What’s Your NICHE?

Getting clear on what you do, and marketing that message with precision, is the key to modern business survival.

By Scott Carley

Who are you really?

That sounds like a deep philosophical question, and it is. But if you’re a business owner or salesperson, it’s a question you need to answer, because your survival is at stake.

Branding is important in any economy, but when times are tough you have to be particularly clear about what you do, and for whom. You don’t have the luxury of keeping pace with the crowd. You need to give prospects a crystal-clear mental image of how you can help them. You need to find your niche.

Finding Your Niche

Your niche consists of two elements:

1. The unique skills, background, and values you bring to your field.
2. The specific slice of the overall market you serve.

“But if I narrow my prospects, won’t I lose business?” No! You’ll gain business because you’re focusing all your marketing effort toward only those people who  need your specific products or services, instead of throwing a diluted message out to a broad generic market.

Getting specific about your niche also allows you to hone your message to razor sharpness, including a 60-second “elevator speech” that will make listeners say, “Wow, you read my mind! You offer exactly what I need!”

Networking your niche

There’s a reason chamber events, mixers, and referral networking groups seem to be everywhere in the business world. Word-of-mouth referral networking is how people prefer to do business. Think about it — when you need a product or service right away, would you rather launch a lengthy search or simply call a pal and say, “Who do you know who can help me?”

How do you differentiate yourself from all the other suits and ties in a packed banquet hall? How do you arrest someone’s attention long enough to get them to really listen?

That’s where your niche comes in. You’re not like the others. You don’t have a generic “We’re a full-service solutions provider for all types of business” ramble; you have a precise, targeted elevator speech because you know your niche. I don’t go around saying “I’m a business coach,” although that’s certainly true. I say “I show sales teams and business owners how to make more money by marketing themselves to a precise target audience.” And because I know exactly who my best prospects are, I can focus on a few targeted conversations instead of passing cards around to anyone and everyone.

It takes time, effort, and education to learn how to work your niche (professional guidance can be a great help), but once you get there you’ll wonder how you ever managed otherwise. As I like to tell my students, “It’s not Get Rich Quick — it’s a Get Rich Niche.”

What’s your Get Rich Niche?

SCOTT CARLEY is an internationally known business coach specializing in word-of-mouth referral networking and corporate time management courses. For one-on-one or group coaching sessions, visit www.GrowthDynamic.org online.

How to ramp up sales before the end of the year

Can you believe 2008 is almost at an end? This year went by pretty quickly and 2009 will be here before we know it. Now is the time to plan on ramping up your holiday sales before 2008 is complete.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner you would think that some people are taking time off from doing business. Well, your right! You may notice that each year around the holiday season business owners start slowing down with their networking efforts so they can take time to be with family and friends. While they are taking time out from doing business they are doing something else. Spending money!

Yes, even in questionable economic times like now people are still buying things and going out. As you can imagine consumer products companies and service providers are preparing to ramp up sales by customizing their ads to suit their target audience. They do this every year and it pays big dividends. In just a moment I will go over some creative ways to ramp up your sales if you sell a consumer product but let’s also take a look at those who provide a service.

So now you may be saying “but Nick, I provide a service!”

That’s even better! Why? Let’s take a look at the buying habits that are created by the holiday spirit.

During the holidays people get stressed. Stress makes people do things like buy stuff in order to fulfill their sense of self accomplishment, get a massage, seek therapy or finally complete a task that has been bugging them for the past several months. Think about it, if for the last 6 months your roof has been leaking and one day you pop open the newspaper and see an ad that says “Roof still leaking? Take advantage of our holiday special and get it fixed at half price! Call now, this offer wont last!” you will feel compelled to get that pesky roof leak fixed pretty quickly.

People feel a great sense of self accomplishment by getting things done and this is where you can ultimately help them. And remember don’t think about “selling” your products or services. Think about it in terms of “fulfilling your customer’s needs” instead. By focusing your mindset in this way your products and services will sell themselves. Your real job is to position your products or services in front of your audience. The product or service will do the rest.

