I’m constantly talking with solo business owners who are struggling with the whole concept of figuring out their niche.They all want more clients and more money coming in, but there are some glitches to overcome! Here are a few common topics I see over and over:

•  They think their programs and tools are their niche.
•  Not wanting a niche because they can help everyone.
•  Spending all their time creating more tools.

Your niche are the people you market to, not your products. They need to be a strong but narrow group of  people with a similar problem that is compelling and is making them feel a burning need to get help in some regard.

What makes this so hard for some of you to get this? You might have been spending all your time and focus on developing your products and services.  You haven’t been focused on who these people are. You only “sort of,” know. Sort of is not good enough in marketing. It has to be crystal clear and laser focused.

1. For a service  business your niche is always the people who you are marketing to. It is all about understanding who they are and what is driving them. It is more about what they want than what you think they need.

2. You can still help everyone if you want to, but most people say they want to help everyone because they are operating from a fear of not having enough clients. If you check inside I bet you will know exactly who you would prefer to work with and why. However, your marketing needs to be focused on your niche group, regardless of who you decide to help. Without that niche focus you will not present yourself as a specialist and an expert and your message will be watered down.

3. Most likely you have spent most of your time developing your tools and services. You are already good at that. However, to build your business you need to focus on your niche and speak to their issues. It is not about you and what you are offering. It is all about them and their problem!

You can work with the exact people who you enjoy helping as long as you know what their problem is. It is not about what you think they need. it is about how they feel and what they want.

Example:  If you are a website developer, you might look at someone’s old website and know she needs a new one. You might think of all the new bells and whistles you can offer her and how it will give her a better presentation. However her main problem is money stress, not enough clients and just sees a new website as more money going out.  She thinks what she has is good enough.

She won’t decide to build a new site until she sees how this investment will pay for itself and give her more clients and ultimately more money. She doesn’t want a web site. She wants the benefits of more cash flow. She won’t make a decision until she sees these two things linked.

Do you know who your niche is?
Do you know what their problem is?
Are you a specialist at helping this person?

I would love to hear your comments. Below. I will come back and respond.

Watch my free Niche Marketing 360 free videos to get answers to the above questions.

ps. If you want help figuring this out, Leap Forward would be perfect.

You finally finished building your new website. You are ready to see your business pick-up but instead, there are only a trickle of people coming through your door.  

No one signs up for your newsletter. You are frustrated!

Here is the secret for turning that around. It is simple but most people miss it.
 
It begins with empathy! If you manage to get people to your website, you want them to stay and get involved. You have to build empathy with your clients before anything else.  
 
Empathy is what you want from your best friend when you’ve had a bad day.
 
You want someone to get how you feel. When that happens you feel heard and cared for. There is no substitute for that feeling of being understood. Look at your home page and see if you have done these following three things before anything else:
 
1. State your client’s problem or issue in their own voice, using their words.
2. Say how your client feels the way they would speak if asked. “You feel _______ and _________.”
3. State the benefits your clients say they want and why.  How do they feel it will it change their life.
 
This is all about them and their perspective on themselves; not about you, your programs and how you can help. You will get to the help part later but first you need to build empathy. Until you do that, they won’t feel any connection or trust with you.

Too many people who are anxious for new clients, launch right into to talking about their programs and packages. They think that if they explain how they can help, people will want to buy. It doesn’t work that way.

Here is your free tip: Instead of telling about your programs right off, after building empathy, give immediate value right then and there. This can be in the form of a video, a downloadable ebook, tips or of course on your blog. Whatever you offer, it needs to always begin with building empathy first.

If you are not sure what words your potential clients would use, then here is the first step. Begin to listen to them closer and ask them how they feel. They will tell you and it will transform your business when you follow this formula. It will also give real value to the people you truly want to help.

If you want more help with learning how to do this and the next steps,  join the 90 day Leap Forward Program.

Do you know your clients words? Does every page on your website or newletter begin with empathy?

I remember when my business was new.

I was laser focused on how to tell people about what I was offering, how I could help them and what my services were.

I thought if this was articulated clearly, people would get it and then grab it.

I was soo wrong. People don’t actually want to hear about you and what you are offering. At least not yet. They are focused on themselves and their problems.

What they want, is to know you get it. They want to feel empathy from you.

