Clarifying a niche raises a lot of questions for many coaches. Won’t I miss opportunities? How do I know what niche to choose? Can I afford to do that? In this episode, Melinda and Sharon Richmond dive deep to expertly answer these questions and more.
Show Notes
The idea of narrowing the scope of your coaching business to a specific niche can seem a bit scary and counterintuitive. Sharon Richmond, thefounder of Leading Large, acknowledges and understands first-hand that fear and hesitation and explains why clarifying a niche is actually expansive, not limiting.
In this episode, densely packed with answers and advice, Melinda and Sharon discuss how to define a niche as well as the benefits of appealing to a specific client base and what Sharon calls “targeting value”. Similar clients have similar pain points, so targeting a particular client base provides opportunities for shared stories and growth for your clients and for your business. It’s not so much about demographics but about common challenges. Sharon recounts her experience of honing in on her coaching niche and the enormous benefits it has brought to both her and her clients.
In this episode we discuss:
Should you define a niche?
How can you determine what your specific niche should be?
Will you lose opportunities and clients?
What about newer coaches just starting out?
How can clarifying a niche help with marketing efforts?
“Mostly what kept me from being able to define a niche is that I wasn’t confident enough or clear enough myself to be able to describe the who and why of my practice.”
“[Narrowing] allows clients to find me and know that I am someone that works with people just like them, and that turns out to be the biggest thing.” – Sharon Richmond
Sharon Richmond
Guest bio: My executive clients are amazing leaders, and are building companies they are proud of. Working with them is my greatest joy, says Sharon Richmond, the founder of Leading Large. Sharon is an executive coach and consultant, leadership expert, course creator, lecturer, speaker, and published author specializing in business-driven change execution.
She is also an MBTI Master Practitioner, known internationally for her work on how MBTI types lead best. She’s certified and works with emotional intelligence tools (EQi, MSCEIT) and has for many years taught leadership at Stanford GSB and Stanford University.
Sharon has 30+ years of partnering with clients to improve their leadership, accelerate change, and achieve their most important goals:
Venture-backed to Fortune 50 companies
Thousands of leaders
Hundreds of teams
Leadership instructor at Stanford GSB & Stanford University
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Episode transcript: Defining a Niche? (Sharon Richmond):Coming soon.
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Creators & Guests
Host
Melinda Cohan
Producer
Cynthia Lamb
Guest
Sharon Richmond
What is Just Between Coaches?
Where do coaches turn when they face a difficult situation with a client? Quite often, when coaching challenges arise, they reach out to a coach more senior than themselves. That’s the aim of Just Between Coaches — to be that trusted source of guidance for the coaching community.
Hosted by Melinda Cohan, coach and creator of The Coaches Console business management system, Just Between Coaches will answer the tough questions that coaches face every day. For example, what can I do if my client is lying? How do I deal with price resistance from prospects and clients? What if I want to fire a coaching client? And what the heck is a feeder course and why should I care?
This tactical podcast will provide a deep dive into one coaching topic per episode, which means searching for answers will be a breeze. It will also offer a simple way for listeners to refer other coaches who are grappling with those tough coaching questions. To submit a tough question you’re facing as a coach, put “JBC” in the subject line and send it to podcasts@mirasee.com.