129 | Finding Your Profitable Niche with Gene Hammett

Gene HammettDo you want more leads for your business? Do you want more quality leads? Lean in to today’s episode as I combine many of the episodes with quotes, stories and tips. This is about finding Your profitable niche for your business. There is a free gift at the end of this episode that will help you get more leads. I am super passionate about this episode since this is a huge part of my work with my clients. I am happy to share it with you and would love your feedback on this episode.

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Gene’s Target Audience: Gene works with entrepreneurs who want to find the perfect match between their unique value and the people who will become their best clients and biggest fans.

Do you have enough quality leads for your business? Are you getting referrals for your business but not often enough? Are you marketing effectively or for some of you are you ready to start marketing?

If you want to grow your business beyond referrals, you have to listen to whole episode. I mean the whole thing. I have something at the end of the show that I am giving away to help you and it is completely free.

My belief is that there are 2 elements in business growth. ONE is by going DEEPER rather than broader. Deeply serve clients to get amazing results that are trackable and measurable. Deeper is transformational. Deeper is where the real joy in your work comes. The second is to be PROACTIVE. Waiting for business to come to you is reactive.

Identifying your Profitable Niche goes beyond identifying your Target Market. Get to the people that you are here to serve and that will give you the most “juice” in moving forward.

Let’s Break it down…

Profitability: Make the most profit for what you do by serving people who receive the highest value from your work.

It’s not just about you making money: I want to just say it is about you making a difference first. You are inspired to work with these people. They bring out your most innovative and results driven work. When you do your best work, you are likely to get paid the most for that work.

Niche: the segment inside the segment inside the segment…yes 3 levels. Really…niching is about focus and priority (not about limitations or restriction)

It is also about “Leadership”: Defining who you are here to serve. Who will look to you as THE CHOICE. Who will see you as the authority or the expert?

I have done 75+ interviews where this is a common quote or theme. Here are the links to some of those:

Larry Winget (6 time NYBS #22)
Michael Port (5time NYBSA #64)
Susan Friedman (riches in the niches) #69
Drew Pearson #125 (digital agency owner that went from struggling to success)
Jeremiah Claybrooks #79 who found one niche quickly and then made a pivot to another niche that was more profitable (better fit).

Then there’s Ben Greenfield #75. His Target Market: Triathlon training/niche is Ironman/profitable niche is executives. He created a product to what executives needed – minimal training for executives that want to finish an ironman. He charges a premium because he solves a big problem for his PN.

Jason Swenk #6: narrowed his business to an industry. His TM is Marketing agencies and his niche is 400k and up in current billings and his PN are the ones that strive to get $1m in sales. In less than a year, Jason established himself as the authority in his market. He has multiple streams of income and is now an international speaker within his PN.

Both Jason and Ben CAN serve bigger segments of their market (and they get some of clients too), but their business, priorities and focus are on their PN.

If you don’t have enough quality leads or the quantity of leads that you want for your business, listen to the myths you may be buying into arround the Profitable Niche:

#1 Myth: I can serve so many people.
– referrals in all areas and markets
– I hear this all the time I have to “argue my position” too.
– Just because you CAN does not mean you SHOULD.

#2 Myth: Target Market is narrow enough.
-I know my industry or I know the problem I solve. (eg. I know I help small businesses with ___speaker coaching___.)
-There is a deeper level here…something else that more clearly defines your ideal client. It is the niche and beyond that Is the PN.

#3 Myth: My TM is clear to me so it is clear to others.
We get emotionally attached to our market especially with each added year of experience. It becomes fuzzy over time. I know this because I have seen it so many times and I have even been in this place myself.

#4 Myth: The niche is limiting
A narrowed niche allows you to go deeper, create more impact and better results. Think of niching as the process of focusing not limiting.

Now, here are some TRUTHS:

TRUTH: You can’t market to the people you really want unless you really know them. Know their pains. Know their aspirations. Know how they think. Know their language

TRUTH: You will get the leftovers in referrals and people if you don’t claim your market.
If you want business you can not be REACTIVE. You must shift into a mode of being PROACTIVE.

TRUTH: The authority in the niche will be the best clients and make the most money.
People will gravitate to them. They see them as the expert. They can offer the “invisible close”. They will make 2x, 3x or even more because of their position in the market.

