Have you niched yourself too far? [Ep. 222]

Michelle (: 00:01

Hello, hello, welcome back to the Real Truth About Business. It is the end of January already. 2024, we are already at the end of the first month. And January was absolutely nutty. I don't know if anybody else felt it. I think for me, one of the things that I really struggled with was that December was also very, very busy.

And I had a lot of projects that I kind of took on in December that overflowed into January. And then January we hit the ground running and it just was freaking busy. So February is kind of like, and I think a lot of people are feeling like this. So if you were feeling this way, know that you are not alone and you can start your new year or start fresh again February 1st or whatever it is. Okay. So.

Just take a minute, it's the end of the month, pause, reflect. If you do not have my strategic reflection worksheet, sign up for the Sunday morning brew, join the newsletter. I will make sure I get it added to one of your free resources because I think it is so important to spend the time just reflecting a little bit on the month, okay? Looking at your key data points, I'm gonna keep talking about this all year long.

I actually have to share with you guys that one of the members of the focus visionary who absolutely did not want to track her data Sent a message inside the group. What's app chat the other day? She was like I am having so much fun tracking my Like what I'm doing tracking my actions She said I'm realizing that like I go gung-ho and I get a bunch of stuff done and I like over Get over zealous and I beat my goal

And then the next week I'm like, oh, so tired and I just don't feel like it. And so I ended up coming up short, right? And so she's like, it's been such a powerful exercise to track my activity and my actions and actually track it along with my energy levels to figure out where the balance is. And like, this is the power of that. But that's not the topic of today's podcast. Today I wanna talk about niching yourself down too far.

Michelle (: 02:20

And this conversation also is stemming from the Focus Visionary Mastermind. It was stemming from a conversation with one of the members inside the group about being a little bit too niche. And I think we, I know in like online space, you know, every piece of advice you get is like to niche yourself down, niche yourself down, niche yourself down. And there's a million ways that you can niche. You can niche by industry. You can, you can, I am

one that says like your offers and how you serve tend to niche you down a little bit, right? Like, because for example, right now I have a VIP day, like a strategic focus intensive, it's a VIP day, a three hour mini session, right, a mini VIP day. I have a full VIP day or a full VIP month, and then I have rapid fire support and the mastermind. That's pretty much it. Like those are.

I'm not saying that we can't customize things and there's always ways, but like, if somebody, that's how I have found to work best, right? That's not what everybody's looking for, right? So your offers in itself can be a bit of a niche in that sense. But what I really want to talk about today is this like trap that we have kind of niched ourselves.

too far, right? Like we are over, we are limiting ourselves by being too niche. And so a little backstory to kind of get you like understanding and like see if you, this has probably happened to you because like everybody on the Mastermind Club's like, hey, I get it, I've been there, you know what I mean? Is one of the things is like, so for example, this person was a little hurt and frustrated because she had a client who had hired her for

one specific service and then the client went and hired somebody else for a similar service or like a strategy side right so she was doing more of the done for you and then she hired somebody else to do the strategy piece and she said I don't understand because I could have done the strategy side with her and very much what I do is very strategic and so I feel like I don't understand why she wouldn't come to me first

Michelle (: 04:40

when I'm already working with her on the done for you side. Right. And so the conversation came up and through a lot of conversation, a lot of feedback inside the mastermind was like, she probably didn't even realize that you do this. Right. Like she probably did not even realize that you offer the strategy or the strategic piece, understanding or thinking that you just did the done for you piece.

And I can tell you that I have been in this situation myself. Right? This happened a lot last year with the Hunter Coffee Chats Club. I got super niched into that, and I was really focused on it, and I was really trying to promote it. And everybody knew me for the Hunter Coffee Chats Club, because that's what I was promoting. And then next thing I know, I see people hiring others for the strategic planning side, the business coaching side, the consulting piece, the strategy piece.

buying courses on relationship marketing and how to incorporate that and how to have effective coffee chats and conversations. And I'm like, hello, I'm right here. I could do this for you. I can help you with this. This is in my zone of, you know, my zone of genius, my zone of expertise. But I think unfortunately, what's happening is that we have become so niche down, right? Like, because everybody says, oh, you have to get so specific and get.

and be very specific in what you do. And most of us are multi-passionate. Most of us have so many skills that we can offer and then we end up only talking about one or two and then we end up getting looked past or people don't realize it or people say like, oh my God, I had no idea you did that, right? And so it can really, really limit what you offer but also it can really limit your conversion. And the thing is, is that

Most of the time, most clients don't typically want to work with multiple different people, right? Like, I don't think people intend to want to hire all of these people or they do it out of spite or they do it because they don't feel like you are good enough. They do it because they don't think they have any other option, right? Because we have not educated them enough to say like, hey, by the way, here's what we're working on, but I can also help you with this, this and this.

