Today’s episode is about the intersection of 3 things that could raise your coaching business above the competition for clients. When you know what that intersection is and organize your business around it everything gets easier.
Have you ever heard of the sweet spot? In your coaching business, your sweet spot is that place where you are reliably earning well for a unique service you provide that’s in high demand. You are THE BEST at this specific thing and it is highly prized by your ideal clients, who look for, find you and hire you with enthusiasm.
You get a lot of satisfaction from helping others through your sweet spot. It makes your heart sing.
Now, your sweet spot is not coaching. It’s a lot more specific than that. It’s not your target audience or coaching niche either, although knowing and targeting those will help you get closer to your sweet spot so figure those out first.
Your sweet spot is the overlap between 3 things:
- What you are best at that makes you STAND OUT in the crowd
- That you also enjoy doing repetitively and can grow expertise in
- And that your audience highly desires and will readily invest in
All businesses, from solo businesses all the way up to big corporations, are trying to find their sweet spot in this crowded marketplace and make that part of their brand. You’ll see companies rebrand, change in dramatic ways and often narrow their focus to their sweet spot when they’ve found it.
This is niching at its best.
A Treasure Hunt for Greatness
Your sweet spot is generally not obvious from the start. It’s something you grow into.
In the early 2000’s I was struggling to attract enough coaching clients to sustain my business. Most coaches are intimately familiar with that struggle at some point. I think that’s because most coaches start too broad and try to sell coaching as if that in itself is something people want.
I was searching for answers in all the wrong places – purchasing training programs and enrolling in masterminds hoping to find what one of my clients calls his True North.
I remember attending a seminar for coaches that was about finding that sweet spot. I left as frustrated as I started. The presenter kept pushing the idea of passion.
What’s your passion? What do you feel passionate about? What’s your purpose?
I didn’t KNOW! I felt so lost and ashamed that I couldn’t answer that question.
Years later I realized that was the wrong question for me. For some that language isn’t a good fit. Remember that when you’re coaching. Your client may need a different question or approach altogether than your previous clients. Not everyone identifies with purpose and passion. But it might be the right question for you.
Hear this … your sweet spot is not something that will be revealed on day 1 of your coaching business. It takes time to realize how you stand out in the crowd and what is second nature to you that is also something people really want.
I invite you to look for your sweet spot with the same kind of attention that you scan a wild landscape to see beautiful birds or animals that might show themselves to you. It’s a gift to realize your sweet spot.
Observe yourself with your clients. Notice what they respond to. Notice yourself while networking in your space. What gap do you fill that you fit beautifully into? Notice what emerges as your unique, enjoyable and leverageable skill. It’s not that no one else will have the same sweet spot but no one else will do it your way.
Surprises of Your Evolved Coaching Business
In that seminar, a better question for me would have been:
What do you excel at that you really enjoy doing and that other people value highly?
For me the answer is not at all what I would have thought when I started coaching. By the way, those surprises are one of the wonderful things about being in business. You never know where you’ll end up.
If you let it, your business can be a journey of self-discovery where your rare talents are revealed by serving others.
Don’t be impatient to find your sweet spot. I’ve been in business for myself since 1997 and I’m on version 4.0. It’s normal for businesses to morph. I’ve changed my target audience three times, my niche four times, my business model three times and my brand once over 20+ years. And I’ve fully nestled into my sweet spot.
So what is my sweet spot? I’m the best in my space at 2 main things for my audience:
- Helping coaches identify their ideal target audience and stand out coaching niche
- Helping them learn to attract high ticket clients with content and copy that builds trust
I never imagined that I’d be teaching niche marketing and client attraction. Over time I’ve developed real expertise in these things. And it’s a blast for me to help coaches launch with confidence.
Most of my colleagues in this space don’t love doing these things so I am the gap-filler for something coaches really want help with. Coaches know that without a smart niche they will be held back from the success they want.
When you think of your most ideal client, what do they really want that isn’t being offered that you are or could become the best at? Consider your strengths, unique skills, interest. And yes a passion or a mission. Start there and explore.
If you want a knowledgeable partner to explore possible target audiences, niches or sweet spots for you, let’s work on it together in a Strategy Session.
This is a 90-minute session with me that we will seed with a questionnaire in advance of our brainstorm. I’d love to help you unlock this treasure box!
