To Niche Or Not To Niche

A true and very productive niche is something that evolves over time. And it can take many months to really brand and position yourself firmly within a niche. If you are just starting out and want clients quickly, my best advice is to focus your marketing on the people you already know and let your niche, if you choose one, develop in time. 

If you are well trained as a coach and put in the requisite ongoing marketing efforts, it is possible to coach without a niche. However most coaches experience significant advantages in focusing their marketing efforts towards a particular set of clients. In other words, if you choose the right niche - that is a great fit for your passions, expertise and experience - for a given investment in marketing you will receive a much better return. And as the profession of coaching grows it will be even more important to have a niche.

The rationale for choosing a niche is that if you focus on a particular group-who understands and values your expertise-you can become a well-recognized big fish in a small pond. Further, because you know their particular challenges, the solutions they are looking for, the lingo, and habits of your target niche, you can focus your marketing efforts and achieve better returns for a given marketing effort. Ultimately, as you become established in a niche, more and more clients will come to you.

For example if you happened to have 10 years of experience working in small business, you would know what the top challenges small business owners face.  You would know how to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. You would know what associations or trade fairs they go to. You would know the periodicals they read. You would talk their language. And most importantly you would know how to package and price your coaching services so they were seen as an attractive solution to your niches' most common existing problems.  Finally, you would appear a much better choice to the members of this niche, than another coach who did not have the same depth of experience.

 In professional coaching, there are some broad and clearly defined specialties such as life coaching, career coaching, business coaching, corporate coaching, executive coaching, etc. Within these general categories hundreds and hundreds of niches are evolving. New niches are appearing all the time.

Sample Niches

Here is a small sampling of niches.

Life Planning

Teens

ADD

Health and Fitness

Spirituality  

Transitions

Relationships

Parenting

Women's Issues

Christian Coach

Gay Community

Dating Coach

Personal Empowerment

Stress Management

Speaker's Coach

Marketing

Business and Administration

Emotional Intelligence

Writing Coach

Corporate Coach

Leadership Coach

Executive Coach

Business Coach

Start-up Coach

Small Business Coach

CEO Coach

Within a broad niche you can further specialize. For example, you would be in a primary niche if you were a small business coach. If a niche is deep enough, you can further specialize and become a small business coach for retail stores. Or further, a small business coach for start-up retail stores.

Take Your Business Seriously

I suspect that many of you who are well along in your coach training, can already see a significant increase in the value you can add to your clients.  You are simply a better coach; more competent and able to add far more value to your clients.  The same principle applies to your competencies as a solo business professional.  There is critical information you need to learn and apply if you are going to improve your chances of commercial success as a coach.

 Always remember there is the process of coaching. (Which coaches love.) And then there is the process of making a good living at coaching by building a successful coaching business. (Which too many coaches ignore.)   Even before you jump into coaching, you will want to ask yourself if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur? (See the SBA's checklist of entrepreneurial qualities at SBA.   By the way, the SBA web site has a wealth of free information to help you build your business. ) 

Assuming you feel you can make it as an entrepreneur, you still need to have a plan for your business. You need to think through some of the rudimentary concerns such as:

• 
  
  Who are your ideal clients that are the best fit for my interests and experience?
• 
  
  What are their problems that could be better solved with coaching?
• 
  
  Can your clients afford you, and if they can what is your optimal pricing?
• 
  
  Who is the competition?
• 
  
  What is your competitive advantage or why should your clients choose you?
• 
  
  How can you best "package" your coaching so your clients recognize it as the best solution for their problems they are prepared to spend money to resolve?
• 
  
  How do you reach large numbers of clients, quickly and cheaply, and get yourself well known?
• 
  
  How do you get your clients to try this new service you offer?
• 
  
  How much time, and by what best method, will you need to market each week to keep your practice filled? (Most new coaches only put in a fraction of the marketing time they need to get the clients they want.)
• 
  
  How long, and how much investment, will it take to become profitable?
• 
  
  What support do you need to master all the business competencies, keep you on track when times get tough and hold you accountable?

I remember a slogan from an old business infomercial that said, FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL.  In starting a coaching business, failure to attend to building your competencies in business is a very risky proposition.