Michelle (: 07:00

Okay, so I am a firm believer. Here's what I want you to understand is that you have to get specific in your social media or in your marketing and in your content, whatever, however you're promoting yourself, you have to have an entry point, right? You have to be very clear in how people can start to work with you. However, once somebody is in your world,

Do not be afraid to open up and expand on that and share with them how you can help them beyond that initial starting point, okay? This is an education piece. We have to be educating our clients, our audience, and letting them know like, here's what I can do, but I can also do this, or here's how this is going to play a role into this other thing or this next step, right?

You don't necessarily, again, like people don't want to work with multiple people. Not only that, it doesn't get people the best results, right? Like especially in this case with this mastermind participant is like, why would she hire if she was the one doing the done for you? And then her results are based on like the client is going to base the results on whether or not the done for you is working based on somebody else's strategy. That doesn't work. Right. OK.

And so you don't want people overlooking you and you also don't want clients not getting the right results simply because they're not hiring you for all of what you can do, okay? And I think we have become so programmed that we have to hire and work with a specialist for everything. I mean, this is in general. Like think about, like look at even the medical system. The medical system, every time you turn around, they're sending you to a specialist, a specialist, a specialist. Like there is no more just...

general practitioners. There's very few of them, at least here in Florida. There's very few people that are actual like internists or general practitioners. Everything is a specialist, a specialist. And it's like so hard. And so we've kind of gotten programmed to that. But even that, like even in the medical field, like the specialists don't talk to each other. And so what one person does affects how the other one does. You know what I'm saying? And so like all of these things, and then you end up not getting the best results.

Michelle (: 09:20

strictly because you're working with all these individual people that aren't talking to each other. Okay? So understand that you can lead with one thing and you have to be, but you can be kind of a Jack and Jill of all trades. And I know that goes against what people are saying. But again, if you can be of service to your clients in multiple different ways, why would you not want that? I know personally like,

I don't wanna have to manage a bunch of people. I don't wanna have to hire a bunch of people. So if I hire you for one thing and then I find out you can offer and do something else, that's a huge value add to me, okay? So just don't be afraid to offer additional services to your clients, to your prospects, to your audience, all right? Again, you don't wanna be selling all different things. Like each week you don't wanna be selling one thing.

right? Like or something different because that is where, so this is where it gets very confusing. This is where the gurus and all the information you're hearing is saying like get very specific in what you're promoting. Yes, because there's so much noise in the space and we are an information overload and we can only absorb so much information. Okay, we can only absorb so much. So we have to again get people in with some level of entry point.

However, once they are in your world, open up and let them know how it you can help. I was just talking with somebody on a coffee chat who does fitness programs and specialized, customized workout programs, strength training, movement. And that's what she led with, right? She was telling me, this is what I do. I have a customized app. They do coaching. We look at like their body and all of these different things. And then she also mentioned, and I can do nutrition.

All right. So again, like this is an example of like, she focuses on the fitness side, the strength training, the movement side, but she also offers nutrition. So this is an education piece, letting your clients know, Hey, by the way, I can also work with you on your nutrition if need be. You don't have to go hire somebody else to do your nutrition because I'm working with you on your strength training, right? Like we can work together. I can do it all, but she's not promoting nutrition because it's not what she wants to.

Michelle (: 11:41

be known for, it's not what she wants to lead with, but it's in addition to. You see what I'm saying? So hopefully this is starting to make sense and I'm not just like over talking, but understanding that it requires education, okay? And so you have to have a plan for educating your clients, right? This all comes down to educating. So if I go back to the original story,

Through the mastermind, we gave her some tips. She had a call set up with the client and I said, I honestly guarantee that she just didn't know that you offered this service. That's exactly what happened. She came back, she said, thank you so much to everybody. There was a lot of really great feedback, things to say, how to open up the conversation. It was amazing. This is why I think masterminds are so powerful, but we're going to talk about that in a couple of weeks.

She said, you guys were right. It just wasn't clear to her. She had no idea that I offered this. She had no idea that I could help her with that. She was so appreciative of my honesty. She was appreciative that I let her know. She appreciated my opinion, my perspective on it. And, you know, so again, I don't think, if you feel like people are passing you by and they're hiring somebody else, don't take offense to it.

And really, but really look at it and think like, do they even know? Do they even realize that I can do that for them or that I can help them with that? If not, then have conversations, right? Talk to people, let people know that you can do this, right? Like educate your clients, educate your audience, educate your referral partners. Hey, here's what I like to do. Here's what we get started with.

However, I also can offer these services. You know, you have to educate, all right? And so you have to be very careful in how, again, strategic positioning, I wanna make sure that I'm touching on some really key points, is how are you positioning yourself in the market, right? You also can position yourself as a specialist that has multiple skills.

Michelle (: 13:59

Okay, like just because you're a specialist or an expert or whatever you want to call yourself doesn't mean that you can't have multiple different skills. You don't, you know, you get to be a specialist in growth, right? Like I consider myself a growth strategy specialist, a growth strategy expert. Well, that looks different for a lot of people. For some people, growth looks at financial. For some people, growth looks at offers.

marketing, sales, right? Like there are so many key pieces to business that I can help with. And so that's why I just kind of generalize it as growth strategy or strategic growth expert. But it also means like you have to like position yourself in a way that says, this is the result I get you. And here's the ways that we can do it. Right.

