I’m sure you’re familiar with the saying, “Jack of all trades and master of none”.
What you may not realise is the profound implications this has on your capacity to earn money. Or not! Especially if you own a small business.
Being a Jack of all trades within your industry makes it very hard to distinguish yourself from your competitors. And you will never earn the respect and levels of income possible.
There are two obvious symptoms if you’re doing this.
You offer a “full range” of services. Accountants who provide generalised accounting/book keeping services. Plumbers who do everything from blocked drains to fitting washers.
Or you target “everybody”. Anyone who could use your services rather than targeting specific groups of people. I’ll give you examples in a second.
When Barbara and I started in business we fell into this trap. We tried to be all things to all people in the business advice area. Everything from hiring/firing, business processes, sales systems… you name it, we did it.
Until… years later a mentor gave us advice that profoundly changed not only our business but that of our clients.
Specialise. And in doing so, become the trusted advisor and authority figure in your niche area.
Why? Four reasons…
- Being a specialist allows you to target a narrow band of people who want/need your service and will pay handsomely for your solutions.
- You can create a marketing message that speaks directly to them. You must explain exactly who they are (so they qualify themselves in or out), why they should come to you and what it is you can do for them. BENEFITS, BENEFITS, BENEFITS… to them!
- You won’t waste time with people who aren’t interested. i.e. You rapidly qualify them out!
- You’re seen as the Trusted Advisor – a partner helping your clients achieve their goals. Someone your clients turn to for advice, knowing that you always have their best interest at heart.
Here are some examples of professionals we’ve helped specialise…
John Walker of Retire Invest has been a Certified Financial Planner for over 20 years. However, Financial Planning can be perceived as a commodity. With growing competition he needed to differentiate himself.
We realised he has extensive experience in the realm of Aged Care – the myriad issues and traps people moving into aged care could fall into. Everything from paying too much to losing their Centrelink benefits.
He now promotes himself as a specialist in this area which has brought him a steady stream of new clients looking for his specialist advice. In addition, specialising has created new referral sources from Aged Care Providers.
Shukri Barbara specialises in Property Tax. A registered public accountant and tax agent, he moved from generalist to specialist. Specialising allows him to differentiate himself from other accountants who provide a general tax compliance service. And it makes him really easy to find on Google – type in property tax accountant and he comes up number 1.
Victor Kumar from the Right Property Group is a buyer’s agent with a difference. Unlike a general property buyer who will help you find a residential property to live in, Victor only deals in residential investment properties.
Victor and his team specialise in certain geographical areas, have extensive links to agents and thoroughly understand their marketplace.
They help you locate and negotiate investment properties at below market prices, then educate you on how to build and manage a strong and balanced property portfolio that produces real income with a mix of exceptional yields and high growth.
I could go on with lots more examples from our client list, but I’m sure you get the idea.
In every case above, specialising narrowly defines their audience which means they attract clients who want their advice in this narrow area and are willing to pay well for it.
Now some of you might think, “But what about all the other people out there I’d be missing out on?”
Well, ironically, the moving from being the Jack of all trades to the master of some will not only have you get higher value clients, but you’ll still attract some from outside your speciality area. So believe me, you won’t miss out.
Being a specialist allows you to directly target a specific audience. An audience where you completely understand their pain, frustrations, wants and desires. An audience that when you get your message right and explain in detail what you can do for them, will look to you for solutions to their problems and ignore your competitors.
If you’re a generalist wanting to specialise and get more good quality clients, we will work with you to develop your USP, specialisation and craft your message in a way that resonates with your target audience compelling them to call you.
And if you’re already a specialist, but can’t get your message out into the right hands, we can help too.
Call us on 0414-913-334 for a confidential discussion how we could help you generate more high value business.
