4 Questions I Ask Every Client to Clarify Their Perfect Niche (Ep171)

Speaker A: Hey there. Are you struggling to figure out the perfect niche for your consulting or coaching? Well, you won't be after you tune into today's Consulting Matters episode where I will be taking you behind the scenes to the four questions I ask my clients all the time to clarify their niche fast, without the spin or second guessing themselves. And welcome to the Consulting Matters podcast. This is the show for purpose driven consultants and coaches who are ready to own the power of what they do and and position themselves to greater impact and income. I'm, um, your host, Betsy Jordan, and I am both a business mentor and brand positioning and messaging strategist. And I'm here to help you turn your complex ideas, your vast strengths into clear client converting messages and strategies. You can find out all the things I do to help my clients on my website@www.betsyjordan.com. and don't forget, Jordan is with a Y. So today we're getting into the whole concept of figuring out your niche. So last week on the show I had Deborah Mass, who is my client, and I've been working with her for the past six months and really clarifying her niche, her ideal client, her brand positioning, our messaging, her offers, her website and everything else. And so we got into a great conversation last week. If you missed the episode, definitely go back and tune in all about how she really identified that giving herself a promotion was the thing she wanted to do with her business and what unclocked her niche. Clarity was asking herself that question, like, you know, how do I make sense of all the things that I'm great at? And then coming to the realization like, hey, it's whatever will give me a promotion, you know, is what she wants to build her business on. So that was really amazing, great insight. And so many people are probably thinking like, great for Deborah, you know, she got clarity on her niche and her direction. How do I apply this to me? So how do I make this happen in my world? So that's what I want to do today is I want to get into the practical how to's. The exact questions I ask clients like Debra. Like I might not stumble on that perfect question that worked for her, you know, in the course of that conversation. But at least virtually through this podcast, hopefully I'm going to give you some insight. And I want to tell you right off the bat, I get it. Figuring out your niche is not easy. It was not easy for me when I was first starting out my business and it was definitely not easy when I was pivoting my business from consulting to the brand positioning and messaging I do now, you know, it's really hard for us, you know, when we have a lot to offer. That's definitely a part of it. But it's also nerve wracking around the whole idea of choosing. And I'm going to get into that later on in the show about why choosing is such a big deal. But the thing is, is not having niche clarity is even worse. Like if you're not clear on who you want to help and the problems you solve, like there's no focus, you're all over the place. You know, that leads to very difficult messaging. You know, where people are just like tuning out and unclear and trying to figure this out on your own can be really challenging, you know, because we don't necessarily always know the questions to ask ourselves. Like in asking ourselves, like, hey, what's my niche? Doesn't always get you to those outcomes. So the result is, is we spend hours, or at least my clients are spending hours on AI that come to me with these reams and reams of like all of these directions and ideas and what they could do, but no real clarity in the middle of it. So that's what this episode is here to answer for you is how do I get that clarity? And the thing is, is that you can't just ask one question to get to your niche, you gotta triangulate it with a bunch of other questions. And so that's what I'm gonna share with you in today's episode is the four questions I ask my clients to get them to that niche. Ideal client clarity. So they could have focus and movement and momentum in their business. So that is what we're going to be doing. I'm super excited to get into that with you. Before we dive in real quick, you know, when you're done listening, be sure to grab my free messaging guide which is designed to help you clarify and articulate what you do with clarity and confidence@www.betsyjordan.com downloads. Now, without further ado, let's get into the four key questions that I ask every client to help them figure out their niche and ideal client. So the first question, are you clear on what a niche even is? And are you truly ready to nail yours? So it sounds a little bit like two questions in one, so I'm just going to put them together and I asked this question in so many different ways, in so many different opportunities. Like when I'm meeting with a client in a discovery meeting, this is one of the questions I'll go over with them, because I want to make sure we're on the same page and when I'm onboarding clients. And the thing is, is what your niche is and isn't is really important. So your niche is not your methodology or, or your big idea. It's really your brand position, which is really grounded in who you serve. So when you think about your niche, it's first who, then what. It's really focusing on who you want to help and the problems you solve. And your brand position is where you can make the connection between that and you, you know. So