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7 Reasons Why you Need a Coaching Niche to Become RichOne of the hardest business lessons I’ve had to learn is the need to specialize. I’ve prided myself on knowing a fair amount a lot of things – the “jack of all trades” approach. And it’s cost me.I’ve been a writer, photographer, edi I go wide, but – when compared to the career paths of my college buddies – I haven’t gone deep. Several of them have retired after 30+ year stints as photographers, photo editors, and – to a lesser degree – writers. Me, well, I’ve done okay, but I’m definitely not retired yet. In part, it’s because I haven’t stayed with a focus on developing one of my skills – writing, photography, web programming, etc. – to the depth required to be truly one of the best in it and work at the higher levels of the profession. Okay, I’ve had a broad range of life adventures that my college buds drool at, but it hasn’t resulted in boatloads of money flowing into my bank accounts. A key lesson I’ve learned from Why? Reason #1: It takes serious time and commitment to become – and stay - an expert In today’s info-overloaded world, new information, strategies and technologies are being spewed out at an ever-increasing rate. Depending on which source you believe, the total amount of information doubles every 6-18 months. How can anyone possibly expect to stay on top of that? The answer is … you can’t. It often takes several years of dedicated learning and commitment just to become an expert. And it takes ongoing time and commitment to stay there. Some people might be brilliant enough to learn more than one specialty. But, realistically, do you think you’re an Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, or Leonardo da Vinci? As a coach, it’s not enough to just pick a niche and run with it. You need to find one you like and care about; ideally, make it something you’re passionate about. Then it won’t seem like “work” as you strive to stay at the top of your niche; it’ll be more a labor of love. Reason #2: The competition drops off fast One of the beauties of becoming a coaching specialist is that very few others are doing it. Call yourself a “relationship coach” and look around at how many others in your profession are wearing the same label. Big room, eh? But become the coach for “divorcing couples seeking an amicable annulment that is best for their teenage kids” and - all of a sudden - the room isn’t so crowded. The same applies to any other segment of coaching – be it business, life, or lifestyle. The fact is, very few coaches get how important specializing is. And, even if they do, few make the effort to actually do it. Be the one who DOES, and you can quickly rise to the top of the field. And you can make a lot more money for your efforts. Reason #3: People GET that you’re good and will seek you out I remember a statement T. Harv Ekar said at his World’s Greatest Marketing Seminar that stuck: “The more you declare your niche, the more people will seek you out.” People have less confidence in people making the clam of being an expert in a several areas. Anybody reasonably intelligence person will have a subtle and inner critic activating the “yellow alert”. And once somebody has a doubt about your credibility, you’ll work hard to get it back. If, however, you state simply that you are an expert in a specific area, people will go out of their way to believe you. The mind goes something like, “This person likes his/her expertise and has put in the time and effort to be good. I can trust them.” Best of all, they will seek you out and be willing to pay you substantially more for your services. To illustrate, assume you found out you needed a critical heart operation. There are a handful of heart surgeons who claim they have experience with the procedure. But then you find the doctor who TEACHES those doctors how to do it. He invented the procedure and has done 80% of all those operations. Which doctor are you going to seek out? In a life-and-death situation such as this, it’s pretty obvious. But the same rules apply whether your client is faced with a critical business move they need to implement or a divorce that is on the verge of spinning out of control. Reason #4: It’s easier to sell yourself As people, we are story-driven. We often make purchase decisions based on the “story” we have about a product or service. “What did Mary say about these people the other day?” “Didn’t I just read that he was helping put together a huge joint venture?” Etc. When you are perceived as an expert, people are open to stories that back it up. There will most likely be one or more reasons why you chose a particular specialty; use those to reinforce your credentials and abilities. For all the reasons above – and more - it becomes easier to sell yourself. People want to work with the best. If you are that person, you literally move from a model of pushing information at people, to one of them pulling it from you. Like Harv says, “they will seek you out.” Reason #5: Your rates and income increase In the heart surgery example above – the one in which you’re faced with a life-and-death operation - would you be willing to spend more, wait longer (if you can), and go the extra yardage to get the best doctor? The same is true with any expert; people are willing to spend more to get the best. And the more critical the perceived service is, the more they’re willing to pay. If you are a business coach recognized as the very best at helping CEOs successfully take multi-million dollar technology companies public, do you think that a CEO taking a multi-million dollar technology company public is going to balk at paying you substantially more? They won’t even think about hiring somebody claiming to be “a really good business coach” or somebody claiming to be “developing it as a specialty”. They want the best NOW, and they’re willing to pay for it. Reason #6: It makes it easier to partner with, or become a referral for, other coaches One of the really cool things about being an expert is that it makes it easier for other coaches to refer you, or even take on projects with you. I know an extremely good transformational coach, Diana Chapman, whose specialty is helping “tough, challenging people on the verge of becoming conscious”. There is often a lot of anger and dark energy that comes up at this critical point. The ego is confronting its very existence. In essence, it is being asked to die, and often literally perceives this as a battle to the death. High-powered people moving through this juncture can become extremely combative, and they’ll focus their anger and blame upon the coach. Not many coaches can stand in the storm of these outbursts, let alone enjoy it. But Diana savors these moments! So coaches now seek her out to help them take their client through this critical moment. Once it’s done, the clients go back to the referring coach. The point is, because she has this specialty that very few others do, it makes it easy for her to partner with other coaches. You can do the same in your field. What do you do best? How can you work with others to create a virtual team of experts – each using your expertise to further help each other’s clients? Reason #7: You can leverage it to become an expert in other areas Alex Mandossian is a prime example of this. In the information marketing business he became recognized as “the traffic conversion expert”. People sought him out for that. Once his credentials in that area were firmly established, he then became an expert in copywriting. Because people perceived he was “great” at traffic conversion, it was easy for them to believe he was also capable of being a copywriting expert. Alex continues to reinvent himself as an expert in other – related - areas, and he makes millions doing it. You can do the same. Get one expertise nailed down, then leverage it to become an expert in another. The more related it is to your first one, the better. Bottom line: Develop a niche to become coaching rich! Source: Free Online Articles from ArticlesBase.com Source: Free Online Articles from ArticlesBase.com Doug Greene is an author and the owner of CoachingRiches.com. The company is deciated Permalink: http://expert-talk.com/tips/260/7-reasons-why-you-need-a-coaching-niche-to-become-rich-146260.htm Related Tips and Advices
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