I think that's what's really most important when it comes to niching, and is really focusing on the result. Think about that. Like really, really think about that. How many times have you thought about like, your niche can be the result that you provide. It can be the outcomes. It can be the service. It can be the way you support people, right? So there's so many different ways. So don't get wrapped up in this trap.

of niche, like I only work. I'm not saying that like, it doesn't work really well for some people, right? Like there's some people who only work with real estate agents. There's some people that only work with beauty industry, the beauty industry, health and wellness. Like there's all of that and there's power in niching. But even in that, like the people that I know that like only work with realtors.

they offer them a multitude of different services, right? So just be careful getting too specific to a point where it ends up costing you business, okay? Position yourself as the expert that you want to be known for and then understanding that you can expand on that. That's the biggest key takeaway here.

Michelle (: 16:18

You can expand on what you do and what you offer to somebody once they are in your world. All right. So continue. You know, just think about as you are thinking about this and maybe as you're listening to this, maybe you're feeling like, man, this is happening to me. I feel like my audience just doesn't know that I offer all of these other things. They don't realize that I can do all of these things or they probably don't even know.

I want you to really ask yourself, when's the last time you actually told your audience that you do these things? Again, so if you're feeling like people are passing you by, why don't you send an email? Send a DM, like, hey, reach out to somebody and say, hey, Michelle, just wanted to reach out, follow up, see how you're doing. People hate small talk, I get that. But just say, hey, I didn't know if you realized, but one of the things that I've been offering or one of the things that I do for my clients is this service, and I just realized,

I was working with somebody and she had no idea that I did that. So I realized like if she didn't have any idea, you probably didn't either. And so I'm just doing my due diligence and sharing it with you. Okay. You could word that however you want. That's just a quick example of me off the cuff. But here's the thing. Like we get to, we're afraid of sales. We're afraid of being salesy. But again, what if that person is looking for something? She's already in your world or they, you know, he, she, it doesn't matter. Like gender, I just say she, please don't get offended.

It's just who I deal with on a regular basis, but I really honestly, you know, they just don't realize it, right? So stop being afraid of sales. And I think this is what happens is like we are so afraid that people are gonna feel like we're constantly upselling them, but it's not. What if that person is like really looking for that, you know, you're a level of expertise or

Maybe you're already working with them, or maybe you worked with them in the past, and they're sitting here trying to figure out how you can help them in the future, and they don't know, right? Stop assuming people know. They don't. They don't know, right? They make their own assumptions too. You assume they know, they assume you don't offer that service, they go find somebody else, you get offended, right? Like it's this ever, like, constantly evolving, like, chase.

Michelle (: 18:43

all simply because communication is lacking. And that's what this comes down to, is communication, education. So, be very, very careful in getting to niche, right? Like especially if you're multi-passionate and especially if you know you can honor those skills. All right, if you know without a doubt you can offer done for you and also offer the strategy side, then freaking own that and tell people that. Own it. If you can only do one of them kind of half ass, then again,

stick with your niche, right? Like I think that's part of the problem too is that we've gotten, there were so many people that are like, oh, I can do that, and they really couldn't, but they didn't want to say no, so they just said yes. But the thing is, you are a skilled professional. You know what you can do, you know what you can stand behind and you know what results you can stand behind and what outcomes you can provide. And if you feel 100% confident that you can do more than one thing, then freaking own that and share it with your clients. Share it with your audience and let people know.

Do not get offended when somebody passes you by and hurt, all simply because of a lack of understanding, a lack of education. We have become too.

Michelle (: 19:55

We just, our communication is so far lacking because we rely so heavily on the assumption of other people. We rely so heavily on content. We rely and we're just inundated with all this noise. So stop assuming, right? Let's just go back to that golden rule. Stop assuming people know and just really educate them. All right? And don't pigeonhole yourself into this freaking...

box, this trap of feeling like I have to be this person and this person only. No. Be of service. Be of service to your clients. That's what's most important. I don't really give a shit what every other coach in this world says like, oh you can't do this and this. Yes you can. If you feel good enough about it and it makes you happy and it's paying your bills and it is getting you to where you want to go and it is

Guess what? You get to do it. If you wanna be a Jack and Jill of all trades and you know you can sustain it and it's fulfilling you and your goals, then freakin' do it, okay? Do not feel like you have to fall into this trap of being so far-niche down, okay? All right, don't forget, it's the end of the month. Do your strategic reflection. If you don't have the worksheet.

The link to the Sunday Morning Brew is always in the show notes. Every Sunday, it's the resource library. By the way, I also drop my networking tracker in there. I've got a sales and marketing activity in there, like all kinds of really cool resources inside of there. So please, please make sure you check it out. Do not skip over your strategic reflection. It's January, start the year off right. Really look at what's working, okay? I will talk to you soon.