Finding Your Niche

Find your niche to increase turnover and reduce stress

Today I want to share how you find your niche. But first, why is it so important?

Specialists earn more

You’ve probably heard many times that specialists make more money than generalists. And it’s absolutely true. Accounting professionals who specialise make more money. Whereas firms that take on anybody end up running themselves ragged, trying to deal with too many different clients and too many different services.

My tip is to make sure you're clear in your own mind about not only your niche, but the profile of your ideal client. And to help, I’m going to share the three main types of niche. (Just to make it easy, they all begin with S!)

#1:Sector

Are there any sectors that you’re particularly interested in or already have clients in? It might be doctors or dentists, the legal profession or the IT industry. Think about the industry you’re most fascinated by and build on it.

#2: Service

Of all the aspects to your work, which do you find most interesting? Whether it’s tax planning or helping clients with their cloud accounting systems, decide what is it that you most love to do.

Again though, narrow it down. The more you’re seen as the go-to expert, the more likely you are to win business. So if your interest is ‘tax’, be specific. Corporate tax? Inheritance tax?

#3: Stage

Think about the life cycle of a client or business. You might enjoy working with start-ups and the specific challenges they bring. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, you might prefer to deal with exit planning for clients coming up to retirement.

Watch my latest video here to learn more.

Narrow your niche and widen your opportunities

The good news is that you don't have to restrict your niche to just one of the types. Instead, you could do something across all three. You might decide you want to focus on the dental profession, for example, but specifically on tax planning for dentists. Or on tax planning for dentists who are starting their career and looking to buy their first dental practice.

Whatever your niche, it’ll open up opportunities. In my example above, you might be asked to speak at a dental school, to people about to launch their career in dentistry. That way, when the time comes for them to take the plunge, you’ll be the first person they turn to.

Be seen as the expert in your field

People often ask me, "But if I specialise, won’t I be closing down opportunities with other types of clients?" Paradoxically, you’ll find the opposite. The more you specialise, the more you’ll be seen as the expert in your field. And the more you’re seen as the expert, the more people will seek you out. And not just from your local area.

If you found this valuable and would like to learn more about value pricing, I run a free live online training session every month with a topic chosen by you. Attend live and you can ask me any questions you have. Click here to register and I will send you an invitation to the next session.

Wishing you every success on your pricing journey

Mark Wickersham

Chartered Accountant, Public Speaker and Author of Amazon No.1 Best Seller “Effective Pricing for Accountants”