BULLSEYE:

The Outer ring of the target is your target market
This is where you define the people that can work with that need your services. Many people struggle with vertical and horizontal. It can be either.

Most people stop here. Most coaches I know stop with target market. Most programs and books don’t go deeper here.

The Inner Ring of the target is Your NICHE
A segment of your TM that you help. For many, it a specific problem that you solve. It is a segment inside of the segment.

Then you have BULLSEYE: The PN.
This is usually the stage of development that someone is in. Some people are on the start of their journey, middle and some in later stages. (Eg. Workout; new to workout; taking their goals more seriously…elite level).

Eg. Coaching… beg. Middle – get to 6 figures and advanced get to 7 figures

2 key questions to ask yourself:
1) Are they able to invest in your offer?
2) Are they willing to invest in your offer?

These 2 questions are simple yet when you add them to your understanding of your TM and NICHE you will really begin to understand the power of the PN.

How do you discover your profitable niche?

This is a BIG question and can’t be unpacked here on this episode.

Here is a better question:

Who do I need to be to discover my profitable niche? Yes WHO…who do I need to be?

Well the WHO is more important than HOW. Here is why: You have to be clear in WHO you want to be in your market. You have to have a clear POV…that means you are willing to stand for something.

Who you need to BE is the precursor question to HOW. WHO will allow you to be ready to accept this journey. Who is about deciding to STAND UP and STAND OUT!

 

Practical and Actionable

First, ask yourself: Who do you need to be to discover my profitable niche? Then, define your Profitable NICHE with the questions on the Profitable Niche worksheet. The worksheet is FREE for you. 

I give this away for action takers. I want you to have it if you are an action taker.

If you have your Target Market and NICHE – awesome. I have something very special for you. It is only available if you are listening to this right now. Really…it is not on my website.

If you know your TM and NICHE then, your next step is IDEAL CLIENT MAPPING. It is a tool I use with my clients to get into the head of their ideal client.

I normally sell it for $197. Yes. I have sold it for $197 and still use this in my work all the time. I want you to have it. I want you to have it if you are ready.

Ideal Client Mapping…is in 3 parts…
Part 1) avatar of your ideal client…the questions you need to do it for yourself (an example Is included)
Part 2) empathy mapping is a powerful look into the beliefs and thinking of your ideal clients (feel what they feel to understand them)
Part 3) A special bonus of sorts to help you understand their story (where they have been and where they are going)

When you do the ICM you will get have more effective marketing. It will allow you to build INFLUENCE, IMPACT and INCOME.

There are 2 tools. One is a workbook to help you through the process and the other is an audio file to walk you through it all.

Yes I have sold it for $197 (but usually I use it only for my highest tier clients), but for you who are listening to this it is only $17. I am making it this price for action takers. It is just for you to clarify your Ideal CLIENT inside your target market.

Let me read what one of my clients said about me helping him with his niche: “Gene is a big part of my success in my business and life. Gene challenged me to define a niche and once I did, I have never looked back. I have been able to become an authority in my industry, generate more revenue than ever before, and even get paid to speak internationally. I owe Gene a lot when it comes to picking a niche, which is the foundation of any business in the beginning.” This is Jason Swenk. His podcast, speaking and online marketing give him 30-50 leads per day for his business. Think about that for a moment. What if you business had just 10 leads per day? And I know Jason is making more money they he has every made in his life because of this work we did a while back. Jason gave me this testimonial out of the blue…I didn’t ask…he was just so grateful for me helping him find his TM, Niche and PN.

In this episode we’ll cover:

  • How to be PROACTIVE not reactive in your biz
  • How to discover your profitable niche
  • Top interviews to listen to on niching
  • MYTHS & TRUTHS on your profitable niche
  • Your FREE profitable niche worksheet

Resources and Links

Connect with Gene on LinkedIn or Twitter at @genehammett.

Do you have questions about today’s episode?

Did you know that you can apply to chat with me by phone? This is a limited time offer to help anyone that is serious about refining their business as well as developing a clear & compelling strategy that will drive them forward. Complete the questions and our team will follow up with you to schedule time for your “Vision Breakthrough Session”. These are limited to 30 minutes, completely free and oh, so valuable. Apply Now!

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