“If you don’t repel anyone, then you’re unlikely to attract your ideal clients either, so it’s important to dial up your personality.”
~ Debra Hilton
Take Your Niching to the Next Level
You’ve probably heard about the power of niching: drilling down into a specific market or product and becoming known for that ONE thing. It’s an important lesson and it’s based on the idea that when you are setting out on the path to growth, success, and visibility it’s more profitable to be a big fish in a small pool, than a minnow in the ocean.
That’s all well and good, but ‘next level niching’ takes that concept to a new level, not only of success, but of personal happiness.
Here’s why…
There is Only One You…
And I’m willing to bet that whoever you are, you have people who like you and enjoy hanging around with you just because of who you are. There are probably other people who aren’t really attracted to you at all. What’s more, you probably have people you enjoy being around and others like Aunt Mary, Cousin Al, and Jane-in-the-next-office whom you’d rather see as infrequently as possible.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re an accountant, a lawyer, an IT consultant, or a copywriter: everyone brings some of their personality to work. If you don’t have to market a business then it may not be crucial, but if you own your own business why not add some personality and attract the type of people who you enjoy spending your time and energy serving?
What Flavour are You Really?
This is particularly important for service businesses.
Any good technician can ‘do their job’, and every business needs a complementary variety of talent and personality to accomplish the various tasks, but if your personalities and values don’t resonate to some degree then tensions emerge and the partnership doesn’t last for long.
Think about it… if you’re spending 40+ hours in the office together it’s better for your health and happiness if you don’t grind your teeth every time your PA or office buddy walks in. And you certainly don’t want 90% of your clients to drive you crazy (unless you’re a government department, bank, or department store). Instead, you want people who need your services, like your philosophy, and enjoy the way you do things.
One of my children makes the most amazing ice cream. His vanilla ice cream is one of the best I’ve ever tasted, but he usually only makes vanilla when it’s going to be paired with something else. The rest of his ice cream flavours are the love-them-or-leave-them kind of flavours – if you love them, you want more; if you don’t like the flavour, then a single spoonful might be more than enough.
Small businesses should operate on the same principle. Within fifteen minutes drive from my home are half a dozen different Physiotherapy offices, from what I’ve seen and heard about most of them, they’re all quite similar: nothing to object to, nothing to love. One of my friends will go to whichever of them has the most convenient appointment when she needs a Physio. Another of my friends only ever goes to one office… and she always tells us about her experiences there no matter which of the five physios she has seen because they all share the same attitude to life and they all understand that even when your body is hurting and you need to be taken care of your mind is still active. Sometimes she has to wait to get an appointment or go at inconvenient times, but she loves them so much that she even pays a monthly fee when she doesn’t need to go to be a VIP member and get priority scheduling when she needs it.
Do you think having clients who loved you that much would make a difference to your business’ profitability… not to mention your enjoyment of your work?
So, What are You Going to Do?
Will you:
- Look inside yourself and your business and create a definite flavour and personality that attracts some people and repels others? Or
- Play it safe and run in safe mode?
There are consequences to any choice you make, and this one is no different.
Wondering How to Make This Work?
Use the scheduling link below to book a free 15 minute call with me and discover how you can highlight personality in your business to attract your favourite clients, and repel the people you don’t really want to work with:
