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Would you like to create a reputation for yourself that attracts more Right-Fit Clients™? Would you like to move further away from push prospecting and toward attraction marketing?
The first thing you want to do is understand the difference between a category and a target market. In fact, most advisors who come to me for coaching have made that classic mistake and are not fully satisfied with their level of success.
The main difference between a category and a target market are the formal and informal lines of communication – therefore, allowing you to put yourself into that flow and create a reputation within that clearly defined group.
Traditional Financial Professional CATEGORIES:
- Couples 30-45 with Children
- People 7 Years from Retirement
- People 5 Years on Either Side of Retirement
- Managers & Executives Who Have Worked for 20+ Years
- Millennials
- People Aging Into Medicare
Traditional Financial Professional TARGET MARKETS:
- Employees within a Medium to Large Company
- Business Owners within a Specific Industry
- Faculty & Administrators in a University
- Medical Practices
- Affinity Groups (e.g., families with children with special needs)
Is there an association of pre-retirees? (And don’t say “AARP.” It’s not a real association.) Is there an association of younger couples with children? Nope! While one can eventually achieve a level of success focusing on one or more categories, it’s a much slower and harder road than focusing on a clear target market.
The Benefits of a Well-Chosen Target Market
Before I give you my list of attributes for a viable target market, please allow me to remind you of the value to you of a well-chosen target market.
- Easier for you to provide perceived and real value to your new prospects and clients.
- Easier for you to communicate relevant and compelling ideas and concepts that will attract more ideal clients.
- Easier for you to gain their trust and become referable more quickly.
- Easier for you to identify high-level prospects and potential Centers of Influence.
- Easier for you to gain appointments and convert prospects to clients.
- Easier to create a reputation for yourself.
The Attributes of a Viable Target Market
- Large Enough – The market is large enough to create a substantial ROI of your time and energy. Some financial pros “nest” in one large company their entire careers. Some target a few large companies.
- Financial Capacity – They have the financial ability to take advantage of the work that you do.
- Formal & Informal Lines of Communication – As mentioned above, this is an important attribute. This is what allows you to more easily build a reputation that attracts ideal prospects to you.
- Stable or Growing – As you would imagine, it’s better to target a market that is stable or growing rather than shrinking. With that said, if the market is large enough, it could still be viable for you.
- Enjoyable / Gratifying – You tend to enjoy working with the members of this target market and/or you appreciate the value of the work they do for their clients/customers.
- Network of Centers of Influence – There are other professionals also targeting this market. You want to look for others with businesses complimentary to yours, so see how you can work together to meet more prospects. This could be reciprocal introductions, joint educational sessions, and joint client-appreciation events.
The Power of Matching a Category with a Target Market
When you combine a category with a target market, your results can become exponential.
For example, Dennis O’Keefe has done this well by focusing on Verizon employees 5-7 years from retirement. He helps these pre-retirees navigate into a successful retirement. For years, Dennis was focused on Verizon employees in Massachusetts.
Dennis is now poised to take his business national, using the power of the combination of a category and a target market.