1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,000 I think too often we will look at what our competitors are doing, or 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,799 we'll look at what everyone else is doing, and we assume that that's what 3 00:00:06,879 --> 00:00:09,080 we need to be doing, because if it's working for them, then it 4 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:13,679 must work for us. For example, if everyone's doing Masterminds and you see 5 00:00:13,679 --> 00:00:16,320 everyone around you doing Masterminds, of course you're going to think, oh, 6 00:00:16,519 --> 00:00:21,679 I have to deliver a mastermind. Welcome to imperfect Action. I'm Steph Taylor. 7 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:25,280 For years, I read all the books, downloaded all the freebies, 8 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,879 and did all the courses, but it wasn't until I started taking imperfect action 9 00:00:30,239 --> 00:00:35,520 that my business had its first million dollars year. Imperfect action is about doing 10 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:41,840 things before you're ready, prioritizing consistent action over perfect action, and moving forward 11 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:46,000 even when you're not sure you're doing it right. On this show, you 12 00:00:46,039 --> 00:00:51,000 can expect mindset advice, actionable marketing tips and strategies to build a business that 13 00:00:51,119 --> 00:00:56,960 brings you more profit, more freedom, and even more joy. Are you 14 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,399 on the list to get my daily Businesses? Every day I send you a 15 00:01:00,439 --> 00:01:03,640 bite sized prompt designed to help you grow your business in a more intentional way. 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,719 Sign up at Steph Taylor dot co. Forward slash DBB or at the 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:15,200 link in your show notes. Hey, welcome back to Imperfect Action. This 18 00:01:15,239 --> 00:01:21,000 is episode seven hundred and eighty two. Today we're talking about what you sell 19 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:26,079 and how this can impact who your business attrunds. Now, this episode is 20 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:30,239 going to be a really nice, short, sweet one, but it's super 21 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,640 relevant for you if you're struggling to stand out in a really saturated market right 22 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,599 now. I know what it's like online. I'm in one of the most 23 00:01:38,599 --> 00:01:44,920 saturated markets right where I'm talking to online business owners, and so is everybody 24 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:49,799 else. But if you're feeling like me right now where it's really noisy online, 25 00:01:49,879 --> 00:01:53,120 this episode's going to help you to stand out. It's also relevant for 26 00:01:53,159 --> 00:01:56,400 you if you are noticing that you've had a lot of people shopping around for 27 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,159 the cheapest option, and when they do choose you, they might be a 28 00:02:00,159 --> 00:02:05,200 little bit painful. They don't value what you do and they demand the world 29 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,039 right. You get those painful clients who just want you because you're the cheapest 30 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:15,479 or they're just looking for the cheapest option out there. Now, I've spoken 31 00:02:15,599 --> 00:02:21,639 a lot about Niching on this podcast, but here's the thing Niching down is 32 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,680 one of the simplest ways to shift who your business attracts. It's one of 33 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:31,439 the simplest ways to shift who your business attracts. And when I spoke about 34 00:02:31,479 --> 00:02:37,039 it recently in the episode with some signs that you are in the wrong niche, 35 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,479 that was a bit of a big shift on the way that we think 36 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:46,520 about niching, Because a lot of the time we think about niching as I 37 00:02:46,719 --> 00:02:52,199 only serve these people. I only work with cost creators, I only sell 38 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:58,319 to online business owners, I only work with professional women. That's what people 39 00:02:58,319 --> 00:03:01,439 think of as niching. And as soon as I talk about niching, the 40 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:07,759 questions that come up are inevitably always how do I niche down? How niche 41 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,800 is to niche? Which niche should I choose? Won't I limit my business 42 00:03:10,879 --> 00:03:16,800 by niching down? And this is when we think about niching as a way 43 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:22,800 of limiting our market rather than as a way of getting really clear about who 44 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:24,759 we want to attract and who we want to work with. When we think 45 00:03:24,759 --> 00:03:29,319 about niche as limiting our market, that's when we start to think about, 46 00:03:29,319 --> 00:03:30,919 oh, which niche should I choose? Well I limit my business? Am 47 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:37,000 I gonna have enough people to sell to. But when we think about niching 48 00:03:37,199 --> 00:03:39,719 as who do I want to serve? Who do I want to attract, 49 00:03:40,599 --> 00:03:47,520 that becomes a very different gain. That becomes you're not just niching so that 50 00:03:47,599 --> 00:03:52,599 you can say that you've niched and tick that box, but it becomes you're 51 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:57,240 niching down to particular people that you really want to help, or you're niching 52 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:00,800 down by particular things that you really want to do, particular comes you really 53 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,800 want to deliver. Let me put it in a really easy to understand way. 54 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:10,319 Think of your business like a restaurant. Now, in most