Coaching Business Startup 204 – Find your niche market
How to become a coach. With Coaching Marketing Expert JJ Jalopy.
Bonjour!
How nice of you to come by again.
It’s been a lovely sunny day here in London. I spent the early evening relaxing in the sunshine in a beer garden.
A beer garden isn’t necessarily the picturesque and foliage-filled drinking paradise you might imagine. In fact, any part of “outside” that you can drink in gets called a beer garden in England.
A few paving slabs, some plastic chairs and a liquor license? Yup – that’s a beer garden.
And a jolly nice evening it was too.
Now, earlier this week I gave you a sneak peak of my Complete Blueprint for Coaching Marketing World Domination!
Here it is again in all it’s lightning bolt strewn glory.
JJ's Coaching Marketing Blueprint
Today we’re going to discuss the very first step.
Which is…
Find your niche market.
Now, it has been said that life coaching is a solution looking for a problem.
And, in a certain respect, I agree.
Very few people are looking for a “life coach”.
No. People generally have specific problems that they want solved. And they usually want an expert to help them solve these problems.
It is easier to become perceived as an expert if you pick a narrowly defined market in which to work.
Deciding upon your niche market is the first step in becoming the superstar coach that you were born to be.
My favorite description of a niche is from blogging expert Andy Wibbels
A group of people with a common set of urgent problems or passions.
I’ll go slightly further.
To be useful to you, a niche must be a group of people with a common set of urgent problems or passions that are accessible, and who have money to spend.
So, JJ, where should I start with defining my niche?
Well actually, we already started with our earlier discussion on how you answer the question: What do you do?
You’ll want to pick an area that excites you, and ideally an area in which you already have some experience.
The next step is a sense check. Is your niche market:
- small enough that you can become an expert and build a good reputation within that niche?
- large enough to support your business.
I once had a client tell me that her niche market was women.
A really lame excuse to use this image again!
That’s half of the world!
It’ll take some serious effort to reach expert status in the coaching women market. That’s not to say that it’s impossible – just look at what Tony Robbins has achieved – but it will be a lot of work.
Eventually she decided that her area of expertise would be housewives who want to get back into work.
Now, that’s a niche market!
They have a common painful problem. They are accessible – they belong to common organizations, or read common websites or magazines. And the market is well-defined enough that it is possible to become known as an expert in the area.
Now, a final sense check:
- does your niche market have a common painful problem or a passion that involves a large amount of emotion?
- is your niche market prepared to spend have money to spend on the resolution of their problem or the accomplishment of their dream?
So, whilst the unemployed may be an easily accessible group of people with a common urgent problem, they don’t necessarily have too much money to spend. So, unless you’re being paid by the government or you’re marketing a very low cost coaching solution, this probably isn’t going to work out for you in the long term.
Now, I hope you have at least an idea of a possible niche market for you.
Next time we talk we’re going to get inside the head of one of your prospective customers and find out what really makes them tick.
It’s going to be a lot of fun.
Oh. Look at the time! How did it get so late!
I’d better get myself ready for bed.
You can let yourself out. I’ll see you tomorrow!
JJ Jalopy.
Comment by Yann Vernier - ProfitsTactics.com
30 April 2009
Very sound advice. Become an expert vs. try to please everybody should be an easy choice yet the reminder is always valuable.
All the best,
Yann
How to Get Organized, Stop Procrastinating, and Set Goals for Small Business Success
PS: Love those super awesome lighning bolts!
Comment by Christian Haller
30 April 2009
Selling to the niche – and matching your message – is key to satisfying your target market.
Christian Haller
Good Food Fast & Easy
Healthy Italian Recipes
Comment by jc mackenzie
30 April 2009
Actually, that’s always been my favorite part of the process-doing the research
Thanks
JC
JC
Butterfly Marketing
Comment by Duane Cunningham
30 April 2009
Hi JJ,
The 2 keys my friend “Market” and “Message” and great insight into finding a niche that “has money to spend”
Or as i think it was Gary Halbert who coined the phrase a starving crowd!
Duane
Super-ADVANCED Influence & Persuasion Training Proven to Quickly Create a Flood of Money?Constantly & Continuously Flowing into YOUR?Bank Account Like the Niagara Falls…?100% GUARANTEED!!
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Comment by April Braswell
30 April 2009
Niche it baby. that’s what it is ALL about.
excellent advise indeed!
Best regards,
April Braswell
Dating Quick Start Expert, Relationship Success Coach
Divorce Support and Bereavement Support seminar, Henderson, Las Vegas
Comment by Bob Kaufer
30 April 2009
Sometimes finding the niche takes a little trial and error. JJ, what is your niche?
Bob Kaufer
Sign Up for My Free Neuro Performance E Course Here
Comment by John Ho
30 April 2009
JJ,
A niche market is your thirsty crowd.
Serve them the 1st glass of water, integrate it in such a way that it paves the way to serve the 2nd, the third, the fourth .. glasses.
Good pointer!
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personalities for Better Influence & Persuasion (WordPress Blog)
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personalities for Better Influence & Persuasion (Money Page)
Comment by Rob Northrup
30 April 2009
Very good way to frame the whole niche question…
Seize the Day,
Rob
Sales Tactics For Small Business Owners
Personal Asset Protection For Small Business Owners
Comment by Steve Chambers
30 April 2009
Good advice on identifying a niche market. Oh, I hear England swings like a pendulum do, with bobbies going side stepping two by two.
Is that true?
Steve Chambers, The Sales Expert
Sales Eagles – Sales Coaching for high flyers
Comment by Lisa McLellan
30 April 2009
I think I’ve found my niche. Thanks
Lisa McLellan, Babysitting Services – Babysitters, Nannies, and Au-pairs
Comment by Pam Schulz
30 April 2009
JJ – I love your lightening imagery. It serves as the perfect analogy for explaining your content.
Your post has many parallels to the finding one’s niche in the internet marketing world.
Pam
Invest in Your Future
Comment by mark mallen
30 April 2009
JJ, Great advice on serving a niche market. Like Duane says, they have to have money to spend, Mark
small business marketing
ice cream marketing</a
Comment by Philip Graves
30 April 2009
Identifying your market is super important. It’s surprising how many companies want to understand their consumers and consumer behaviour but aren’t willing or able to define which audience they want to target.
Often companies think that by targeting one they are actively exclusing another; that’s only rarely the case, and often by targeting one audience successfully others are attracted because of their affinity with the first.
Philip Graves
author of “The Secret of Selling: How to Sell to Your Customer’s Unconscious Mind”
Comment by Anthony Lemme
30 April 2009
So important to find your niche. That is something I have been thinking about lately so i can be more targeted.
Anthony
Achieve the Inner Balance of a Zen Monk
Comment by Sonya Lenzo
30 April 2009
This is ultra important…and more important the longer you have been in business…
SunnyMarie
http://www.sunnymarie.com
Comment by Darryl Pace
30 April 2009
Great advice, JJ! After a year of thinking about it, I have identified my niche market.
Health, Fitness — Darryl Pace
Fitness Product Review
Comment by Don Shepherd
1 May 2009
Still working on my niche….but getting warmer!
Don Shepherd
Fishing Central Oregon
Comment by Pat Becker
2 May 2009
Niche, that elusive and so important element of a successful business. Thanks for some tips on finding one.
Pat
Internet Dollars for Business Owners