Customizing your ads

If you are a service provider begin your ad with the common problem or need that you can fulfill. Next, connect with your audience through the holiday spirit and let them know about the special you are running and the problem you can solve with the service you provide. At the end let them know that just like the holiday your offer won’t last and they need to take action! See the example roof leak ad I wrote above.

For those who sell consumer products begin with highlighting the problem that your product will solve. Example “Dry, frizzy tangled hair?” Next utilize the holiday spirit and let your target audience know about the special you provide. “Take advantage of our holiday special and get two for the price of one on our all natural hair conditioner” Next is the call to action. “Bring this coupon into the store for your amazing discount. This offer won’t last so act now”

These are examples and if you look at the majors who play the products and services game they know what they are doing and it works.

This is an excellent time to utilize your products and services abilities to help people through the holidays. Get on the ball now because like I mentioned before, the holidays will be over before you know it.

If you would like help with ramping up your sales before the end of the year get in contact with me now. I specialize in putting together ads, marketing, sales and business organization.

And yes, I am offering a holiday special on my usual fees so get on the ball and take advantage of my services now because time is of the essence!

Nick Taylor - President

Advanced Insight Consulting

www.advancedinsightconsulting.com

512-902-4962

Common mistakes that small business owners make & ways to overcome them

Small businesses can make up 80%-90% percent of a city’s commerce base. Statistically a small business will only survive 2-5 years before it closes its doors. There are many common mistakes made by small business owners. Entrepreneurs have a very hard time making some one else rich while they work hard in order to slowly move up the ranks to gain some sort of ownership in the company or at least to executive status

I will list some of the most common mistakes that small business owners make resulting in the eventual closing of the business forcing the entrepreneur to go back to working the daily grind.

Starting a business they are not passionate about: Many entrepreneurs start a business thinking that just because the products are selling for others means it will be lucrative for them. The truth is that if you are not passionate about what you are doing it will not be rewarding. Success is a state of mind and if your business is not fulfilling, success will be hard to attain.

Possible solution: If the small business you have started is making a good living for you be sure to get the business to a level where it works on its own and you do not have to show up everyday unless you want to. This way you can plan well for your next business venture doing something you ARE passionate about.

Starting off undercapitalized and with out a business plan: Many small businesses are started with out a plan and on a shoe string budget and often times with out a planned budget at all! Running a business costs money weather you do it from home or from an office, there will be expenses to cover like marketing and advertising, rent and overhead.

Possible solution: Put together a well defined business plan so you can truly understand your business, your industry, your market and a strategy that will help you gain your market share. After putting together a well defined business plan you will have a much better grasp of what it takes to run a business successfully earning the profits you desire. Next you will be able to approach a possible partner or angel investor who would be willing to invest in your business now that it has a plan.

Starting off with out marketing plan: One of the most import aspects of a successful business is having a well thought out and researched marketing plan. Your marketing plan helps you understand who your target market is, where they are located, where they buy, why they buy and how to position yourself in front of them in order to maximize your exposure to your target market.

Possible solution: Create a marketing plan ASAP if you haven’t already! This is a crucial element that will determine the survival of your business. If you are putting together a marketing plan for your first time it is best to work with a market research specialist that you know of personally or locally. If it is some one you know they may cut you a break on your market research cost, otherwise market research reports can get expensive. Either or, it is worth the investment to get a marketing plan done. It will save you lots of time and energy from blindly testing what you THINK is your market.

Trying to do it all themselves: Many entrepreneurs are do it themselves kind of people. This attitude will kill a business faster than just about anything else. Entrepreneurs need people to help with the tedious tasks that they are not qualified to do and do not like doing any way. Many small business owners I work with start off wearing too many hats. As a result they spend a lot of time getting little done and it ultimately hurts their bottom line.