major cities, 55 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,800 there are hundreds or thousands of restaurants, and they're all competing against each 56 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,199 other for a certain number of people who are going out for dinner that night 57 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,879 or lunch or whatever. And think about the last time that you chose a 58 00:04:20,879 --> 00:04:28,279 restaurant. What made you choose that particular restaurant. You probably didn't just think, 59 00:04:28,399 --> 00:04:30,279 well, i'm hungry, let me pick the first one that I see, 60 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,879 or maybe you didn't think I'm hungry, let me just find a place 61 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:38,120 that sells food. To be fair, though, that is sometimes my approach, 62 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,399 Like if I'm in a shopping mall and I'm hungry. Just give me 63 00:04:40,439 --> 00:04:43,480 the first thing, because if I'm hungry and there are people around, I'm 64 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,920 not a pleasant person. But when you were picking that restaurant, you might 65 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:51,399 have chosen it because you were craving pizza, you're craving sushi, or because 66 00:04:51,439 --> 00:04:55,240 you'd seen photos of it on Instagram and you thought, oh, the vibe 67 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,519 looks great, or the food that that food looks like a great experience. 68 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,439 Right, So when we are niching down, there are actually three different ways 69 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,839 that you can niche that restaurant. Let's call it a restaurant. Niching your 70 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:12,199 restaurant. So the first way is we only serve kids. This is how 71 00:05:12,439 --> 00:05:17,639 way too many businesses niche. This is the the I only work with high 72 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:23,759 performing women. I see this a lot with coaches as well, like business 73 00:05:23,759 --> 00:05:31,000 coach for creatives or coach for overachievers. Great, that's one way to niche 74 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,759 other two ways. So the next one is niching your restaurant by saying we 75 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:41,720 only serve Italian food. This is now where you are niching by what you 76 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,120 offer, so you're not then trying to sell Italian food to someone who is 77 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:53,199 craving Japanese food, and it means that you are not then trying to create 78 00:05:53,319 --> 00:05:58,079 Japanese food when you really don't enjoy doing it and you really just want to 79 00:05:58,079 --> 00:06:03,879 be making pizza and Italian food instead. And then the third way is niching 80 00:06:03,959 --> 00:06:08,319 by saying, well, we offer a high end experience. Niching by the 81 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,480 kind of experience that you deliver, and it doesn't have to be a high 82 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:16,680 end experience. Thinking like with the restaurant analogy, Right, there's a restaurant 83 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:18,639 there used to be a restaurant here, I don't know if it still exists 84 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,839 where you could go in and they would blindfold you and you would have this 85 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:28,639 entire dinner not being able to see any of the food. Now, that's 86 00:06:28,959 --> 00:06:33,879 a fun experience that not many other places offer. So they're not having to 87 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:40,079 compete against the restaurant that's only serving Italian food for somebody who's looking for a 88 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,079 really fun experience, fun unique experience that they could maybe take somebody on a 89 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,680 date to. Right, And again, like fast food, McDonald's is a 90 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:54,120 particular type of experience that they deliver, and because of the experience they are 91 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,279 delivering, they're not trying to compete against Novu, which is like one of 92 00:06:58,319 --> 00:07:02,240 the high end restaurants that I think is pretty well known around the world. 93 00:07:02,399 --> 00:07:08,639 So the people that these restaurants, these different niches of restaurants attract, they 94 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:12,879 are attracting different people because of the different things that they sell. We only 95 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,920 serve kids restaurant, well, if they don't serve parents, then that's going 96 00:07:15,959 --> 00:07:19,720 to be a bit of an issue. But somebody who if it's a kid's 97 00:07:19,759 --> 00:07:25,399 food first kind of restaurant, then parents with picky eaters are probably going to 98 00:07:25,439 --> 00:07:30,279 prioritize going to that restaurant. Somebody who's craving Italian food is going to go 99 00:07:30,319 --> 00:07:33,920 to an Italian restaurant. Somebody who wants a really fun, unusual experience, 100 00:07:33,959 --> 00:07:38,600 they're going to go to that blindfolded restaurant. Or somebody who wants a really 101 00:07:38,839 --> 00:07:44,079 high end, you know, completely out of this world food experience is going 102 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,600 to go to a high end restaurant that sells that high end experience. So 103 00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:54,079 if you are struggling to stand out and you're finding that people are just shopping 104 00:07:54,079 --> 00:07:58,279 for the cheapest option rather than seeing the value in what you sell, it 105 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,560 could be that you need to niche down what you are offering. You need 106 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:07,079 to think about what you are offering and think about how could you potentially choose 107 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:13,360 to offer just one particular, one particular niche Right, So, the Italian 108 00:08:13,399 --> 00:08:16,079 food, it doesn't mean you only only do pizza. It doesn't mean you 109 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,399 only do one type of pizza, but it means you aren't creating pizza and 110 00:08:20,439 --> 00:08:26,800 sushi, you aren't selling pizza and sushi. Or maybe you need to think 111 00:08:26,839 --> 00:08:31,079 about what is the experience? What is an experience that you can offer? 