Why specialist positioning matters

Typically, the smaller a business is, the more important it is to specialise, and you can’t get much smaller than solo. For a soloist, specialist positioning is a powerful target marketing and business management tool.

There are several reasons for this.

1. Specialist positioning enables you to build a reputation as the “go-to” person in your field

This means you are the first person someone thinks of when they strike the problem you can solve. They don’t even have to know you personally. I’ve been flying solo for seven years as a specialist proposal strategist and writer. Looking back at 2007’s dozen or so new customers almost all of the leads came from people who knew of my reputation in this area. Only two of them actually had first-hand experience of my work.

2. Specialists command a premium

Customers hire experts; people who can do things that they can’t. As a soloist and a gun for hire, you’re both more likely to be hired, and to be hired at a premium rate, if you are an expert in your field. My friend Bridgette Engeler Newbury specialises in brand names. She has created names for some of Australia’s most recognised products and services, including AustralianSuper, Energex and The Qantas Club.

Brand naming is both a science and an art and brand names mean big money — Coca-Cola’s is valued at more than $20 billion — so this is a field that is crying out for expertise. Design firms and private companies alike seek out Bridgette because they recognise the value of her expertise.

3. Specialising helps you manage business risk

As a soloist, being an expert helps you to create repeatable business processes and build your own quality control system. Tasks such as quoting, writing proposals and setting up work plans become so much easier when you have done them many times before.

Familiarity with types of work and types of customers also helps you to understand and manage the risks in what you do. When you learn from past experiences, you’re far less likely to be left with a bad debt or a loss-making job.

4. Specialist positioning helps you turn down work that isn’t right for you

Being a specialist means you will often turn work away or pass it on to others because it isn’t your area of expertise. I often hear soloists say they will do anything provided a client will pay their hourly rate. This generalist approach might help put food on the table in the short term, but it’s not going to help you to build a sustainable business that you’ll be happy to continue to run.

We devalue ourselves if we take on work in which we find no joy; work that is stressful because we don’t really know how to do it; or work that doesn’t help us to learn and grow. Specialising means you are constantly investing in your own professional development and the long-term health of your business.

Are you a specialist reaping the benefits? Or still a generalist and loving it? Let’s hear what you have to say.

Come to Flying Solo LIVE! to see Robyn Haydon present Writing successful sales proposals Wednesday 17 September, 2008 at The Australian Technology Park, Sydney.

Robyn Haydon is a proposal strategist and writer and the author of The Shredder Test – The Australian Guide to Writing Winning Proposals.

7 comments | Add your own

Robyn, you are exactly correct, you need to fine tune and specialise as much as possible. It will not happen overnight, and it will be affected by market demands, but a soloist should aim and promote themselves in a niche market. Here in Brisbane, we have a shop called Browzing – that only sculpts eyebrows – it will not tint your lashes or touch any other part of you – just your lashes – and they are booked out 6 weeks in advance. Why get an ok job when you can pay for perfection. Heather Smith from Brisbane
Absolutely on spot. Specialist positioning is simply personal branding. For those of us flying solo, we are naturally good at many things. But it takes discipline to recognize the needs of the marketplace and where those needs intersect with your strongest talents. I've been consulting for a year and half. In that space of time, my revenue has come just three specialized niches. Gary Lee from Edmond Oklahoma USA
Hi Robyn - like you, I'm now in my 8th year of flying solo and am successful because I only work in my area of expertise! Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
I started out as a generalist to cover my bases - it was to be my only source of income and that was okay but confusing. I am now entering my second year of business with the focus on being a specialist in one particular area which is much better. I am starting to reap the benefits of word of mouth and couldn't be happier. Leisa from Perth
My husband and I started out as generalist in the computer, IT industry. Within 2 years, our customers told us what we were good at and why, so now we have become specialists, we actually don't have any advertising or a salesperson, we have word of mouth, we now have 6 people in total working for us, just because we narrowed our field and are refining it all the time and listening to our clients ALL THE TIME! Ros from Ballarat
I've been both a generalist and a specialist within my career and have settled on the following perspective:
Being a generalist provides you with more dimensions. It helps you add unique value to any engagement and draw upon broad knowledge that other specialist players may not possess. It provides one with breadth, new experiences and a competitive advantage.
BUT...
When it comes to marketing, it's better to promote yourself as a specialist. It becomes too confusing otherwise. And it also dilutes your native strength. It's better to promote yourself simply as a copyrighter vs a communications consultant - whom also does print design & layout work AND voice coaching AND office communication etiquette AND website design etc etc.
Customers want to know that you can solve their problem FIRST before you tell them you can add value in other areas (regardless of how good you are at other complimentary works).
SO...
On the surface, you're a specialist and you deliver your native strength better than anyone else - but underneath, you continue to evolve yourself as a generalist through the enhancement of your existing skills and the development of new skills and experiences. Paul J. Morris from Sydney, Australia | Read my articles
Spot on Paul! I really like your perspective. And you're right; specialist positioning is a sensible approach to marketing but isn't the be-all and end-all of what you do operationally. After all, once you have a client, and you're comfortable with each other, you can mutually agree to take on other assignments that will stretch you beyond your comfort zone or simply do 'little things' for them that you mightn't advertise for others. All grist for the mill. Cheers, Robyn :-) Robyn Haydon from Melbourne | Read my articles

7 comments | Add your own

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