Increase Sales as a Business Coach or Executive Coach Begins by Defining Target Market


by Leanne Hoagland-Smith - Date: 2006-12-07 - Word Count: 502 Share This!

The successful business coach or executive coach needs to define her or his target market by using a strategic planning process from which to create an executable strategic action plan. This is a time consuming process, but well worth it the investment of time, money and energy if you truly wish to increase sales.

The best place to begin is to determine specific target market segments for your services and products. Compiling this data may require you to make some educated guesses and may include contacting a marketing specialist who is familiar with your geographic location. At this stage, educated guessing is still better than working in the dark. You can always return and update this information as you become more familiar with your market or if you market changes from a local business coach to a regional or national executive coach.

Within each target market, you will need to analyze the following 3 key areas:

Customer population Customer's potential needs Potential dollar volume

For example, if as a business coach your target segment is real estate agents or realtors, then you would research the number of real estate agents within your geographic location. In many communities, there are local realtor associations who may have this information. Additionally, there are national web sites than provide additional data.

Then additional research is required to understand the needs of this targeted market. Research suggests that realtors first year failure rate is 40% to 80%. This is extremely costly to the real estate brokers or real estate business owners. Again, the local realtor association and the Internet may be a good resource as you build your research. Additionally, may wish to speak to some local established realtors with whom you have connected through your focused networking activities.

Finally, a potential dollar volume needs to be assigned to this specific market segment. Again, using realtors as an example, if there are 1,000 realtors in your area and if your business coaching services to this segment average $3,000, then the total potential volume is $3,000,0000.

The next step is to look at potential competitors within each target market segment. This activity compares your coaching services and products against competitor's services and products. As you make these comparisons, your distinct advantage should begin to surface.

Using all of this data, you can expand your distinct advantage by identifying your strengths in comparison to all of your competitors and determine what makes you unique within this marketplace. Also, you will be able to recognize what makes your competitors different from you.

Many business coaches or executive coaches have more than one target market segment within their business or practice. By taking the time through a strategic planning process to brain storm all potential target markets provides the opportunities to discover "niche markets" where there are high dollar volume. From this strategic planning process, an executable strategic action plan can be developed that will include all of your goals specific to actualizing your target market and this will increase sales because you have honed your market focus.


Related Tags: business coach, business coaching, strategic action plan, executive coach, increase sale, target market

Leanne Hoagland-Smith is a business coach who helps businesses to create executable strategic plans and the skills necessary to pull it off.

One quick question,if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack holding you back from success, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give me, Leanne Hoagland-Smith, a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.

Visit http://www.processspecialist.com/ and explore everything from free articles to connecting with Leanne.

P.S. If you are seeking an affordable speaker or need a business writer, I may be just the person to meet your need.

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