112 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,000 Right, So some questions for you to reflect on it. Two questions for 113 00:08:35,039 --> 00:08:39,679 you to reflect on that. Firstly, what could you offer? What is 114 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,720 something new that you could offer that nobody else in your space is doing. 115 00:08:43,519 --> 00:08:48,360 I think too often we will look at what our competitors are doing, or 116 00:08:48,399 --> 00:08:50,200 we'll look at what everyone else is doing, and we assume that that's what 117 00:08:50,279 --> 00:08:52,480 we need to be doing, because if it's working for them, then it 118 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:58,080 must work for us. For example, if everyone's doing masterminds and you see 119 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,399 everyone around you doing masterminds, of course you're going to think I have to 120 00:09:01,519 --> 00:09:05,519 deliver a mastermind. Or if everyone around you is delivering VIP days, you're 121 00:09:05,519 --> 00:09:07,320 gonna think, oh, I have to do a VIP day? Am I 122 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,559 missing out if I don't have a VIP day? And then suddenly you are 123 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:16,360 now competing against all of these people who are also offering VIP days when there 124 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,919 might be somebody in your market, or there might be a segment of your 125 00:09:18,919 --> 00:09:20,559 market who is like, I don't want to do a VIP day, I 126 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:26,480 want a VIP week. Cool. That's a new offer, right, and 127 00:09:26,519 --> 00:09:30,759 now you're not competing against those people who are selling VIP dates. The second 128 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:35,039 question to reflect on what kind of experience could you offer that would attract your 129 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:39,399 dream clients. If you are wanting to attract premium clients, you need to 130 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:45,159 offer them a premium experience. Right. Premium clients will play pay a premium 131 00:09:45,159 --> 00:09:48,200 price point for a premium experience, but they won't pay a premium price point 132 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:54,679 for a McDonald's experience. So what kind of experience could you offer that would 133 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,960 attract your dream clients. Somebody who really inspired me with the whole experience idea 134 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:05,279 is Darcy Benenkosa. She's a photography business coach and she I met her at 135 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:09,240 a retreat that we were both speaking at in Tuloom, and she talked about 136 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:16,200 how one of the experiences that she put together for her clients is they meet 137 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,559 her in Paris. So she travels to Paris a few times a year, 138 00:10:18,879 --> 00:10:22,440 and they meet her in Paris, and she's put together this beautiful long day 139 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,679 for them where they visit all of these different locations and they eat these amazing 140 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,600 meals, and at all of the different locations, she's taking photos for them 141 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,919 so that at the end of the day they have all of their social media 142 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:39,159 content sorted. That is a premium That's an example of a premium experience that 143 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:45,000 nobody else is really doing. She's not having to compete against other people because 144 00:10:45,039 --> 00:10:48,320 it's a one of a kind experience. So what could you do? What 145 00:10:48,399 --> 00:10:52,200 could you offer that somebody would pay that premium price tag for and that will 146 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:56,159 help you to stand out. So there you have a nice little, short, 147 00:10:56,279 --> 00:10:58,759 short, sweet episode. It actually ended up being a little bit longer 148 00:10:58,759 --> 00:11:03,120 than I thought it would oops, But a short, sweet episode to get 149 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:09,240 you thinking about how you can really shift who you attract just by shifting what 150 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:15,000 you sell. Now, thank you to all of you who have been leaving 151 00:11:15,039 --> 00:11:18,720 some amazing reviews. I've definitely I've noticed the uptick I've been reading all of 152 00:11:18,759 --> 00:11:22,360 them. They are incredible. So I really want to say thank you to 153 00:11:22,399 --> 00:11:28,200 everyone who has I appreciate you endlessly. And if you haven't yet and you 154 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,519 have thirty seconds to spare right now, I'd love it if you could please 155 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,000 open up your podcast app and leave me a quick rating and a review so 156 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,080 that somebody who's considering listening to the show knows what they're getting into before they 157 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,679 listen to an episode. It's a huge It has a huge impact on who 158 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,840 chooses to listen to the show, so I appreciate every single one and it 159 00:11:46,919 --> 00:11:50,720 means a lot to me. That is all for today's episode. Thank you 160 00:11:50,759 --> 00:11:52,399 so much for listening. Catch you next time.