Stop and think for a second.
Am I specialized in my practice?
Do people see me as an authority figure?
I was inspired to write this article when I noticed that some wealth managers and advisors I spoke to did not have a specific niche and market they went after.
This is such an under-estimated dimension of business and an essential part for success: being a niche expert and authority.
Let me give you a great example.
Doctors:
We’ve all been to our Family Doctor. He is not a specialist. He knows a bit of everything — enough to get the job done. He works long hours, gets paid modestly, and sees everyone from 6 month old infants, to 93 year old seniors. He's a generalist. And generalists don’t get paid very much.
On the other hand, you have specialists. These are people who have spent years pursuing a specific illness, injury, etc. And they know everything about it. They’re highly educated on that ONE specific area. People who are affected by a specific health issue will seek out those sought after specialists for a reason. People don’t question their diagnoses. They trust them. They work less hours and get paid more.
Now, who would you rather be?
The Generalist who try’s to serve everyone under the sun, any client they can get their hands on, doesn't get paid well, or receive the respect and authority they want?
Or the Specialist who gets great, repeatable results, earns double/triple what the generalist makes, works with better clients, and doesn't get hustled for a price?
By picking a niche won't look needy and desperate, people will respect your time and advice, they won't seek out someone else.
Focusing In On A Market
You need to narrow your focus by selecting a specific niche opportunity from the overall affluent marketplace.
This comes in the form of their pains, problems, and deep desires.
You have to ask some key questions to understand their overall situation and what their desired situation looks like.
By picking a niche, you can then channel your message to this group of people who have similar pains, problems, and desires.
Then, and only then, you should focus on the segments of the overall affluent marketplace. These may be professional services, C-Level executives, self-employed business owners, or franchise restaurant owners for example.
Then look at the niche markets within that segmented group.
These could be Physicians, CMO’s of Ad Agency's, Business Consultants, etc.
Now, by finding out their pains and most deeply rooted desires you need to ask these 7 market study questions:
- What problems do they consistently think of?
- What are they afraid of?
- What is their current situation?
- What are their top 5 daily/weekly/monthly frustrations?
- What do they desire the most?
- What would they like their life to look like?
- What is their deepest pains?
Key Questions To Identifying & Choosing Your Niche
Now that you’ve found a separated niche and identified their pains, problem, and desires…
It's also very important to do your homework by reaching out to your potential prospects so that you study the market. There is not one better to answer questions you may have about your niche than those within it.
Here are additional ways that you can dial in on your market:
What are the potential niches in the areas you are going to target?
Identify three to five niches, who, like above all share common pains, problem, and desires. The best ones are likely to be niches that have a concentration of wealth and are looking for someone they can trust for guidance.
You do NOT need to have years of experience within a niche to already be considered an expert. You are an expert, experience gets built over time. Just do these basic studies and get started on the path to authority.
Concentrate on finding the ideal market for you to serve. It should be a market that you enjoy, that you feel passionate about, and can add substantial value by solving their problems.
What are significant opportunities those niches offer?
Remember that when picking a niche, you will start connecting with people at the top of chart when it comes to their influence and power.
These centers of influence are those people who can boost your market access and credibility through referrals, testimonials, and word-of-mouth.
Is there anybody in my group of connections who can help?
If the answer is no, start connecting with people who can help you identify what you're looking for!
I love LinkedIn because once you start connecting to these figures in your niche, your network will open up to people similar to them.
Fun fact, in Sales Navigator, LinkedIn's sales extension, there is a "Find Similar" option near people's profiles, which helps you find people similar to your current or prospective clients.
What niche is the ideal for you?
At this point once you’ve done your due diligence on several niches, you’ll be prepared to select the one that presents the best opportunities for you and is narrow enough for you to pursue effectively with huge upside. You also want to take into account your interests, commonalities with you and the niche (age range, topics of interests, etc.), and if it is even something you want to pursue.
Picking a niche is not a permanent thing, so do not linger on your choice for too long.
There sooner you start, the earlier you'll get results.
Make a hypothesis, talk to the niche, gain feedback, take action, iterate, and improve.
Once your audience and your message is dialed in, you'll be surprised by how successful your outreach will be.
I wish you and your families the best of health!
-- Bilal.
