“If I narrow down, won’t I drive away potential customers?” Let’s talk about one of the most frequent words I hear from consultants:
“Pigeonholing”. š¦
It comes up whenever we talk about focusing on a small market or niche. The fear is always the same: losing out on potential opportunities.
But here’s the truth – by not standing for something specific, you’re actually making it harder for potential clients to choose you. When your message is broad and generic, clients feel less confident that you understand their unique problems. They might pass you by because your expertise doesn’t seem tailored enough for their needs.
If you’re worried about reducing your market size, itās likely because you havenāt done a proper market sizing exercise. You only need a handful of clients each year. Even a small niche is often larger than you think.
If you can find 1,000 potential clients in your target segment, that’s likely plenty for your small business consulting firm. With meaningful differentiation and a customer acquisition strategy that works, you can build a pipeline that serves you well for years.
ā For my strategic planning consulting firm, we had around 10 potential customers (we targeted public universities) and were still able to build a viable business for more than a decade.
Fear of specialization or “pigeonholing” does not stem from a lack of market size, but from the lack of knowledge of how to turn your expertise into a viable consulting business.
Specializing will not only help you build trust and authority, but it will also make it easier for clients to find and choose you when they need a true expert.
Ready to add $100k-$500k revenue to your consulting business in 12 months or less without burning out? Schedule a call and let me show you how.
Image credit: Dalle-3
