Finding Your Niche: Part Two - You, Two Steps Ago

Welcome back to my series on how to find your niche as a natural health practitioner!

Previously we explored how to create a science experiment out of finding your niche and how that can be lots of fun. Instead of freaking out about it, you can use science as a way to find your niche. If you missed the first part, you can find that one here: Finding Your Niche as a Practitioner – the Scientific Method.

In this article (part two) we’re going to explore how to look back at yourself, two steps ago.

Part Three is an interview with an amazing mentor from over in Perth who is an incredible human and a wonderful mentor who has taken the hero’s journey in your biography as a way to find and explore where your niche or your target market is.

I love exploring how to make things easier for you when it comes to running your business of being a practitioner. If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to follow me on YouTube or on Facebook. Then you’ll see all of the training that I do each and every week.

Finding Your Niche: Part Two – You, Two Steps Ago

It’s you, two steps ago

When you first hear “It’s You,” you may be like, “No! I don’t want to treat a whole bunch of people just like me! What are you talking about?”

One of the most amazing things that you can do with marketing is getting into your person’s shoes. Whether you call it your target market, your niche, or your avatar – however you describe it, you have to get in the shoes of that person that you really want to help.

You have to know them inside out and know so many things about their presenting condition (if that’s the type of niche you’re looking for), but you also need to know their heart, their head, and their mind, and all of the things that go with that.

Who do you know the best in the world? You know YOU the best in the world.

You know:

what goes on inside your head
your biggest fears
your triggers
what makes you happy
what keeps you motivated
what gets you up in the morning
what shifts you and gets you ready to make a change
what makes you take your vitamins and minerals
what makes you STOP taking your vitamins and minerals
what gets you to take advice
what gets you held up

Essentially, those are all things we want to know about our ideal clients. When it comes to marketing and finding the person that you can help the best in the world, there is no one else that you know better than yourself.

When I say, “It’s you, two steps ago (or ten steps ago)” you may think, “But I don’t have IBS” or “But I’m not a man” or “I’m not a. . .” whatever it is that you’re trying to attract as your ideal niche or client.

Let those things drop behind the scenes and focus in on where you were two steps ago, say with your health.

For instance, right now I have a head cold, a rhinovirus that I most likely picked up off my son two days ago. Right now, I feel like it’s probably there because I’ve been a little bit stressed from exams, there’s a bit of adrenal stuff happening at the same time as in my immune system, there’s an emotional side of things because I wanted to connect with my son.

So I know all of these things about me. So, if I was to help somebody who currently has a cold, I know it’s very likely that they’ve got low vitamin C and Zinc because they’ve used it up somehow through physical, emotional, or mental stress. I know that because I used mine up pushing the limits of studying. There are ins and outs about studying so I know I can help. If you’re studying, I know you may be staying up late and you’re possibly not drinking enough liquid so you could put in things like juices. These are all things that I noticed because I’ve just experienced studying.

I’d also be able to help somebody who’s a student through their immune system issues. Or, I could help someone who is a mum through their immune system issues in a way that I couldn’t help, say, a man who drives a bulldozer.

There’s a really interesting thing that happens when you have these insights into those things. Your niche, that person, that ideal target, that avatar – however you want to call it – they need to know that you understand them.

I can’t possibly understand a man who’s driving a bulldozer and him getting a head cold or his immune system issue as well as I can someone who’s just been up all night right next to their snotty nosed kid to make sure that they’re okay and connecting with them even while studying.

Just to clarify – those two steps could have been two decades ago. It could have been two years ago. But it’s just two steps ago, just a little while ago. It’s not who you are now, because you’ve lived through it.

Which element of what you do connects with your target market?

The interesting thing is that you’ve got to check in with yourself about which element of what you do connects with your target market. It might not be the whole of you, two steps ago. That’s where we can trip ourselves up. You’re not necessarily treating an unhealed version of you two steps ago, but there’s a quality of who you have been, that you have lived through, that you survived through. You came out the other side and were healed on some level.

Maybe you became resolute. You had a resolution on some level. Maybe you became resolute to support yourself through immune system issues. Perhaps you had a resolution of your gastrointestinal issues or gut issues. Maybe you had a resolution about your stress and even though you didn’t necessarily have gut issues, you could help a person with gut issues through their stressful time because you have insights about going through stress.

The reason why this is important is because all of the wording that you use and all of the ways that you connect with your potential client, your ideal client, who’s hanging out there waiting to hear from you, is not through the information that you have for them.

They’re not going to be super excited and come see you because you’ve informed them about the gut micro-biome. The information isn’t the thing they’re going to come and see you because of. Most of the time it’s the inquiry into their feelings that brings them back.

Information versus inquiry means you querying, and questioning, and getting into what it’s like to be in that person’s shoes, to feel the way that they’re feeling. Then you’re going to give them the information they need.

