teetering between Christian women with chronic health issues (which some coach mentors have said is still too broad) and Christian women struggling with relationships in transition (divorce, remarriage, etc. which coach mentors have said is still too broad). I get that I want to be a big fish in a small pond, I just don’t know which group to go with and if they will pay me well for it. Thought of narrowing to Christian women with chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia.or possibly celiac disease..Thank you, Kim for helping me a little with your post. I need to ponder some more.
Hi Jane, Good for you for thinking this through so deeply and for asking all the right questions. If I can make a suggestion, why don’t you interview ideal clients in both niches to find out what their thoughts are on potentially working with a coach and how much they would be willing to pay? Just a thought. Either way, keep up the great work.