* Highly
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15
Minutes A Day To Personal Freedom…
Just
think, reaching your goals this year could make the difference…
Between
retiring with just enough to get by... or with a millionaire's
portfolio…
Between
having a job you dread going to every day... or the job you’ve
always dreamed about…
Read
on…
-
Charlie Byrne
"Very
narrow areas of expertise can be very productive. Develop
your own profile. Develop your own niche."
-
Leigh Steinberg
Think
Small!
By
Bob Bly
Over
the years, I've met dozens of people who want to become speakers,
consultants, coaches, TV show hosts, or best-selling book authors.
Nine out of 10 have told me that they want to speak, write,
or coach people in "leadership" ... "success" ... "motivation" ...
or some similarly broad topic.
These
wannabes are thinking big - pursuing broad areas in which millions
of potential readers, clients, and customers are seeking advice.
And I can virtually guarantee you that most of them are going
to fail miserably.
The
problem is that they are thinking big - when they should be
thinking small.
What do I mean by "thinking small"?
"Micro-niching."
My
friend, speaker Wally Bock, defines a micro-niche as "the
intersection of a skill or discipline with an industry."
So "customer
service" is not a micro-niche.
"Banking" is
not a micro-niche.
But "customer
service skills for bank tellers" IS.
Why
should you narrow the focus of your business - and target a
small micro-niche - rather than offer a big idea, service,
or product that everyone wants?
There
are two reasons why micro-niching is a smart business strategy.
The
first is competition.
If
you want to position yourself as a "customer service guru," there's
a lot of competition. Everybody and his brother are trying
to cash in on the need for customer service training. And the
barriers to entry in this field are low.
On
the other hand, if you want to become known as the "customer
service guru" in the banking industry, there's a lot less
competition - because it's a narrow niche.
The
second reason why micro-niching is a good strategy is credibility.
Let's
say you have worked as a bank teller for the last 11 years.
If you proclaim yourself to be an expert in customer service,
I'm going to be skeptical. And, more than likely, you'll have
a difficult time proving your claim to me, your skeptical prospect.
But
if you proclaim yourself to be an expert in customer service
for the banking industry ... AND you tell me that you have
over a decade of experience in retail banking ... well, you're
instantly credible and believable.
As
Michael Masterson said in Message
#1865, generalists are going the way of the
dodo and the dinosaur. Customers want to deal with vendors
who are perceived as experts in their field.
A
few years ago, I opened the newspaper to the "Dear Abby" column
and saw that a reader had written to express his disapproval
of the way Abby had answered a particular question. His letter
began with the most wonderfully sarcastic line: "Dear
Abby - How nice it must be to know everything about everything!"
Your
customers are smart. They realize that no one can possibly
know everything about everything, or even about most things.
The broader the area of expertise you claim for yourself, the
less believable you are.
By
micro-niching, you become the "credible expert." People
believe you more readily ... and want to do business with you
because you're a specialist in exactly the service they need.
It's
a win-win situation.
They
get more accurate advice, better service, and confidence in
you, their expert advisor.
You
get more business, at higher fees, with clients who respect
you and listen to what you tell them.
By
the way, the narrower and more specialized your micro-niche,
the higher the fees you will command - and the easier it will
be to get leads and close sales.
For
instance, offering your services as a "marketing consultant" is
a tough field to break into, because so many people peddle
marketing advice. Positioning yourself as a "software
marketing consultant" has been a great micro-niche ...
except more and more people are doing it, so the field is getting
crowded.
But
my friend Fred Gleeck positions himself as a marketing consultant
for the self-storage industry. There is little or no competition
- and Fred owns most of that market. After all, how many marketing
advisors are interested in self-storage - or even know anything
about marketing self-storage services?
Precious
few, of course.
So
the demand for self-storage marketing advice greatly outweighs
the supply - and Fred can pretty much name his own price.
Now,
maybe micro-niching won't bring you the fame of a Dr. Phil
or a Dr. Ruth. But other than that, what's not to like?
So
take my advice - and find yourself a micro-niche today.
It
will do your business good.
[Ed.
Note: Bob Bly is a popular Early to Rise columnist,
self-made multi-millionaire, and the author of 70 books. He
is also the editor of ETR's
Direct Marketing Masters Edition - a program
to help you start your own successful direct-mail business.
Check
out Bob's
website to sign up for his free e-letter.]
* Highly
Recommended *
Uncover
Your Fortune In This Hidden Real Estate Bargain Town
Real
estate markets go through cycles. Today, many US markets
have hit their highest peak, while others are just starting
to climb. Right now, I’m building fortunes
not just despite of, but because of this fact.
Following
vigorous research and travel, I’ve managed to sift through
hundreds of local US real estate markets… and uncover
the 12 Best Value Markets in the nation. Find
out which surprising cities made the grade,
why… and how you can cash
in today.
