Niche Markets: Working Smarter, Not Harder

by Ken Matesz

“If you want to be rich, think big . . . think differently.”            Robert Kiyosoki

Last week I went car shopping.

Down one long stretch of a busy road I saw all the typical car brands:  Honda, Subaru, Mazda, GMC, Ford, Chrysler, Chevrolet.

What car brands didn’t I see?

Lamborghini

Rolls Royce

Porsche

Ferrari

Jaguar

Maserati

Aston Martin

Bugatti

Not only were none of these eight brands represented along that mile-long stretch of car dealers, I don’t even think most of these brands have any showrooms within fifty miles of where I live.  Yet I can name off the top of my head three different Chevrolet dealers in my area.

Why is that?

Niche markets.

Every successful business has a niche.  It is their target consumer.

For Chevrolet, the target consumer is the average, decently paid American consumer.

For Lamborghini, the target consumer is the super wealthy, usually male, who loves speed, performance, precision, and extreme quality.

Notice how much more specific and limited the Lamborghini target is.

Let me ask you a question:  Whom do you think earns more money from a single car sale, the Chevrolet salesman or the Lamborghini salesman?

No-brainer, right?

Next question:  How much time does a Lamborghini salesman spend compared to the Chevrolet salesman for selling a single car?

Answer?  About the same amount of time.  Sometimes even less.

Why?  Because the person who wants the Lamborghini probably already knows what he wants. He just shows up at the dealer and orders it.  Meanwhile, the Chevy salesman might have to spend hours helping one average consumer narrow down which ordinary car he will actually buy.

Last question:  Would you rather be the guy taking an average consumer out on ten different Chevy test drives, or the Lamborghini salesman writing up the order for the wealthy guy who wants a super performance car?

I hope that’s a no-brainer for you, also.

I would rather get a 1% commission on a $200,000 Lamborghini sale than a 1% commission on a $30,000 Chevrolet sale, wouldn’t you?

I would rather work one hour for $2,000 than to work 4 hours for $300, wouldn’t you? (Note, it is actually true that the average car salesman makes about $250 per car sale and might only sell 10 cars per month.)

Now, my point is not that you should become a Lamborghini car salesman.

The point is that when you decide to start and run a business, you should think smartly about your niche.

You need to think about how you can possibly sell a product that makes you $2,000 from 4 hours of work instead of a product that makes you $300 from 4 hours of work.

If you can make $2,000 from 4 hours of work, then you only need to work 200 hours per year (about 5 full-time weeks) to earn $100,000 in a year.

Sound unreal?

Well, could you make $2,000 from 20 hours of work?  You could still rack up $100K only working 1,000 hours per year.  That’s only 6 months of full-time work.  I know that can be done, but not by most employees, because there’s no money in employment.

It’s your choice.  You can be the average American consumer who works for wages or commissions, like the Chevy car salesman making $2,500 per month.

Or, you could set your sights higher.

Keep thinking about it.  Do you want to work many hours to sell ten Chevy cars, or do you want to work one hour and sell one Lamborghini?

Find a something a specific group of people want and are willing to pay highly for.

Sell that.

It’s better yet if you’re the only one in your county, your state, or your region who sells that product.

Stake out your territory – and your target consumers, your niche.

Claim it.

Then sell it.