Become a Business Coach Quickly: Niche Yourself

One of the first questions faced by those learning how to become a business coach is: “who am I going to serve?”

If you’re looking for high billable hourly rates and a huge impact as a business coach, niche yourself! It’s one of the fastest ways to increase your visibility and get more clients.

When compared to being a “generalist” business coach, one who will coach any business owner, there are some pretty compelling reasons to consider niching:

1. Improved response to your marketing. Specificity is one of the most powerful marketing concepts on the planet. The more you can address the precise needs, problems, and frustrations of your prospects, the more compelling your message will be. Niching allows you to speak directly to a given market segment, using their language and terminology…which will improve your marketing results.

2. Increased credibility. Almost nothing is as powerful as telling a prospective client, “I have worked with several businesses just like yours and have created these specific results.” It makes your prospect feel as though you truly are an expert who can help them in their individual circumstance.

3. Better access to databases. As opposed to generalized marketing databases, niching allows you to get clean, targeted lists to deliver your targeted message–and that will improve response, too.

4. More visibility. Niching gives you the opportunity to become a “micro-celebrity” in your market segment while it takes a lot more to become as visible in the general marketplace.

5. Better opportunities. When you are well-known in a niche, suddenly niche-specific opportunities open up–such as speaking gigs and writing assignments for associations and newsletters.

How to Choose a Niche as You Become a Business Coach

If you’re just now becoming a business coach and aren’t sure which niche to pursue, here’s my advice:

If you come from a specific business background–say you have experience as an executive in the IT or engineering sector–then start there. If not, and you’re not sure where to begin, then pursue the generalist route for a while. Experiment with clients in a few different sectors. Find out which clients you tend to have the easiest time getting results with, or which industries you enjoy more or feel particularly connected to. You can usually figure out which niche to pursue based on where you find the greatest success in your first round of clients.

Once you’ve found your first niche, keep looking for additional niches to add. I recommend keeping a balance of about 75% niche coaching engagements vs. 25% coaching engagements in “new-to-you” industries to expand your horizons and improve your coaching skills.

And for more great strategies for becoming a business coach, download our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach today!