-
Justin Ford
Editor,
Main Street Millionaire
Can
Practice Turn You Into the Next Tiger Woods?
By
Michael Masterson
In Message
#382, I talked about Tiger Woods and
Michael Jordan. If you had to make a list of the greatest
athletes alive today, these two would certainly be at
or near the top. But what is most remarkable about them
is not their natural talent but their work ethic.
As
I said in that article, "I think it's fair to say that
anyone who gets to the top of his field is a hard worker. And
that's probably why most Americans admire people who work hard.
I certainly do. I believe there is a direct relationship between
hard work and success. Those who work harder achieve more.
"Yes,
talent helps. But talent is not something we can choose.
"You
can't increase your natural talents, but you can work hard
to get better. And sometimes if you work hard enough, you will
arrive at a point where your skills will look like natural
talent."
In Message
#1875, I told you how memory expert
K. Anders Ericsson discovered that people who work the
hardest at perfecting their skills become the top performers
in their fields. He also discovered that these top performers
practice differently than most of us. He noticed that
they are very focused and attentive during practice,
and that they have the habit of setting specific objectives
and analyzing their performance accordingly.
Ericsson
calls this self-checking, goal-oriented process the "secret
trick" of their talent.
Learn
to practice this way, and you will reach your personal goals
that much quicker.
Make
sure you set aside ample time in your schedule to practice
the skills you need to achieve your goals - whether that means
making cold-calls to potential clients ... reciting an upcoming
speech in front of the mirror ... or playing the trumpet for
45 minutes every morning. And don't just put in the time. Aim
for perfection. Pay close attention to what you're doing. And
keep track of your progress.
You
may not become another Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan ... but
you'll be the best you can possibly be. And to the outside
world, you'll look like a "natural."
Reader
Feedback: "Thank you for a fabulous newsletter."
"Just
wanted to thank you for a fabulous newsletter. It's informative,
short, easy-to-read, and filled with useful information. I
look forward to reading ETR every morning."
-
E.L.
Toronto, Ontario
Exercise
for Your Body Creates the Building Blocks for Your Brain
By
Jon Herring
Walking
home from work last week, I passed my neighbor, Tom, out for
his brisk daily walk. We stopped to chat for a few minutes.
Tom's 86 years old, and I'm not only impressed with his fitness
(he walks two to three miles most days), but also with his
mental sharpness. He is always quick with a joke, he remembers
the details of conversations we had weeks ago, and his questions
about my fiancee and my work are insightful.
I
thought about Tom when I read a recent article in The Wall
Street Journal about our brains and aging.
It's
well known that our brainpower (and brain volume) begins a
slow, natural decline starting in our 40s, with memory and
cognition suffering the most. Popular belief is that challenging
our brains - with exercises like crossword puzzles, reading,
playing musical instruments, etc. - helps keep us mentally
sharp in old age. I believe this is true. But we now know that
physical exercise can be even more effective.
Until
just a few years ago, it was held that old brains do not grow
new neurons. But that assumption has now been overturned. And
a new study published in Gerontology has shown that,
in elderly patients, as little as three hours a week of aerobic
exercise increases the brain's volume of gray matter (neurons)
and white matter (connections between neurons). Not only did
the researchers notice these differences in MRI results, they
found that their subjects also improved in memory and cognitive
scores.
So
if you want to be able to do mental gymnastics into old age,
it might pay to take up real gymnastics today. Or at least,
to get out and take a brisk walk five or six times a week ...
like my spry neighbor Tom.
The
Worst of the Holidays: The Secret Santa Nightmare
By
Alexis Siemon, ETR's Search Engine Marketing Specialist
My
most dreaded holiday tradition is the Secret Santa. Whether
it be at the workplace, school, or with family, the ritual
of the Secret Santa is a total nightmare. This is mainly because
of the inevitability of reaching your hand into that hat, bag,
or box and pulling out the name of a person you know very little
about. With name in hand and a $20 spending limit, you are
equipped to say, "I care barely enough to give the most
mediocre."
I
married into a large extended family that participates in the
Secret Santa every Christmas. This year, all I know about the
person I'm buying a gift for is that he is a NASCAR fan. Buying
this person a piece of NASCAR memorabilia seems to me the most
blatant way to say, "Merry Christmas, guy. I hereby celebrate
your one-dimensionality." I'm determined, however, to
do a little covert research about him and try to find the best
Secret Santa gift ever.
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Word
to the Wise: Protean
Something
that's "protean" (PRO-tee-un) displays considerable
variety or diversity. The word is derived from Proteus, an
ancient Greek god who had the ability to change shape at will.
Example
(as used by David Maraniss in The
Clinton Enigma): "He was a protean
character who constantly adapted to his environment."