your brand position is also can be seen as the unique space you occupy in the market and the minds of your ideal clients. You could also look at it as, this is where you fit in and stand out. And it's really clarifying, like, this is your ideal client. This is the problems you solve for them. You know, picture of them over here, and then there's you and what you uniquely do. You want to bring those two things together, and that is your niche. Messaging are, uh, the words that you use to express it. So think about brand positioning as the strategy, messaging as the words that you use to express that strategy. So when I explain this whole concept of brand positioning and messaging, especially my discovery meetings, you know, people are nodding their heads like, ye, yeah, this is exactly what I want. And then I share. Are you sure? Because in order to make this happen, there's this number one thing you need to make a shift on, which is you have to shift the spotlight from you and what you do onto your ideal client. And this is where it gets really hard, you know, and so this is why, conceptually, you might be saying, you know, what a niche sounds awesome. I really want to get clarity. And then where you might say, I'm, um, not 100% sure. And this is why, you know, number one is brand positioning really is like opposite day, you know, and so there's a whole big learning curve that comes with it. So everything that you've done in the past to get a job, write a resume, or even craft a mission statement starts with you and what you do. And brand positioning flips this thing around. It starts with your ideal client, and then you align what you do to what they want or need. You know, again, it's first, who, then why. Shifting the spotlight from yourself to your ideal client and their journey of transformation requires both new learning and a mindset shift. And that's because you're not simply adopting a new approach. Like, when I go through the brand positioning process with my Clients. It's not just, hey, here's this new way of doing something that you've never done before. It's that you're replacing something that's been reinforced throughout your career. And it's how most people naturally think and what everybody's telling you to do. Like, think about it, you know, how many times have you been told, like, hey, just go out there and get clients, you know, or a subcontract, which are job hunting strategies. And people will tell you all the time, like, hey, you know it. Before you work on your brand, positioning, your niche and any of those things, just go get clients. But the reality is, how could you just go get clients if you don't even know who they are? If you don't know who you're solved, what problems you're solving for them or who these people are? Like, how are you just going to get a lot, Go out there and get clients? Like, if you're going to go to your referral network, what are you going to tell them? Like, hey, please introduce me to nobody. You know, you need to have clarity in your ideal client. But it's such opposite day from how we think about it, because when you get a job, you know, you have your expertise and you look for somebody who has these open positions. But the type of work we do as consultants and coaches, especially in the transformational space, you know, these job opportunities are not sitting on somebody's org chart or even in their mind, you know, and so you need to really focus on who. And the thing is, too, is when it comes to clear messaging and getting clarity on, on, uh, activating your referral network to help you get introduced to the right clients, like when you are all aspirational or you just talk about your methodology, people don't get what you're talking about, you know, and none of us come to business ownership with this, uh, perspective on brand positioning and messaging and really understanding how do I talk about what I do from the perspective of my ideal clients and really what I help them do, you know, I sure didn't. You know, I've shared this story many times on the show where, where I realized, like, I had this massive spotlight problem. I told the story of when I was having dinner with this Google exec, you know, and he asked me like, oh, Betsy, what do you do? And I'm like, oh, I ignite leadership and organizational potential, you know, and he just, like, gave me that look and he's like, no, what do you do? He, like, leaned in. He's like, no. And you know, he was, he was intentional about me recognizing some of this on my own until he finally is like, okay, let me tell you what's going on. You are trying to put something in the market that people don't have any words for and nor they are are they interested in it. Nobody wants to ignite leadership and organizational potential. Nobody's waking up at night, you know, three in the morning and typing into Google like, hey, how could I find somebody ignite my leadership and organizational potential? You know, that never was going to work. I was never going to make this compelling or stand out in any way. And this is where AI does not help us. You know, there's a space, space and a time for AI, but it really does not get brand positioning. I cannot tell you how many times a client shows up in our initial work together with these AI notes saying that their brand position is that they can see around corners or streamline complexity. And if someone told you like, hey, this is my niche, I see around corners of streamline complexity, would you know who to refer them