Specialize
Discovering and capitalizing on your niche can be the single most powerful concept you develop for your service business. Defining your area of expertise and marketing that to that world differentiates you from your competition and allows you to operate from a position of strength and confidence.
Here are three reasons to become an expert in your field:
1) Experts make more money.
2) Command more respect.
3) Gain more control.
In developing your niche, smaller is better. The more focused you are on a specific market, the better you can serve that market. The smaller the market, the easier it is for you to research and meet the needs of those clients. The added bonus is that it is easier and also less expensive to market to those prospective clients.
Serving too many different types of clients can stunt your growth and hold you back. You can't be all things to all people. People won't be able to "get you," which, after all, is what they are buying. Service based companies always need to differentiate themselves to better serve their target markets. Sometimes assessment tools help people get a better look at themselves and their businesses from an outside outside. I have several I use in my practice. Some are for individuals others for organizations themselves.
When we are unable to see ourselves or our organizations as we actually are then there are questions we fail to ask and assumptions we make because of our blind spots. Those blind spots limit the questions we ask of ourselves and about our businesses. When we limit the questions we ask we deny ourselves information that effects the decisions we make. That alters the outcomes we get.
Just as a sports coach gets a team of professional athletes to perform better and win games so a business coach gets business professionals to perform at the top of their game. When we have a better idea as to our strong and weak points we can specialize on our strengths.
Wes Wingfield is a Certified Business Coach and the President of Highest Ambition LLC, a Kansas City based organizational development company that specializes in leadership development, strategic planning and executive coaching; delivering what his clients want with a return on their investment. www.highestambition.com phone 816-589-6138 or write him at wes.wingfield@highestambition.com
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