It’s how you make them feel, not the information you give

Everybody’s got information. Dr. Google’s got information. Every medical thing on Google has information. Textbooks have information. Every other practitioner has information.

What helps you stand out and connect with your ideal client is knowing them. Inquiring and questioning what’s happening for them in their environment. And then knowing that you have something that you’ve lived through, some version of that that you can connect with.

The fascinating thing about this is that once you are inquiring rather than informing and you’re really curious about it, you’re going to be getting a really different type of response back.

“People don’t remember what you say, they remember how you make them feel.”

If you’ve ever had clients sitting in front of you for an initial conversation where you’re basically vomiting education they’ve never heard of about health and well-being, they aren’t going to remember all the things you said. Humans only remember about 13-20 minutes, supposedly, and then we just vague out. But they will remember how you make them feel.

It’s all about creating that sense of feeling and connection with that person.

That is just when they’re sitting in front of you. It’s an entirely different thing when you’re marketing to them. Marketing could come in the form of:

a letterbox drop
speaking to them at the supermarket
a big poster for a workshop
a Facebook ad
an Instagram post
a newsletter
a blog post

If you don’t know the words to be able to market to your client, then you’re just going to come across as information. There is information everywhere so when you can really truly connect, it makes a big difference.

Everything is marketing

I told you to think about yourself two steps ago. So let’s use my own business as an example.

There are so many people in my tribe, in the Natupreneur tribe and in our movement that I can resonate with because I have been there.

I have been there, sitting by myself in a clinic but nobody knew I existed.
I’ve been in charge of a multi-modality clinic with no other practitioners.
I slogged through writing my first book and then trying to get it out into the world.
I have freaked out on the side of a stage before going out to speak.

I didn’t just say, “I’ve been in practice, I’ve had this, I’ve had that, here’s the information.” Telling you the information isn’t going to be the same as what it felt like to be in that situation.

I’ll put it in the context of your clients.

The information about one of my clients is that she had ongoing IBS for over 20 years and had gotten to the point where she was making multiple stops to get to anywhere in between places and houses and was actually going to toilet up to 16 times a day. She was diagnosed with IBS.

But the other side of her story is that she was a mum of three. She had to take them to three different schools and she couldn’t drive all to each school without knowing where every single public toilet was on the way. She had to be able to stop and use the toilet so that she didn’t cause an issue in her own car, in her own clothes.

Put your understanding in your marketing

Remember that everything is marketing. Telling your client to take some supplements, to take your advice, that they need to read an article, or to create a change in their diet – that’s all marketing. You’re marketing a new idea and a new change for them. Unless you have some of you in it and some of your understanding, then it’s just more information they could have got off the internet.

Being able to sit in front of her and say, “Oh my goodness, driving to three different schools is hard enough. I’ve been there. You’ve got to calculate all these things, everything’s going through your brain, you’ve got to leave with a certain amount of time – there’s so much going on already for you. Then having to know all those other things along the way let alone worrying about your body, that must be huge.”

Even though I haven’t had IBS the way that she has, because I showed her that I heard her and could relate with her, I was able to get her on board with the idea that I really understood and therefore the information I gave her was so much more powerful. Because she’s heard and understood.

That’s exactly what happens when good marketing hits you. You feel heard and understood and you’re waiting to suck the information out with your credit card in front of you. You’re waiting to get on board because somebody’s heard that part of you.

Just in case any of you are wondering, the resolution for this client was that six weeks later, she had forgotten that she even had that problem. She forgot all about the different types of issues she was having. She didn’t have to stop at all wherever she was driving.

I know so many of you have had the same kind of results with your clients, if not even more epic. It’s just incredible to have that change for somebody. But I couldn’t have gotten that change for her if she was just Googling and getting information from everybody. The only way it can actually, really, truly happen is when somebody is really on board with an idea. That’s what good marketing is.

Get specific

You can think that your niche is everybody because you just want to help everybody, so you’re just gonna speak to everybody. But no one’s going to listen unless you’re really specific about some part of their dilemma.

It’s based on where you’ve been. You have to really truly know it inside and out.

I really truly know what it’s like to drive to three different schools – it is a mission. It takes so much out of the day. I’ve lived through it and continue to live through being a parent of three kids. The ways that I’ve dealt with that are really helpful to my clients who several kids.

You are the most qualified person if you have lived through it. This is why you, two steps ago, is the way to find your niche.

You don’t have to have a particular diagnosis yourself. But part of any diagnosis includes things that you do have experience with. A certain amount of stress or a certain amount of fatigue. Things that you’ve probably lived through that you have an amazing experience in and can contribute to the conversation.

Maybe your target market isn’t a symptom.

I was adrenal-fatigued and I rebelled against that. I was like, “No, I’m the detox person. I’m the puzzle person. I can help all the people with all the puzzle situations.”