to and when? Of course not. It's not even a complete strength, distinct description or an expertise like see around what corners for what reasons, streamline whose complexity? You know, example of a spotlight on you problem that AI doesn't necessarily always know how to help you with is let's say you had a CRM system. And if you asked AI like hey, could you help me clarify its brand positioning? It might say, hey, this is a system that helps you manage the complexities of your customers relationships in one place and access the information you need about them on demand. Like it's just making the descriptions of the features and the benefits maybe of the CRM system sound more interesting. But that's not a brand position. That's just like words maybe on a sales page just to say, hey, what do you get in the CRM, um, system? Brand positioning is when you shift the spotlight onto the client and you say nothing about the CRM system because clients don't care about that, they care about the results. So you might say something that is more powerful, like I help financial services firms outperform their competition by turning their lukewarm customers into raving fans. So you're not talking about the CRM system, you're talking about the results, the transformation. That is what brand positioning is. So people will know how to refer the right person to somebody who says, I help financial services firms outperform the competition. You know what it's telling you is there's financial services firms that's the who they want to outperform, uh, the competition. That's the goal. And what's in their way is that they have lukewarm customers and they want to flip that around. You know, another example of a spotlight problem and fix is let's say you put the spotlight on you is that, hey, I offer this like stakeholder data centric approach to leadership development and I use this proprietary assessment tool that's all about the methodology. And that is not a brand position, that is not a niche. But if you flip it and you put the spotlight on the ideal client and you put it into the context that's bigger and more significant, that relates to what the client wants. You could say I help leaders of growing companies build the executive bench that they need to scale their success to the next level. See the difference between the two? So the spotlight is a big part of your, of clarifying your niche. And moving that spotlight to your ideal client is what will create that big, that clear position in the marketplace, make it super easy for the people who, who could recognize themselves, say I'm your ideal client or I know how to introduce you to them. That is a huge part of it. But it is opposite day. It's opposite of what you know. The other reason why choosing your niche is really difficult is it's a strategy decision. And strategy requires choice. At its core, strategy is simply a series of difficult decisions and trade offs. In fact, the root of the word decide comes from the Latin meaning to cut off. So choosing an ideal client and defining the context for your help and clarifying what you do can feel like you're limiting your opportunities or leaving money on the table. So this is where all those scarcity fears, you know, start raising their head. But the reality is strategic focus works more like pruning than cutting back. So like, just as pruning helps a rose bush grow stronger and produce more blooms, and narrowing your focus, clarifying your niche positions you for the right clients and leads to those messages that resonate, which creates m more opportunities, not fewer. But it doesn't feel that way. And then the third big reason why, uh, we have to test to make sure. Are you sure you really want to figure out your niche is choosing a niche is vulnerable. You know, putting a stake in the ground and saying out loud to the market in your network, this is me, this is who I'm here to serve is both empowering and extremely vulnerable. It stirs up those fears of being seen in imposter syndrome. And so that's why that there's this payoff to the confusion and double mindedness, you know, like, I really want to choose a niche and get known for what I want to be known for and I don't want to limit myself. So you go back and forth on this one. So bottom line, to have a standout consulting or coaching brand with clear messages that resonates with the clients you want requires clear brand positioning first. There is no other way around it. So to get the benefits of clear messaging, you need to make decisions on your brand position, which is your niche and your ideal client, or it's grounded in that. And therefore you're going to have to, uh, be willing to embrace the vulnerability, the learning curve, the fears, the self doubts that come with making that choice. So now it's your turn to reflect on your answer to this question. So before you spend one minute trying to figure out your niche, ask yourself if you're really ready to figure it out and if you're willing to cultivate the courage to address the fears, the imposter syndrome, and the vulnerability that will likely get triggered. You don't need to have full confidence like, oh yeah, you know, I could totally do that. It's the courage, you know, and we all know what courage is, is courage means that you move forward despite those feelings and of fears and imposter syndrome and all of that kind of stuff. So don't spend any minute figuring out your niche unless you come to this decision that, yes, I'm ready and I want it. Got