By Danielle McDonald, The Clarity Architect

One of the areas I see entrepreneurs, coaches and experts struggle with the most is identifying and really pinning down their niche. This is based on the clients I have worked, and work with, data gathered from FB groups, and my own personal experience. I struggled for a long time trying to nail down who it was I wanted to serve and it affected my business. But, this was something I eventually got my head round and I want to share the steps with you.

The purpose of this post is to help you overcome the struggle of going round in circles trying to workout who your niche is. I want to save you time and help you avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made.

You’re a wellness professional with unique gifts and talents (your brilliance) you want to share with the world, but your brilliance is not for everyone. There is a set group of amazing people out there who are looking for someone like you, and are prepared to invest in what you have to offer because of the value, transformation and results that come from working with you.

Now that’s a beautiful and wonderful thing, but letting go of the fact that you can’t serve everyone due to a fear of limiting yourself, or a group of people missing out can be a bit of a challenge to overcome in the beginning.

However, it doesn’t have to be, and I want to help you through this so you can boldly and confidently go out there and share your brilliance with those who need you most.

So let’s get started with the three step process. Grab a notepad and pen, open a new document or whatever else you choose and let’s dive in.

For the first step, I have five questions for you to ask yourself.

We’re starting with these questions because you’ll want to like the people you work with and enjoy being around them. Answer them with an open heart and mind, don’t rush the process and let go of any thoughts relating to “but what I do can help everyone.”

1. What kind of clients do you want to work with? Think of the different characteristics and behaviours you are looking for in your ideal client.
2. What kind of clients do you not want to work with? This is just a reversal of the above question.
3. What kind of people to you feel excited to talk to and be around? What is it about them that makes you feel this way?
4. Who do you feel really needs your help? Take a moment and close your eyes to visualise a specific person. Who are they, what do they do, what is their current situation?
5. What groups of individuals do you have no interest in working with?

 

The second step is to create a maximum of three groups that could be your niche based on your answers to the five questions.

List them along the left side of a piece of paper. For example, three groups could be working mums, heart-centred entrepreneurs and life coaches. Based on what you do, think about how you could help each group and write this on the right hand side.

Once you’ve done this, take a moment to review each group and how you could help them. Read this out loud. Out of the three, there are going to be one or two that stand out the most to you. If you have one, that’s the target audience to focus on.

If you have two (or three still), repeat the process and pay attention to the energy that you get from each one. How does it make you feel? Excited, happy etc. This should help you gain more clarity to narrow it down to one. In the event none resonate with you, go back to the five questions and ensure you’ve answered them with an open mind and heart.

The third step requires you to explore things even further. What you think they need, and what they actually need may not always be in alignment.

You need to know:

• What their biggest pain point is, the problems they are facing.
• How you can solve those problems. Think of the methods you can use.
• The offering you can create or provide to solve the problems identified. For example, a self study course, group or 1:1 coaching program.

The easy way to do this is to survey your target audience. The two key questions you want answers to are:

1. What’s the number one single-biggest challenge you’re having with [insert pain point]?
2. What would your [business or life] be like if you didn’t have this challenge?

Question one will provide you with the clarity you need on the issues they’re actually facing, not just the ones you may think they’re facing. From this, you can create the right lead magnet, and packages that are going to make them say “she read my mind, that’s exactly what I need!”

Question two provides you with clarity on the value, transformation and results you need to include as part of your offering.

You may have heard the saying “a business without sales is not a business.” Your niche needs to be willing to invest in what you have to offer, it has to be profitable.

So once you know who you serve, the problems they have, how you’re going to solve them, and you know they are going to pay you for it, you’ll want to wrap it up with a bow by creating your brand message. Think of it like this.

“I help [ideal client] solve [specific problem] and achieve [specific result, outcome] through [your personal transformation formula].”

You can mix this up a bit and play around with the words.

Whilst what you have to offer is something you want to work on after, it’s a separate post all together. However, I want to touch on it briefly. Whether you already have packages in place or are just getting started, be sure to include the exact words your audience use in the copy for your packages, and throughout your website copy. This is where you build that personal connection because the words are going to resonate with them.

So to recap:

• Answer the five questions with an open mind and heart
• Create a max of three groups that could be your niche and how you could help them
• Survey your target audience to identify their pain points, problems to develop a solution(s)
• Create your brand message

There you have it! Your niche identified along with your brand message – who, why, how and why it matters.

Spend some time getting this right. If not, you’ll find it difficult to attract, retain and convert your ideal clients.

I hope this post has served you and I wish you continued success as your business grows and flourishes.

About the Author

Danielle McDonald is The Clarity Architect. She shows individuals how to gain absolute clarity, develop the right mindset & take action for results. You can connect with Danielle on Instagram and checkout her website here.