Figure out your Niche

Does this resonate?

You are so excited and passionate about the healing benefits of your techniques that you often describe your practice by listing all of them to anyone who will listen. You are certain in your heart that anyone and everyone will get amazing results if they would just come for a session, so you make sure your marketing materials are inclusive for everyone.

How is that working for you?

It's probably not working super well, and that's because it is one of the marketing mistakes that practitioners make from the heart. The truth is that we (myself included as someone who has done this) want to advertise the benefits of our modalities as a panacea (cure-all) for everyone because in our hearts we know our services can help others, and we want to help as many people as possible feel better as fast as possible. We really do. We sincerely care about everyone feeling well, and it's hard to wrap our minds around the idea that this kind of marketing does not help us attract the clients that we need to make our practice financially viable.

This is a really crucial step, so I want you to stay with me here. Please pause for a moment and take a deep breath and allow yourself to be open to this information I am going to share. If resistance comes up, don't judge yourself or this information. Keep breathing, and keep an open mind. Ok, ready? Put down your sincere passions (but it really can help anyone!) for a few minutes and come with me to explore the kind of heart-centered marketing that will attract the clients that your practice needs to float financially.

Bring to mind a product or a service that you purchased recently and think about what motivated you to invest your money in this way. It was either because you needed it to help you feel better in some way or because you wanted it to treat yourself in some way. In addition to your reason, I'm supposing that the product or service that you chose over other products and services resonated in your heart as the right product or service for you. It was right for you - that's why you purchased it. It spoke to you and you recognized that it would fulfill your need or desire. Let that sink in for a minute.

The marketing and advertising that gets the sale is the marketing and advertising that speaks to people so clearly that they easily recognize that it will solve their problem, meet their need or fulfill their desire.

Now how does that apply to you? Well, it's not your job to solve everyone's problems, meet everyone's needs or fulfill everyone's desires. It's your job to do what you do best, and do it for the people whose needs and problems are resolved through your best work. When you look at it that way, it's actually a relief not to have to be everything to everyone. You can just be the best you can be for the people who will appreciate it the most. Talk about fulfilling and satisfying work!

So how do you do this?

Last week's step in identifying your special skills, talents and gifts brought you part of the way to this type of resonant marketing. It helped you figure out what you do best. So now all you have to figure out is who your best work serves in the most successful way. This is called identifying your ideal client. It's honing in on the type of person who will resonate with the results you produce when you do your best work. These are the people who will become your best clients and biggest fans who rave about you to others because you give them what they need or desire so well that they can hardly believe their luck in finding you.

Once you know who you serve with your best work, you combine it with your special gifts, talents and skills to craft marketing materials that make it easy for your ideal client to recognize and resonate with how your services solve their problems, meets their needs, or fulfills their self-care desires.

Your Transformational Homework this week:
Honestly assess your current marketing materials and the way you describe your practice to others. Have a good friend go over these with you to let you know, gently, if what you're saying hones in on a specific group of people or tries to be a panacea to everyone. Take some time to do a walk through of a session with you. Identify what you do that's special and what results you produce that are exceptional.With a picture of your best work in mind, spend some time envisioning the type of person who will benefit the most from it. Really jot down some specifics that include what she needs & how she feels when she chooses a session with you, what she values, how your exceptional results resonate for her, and how she wants to feel when she leaves.Write up some marketing content that speaks to your ideal client directly, and then run it by one of your current clients who fits the profile. Get an honest opinion about whether your words speak to her from the heart or not and tweak until they do.

PS. If you find these steps valuable, and you're an emerging practitioner who needs so support in working through the steps so that you can transform your practice into an authentic, heart-centered, profitable practice, there's a workshop for you on January 10th. If you'd like to know more about how to apply these steps to transform your own emerging practice, join me at Learn the Ropes: Transforming your practice so it's profitable! here in Beverly, MA. Start off 2010 with all the keys you need for your practice to thrive