You might remember a time when you were facing a big problem that was making you feel confused, overwhelmed or discouraged.

How wonderful it was to talk with a friend who listened and didn’t immediately tell you what to do or try to give advice. They had no agenda and you felt supported.

Active listening offers this and it includes empathy, paraphrasing and support.

•  People feel really heard and understood.
•  Allows the person to then go deeper.
•  Builds trust with the listener.

Your home page content can do all that. Way later you can gently suggest some next steps.

How to do active listening in your marketing message and on your home page?

First, you need to have listened to enough of your niche clients so you know what they would say, how they would say it and how they feel.

•  Post a video on your website where you speak to them using their words and paraphrasing.
•  Put those same words in text.
•  State the  benefits they want.

Next you can offer valued help right then and there with free downloadable tips.

If you look at my 7-step marketing circle, you will see that talking about your programs is not until step number five. It comes way later. In fact, ideally people will ask you about it because by then, they feel supported, understood and they trust you.

Have a look at your home page via the eyes of your niche clients. Do you build empathy and trust first or do you offer help too fast?

Sometimes I know I sound like a broken record when I talk to my clients, but I can’t help myself!

I know what it’s like to not be able to sleep due to fear and panic around money.  It’s not fun.

I guess I’ve become somewhat of an expert at beginning a small solo business, now that I have made every mistake in the book! I know how important it is to build a strong foundation first.

Do you freeze when someone asks you what you do?

One foundation piece involves developing a strong core marketing message and to know your niche clients inside and out. It doesn’t work well to only know them, sort of.  Sort of doesn’t pay the bills.

However, there is a process for figuring this out and it’s important to stick with it until you get that gut feeling that you’ve nailed it.

If your core marketing message isn’t quite there, it will affect your cash flow. You will get some business coming in without it just from your passion, but your passion will only go so far. You need passion and clear steps.

So why is your core marketing message so important and why is it one of the foundation pieces of your business?

•  You can’t build a good marketing plan without it.
•  You will confuse people and a confused person goes away.
•  You will end up offering the wrong products or services.

A core marketing messages has three components.

1. The strong but narrow niche group of people who you are speaking to.
2. Their problem, issue or strong desire that is a burning need for them.
3. The benefits they want and how it will make a huge difference to them.

You might be wondering, where you come in? What about your expertise?”

You are the specialist at helping the above people with their problem and the benefits they want.

Simple yes? Easy, not so much. Important? Absolutely.

What can make it easier?
Learn the steps and process instead of going around in circles.
Work on this with people who don’t have your blind spots.
Join the Leap Forward Program which includes tools, steps, process and huge support.

Take the free business self-assessment and learn more.

How confident are you with your core marketing message?

People seem to have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. They love the contact and community and hate the time it takes. They love meeting new people but hate the sudden technical changes.

This morning when Facebook rolled out it’s newest change to the friend’s page wall, there were a mix of comments.

Some people threatened to leave, others complained about the sidebar ticker. People don’t like change, even if it might be good. Most of us are not technically minded and we want it to be easy. Every time it changes it means we have to learn something new.

Attitude is the very most important quality in running a business. Everyday I have to deal with challenging situations and the attitude I have greatly influences the outcome and my own process.

Your attitude is the one thing you have total control over. No one can take that away from you.

Question. Do you use Facebook primarily for your business?  Are your clients or potential clients on Facebook? If this answer is yes to both then read on.

Here are a few points to help you align your attitude about the changes.

•  Your business page is where you need to focus most of your attention. Put out valuable tips and updates for your fans.

•  Your updates are the best when they create conversation, ask questions and empathize with how people are feeling.

•  Use your friend page for business as well and go with the flow of changes. Model a positive attitude to people.

•  Re-share your business page updates to your friend’s page every so often as this increases the chance of people seeing it.

•  Post positive comments and likes on other people’s posts as this also puts forth a supportive attitude.

•  Figure  out how the changes work and share and help others who are grumbling.

I love facebook. The community is amazing, the contacts and relationships have helped me to grow my business and the instant communication is phenomenal. Change is hard but this is part of being an entrepreneur and business owner.

Just breath and flow with it.
What helps you to be able to do this? How do you keep your attitude positive?

Read more on Attitude

Keep your Focus on Growing your Business