Possible solution: Figure out what you don’t like doing and are not qualified to do and get help! If you are working with a small budget you can place an ad at the local University seeking interns that are studying what ever it is you need them to do. For example let’s say you need some marketing research done and implemented. You could place an ad seeking a marketing student who is looking to get more real world experience in marketing. Be sure to ask the University how they can get course credit while working for you so the intern not only gets real world experience but course credit at the University as well.

If you can relate to some of the above small business owner challenges now would be the time to take action. There are multiple solutions to multiple challenges and taking a step back to get the 5000 foot view can help you get your business prospering more than ever.

Nick Taylor – President

Advanced Insight Consulting

www. Advancedinsightconsulting.com

WII-FM - What’s In It For Me?

 WII-FM

 You’re in business to make a profit. Those were the first seven words I heard in college while pursuing a degree in business.  Profit is what keeps businesses alive and thriving. Without it, you’re out of business.

  In business you need customers. Once you find where they are, what do you tell them? Why should they want to buy your product or service?  How do you get through to them? You need to get the correct answers to these questions if you want to make a profit.

  If there is one thing I learned in thirty-one years of broadcast management it’s that every person listens to one radio station all the time. It’s in their head. It’s called WII-FM. What’s In It For Me?  That is the single most important piece of information you can provide a potential customer or client. People want to know what the benefit is to them for using your product or service.

  It has amazed me in working with clients over the years just how many really didn’t know what business they’re in. They might tell me, “Well, I sell widgets.” I would answer, “No, you don’t sell widgets. You sell what your widgets do.” Therein lies the benefit. The other purpose of being in business is to solve a problem that a customer has. That’s what the benefit provides. It solves the problem.

  So when you write your marketing copy, write it so the benefit of your product or service is right at the top. Ultimately that is what your customer really wants to know. Customers buy benefits, not features.  People don’t care if your product is square, purple, tall, or made of plastic. Those are features, not benefits. People don’t buy features. They buy benefits. If you state right up front in your marketing material that your product or service is going save them two hours a day, or make them 53.3 percent more profit in a week or gives them better looking skin-then you are closer to a sale–the more specific the benefit statement the better.

  Powerful, compelling marketing copy has relatively few components. First, outline the benefit as early in the copy as possible. If you can do it, announce the benefit in the headline of your marketing material. For example, “Look ten years younger.”  “Save $300 on your next computer.” “Free, no fee, no-hassle checking account.”  Etc.  Just make sure you can back up your benefit statement or headline. With a powerful headline, you grab the customer’s attention and you tell them what’s in it for them. Now, they’ll read the rest of your announcement.

  The next step is to back up your claims with tangible understandable facts and figures to help them make a positive decision. Although virtually all sales are ultimately made by emotions, people also like to have information to support and justify what they are about to purchase. It’s just human nature.

The final step, interestingly enough is one where many salespeople and companies drop the ball. You need a strong call for action. Ask for the sale. Ask for their business. The worst case scenario is that they will say, “No,” But asking the question will certainly get you closer to a “yes” than if you don’t ask and leave it in the air. That’s giving the potential customer a way out. That will not get you closer to the profit you seek. Ask them to take a specific action. Again, the more specific the better.

  To wrap up, state your benefit right up front in your marketing copy, support it with facts and figures and then ask your reader to take the action you want. It’s a simple but effect formula. Writing compelling marketing copy is a lot less stressful if you can follow these simple guidelines. Oh, and it will work with virtually any product or service. If writing it yourself becomes too intimidating or you just don’t have time, hire a freelance business writer to do it for you. Make your marketing copy work hard for you. It’s the key to that profit you seek.

Tweed Scott is the author of the three time national award-winning book, Texas In Her Own Words, a professional speaker and an ADDY award-winning copywriter. He is the owner of Tejas Communications, a writing and professional speaking company. He can be reached at Tweed@TweedScott,com or 512 484-0340.