Are you an agency owner who wants to make it rain?
This is not about a sprinkling of right-fit clients, this is about a downpour. In other words, make it rain revenue by finding riches in the niches.
Many agency owners, strategic consultants, and executive coaches are too frightened to even try to find a niche.
“What if I choose the wrong one?” they lament. The lamentations are because fear never sleeps.
But fear not. In researching a potential target market, here are four filter questions top rainmakers say you should ponder in the following rank order:
1. Are you interested in solving the problems this group has? If their problems do not energize you, that should be a non-starter.
2. Have you worked with any already? Targeting prospects in a market you have never worked with is possible but not probable.
3. Can they afford you? Money isn’t everything, but it is certainly one important thing.
4. Are they willing to pay more for better service? There is no winning the low-price provider game. One person I interviewed called that strategy “the race to the bottom.” You cash bigger checks by providing better service to those willing to pay for it.
Karen Hunter Moraghan has a riches in niches story, which she shared when I caught up with her at the AT&T Pro Am at the Pebble Beach Resort in California (we met when we covered sports for our college newspaper at UC San Diego).
“My first introduction to working in the golf world was when I accepted the position of director of public relations and special events for Pebble Beach Company, a job that catapulted me into the epicenter of the #1 golf resort in the United States,” said Moraghan.
She formed Hunter Public Relations in 1990. When she was appointed championship director of the 1992 U.S. Open, she asked her sister, Kristen Hunter, to join the agency and hold down the fort. Her firm would evolve into the go-to public relations agency for golf.
For several years, Hunter Public Relations handled all golf media relations for Donald Trump and his courses around the world. Additionally, they have represented clients from South Korea to the Dominican Republic, Mexico to Puerto Rico.
According to Moraghan, no matter your niche, there are a few core tenets by which you must operate:
Cultivate relationships. “Relationships are at the core of any successful business. In our case, these are media, influencers and golf industry contacts.”
Never burn a bridge. “We live in a rapidly changing world and when working within a specialized niche — like golf — the same contacts frequently move around and change positions within the industry.”
Give back to the industry. “Serve on a board, volunteer at a golf tournament or charitable fundraiser. Mentor a younger person interested in the profession or the game.”
Look ahead, think forward. “I get tired of hearing about ‘the way it used to be.’ It’s up to us to keep up with the times, technologies, and trends. As media relations professionals, we owe that to our clients.”
Respect deadlines. “In today’s digital world, deadlines are compressed and nearly constant. To be a trusted resource for media, meet their deadlines. Deliver what is requested and if you cannot, communicate.”
Bottom line: In my business development research for agency owners, business consultants and entrepreneurs, I found a common denominator among the most successful rainmakers. The secret is to make yourself less interesting to the masses. And more intensely interesting to a select few. Moraghan certainly did that while teeing off a career in golf.