The Goal - At The Start

Your goal in all your contact strategies is simply to give your prospects a great experience of you and coaching.  When they have that, they will see and value the benefits.  Do not waste your time describing coaching.  It is the experience of coaching that gets clients.  It is through this process that a prospect sees and thus values the benefits of coaching

Contact Strategies

Depending on who you are (i.e. introvert or extravert), what your experience is, who you want to work with, where you live, etc., you're going to find several marketing strategies more powerful than others.  But in general terms, in descending order, here are some of the strategies that work the best for the hundreds of coaches I have known. Note - The strategies that involve you actually connecting with people, so that they can get to know you, appreciate you, and trust you, are generally the most effective.

• Directly contacting prospects, 1 to 1, in person, by phone, by email.
• Referrals, from your contacts and clients and other coaches.
• Going to networking events - clubs, associations, etc.
• Creating a referral network with complementary professionals, physical trainers, accountants, lawyers, massage therapists, etc.
• Mini workshops - 1 to 2 hour mini group sessions with targeted groups.
• Teleclasses.
• Web site marketing.
• Public speaking.
• Article writing / on-line communities / publicity.
• Trade shows. 
• General advertising in targeted periodicals.
  
  
  To Your Continued Success,
  Ebony Curry

Making Moves Monday

There is nothing that can hold you back from accomplishing your desired results in your business; Learn to properly {Delegate} your tasks. (Delegation is the art of getting things done through other people and is one of the key building blocks of an effective Business. Entrepreneurs who cannot delegate effectively tend to lack the time for their key responsibilities and often fail to manage their work- life balance)
"Delegate Your Tasks; Don't Let Them Delegate You"

Time Management and The Importance of Delegation

To better understand the importance of the concept of time management, take a look at how you spend you time when working. Begin with a work day and then expand your analysis to the entire week. How much time do you spend "IN" the business? This refers to the crucial everyday details of the job. It includes the showings, the opens, the listing appointments, and the negotiation of contracts. How much time do you spend on the technical aspects of the business? The accounting, the scheduling, the entering of data and working on files? Without question, these are very important areas of business; However, they can become a bit overwhelming when being handled alone.


Working "ON" the business is vital if your business is to ultimately succeed and cannot be ignored. These tasks include management of the business and visionary activities. It includes mentoring, motivating, training and tracking accountability. It also includes "the big picture" activities like studying, reading, attending speakers and seminars. The problem with working ON the business is that it is too easily set aside for the daily " day-to-day" duties of tending to clients and paperwork. But that is why it is critical to delegate tasks you are no longer able to handle to another person.


 The best way to delegate the work load of the business is to partner with a Virtual Assistant! If it's not your job-delegate! When choosing an Assistant, not only should they be great at what they do but they should also have a passion for the particular work they will be completing. Delegating tasks to a Virtual Assistant allows you time to work on the income building and visionary area of your company; as well as the freedom to spend more time handling family and personal matters. Failure to Delegate could cause a loss of productive time; You shouldn't have to wear all the hats! do yourself a huge favor and make a smart investment.
D-E-L-E-G-A-T-E

My goal as a "Coaches' Assistant" is to focus on the everyday details of your company, allowing you to focus on the income building and visionary area of your company! There has to be a balance and a Coaches Assistant is the missing link that fills the G-A-P. If you need that balance and that G-A-P filled in your company, i would love to create a plan to specifically meet your business needs. visit www.purposebydesignconsulting.com Today; Create that balance!

To Your Continued Success
"Savvy Coaches Assistant"

Friday Coaches Cafe: Taking a break from "Business As Usual"

My responsibility as a "Coaches Assistant" is to not only  provide coaches with tips on how to properly delegate tasks and create time management systems; but to also promote healthy business habits such as taking time off to rest. Take some time away from "Business As Usual" to clear your mind. (A small break a day keeps exhaustion away)

↑↑↑ Take a hint from this little guy above and just relax. Yes I know you don't want to lose even one minute of your day that could have been used towards building your business.
(N-E-W-S  F-L-A-S-H) Relaxation is just as important to any business as completing daily tasks. As a Coach no matter what your niche coaching area, aims for the same end result; For your client to have a sense of peace in their minds. How can you help them get there if you have an unclear, non relaxed mind yourself? Reality is.....You cant! If even only for an hour out of your day, care enough for yourself to Relax your mind, Body and Spirit!