it. Awesome. Okay, let's move on to question two. And question two is really more of a set of questions to get you to who your ideal client is and how would you define and describe them? So the overarching question is, is how would you define and describe your ideal clients? But it's really hard just to answer that question alone. Just like it's hard to answer the question of like, what's my niche? So we have to ask a bunch of other questions to get to this clarity. So let me give you some examples of some of the questions that uh, that you might pose to yourself to help you arrive at this clarity. So one of the questions is, you know, of all the types of expertise that you've built over the years, which one do you want to use as the foundation of your business moving forward? And who is this person and this expertise most relevant for? So this was the question that provided the breakthrough for Deborah. You, you know, so we unpacked her career backstory in the different iterations of her career, identified her applied expertise of integrating the ROI methodology into her L and D leadership approach, which allowed her to elevate her own strategic positioning and her L and D and reposition L and D as these essential measurable driver of the business. So when we asked the question like, well, who's the logical ideal client for this expertise? It became obvious that it was L and D executives. So that's one way you can figure out who your ideal client is. Another way you can look at it is look at the backstory behind your consulting or coaching. You know, ask yourself like, hey, what's the change you want to see in people or the organization that's driving you towards consulting or coaching? You know, and then think about, well, who's the person that you envision going through this change? So a couple episodes on the show, I had Rochelle on this, on the show. So Rochelle Stone. And we talked about her experience figuring out her brand positioning back in 2017. So her coaching business was born out of her full body experience with burnout and recovering from that. So that pointed to her ideal clients who are type A overachievers like her, you know, typically executive type of people in high stress careers. And so that became obvious as we unpacked her backstory. Or another question you could ask yourself to get to who your ideal client is and how would you define and describe them? It could be something like, who are your best clients that you've loved working with and who equally love working with you and what do those people have in common? Like this question is what totally worked for me, especially when I was in that pivot point, you know, when I was pivoting from consulting and working with executives to working in with individuals who are consultants and coaches. And what I started paying attention to is who I love working with. I liked working with mid career professionals. I wanted to work with consultants and coaches who were in it for reasons beyond the money that they wanted, more purpose and meaning in the work in their life. And all of my clients tend to have some sort of sage, strategic, analytical side to them, you know, and they're after sustainable success versus like hey, you too can make a million dollars consulting or coaching. Like that's not my ideal client. So there was like this value aspect to them as well. So from a demographic standpoint, my ideal people are mid career, you know, so I want people who are at least like 40s plus, um, consulting or coaching business owners or somewhere on that journey is a big part of it. They're purpose driven from a value standpoint and from a personality standpoint. The strategic, analytical type of people, you know, I work best with. So that could be another way that you could figure out who your ideal client is. I, I wish I could tell you, like, hey, here's this one magic question that will give you instant clarity on your ideal client and niche. But, you know, you just might have to ask yourself several different questions. So you might have to triangulate it. But if you pay attention, you know, start really paying attention to the people around you, I believe the right clients are going to appear because they are in your orbit. Somehow they will make logical sense. Like your ideal clients are people that you have some sort of experience working with in the past or are an earlier version of you. So it, you know, I've had one client who never worked in corporate. He was somewhere in his 30s, never really had a fully professional job, and he wanted to work with executives on burnout and stress. Like, that was a kind of a leap to be able to say, okay, I get it, you know, you want it, you have an expertise over here, but you haven't worked in the C suite, so that might not totally be relevant. So you just need to pay attention to who your ideal clients are. They're going to be in your orbit, they're going to be people that you've worked with in the past in some sort of iteration, or they are going to be, you know, an earlier version of you, but they are going to make sense. So now it's your turn. I want you to think about who is the client that lights you up. And this is one of the key phrases I use all the time with my clients in our one on one work. They probably get so sick of, of this. If you are listening and you are my current or recent client, you're probably like, oh my gosh, do you have any other phrases, Betsy? But it's, if you had it all your way, who would you love to fill your client pipeline