How to get over the fear of niching down?

The fear is real. Niching down can be scary.

There are so many types of fears that come into play here, but the one that I hear the most is “I’m afraid that I’ll leave money on the table.”

Essentially that you are missing out on projects that you can do, that are willing to pay you.

I’m going to get real with you here for a minute.

While FOMO is a valid fear, and most of all a valid statement, it’s an excuse.

Let me ask you a question, why are you niching down?

Time to get uncomfortable

What ever that reason is, that’s your focus. It’s that “why” that brought you to this conversation in the first place.

“What got you here, won’t get you there.”

You’ve heard this before from Marshall Goldsmith, right?

It’s the idea that sometimes you need to be a bit uncomfortable and out of your comfort zone to achieve the results you want.

This fear of niching down aligns with a similar fear of gambling.

It’s easy to stay being a generalist because that feels safe because you’ve been able to build a business around it. But you are at a point where you are starting to think about your value, whether that’s your rate or time or both.

Niching Down isn't gambling

While niching down can feel like you are betting it all on one-hand, in reality it’s betting on a hand where you know what everyone else is holding.

If you are solving a problem, have a track record of success at solving that problem, and have social proof of that reliability from past clients, that’s your winning hand.

A lead with that problem, who identifies with those past clients, and sees that you understand their problem fully will always choose you above someone else who may have had a generalized and limited experience with that problem.

Let me illustrate this with a simple example.

When you have a cold, you goto a general practitioner right? What you are looking for is that quick fix, the medicine that will get you feeling better and back on your feet.

But it’s also why Walk-In clinics exist. So that if your GP isn’t available, you can feel better by going to a walk-in clinic and they’ll be happy to pick up your payment.

On the other hand, let’s say you need to brain surgery. Are you going to use a walk-in clinic? I didn’t think so.

You are going to do research, find someone with a track record of success and then choose the best.

Now that brain surgeon went through medical school just like your GP, but took it a step further, went down the road of niching down.

Are they leaving money on the table?

Yup, for sure they are.

Because of niching down, they’ve become an expert at solving a problem. They can then charge a premium for their services. They can spend an hour with a patient, have a consultation, know exactly how to speak to the patient that will result in tens of thousands of dollars with them, then someone who has a co-pay of $50.

That’s a lot of co-pays they are giving up.

When niching down, you leaving money on the table.

However you are able to focus on a number of things.

1. The customer, how they speak about their problem
2. Remain on the pulse of new strategies and techniques
3. Delivering on high-ticket solutions for clients rather than the commoditized services.

The fear of FOMO when niching down is an excuse of being outside your comfort zone. It’s when you get outside your comfort zone that you can achieve the results you want.

If this dose of reality still doesn’t sit well with you, tomorrow I’m going to share with you game plan that will allow you to stay being a generalist but test the waters of niching down.

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