1.Mind - Declutter your mind from all business related worries! In order to create a relaxed atmosphere you must first Relax your mind. (Read a book, Meditate, listen to Sound Escapes, etc.....)

2. Body - Aside from clearing your mind you must also relieve the body of stress from all the excess weight that has been carried through your mind during the day. Deadlines, Time Restraints, Schedule Corrections, this all can cause pain in your body. When your mind reaches its capacity, the body begins to carry the burden. Relax Your Body (Soak in bath and have a cup of herbal tea or coffee)

3. Your mind is clear, your body is relaxed; Its time to allow your spirit or inner to self indulge in the peacefullness
(Do absolutely nothing but enjoy your quiet time)

To Your Success
Ebony Curry

How to Get Your Next 3 New Clients

Spring is officially here, the sun is shining, everyone's getting back to business... and believe it or not (I'm not gonna say the "E" word), your clients are ready to do business. They need support with whatever they've got going on, and they're willing to spend mo-ney to get it. But will they spend it with you?

Of course, we want that answer to be a resounding YES! Thing is, if you're not prepared, the opportunities to bring in new business will slip right through your fingers. That's why it's the perfect time to get back to marketing basics and cover your bases. Here's a handy checklist        of  what you should have in place to make the most of the spring season.
1. Make sure you can clearly communicate WHAT you do and WHO you do it for. Pop quiz: what's your answer to the perennial question, "So what do you do?" If it's a little shaky, now is the time to tighten it up a bit. Make sure your "So what do you do?" statements are in language that is simple and easy for everyone to understand - no jargon. Make sure you have them down so that the right one rolls off your tongue when the question is asked.

Remember, your business grows as you grow, and "what you do" will always shift and change. So should your marketing message! If you've been channeling the same answer for years, it's time to revist.



2. Get in some face time. Trust and relationships are of the utmost importance to your profitability right now, and nothing beats face-to-face meeting for developing both. My coach's request to you: get thee to some networking events! If you hate networking events (and believe me, I get it - I certainly used to), think of these gatherings as opportunities to connect and share, not schmooze.



Of course, as with all of your marketing strategies, you'll want to select your events carefully because your time is your most important resource. Choose the events that will connect you with potential clients and partners, and that you think you would enjoy. (Speaking of things you enjoy, places where you already hang out can be some of the best places to make connections, so be present to the networking opportunities that are around you all the time.)



Lastly, the spring seminar season is here! Don't miss the big events in your industry as they are the perfect place to begin lucrative, long-term relationships with movers and shakers.



3. Perfect your follow-up. If you don't have a system for following up with all of the people you meet, now is the time to start. I'm not talking about your email newsletter here, though you should have one too (yes, as of this writing, I firmly believe that some sort of ezine is not optional). I'm talking about a system to follow up with people who you have met in person and who have expressed interest in working with you now or in the future.



Making the transition from "someone you met at an event" to a client requires reaching out (read: picking up the phone), finding out what's going on and how you can help. How you set the tone in the beginning, both at the initial meeting and with your follow-up has everything to do with who becomes a client and who doesn't!



4. Create your Bold Money Goal. Do you know how much mo'ney you would like to create in the next 90 days? If not, it's time to decide! Your Bold Money Goal will help you get very clear on what activities deserve your precious time and what you can let go of. Be very clear as to the amount you wish to make AND what the money is FOR.



5. Create a plan for bringing in new business. It's all well and good to set a goal, but if there's no way for that mo'ney to get to you, it won't. When creating a Bold Money Goal, I always create the channels by which the money can come in, as well as setting the goal. What programs will I offer? Who in my current list of contacts would be a great fit for those offerings? How many clients would I like to work with, and is that congruent with my goal?



Note updating your website is nowhere to be found on this list of basics If you can speak your message clearly (#1) and stay in conversation with your peeps (#2 and #3), you can bring in new business and income immediately. Focus on getting into service (i.e., getting a few new clients) first, then you can always go back and turn your website into a lead-generating, relationship-building machine.