If you do not already know which sector you are going to focus on at this stage, then this section should help you to find your niche.
Why Choose A Consulting Niche?
Why not just be a general consultant advising everyone about everything? Why do you need a niche for your consulting practice?
Well, in short, you are likely to be far more successful far more quickly if you do choose a niche so that in itself should interest or excite you, but here are some more thoughts on why you need to find your consulting niche.
1. Relevance
The average consumer (both business and individual) is swamped with marketing messages. Think about all of the times you are ‘hit’ by advertising messages every single day: from advertisements in the newspaper and television in the morning, to advertisements in industry publications, cold calls at the offic, spam emails, messages on buses, the underground and overground trains etc.
There are so many messages that clamour for our attention everyday, and the majority are simply not relevant to us. As a man I have no interest in being “set free” by the latest feminine hygeine product, or as a non smoker trying the latest fad to help me stop smoking. Relevance of your message is vital. The more focused and relevant your marketing message is to your audience the more chances you will have of cutting through all of the other advertisements and appealing to your target audience. Marketing is all about knowing your target audience, and the more targeted that message is, the more chances of success you will have of growing your consultancy. So you really do need to niche your consulting practice.
2. Expertise
By choosing a niche even if you start from a position of no expertise, you will soon change that position. If you are consistently talking to people within your niche, both potential clients and other suppliers to them, what will happen to your level of knowledge of that industry or profession?
If you eat, sleep and drink one area of business, reading only magazines and articles relating to that niche, attending conferences and exhibitions in that niche, how quickly could you become an expert?
The fact that you are thinking of starting a consulting business or have already done so proves that you have the inquisitive nature to really get a grip on a niche area and to make it work for your consultancy practice.
The keyword must be ‘niche’ for your consultancy, it will radically improve the speed at which you can reach six figures and beyond, and it will also increase your enjoyment as you will get better and better as you practice your skills in that sector. This works for you and for your clients, meaning that you both benefit from your relationship which ensures both the longevity and prosperity of it.
3. Pricing Benefits Of A Niche Consulting Practice
Quite simply, by finding your niche you will find a lot more gold in your pot.
Simply put, if you fully understand your niche, what makes your clients tick and even more importantly what makes their clients tick, then you can charge a premium for your service and expertise.
So many consultants run a general practice that might achieve some results, but by fully understanding your sector you should be able to produce results for your clients that are far more successful than those produced by general consulting practices.
This increases your value to your consulting clients, meaning that your charges can only head in one direction. Your services also become invaluable to your clients because they know that whenever they have a problem or challenge, the person with the industry expertise to move them forwards quickly can only be you.
Being a consultant in a beauty parade of one is a wonderful place to be!
Summary
I hope that has persuaded you that you really need to find a consulting niche to be as successful as you want and need to be, so the next stage is to consider which niche will be best for you.
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