Strategy Highlights
Week 12
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Strategy 3: Work with the Right Affluent Clients
Three questions for identifying your niche
Niche opportunities are abundant and everywhere. Your goal is to narrow the choices down to the one or two that are most right for you. Like a funnel, there are three questions that will help you identify ideal niches while excluding the less-optimal choices.
- Where are the pockets of wealth in your community? Look around your local area to identify the concentrations of wealth. These are typically specific communities, industries, companies, demographics and trade or professional organizations. Identify at least five pockets of wealth in your community. Depending on where you live, you could identify many more.
- Who are the people in the pockets of wealth that you could serve well and profitably? Now think about the people in these pockets of wealth. What types of people are there in each pocket of wealth that you could serve well and profitably? Do not be overly concerned here about a lack of specific expertise in serving these people—you can acquire that. Instead, identify the people you would be committed to serving extremely well and who would be willing to pay you for your high level of service. Identify at least three types of people within the pockets of wealth you identified in Question 2.
- What makes one niche better than the others? Among the three or so niches you have identified so far, what makes one more attractive than the others? Answer this question to land on one niche (or at most, two niches) that you believe would be right for you.
Researching your niche
Before committing to a niche, undertake systematic research to confirm that it’s right for you and to uncover the opportunities the niche has to offer. Take these steps:
- Interview niche influencers. Reach out to the “movers and shakers” in your niche in order to gain useful knowledge and establish key relationships.
- Conduct background intelligence. Access a range of resources to round out your knowledge of your niche.
You have three goals as you research your potential niche:
- To gather information that will help you confirm whether or not this niche is right for you
- To deeply understand the key issues and challenges of the niche community so that you can effectively attract and then serve them
- To uncover specific opportunities for prospective clients within the niche