with? Like, you really want to choose that direction because, you know, the most, the, the best clients aren't there just to make you happier, but to make you more profitable. So answer that question around. Like, who would you love to fill your client pipeline with? Okay, question three, the biggie, the most important question. What is the context for your help? This question is about when and why someone needs you. And this reason isn't that they're looking for a consultant or coach. So let me give you some tough love here. No one hires us for what we do. They hire us for the results that they get from what we do. Because let's be honest, what we do isn't fun. It's challenging. We force people to confront their dirty laundry, things that are not working the way that they want them to, or the fear of the unknown. The process isn't fun. Like, I know this firsthand because I just signed up for my own coach. I just hired a personal trainer to help me build muscle and get more fit. And I hate weight training so much. I'm going to see my trainer today, and I love her as an individual, but I'm not looking forward to what she's going to make me do. Like, uh, not at all. Am I looking forward to the results? Yes. Am I looking forward to the process? No. There's nothing that she could say that that's going to make me more jazzed about lifting weights. You know, she could tell me about, you know, the specialness of the bar that she might eventually try to get me to, or how cool the weights are never going to like it. You know, like, I'm going to like the results, so I'll get committed. So the context for your help is when a, uh, client has a goal that's specific, meaningful, and qualitatively different from what they're experiencing today. And they somehow cannot achieve this on their own. And that is why they need us. You know, so, for example, I've had Leslie Faircloth on the show, and people don't hire her. Her diverse small business owners don't hire her because they're inherently excited to learn the inner workings of the defense industry contracting process. It's because they want to land those contracts to fuel their business growth and compete against the, um, larger, more established players. You know, my clients do not love everything that I do with them to try to get them to clarity and confidence what in what they do. Like, if you listen to the show for a bit, you've heard their struggles, you know, but what they like is the outcome and the resolution of the problem that was standing in the way of their goal. So now it's your turn. I want you to think about your ideal client, why they really need your help. And it's not because they are looking to hire a consultant or coach. It's because they have a single defined goal that they are trying to achieve, and something is in their way. You know, maybe their goal is about their personal life. Like, maybe they're trying to find love or build a harmonious family, or maybe it's about their career where they're trying to start a. A business or become a speaker. Or maybe it's about their organization, where they're trying to take their company to the next level or turn a startup into a thriving enterprise. You know, what is it that they're trying to achieve and then what's in their way? What's the big time performance problem theirs or somebody else is that is standing in the way of that goal. And if it's changed, if that, that performance problem is flipped around, would allow them to step into the future state that they want. You know, do they lack clarity and vision? You know, are they have a struggles with conveying their ideas in a compelling way? Do they lack the right people, customers, clients, investors? Are they using outdated leadership and operating practices? You know, that's what you really want to unpack. And this is the hardest thing. It's almost like this is the million dollar question, like what's the context for your help? And if you don't know the answer to these questions, here's some tips of what to do about it. Talk to them. You know, just go talk to your clients. Like you can definitely, you know, just have like a 10 minute, 10 minute coffee or you know, virtual coffee on Zoom or take somebody out for coffee. People really want to help and all you have to do is to say, you know what, I want to be able to attract more people just like you. Can I have a few minutes of your time and ask them questions about, you know, what was the situation or challenge that they were dealing with before you started working together. Or you can, you can ask them that you've worked with in the past of like, hey, you know what, what do you think I do that's different than that other people, you know, but how does that relate to the problem you were trying to solve? Like just ask them and then really listen to what they have to say. I mean, you could send out a survey, you could do a lot of different things to connect with clients. You know, you could stalk people on social media, see what they're posting. You know, you can go look at Amazon reviews and see what they're talking about as it relates to books. Like, hey, they really like this about a book or they didn't. You know, so you can start to think about different ways that you can get in front of clients and have conversations with them. But the key is, is ask them questions and really listen to what they had to say. You know, when I was pivoting my business from consulting to what I do now, that was the thing that I did is I listened deeply. I stopped