As entrepreneurs and business owners, finding clarity around who you serve and the unique value you offer, is crucial yet challenging to navigate. Having crystal clear clarity on your niche while also positioning yourself as an industry leader requires courage and conviction.
In this episode, Samantha talks about an issue central to growing your business – what is the difference between niching and positioning, and why is it important to do both deliberately?
Understanding this distinction provides the blueprint for communicating your purpose and building trust with ideal clients. However, inner doubts and societal pressures often discourage coaches from embracing their expertise and stepping into thought leadership.
Samantha provides real-life examples across multiple industries and breaks down common obstacles that keep visionaries playing small. By illuminating these barriers to entry, she offers actionable advice for claiming your authority confidently.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- The two main components of your niche (00:55)
- Positioning and your niche (02:08)
- Comparing the generalist to the specialist (05:31)
- Case study: How Brene Brown aligns her niche and positioning for maximum impact (7:42)
- Inner obstacles to fully embracing your expertise such as impostor syndrome (10:14)
- Fear of scrutiny when distinguishing yourself as an authority figure (11:55)
QUOTES
“Positioning is about the how and why. How do my clients see me and why am I the best choice for them?” – Samantha Riley
“It’s not about being any expert, it’s about being your expert.” – Samantha Riley
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TRANSCRIPTION
Samantha Riley: Why is million dollar positioning crucial for you now? There are lots and lots of reasons, but I want to share the top three reasons with you.
Welcome to today’s episode of Influence by Design. I’m your host, Samantha Riley. And today we’re going to crack the code of million dollar positioning. How do you stand out in a saturated market? How do you ensure that your voice is not just heard, but also valued and sought after? That’s what we’re going to unpack today. But let’s start off by differentiating two key terms that are often used interchangeably, but, are fundamentally different. And that’s niching and positioning.
So I want to paint the picture so that you understand this concept. I want you to imagine right now that you are setting up a boutique or a, uh, storefront, a retail space, whatever you want to call it. Niching is like pinpointing where your storefront is going to be and determining the specific clientele that you’re wanting to serve and the products that you’re going to be offering. Where positioning, on the other hand, is crafting that unforgettable shopping experience and the story, the compelling story behind your brand that really has people becoming loyal customers. And it makes your store the go to destination rather than anyone else in the industry that stocks what you stock. So that’s the difference between niching and positioning.
Let’s dive deeper so that you can understand how to apply it to your situation. So niching is the who and the what. Think, who am I serving? Picking the slice of the market where you see a gap and what specific problem that you’re passionate about solving and where you have personal experience and expertise. For instance, just think about a coach focusing on corporate executives who are experiencing burnout, rather than just a coach that works with corporate executives for anything. So it’s really understanding which slice of the market you’re going to work with and where you see that gap, that you have a solution for their problem.
Now, I want to share a story of what can happen if you don’t have a niche or if you choose a really broad niche. This is a story where, if you’ve been a listener to this podcast, for a long time. I have talked about this story before, but I was asked by a very good friend of mine to speak at a conference that he was running. He’s like, you are the absolute expert in social media. I would love to get you along to speak to my members. I remember this day and I’m standing at the back of the room, know, getting ready to speak and he’s in front on the stage and he’s like, I want to introduce you to Samantha Riley. She is an absolute genius at social media, at marketing. He goes, other than that, I have no idea what she does now. A, don’t ever introduce anyone like that because it wasn’t very nice. I honestly felt like I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. But I tell you what it did do. I came home that night and really thought to myself, I don’t ever want this to happen again. So I started to unpack what my niche was. So I guess there’s always a beautiful blessing in these situations. So that’s niching.
Let’s pivot to positioning. The positioning is the how and the why. It’s the unique flavour that you bring to the table. It’s your secret sauce, your superpower, whatever that uniqueness is that you bring. So the two questions to ask yourself here are, uh, how do my clients see me and why am I the best choice for them? Because this is how your clients perceive you and why they choose you over other people that on paper look like they do what you do. So thinking about the example I used earlier of the coach who helps executives experiencing burnout, that could be the niche. But her positioning may be career rejuvenation expert, offering holistic, sustainable strategies that are nothing like your run of the mill solutions. So it’s positioning her in that category of one where her solutions are unique to her. So while niching zeroes in on who you serve and what you offer, positioning is about carving out your unique space, your category of one, making you the unmistakable go to person, because there’s no one else that does what you do. I’m going to make up like a real life scenario, but these are not real people and they’re not real situations. Let’s talk about Andrew. Andrew is a bookkeeper. He’s not real. Andrew is a bookkeeper. He finds his clients at local networking events. He only works in his local area, but he’s uh, a uh, generalist bookkeeper. He doesn’t have a clear niche. What he does is when he goes to these networking events, he says that he can work with all business owners and do the bookkeeping and really he blends in. And how do we choose Andrew, this bookkeeper compared to another bookkeeper? Let’s contrast this with Laura. Laura also has a bookkeeping background, but she specifically works with podiatrists, so a very small segment of the market. She’s the author of the best selling book the Profit playbook for podiatrists. She works for podiatrists who want to double their profit in the next twelve months. And because she works specifically in this niche, she regularly produces up to date information and content specifically for podiatry practise owners. Because she has positioned herself so well, she was asked to speak at the zero conference and she regularly gets asked to keynote at other podiatry practise summits and conferences. If you were a podiatrist and you were considering working with Andrew or Laura, which would you choose? It’s Laura, right? And that is the power of positioning.
