Common Question

How do I position my business in premium market segments?

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TeachingFrom the source
Pagan executed a strategic identity arbitrage, using his real name to enter the mainstream business market while applying the exact same marketing systems he perfected with David DeAngelo. This allowed him to leverage his expertise without the reputational baggage.

Also asked as

move my business upmarket to charge higher pricesI'm tired of competing on price with everyone elseI want to attract premium clients who don't hagglepremium positioning high end market coachingstop racing to the bottom on pricing

Eben's Answer

Not every market is worth entering. I use a three-question niche test to filter high-probability opportunities from traps. First: is the customer motivated by pain, urgency, or irrational passion — or are they just casually interested? Second: are they proactively searching for solutions, or do they need to be convinced they have a problem? Third: from their perspective, do they have few or no perceived options? If you get yes to all three, you've found a high-probability niche. Narrow is better than broad — carve off a specific segment of a large market where people have unmet needs, and you can command premium prices without competing on cost. Discover the niche; don't choose it.

Reframe

Premium positioning isn't about raising prices — it's about narrowing your audience and deepening your expertise until you're the obvious choice for a specific outcome.

Relevant Clips217

  • Teaching

    Pagan's Virtual Business — 80-Person Remote Company Since 2001

    Pagan executed a strategic identity arbitrage, using his real name to enter the mainstream business market while applying the exact same marketing systems he perfected with David DeAngelo. This allowed him to leverage his expertise without the reputational baggage.

  • Teaching8:38

    Three-Question Niche Test for High-Probability Market Selection

    Use Eben Pagan's three-question niche test: 1) Is your customer motivated by pain/urgency or irrational passion? 2) Are they proactively looking for solutions? 3) Do they have few or no perceived options? If yes to all three, you've found a high-probability niche.

  • Teaching6:55

    High-Value Problem Coaching Charges 100 to 200 Per Session

    Personal coaching, especially problem-oriented coaching around health, weight loss, relationships, dating, and debt, represents huge opportunities charging $100-200+ per session because having someone hold your hand through problems creates significant value

  • Teaching

    Choosing vs Discovering a Niche — A Critical Distinction

    Choosing a niche means picking what you want to sell. Discovering a niche means identifying unmet customer needs by understanding what your prospects are actually going through - their fears, frustrations, and aspirations in their own words.

  • Teaching2:55

    How Rhythm Moves Names From Electrical to Chemical Memory

    Rhythm makes names stick in the mind longer by keeping them bouncing around in your phonological loop. This helps names move from electrical memory to chemical memory to becoming hardwired, similar to how songs get stuck in your head.

  • Teaching3:13

    Layer Niche Selection Strategies to Boost Success

    Layer multiple niche selection strategies together - niche testing, customer research, narrowing focus, problem-solving orientation, mega-niche selection, and beginner appeal - to dramatically increase success probability

  • Teaching0:05

    The Niche Problem That Paralyzes Coaches

    Not knowing your niche market or targeting the wrong niche. This prevents coaches from attracting high-paying clients because they feel paralyzed and don't know which clients to attract or what to say to convert them.

  • Teaching14:04

    Narrowing Your Niche Creates Premium Pricing Power

    Narrowing your niche is better because you can carve off a small chunk of a big market where people have specific unmet needs, allowing you to dominate that space without competing on price and charge premium prices.

  • Teaching1:17

    Why Generic Self-Introductions Fail to Attract Prospects

    Most people answer 'what do you do' with generic statements about themselves like 'I'm a writer' or 'I'm a relationship coach' - this approach fails because it's all about them instead of the prospect's needs

  • Teaching7:07

    Education Marketing Establishes You as the Trusted Advisor

    Education marketing positions you as a trusted advisor by teaching prospects what they don't know they don't know - the right questions to ask, expensive mistakes to avoid, and how to make good decisions

  • Teaching14:33

    Focus on What People Already Seek You Out For

    Focus on what others already seek you out for. Ask yourself what you know how to do that people come to you for help with, and what problems you can solve that deliver real relief or results to others.

  • Teaching14:33

    Niche Depth Creates a Natural Moat Around Your Market

    The more niched you are and the more of an expert you are on that niche, the more you have what Warren Buffett calls a natural moat around your castle with natural protection of your market

Show 205 more

Other answers20

What questions do prospects ask themselves about pricing?

Prospects unconsciously ask two questions before buying: 'How can I know this is worth far more than I'm paying?' and 'Can you prove the result you're promising?' Your pricing presentation must answer both. First, identify your prospect's unique currency — what they're truly trying to accomplish. Then translate your product's benefits into their terms and connect them to dollar values using conservative estimates. Show at least a 10x return on investment even in worst-case scenarios; backing off from your biggest promises builds more credibility than overselling. A simple formula: take their aspirational income, divide by half, remove three zeros to get an hourly rate. You can also anchor price by referencing what live training would cost, then positioning the digital version as a discount on the same value.

How do you create a powerful business reputation?

Competing in crowded categories is a losing game — you're always fighting uphill against whoever got there first. The leverage move is to create a new category where you can be first. When you're the original, you have enormous built-in persuasion power: you set the frame, you define what good looks like, and competitors are permanently positioned as coming after you. In any sizable marketplace, there are always groups of people with unmet needs that existing companies aren't serving. That's your opening. The goal is to position yourself as the leader of that new category from day one — name it, define it, own the vocabulary. Then connect your category directly to the emotional problem your ideal customer experiences and can't find a perfect solution for anywhere else. First mover in a well-chosen niche beats best in a crowded one almost every time.

Why is it better to be first than better in business?

Human minds can hold approximately seven items per category before they're full. First-mover advantage is real — people remember and choose the first thing that comes to mind, not necessarily the best. That means fighting for position in a saturated market is almost always the wrong strategy. The winning move is creating an entirely new category where you are first by definition. You don't need decades of history. Creating something genuinely unique makes you the original. This is how David D'Angelo created the 'dating advice for men' category, how I created the 'information product business' category. Look at where your industry is heading in ten years, stake a position in that emerging niche today, create content and build a reputation there before it becomes crowded. First in the mind beats first in the market.

Why should you create a category instead of just a product?

When you're one of many similar products in a crowded market, you're competing on price and features — a race to the bottom. When you create a category, you become the originator and leader, which changes everything. People prefer to work with number one in a category. Category creation attracts premium partnerships and clients because instead of presenting yourself as another option, you're presenting yourself as the obvious choice. Position your solution as uniquely appealing and new — humans automatically value new information and current techniques, often discounting older content even when it's still valuable. Make your approach feel genuinely different and current. This isn't just a positioning trick. It's about carving out a distinct niche where you're not competing with anyone — you're defining the space.

How do you launch new products successfully?

The most durable competitive position isn't being the best in a category — it's being the first in one you defined. When you launch a new product, try to position it as its own category: 'this is really the first product of its kind.' Name the category, then promote the category itself, not just the product. This matters because of how mental categorization works: when a customer's mental slot for something is filled, it's very difficult for a competitor to displace you — even with a technically superior product. Being first in the mind creates a lasting advantage. The practical application is to narrow your market definition until you can be first rather than trying to compete in an established, crowded space. Specific beats broad. Defined beats generic.