Target Market

Find Buyers First Then Build the Product for Them

Instead of planning who should buy your product, find groups of people who already want to buy something and create it for them. Start with the customer's perspective rather than trying to choose who will buy your stuff.

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.

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.

Your Niche Is a Specific Need Not a Demographic Group

Your niche isn't the demographic group you want to sell to, but the specific need that group has. Focus on identifying and serving a particular problem or desire rather than just targeting a general audience.

Three-Question Niche Profitability Test

The niche test: Run every niche through 3 questions - Is your customer experiencing pain/urgency or irrational passion? Are they proactively looking for solutions? Do they have few or no perceived options?

Postcards to High-Probability Lists Create Inbound Leads

Write compelling words on paper (like postcards or letters) and mail them to high-probability lists of people who likely want your service. This creates inbound leads instead of outbound cold calls.

Niche Test Question One: Pain Urgency or Irrational Passion

Question 1 of the niche test: Is my prospective customer motivated by pain and urgency or irrational passion? Look for customers who are already emotionally driven, not ones you need to motivate

Target Groups Who Already Want to Buy

Entrepreneurs universally make the mistake of choosing target markets by planning who should buy their products instead of finding groups of people who already want to buy something

Failed Business Ideas Combine Likes Not Urgent Problems

Most failed business ideas combine two things people like doing (example: hair salon with iTunes music bar) rather than focusing on solving urgent problems with pain and urgency

Niches Are Discovered Then Developed by Going Deeper

Niches are discovered and then developed - you discover a niche by finding an unmet need, then develop it by going deeper, getting more focused, and isolating that specific need

Niche Test Question Two Proactive Solution Seekers

Question 2 of the niche test: Is my prospective customer proactively looking for solutions? Target people who have gotten off their lazy butt and are actively seeking solutions

Three-Question Niche Viability Test

Use the three-question niche test: Does your prospect have an emotional irrational need? Are they proactively looking for solutions? Do they have few or no perceived options?

Right Message Right Audience Right System

The best marketing message is useless if delivered to people with zero interest - you need the right message delivered to the right audience through the right system

Target Prospects Already Searching for Your Solution

Look for customers who are looking for you - target people who are already activated and searching for solutions rather than trying to convince unmotivated prospects

Mass Nicheification Drives Demand for Micro-Specialists

The mass 'nicheification' of the economy has created demand for modern gurus who specialize in solving very specific, granular problems in emerging micro-niches

Three Mega-Niches Drive 80–90% of Info Product Revenue

The three mega-niches of health, relationships, and money generate 80-90% of information product revenue because they correspond to basic human survival needs

True Market Validation — Find What Customers Want and Deliver It

True market validation means finding out something customers want and giving it to them, not trying to talk people into wanting what you've already created

Why Experts Must Learn to Sell Before Delegating Marketing

Experts who want to delegate marketing have it backwards - they need to learn how to sell and present their products so people will want to buy them first

29 Sub-Niches Inside the Three Mega-Markets

29 specific sub-niches within health, relationships, and money categories represent multi-million dollar business opportunities that will work long-term

Validate Your Niche by Talking to One Customer Daily

Validate your niche before spending money by talking to a minimum of one prospective customer every single day live - in person, on Skype, or telephone

Testing Niches With Customers Before Product Development

Successful niche testing involves talking to prospective customers, conducting online research, and identifying unmet needs before product development

Five Areas That Drive Business Success

Focus on five key areas: You, your market, your marketing, your people, and your systems - but if you get market and people right, they drive the rest

Survey Monkey and Text Analyzers Surface Customer Language Patterns

Use technology tools like Survey Monkey, Ask databases, and free text analyzers to identify customer language patterns and unmet needs in any market

Every New Product Is a Mini Niche With Its Own Sub-Audience

Every new product should be treated as a mini niche business with its own subset of customers searching for solutions within that specific sub-niche

Double Your Dating Method — Problems That Sell Themselves

Apply the Double Your Dating case study method: identify the biggest problems causing pain and urgency, then focus on specific situational solutions

Most Business Failure Comes from Getting the Market Wrong

Most business failure comes down to getting the market wrong - your market is the combination of target customers and the products you sell to them

Laser Precision Targeting Beats Broad Appeal

Target specific niches with laser precision rather than trying to appeal to everyone - this creates deeper connection and higher conversion rates

Precision Niche Targeting Requires Intentional Detailed Execution

Target your niche with precision by being conscious, intentional, and doing all the details right—not just putting a little bit of time into it

Reading Competitor Meta Keywords Using View Source

You can use 'view source' on competitor websites to see their meta keywords and descriptions to understand what terms they're optimizing for

Health Relationships Money — The Three Dominant Mega-Niches

The big three mega niches that sell 80-90% of information products are health, relationships, and money - focus on these proven categories

Sell What People Already Want to Buy

Find products that people already want to buy, not stuff you want to sell - focus on solving their problems rather than your preferences

Experts Scatter Energy Instead of Owning Critical Moments

Most experts disperse their energy across everything instead of focusing on the few important moments that mean everything to customers

Few Perceived Options Does Not Mean No Options Exist

Few perceived options doesn't mean there literally are no options—it means from the customer's perspective they have limited choices

Pre-Selection Always Beats Training for Getting the Right Prospects

Pre-selection will always beat training - it's better to choose the right prospects than to try to train yourself to sell to anyone

Pursue Wants With Irrational but Strong Emotional Value

Only pursue wants and aspirations that have irrational but very strong emotional value, like video game mastery or golf performance