In summary, niching is about narrowing your focus to serve a specific part of the market exceptionally well. And positioning is defining how you are perceived in the market and why you are the unique solution to your clients needs. Now, when you nail both niching and positioning, you’re not just another player in the game, you’re just not another coach in a sea of coaches. You’re in a league of your own. So really start to think, how can you define your niche and position yourself as the unmistakable choice for your ideal clients?
Now let’s talk about someone who’s mastered this and that is someone that we all know. Well, we don’t know her personally, but we know of her and that’s Brene Brown. Now her niche is exploring vulnerability and courage, but her positioning is a thought leader who brings together research and storytelling. She’s not just another researcher. Uh, she is a voice that turns data into life changing narratives and she has absolutely nailed this.
So why is million dollar positioning crucial for you now? There are lots and lots of reasons and I think you’re probably starting to get the idea, but I want to share the top three reasons with you.
So number one is that credibility will lead to massive growth opportunities. As an authority in a specific niche, you’re more likely to be invited to more speaking engagements, more collaborations or partnerships within your industry. You’ll be asked and invited to share your topic on podcasts, summits, conferences and all of these places are where you’ll have access to new audiences. So that not just opens up your visibility, but it gives you credibility.
Number two, because of this, you will have a higher perceived value. Clients are willing to pay more for an expert in their industry. Think about this. Who would you be expecting to pay more for if you had a one on one session with them? Tony Robbins, who is a peak performance coach, or is it life coach Laura, that you have not heard, uh, of before, and who has a very broad niche and helps anyone and everyone. She has a lot to offer, but from a higher perceived value, which would you be more likely to expect to pay more for? So that’s, number two, higher perceived value.
And number three is you’ll have higher conversion rates. And this is because a potential client is more likely to choose a specialist over a generalist because of their trust in expertise and depth of knowledge in the given area. So they’re the three reasons, or the three main reasons that you really want to position yourself and really go for that million dollar positioning. However, there are many people that I meet that are afraid to position themselves in this way, afraid of positioning themselves as the authority in their industry, and it’s because it’s daunting. I get it. There’s this mixture of internal battles and external pressures, things like impostor syndrome, that nagging doubt of, um, am I really an expert? Am I really good enough for this? No, I see this, ah, a lot in high achievers, which is not where you’d expect to see it, right? You’d think impostor syndrome would be more likely to be the enemy of people that didn’t really know a lot, but it’s actually the opposite.
When you know your stuff inside out, when you look into the future, you know that there’s still much more that you don’t know. The more you know, the more you realise you don’t know. Now, if you’re in this position, then you know you’re in the right place. You can position yourself as the expert because you know how much you don’t know. And when you’re in that position as an expert, you also are highly motivated and inspired to go and learn more about that topic. So just because you’re afraid now doesn’t mean that you’re not an expert. You may have a fear of being put on the spot as an expert. You’re not expected to have all of the answers. You might feel that pressure. You might feel afraid that you maybe ask something that you don’t know. But really, a true expert says, you know what? I don’t actually know that, but let’s find out together, or let’s go to the person that can help you don’t need to know everything. Then there’s the perfectionism trap. I see this, uh, a lot. I just need one more certification. I need to do this one more course. I need to do more study. Now, yes, we can be studying. We’re always learning. But that doesn’t need to stop you from positioning yourself. You’re not one step away from truly being an expert. It’s a constant journey. There is no end.
So if you’re waiting for the end to position yourself, it’s not going to come. Think about the depth of your perspective and the value that you bring. Not about. Do I know everything? Something else that a lot of people are worried about is getting bored. Like, what if I lock this in this niche and this positioning and my interests change? They have a real fear of being pigeonholed. But remember that your niche and your positioning can evolve with you. You’re an evolving human. You’re always learning and changing. The person you were yesterday isn’t the same person that you are today, and it’s not the same person that you’re going to be tomorrow. So you don’t have to be completely locked in with this life sentence of whatever this thing is. It can evolve. And of course, there’s this fear of criticism and backlash because standing out does mean that you’re opening up to scrutiny. People will disagree with you. People will challenge you. But you know what? It’s going to happen anyway. It’s a vulnerable place to be, but just have the courage to step into it, because huge things can happen. It’s so worth it because positioning yourself as an expert opens doors. Remember that embracing your niche and positioning isn’t just about business growth. It’s, uh, also about attracting the right people for you, the people that value your unique expertise. And it’s about repelling the people who don’t align with your vision. So own your space, own your expertise and your story.
Now, we’ve talked a lot about your million dollar positioning today. What’s your next step? Are you ready to embrace your unique value and share it boldly? Are you ready to take it to the next level? Remember, it’s not just about being an expert. It’s about being your expert. Your people are waiting for the unique solutions that only you can offer. So dive deep, define your niche, position yourself strategically, and watch doors that you never knew existed start opening for you.
Thanks for tuning in today. If today’s episode sparked a new insight and has inspired you to take action, I’d love to hear about it. If you’re listening on your phone, take a screenshot and share it to your stories with your biggest aha. We want to inspire as many people as we can to really own their niche and their positioning. And remember to tag me until, um, next time. Keep positioning, keep shining, and remember, in the world of business, being uniquely you is your biggest asset. We’ll see you next week on another episode of Influence by Design.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Influence by Design podcast. If you want more, head over to influencebydesignpodcast.com for the show notes and links to today’s gifts and sponsors. And if you’re looking to connect with other experts who, ah, are growing and scaling their business, too. Join us in the coaches, thought leaders and changemakers community on Facebook. The links are waiting for you over @ influencebydesignpodcast.com.
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