trying to tell the market what I Wanted it to want from me and I started listening. People are coming to you for help all the time. They're just intuitively are guessing what you're good at and what kinds of problems you're there to help them solve? You know, are they coming to you because they're like, oh my finances are out of control and they're coming to you for that problem? Or is it that they're struggling in their relationships and they know that you could help them find their way through, you know, or are they struggling with a complex situation and they want to look at something differently? I don't know what it is, but this is an opportunity for you to get more curious and really talk to people. Okay, so now you got your to do's is to answer the context of your help and if you can't go talk to people. Now let's get to question four. What are the gaps in the market that you can uniquely fill so the competition becomes irrelevant when you fill a gap that no one else is filling. So what you want to do is identify what your client is doing today to solve their problem and achieve their goal and in what ways those solutions are totally crushing it and what's missing and then just go the other way. You know what I love about what I do is I created my own niche. Like sure there's a ton of business coaches, but most of them focus on marketing and sales and the trend is towards the one to many offers. And I've gone the other way, I've gone to bespoke. You know, there's a ton of branding firms out there, but they don't have my 30 years experience in the consulting or coaching industry or my unique gift of framing ideas. So the thing is here is to stand up the uh, market. Like don't focus on being better, focus on being different. You know. So this is the part of the branding process I would suggest that you can leverage AR to some degree. Like you could ask AI like hey, who are people going to when they should go to me and what way are those solutions working and where are the gaps? But as long as you're talking to people, you know, you'll get more insight if you ask them about the solutions that they're going to and their solution frustrations or wants. Like on my, on my website when people sign up for an intro call with me, I have an intake form and on that intake form I have a question where I ask people like what they've tried to solve their problems, it didn't work and why didn't it work? And I get so much insight from this information that it helps me think about my offers, it helps me think about the solutions. Like when I'm trying to create a proposal for a specific client, you know, just asking people to understand just the problems they have. And one of the problems they have is they can't solve the problem their own and they can't solve the problem with existing solutions. And that is where your niche could fit in is like, this is the gaps in the market that I fill. Now it's your turn. Who are your ideal clients going to, when they should be coming to you? And, and in what ways are those solutions lacking? Again, what's the market gaps that you can fill? So now let's recap, because we talked about a lot, so you've got my backstage view into my process. Let's recap what we talked about. Let me give you some additional next steps. So clear messaging flows from a clear brand position, which can also be called your niche. This identifies where you fit in and stand out in the crowded consulting or coaching market. To me, this is the space in the market that is set aside for you and your unique passions, gifts and expertise. And um, let me tell you, in my 10 plus years of doing this brand positioning and messaging work with clients, I have not had two clients who share the exact same brand position. So when you think about it from this perspective, figuring out your perfect niche isn't about winning against the competition, but really making that competition, again, irrelevant. Because the truth is, there's room for all of us at the table. The second point I want to recap on uncovering your perfect niche isn't just to make you happier, but more profitable. But to experience those benefits, you have to be willing to pay the price, which includes shifting the spotlight from you onto your ideal clients and the opposite day experience that comes with that, the challenge of making a strategic choice, and all the scarcity fears that stirs up and dealing with the vulnerability of getting known for what you want to be known for. And once you say yes to this, it's time to focus on your ideal client and their point of departure. Who they are, what they want, what's in the way of getting what they want, and why they haven't been able to solve their problems on their own or with other solutions. And what are the market gaps you can fill. So your next steps are pay attention, your ideal client, your niche is right there in front of you. Ask more questions and listen deeper. And then trust when you choose your niche that the universe will conspire to help you succeed. When you choose the right niche, the perfect one, the one where you can align your expertise, your strengths or passions to the person that you feel meant to serve. When you have this type of authenticity and alignment, your success is inevitable. So that is it for now. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on any episode. Rate and review it. I totally appreciate it and share it with any colleagues that you think it would benefit. And until next time, thanks so much for listening.