Quick question: What’s your top priority for growing your business over the next year?
If you’re like most of the business owners I work with, you want to find your perfect prospects and convert them into paying clients, so you can quit your job and earn a full-time income from your business, while still having time to do what you love.
To make that happen, you know you need to spread the word far and wide about what you do, who you serve, and how you help people in the way that only you can.
But every time you try to reach far and wide, it doesn’t seem to work quite right.
Maybe you’re taking action but not making consistent income. Or maybe you’re not even sure what action to take, and you’re left feeling totally stuck.
Wherever you are on the spectrum, you know you’re not reaching the people you’re meant to reach and you’re tired of guessing where to find them.
I understand how frustrating it is!
So if you want to take your business from a time-sucking side hustle to a profitable, full-time gig…
… I have a simple, one-step solution.
Why just one step?
Before I share my simple, one-step solution, let’s talk about why I’m a HUGE fan of step-by-step action plans in every area of life and business.
It’s because no matter how complex or daunting a problem seems, if you have a step-by-step plan, all you have to do is follow the steps one by one to hit your big goal.
It might sound simple, but it works every single time.
This is exactly how I built my business to six figures in 18 months. It’s how I plan and execute multi-six-figure launches. Heck, it’s how I planned Thanksgiving dinner!
When you stop letting overwhelm run the show and instead follow a plan you trust from an expert you trust, you can finally build the business you want.
It’s exactly that mentality that will help you reach more people, so they see how you can help them, so they hire you, so you can make a living doing this amazing work you love so much.
What’s the one step you can take today that will help you move closer to this goal?
You must CLAIM your niche
Whether you’re brand new to business or have been at it awhile, there’s ALWAYS room for improvement. (This means even if you think you’ve nailed your niche, keep reading!)
Now, I know you’ve read the advice that tells you to niche down, get more specific, or narrow in on your target customer.
And even though you KNOW what to do, you get stuck when it comes to making this work for YOUR business.
Maybe you’re afraid to get too specific. Or you don’t know your ideal client well enough yet. Or you’re afraid to commit because you might change direction down the road.
But by wavering with your niche even a little bit, you’re perpetuating your current not-enough-clients problem, and you’ll continue to stay stuck.
Luckily, I have a plan to help you fix this problem today.
Your one-step action plan to nail down your niche
Your first step is to define or refine your niche, taking things one step further than where you currently are. (Remember, you can totally do one step!)
Now, everyone’s at a different place with defining their niche, which means the first step won’t be the same for everyone. So your job is to note which group you fall into below and the corresponding ONE STEP to define or refine your niche.
That’s it! One simple step to bring you closer to the business success you want in 2019.
If you’re just starting out…
If you’re brand new to business and just starting out or you’ve been reluctant to own your niche, your one single action step is to claim your niche right now. Today.
How do you do that?
You don’t do another customer avatar exercise, for starters. (Whew, right?!) Knowing your client’s education level, industry, and what type of beverage they like to drink in the morning isn’t what’s important.
What matters is the psychographics, not the demographics.
Ask yourself what goes on in your ideal client’s head and heart. What do they care about? What’s their life like? What are their worries and concerns?
For now, be as specific as you can about the area you want to specialize in and who you want to help and how. Once you start to claim a niche, you’ll find that marketing a specific business to a specific audience—rather than an un-specific business to general, broad audience—isn’t as much of an uphill battle as you thought.
So take your best guess. Don’t overthink it and just commit.
If you’ve been at it awhile…
If you have a niche you feel good about, that’s awesome! But it’s time to get even more specific.
Think about the clients you love working with. Who are they? What makes them unique? What problems do they have in common?
Also, listen to your heart. What gets you excited? Who are you passionate about helping? Is there a certain subset of your audience that you absolutely love serving?
It’s possible you’ve been working with clients that don’t light you up (and that’s okay!). Take note of the clients that don’t leave you feeling energized and narrow your niche to exclude them.
At the end of the day, you’re going to serve your clients best when you’re excited to serve them. Follow and trust your heart.
Remember, the more specific you are, the more you differentiate yourself from the competition by speaking clearly to your people.
If you already nailed your niche…
If you have a clear niche and serve those clients well already, congrats! You don’t need to define or refine your niche, but you do have an action step:
Check your website and your blog for client language. Make sure every single word of your copy includes the language of your customers: your opt-in, your newsletter, your social media posts. That’s when things really start to click.
Too many business owners overlook this critical piece of the puzzle. They’re either falling in to the jargon trap or they’re using language their clients identify with AFTER working with them.
It’s so important to get in your client’s head. Pay attention to what your people are saying they want in their words BEFORE they work with you and use those words. Those are the words that will convey what you do, clarify your niche, and keep your ideal clients knocking down your door. The “before” words sell!
How do you know you nailed your niche?
You know you’ve got this niche thing down when you pass “the eyebrow test.”
(I know, you’re thinking WTF, Jenny?! Eyebrows?!)
Well, you know that look people give you when they’re curious to learn more about what you’re saying, that look where their eyebrows raise in anticipation of what comes next? That’s what I’m talking about.
When you take your one-step action above, you’re getting one step closer to passing the all-important eyebrow test.
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