You know, the ones with all the crazy diagnoses. I had never had one of those. Yes, I could I can read pathology like it’s the back of my hand and all that kind of stuff. But to know what it feels like to be a puzzle case and not know where the questions and answers are – I haven’t had that, so I can’t speak to it in the same way that I can good old adrenal fatigue.

I wrote a whole book based on my experience with adrenal fatigue. ‘Freedom From Fatigue’ was really what I was looking for so I can actually speak to that. I not only had the information from two university degrees but I also had that experience. So I had a level of empathy and level of understanding for that particular client that I could write and talk about it all day.

It took me a long time. I really wanted to back pedal on that and be the detox person. But where the gold was for my clients and for myself was to lean in and explore what part of me two steps ago could be really helpful for the person in front of me.

Again, you don’t have to have lived through that particular thing but what you’ve learned two steps ago, that’s the thing that can be really helpful.

It’s about how you overcome challenges

Start to look back to where you were two steps ago. Remember, two steps ago can mean:

two lifetimes ago
two marriages ago
two diagnoses ago
two years ago
two months ago
two days ago

But it’s always something you’ve lived through that is part of you and it was probably one of your most challenging times.

As I’ve mentioned, one of my most challenging times was adrenal fatigue. I had gotten into go full-on practitioner mode. You know, when we get all the textbooks out and we talk to all of that. I had a microscope on my desk and I was palpating and physically examining everybody. They had turned into my beautiful experiment.

But I missed the bit about where they were at because I had forgotten what it was like. It was actually five steps ago for me that my adrenal fatigue was at its peak so I had to step back and remember what it truly felt like in that most challenging time and what it truly felt like to be there.

Recognise how you get through challenges, no matter what kind of challenge it might be – a change of job challenge, something to do with music, the arts, athletics, whatever – there is always something that happens when you are in that challenging time.

A part of you gets reignited to be able to share your story, empathise, and connect in a way that you possibly haven’t before.

So that’s my invitation to you. Think about where were you two steps ago:

What challenges did you face?
What tools did you use to get through it?

You might not be treating that particular challenge but you might be using those tools to get through it. That might be what you’re actually contributing rather than directly helping the exact same issue.

Talk about what’s in their head instead of more statistics

It makes for a really powerful conversation if you have dealt with something similar to what your ideal client is going through.

Take what went on inside your head and share it. Don’t shove more information in your client’s face, connect with what’s happening to them on the inside.

Find the unique things that go through a person’s head when they are dealing with that specific issue. When you start to speak to that in your marketing, through your posts and things like that, they’ll be heard and then they’ll lean in for the thing that you’re offering.

For example, for female practitioners who have clients with PCOS. Even if you haven’t had PCOS, you can relate as a woman who knows what’s it like to go through hormonal things. Albeit they aren’t specifically around that particular condition, you’ve still experienced hormonal issues around your period, perhaps around pregnancy or menopause, etc. It’s a similar story and because you know what that’s like, you can share those feelings and thoughts in your marketing to connect with those clients. This becomes your niche because you know all the ins and outs of it.

Think about where you were two years ago. That’s where your ideal client is right now. So share what was in your head and how you felt two years ago to connect with those clients. Then share what you learned over the past two years. Think about how much easier your last two years would have been if you had the knowledge then that you have now. That’s how you help those clients.

You can help that particular person because you are so aligned with that person’s journey.

And for male practitioners, this can still work for you with female clients. Lots of women like to see male practitioners. When it comes to your two steps ago, maybe that’s around helping women and how that’s evolved in your life. Your relationship with women, including your mum and others in your life, might be the thing that you’re bringing to the fore when it comes to your ideal client. The relationship that you have sharing information and them sharing information with you.

Focus on the ins and outs of your ideal client’s current situation

So this is a really interesting way to find your niche. Lean into the idea that it could be something about you two steps ago. Nobody knows it more intricately than you.

Knowing your ideal client, your avatar, or your niche is all about intimately knowing the ins and outs of their mind, heart, and physical self.

Connect with what’s on their mind because marketing is all about that. You want to get them on board to think differently and make a change.
Hit them at their heart because the way you make people feel is what it’s going to stick and not necessarily the information that you give them.
Share your physical knowledge that you have as a healer

Finding your niche comes down to really honing in on how your story is aligned with your clients and how you can truly, truly help that particular person. Have a think about the person you’re currently targeting and what you’ve been through or helped someone through that relates to their problem, so you can really provide value to their mind, heart, and physical self.

Finding Your Niche Series

Part One: The Scientific Method

Part Two: You, Two Steps Ago

Part Three: In the next instalment of this niche series I am excited to introduce to you a gentleman from Perth who is an extraordinary mentor and has really taken this idea of finding your niche in your biography and your hero’s journey to the next level for praccies. Click here to watch the interview.

If you have found this helpful, please share it with another practitioner. My mission is to change the paradigm that we are living in as practitioners for our business and our mindset so the more people who share this, the better!

Finding Your Niche: Part Two – You, Two Steps Ago