Positioning: The Numbers

Have you captured your ideal positioning? If not, you might have a numbers problem.

Jonathan and I discuss niche positioning in light of the research conducted by David C. Baker for his book “The Business of Expertise”:

The ideal number of competitors and target clients in your niche to ensure it’s big enough to keep you profitably in business and small enough that you’re memorable.

Why fishing in the right barrel vs. trying to cover the ocean is an ideal strategy for a soloist.

The importance of finding your “unfair advantage”.

How to find and analyze a potential market niche, including government statistics, trade associations, and social media.

Quotables

“There’s this sort of tacit assumption that more prospects is better. So why would you narrow your focus on a subset of the whole universe?”—JS

“Maybe you don’t need to have a hundred thousand people on an email list to have a viable business.”—RM

“Would you rather be in the ocean with that hook, or would you rather be standing next to a barrel of trout?”—JS

“I don’t have to write about 20 different things. I don’t have to have 10 different products and services—I can just focus on whatever this particular group is most interested in.”—RM

“Where do you have an unfair advantage? Like where are you already connected with a bunch of people? That could be your target market.”—JS

“You have to be excited by the depths you’re going to go to when you decide to niche.”—RM

“I’ve just heard this story so many times when people finally niche down to an appropriate level…they start feeling traction right away.”—JS

“’I like all my clients the same.’ Nobody has ever said that to me. They’ll say ‘Oh let me tell you about Joe or Sarah. If I could fill my pipeline with people just like that, I would be thrilled.’”—RM