Channel Alignment — Info-Channel Audiences Buy Info Products

People who found you through information channels are more likely to buy information-focused products because of channel alignment

Problems and Pain Generate More Money Than Aspirations

Focus primarily on problems and pain when starting out, as wants and aspirations are less likely to generate money for beginners

Win with Niche Selection Before You Market

Win beforehand with proper niche selection because it's very hard to make up for a poor niche choice later with good marketing

The More Personal the Insight the More Universal the Market Need

The principle 'the more personal, the more universal' - deeply personal insights reveal needs shared by entire market segments

Get the Market Right, Get the People Right, Test Everything

His secret to success: get the market right and the people right, then test the hell out of everything and scale what works

Create Multiple On-Ramps for Different Market Segments

Create different on-ramps and front-end products for different market segments while maintaining the same core curriculum

Health Relationships Money Three Mega Niches

Target the big three mega niches - health, relationships, and money - where most information product revenue is generated

Emotional Intensity as the Key Niche Profitability Test

Your prospects must be motivated strongly by emotion - fear, desire, passion, or worry - for your niche to be profitable

Only Target Customers Motivated Enough to Proactively Search

Look for customers who are looking for you - only target customers motivated enough to proactively search for solutions

Successful Businesses Solve Very Specific Niche Problems

Successful businesses focus on helping people with very specific, niche problems rather than trying to solve everything

Customer Template Enables One-to-One Dialogue at Scale

Create a customer template by finding what all customers have in common for one-to-one dialogue communication at scale

Narrow Focus — One Person, One Problem

Focus on one specific type of person and their one primary problem rather than trying to help everyone with everything

Prospects Must Be Actively Seeking Solutions Right Now

Prospects must be proactively seeking solutions right now, not just thinking they should seek solutions in the future

Niche Targeting in Today's Vocational Landscape

Focus on niche targeting as crucial in the current vocational training landscape rather than trying to serve everyone

Target Only Clients Who Can Pay High Fees

You need a niche targeted only to clients who can afford to pay high fees and invest in high-ticket coaching packages

Solve Problems for Millions — Not Teach Niche Skills to Small Audiences

Start with identifying problems you can solve for millions of people, not teaching advanced skills to small audiences

Using Keyword Tool to Find High-Volume Sub-Niches

Google Keyword Tool reveals specific sub-niches with high search volume that indicate profitable opportunities

Not Knowing Your Niche Is the Biggest Coaching Obstacle

The biggest obstacle to getting coaching clients is not knowing your niche market or targeting the wrong niche

Google Keyword Tool, ClickBank, Alexa — The Free Research Stack

Use Google Keyword Tool, Alexa.com, and ClickBank as the three most powerful free tools for niche research

Simplify Your Offer to Match What the Hungry Crowd Wants

Simplify your offering to match what the hungry crowd wants, not what you want to express artistically

Test Market Demand Where Customers Are Already Searching

Test market demand using search engines where customers are already actively looking for solutions

Target Prospects With Few Perceived Options

Target prospects who have few or no perceived options to avoid competing in oversaturated markets

Direct Marketing — Find People Who Want What You Have

Direct marketing means finding people who want what you have and communicating with them directly

The Biggest Niche Mistake New Coaches Make

The biggest mistake new coaches make is trying to get everyone as a client, which causes failure

Virtual Technical Support Fixes Total Productivity Blockers

Virtual technical support addresses computer problems that completely stop customer productivity

Position in the Path of Hungry Customers

Position yourself in the path of hungry customers rather than chasing them around neighborhoods

Virtual Coach Pricing — $1,497 Launch Window Cost

Look for customers who are looking for you—target customers who have both money and motivation

Narrowing Your Niche Captures More Market

Narrowing your niche intelligently captures more market than trying to appeal to everyone

Three-Question Niche Test for New Business Ideas

Use a three-question niche test to evaluate any new business opportunity or product idea

Starving Crowd as the Ultimate Business Advantage

A starving crowd is the most valuable business advantage you can have

Customer Avatar Built on Shared Overlapping Fears and Frustrations

Create a personification of what all your customers have in common that's relevant to your niche. Name this person and describe their fears, frustrations, and internal dialogue. Focus only on the overlapping qualities they share - if you address qualities that only some customers have, you'll lose a large portion of your audience.

Pain Plus Urgency Formula for Premium Pricing

The pain plus urgency formula identifies where prospects experience both significant pain and time pressure, then determines the specific result they believe will solve their problem. When pain is acute and urgent, people will pay 2-10 times more for solutions.

Narrow Your Niche to Capture More of the Market

You should narrow your niche. Counterintuitively, narrowing your focus actually captures more market than trying to appeal to everyone. When you talk to everyone, you're talking to no one.

Every Sizable Market Has Unmet Needs Waiting to Be Found

In any sizable marketplace, I have an irrational belief that there is a large group of people that have a problem, a frustration, pain, a desire, a need, a passion that is not being addressed by all of the companies, products, and options that they are aware of.

Pain and Urgency as Business Profitability Signal

there's somebody who's trying to get something done or who's running into a problem and solving that problem or getting a solution gives them a lot of benefit and there's a lot of focus here on pain and urgency

Start Small and Evolve Through Niche Targeting

the power of starting small, evolving by understanding audience needs, and the crucial importance of niche targeting

Combining Two Likable Ideas Does Not Make a Business

putting two ideas that you know people like to do together does not a business make

Stop Choosing Who Will Buy — Let Them Self-Select

stop trying to choose who's going to buy your stuff and let them

I'd Want a Hungry Crowd Not a Big Budget

I'd want a hungry crowd