Niche market strategy: Finding centers of influence

Evaluate your clientele for possible centers of influence.

One day, a financial professional we know was analyzing his practice and noticed that he was beginning to build a fairly significant presence in the local medical community, among doctors generally, and surgeons specifically. He then asked what turned out to be two very important questions about his practice: What is it about the medical profession in general and surgeons in particular that is so attractive to him, and how could he more effectively grow his practice within this particular niche market? The result of this thought process resulted in the following script, which he tried out on a physician that was not only a good client but a great friend. He scheduled a lunch meeting the following week under the premise of wanting to pick the physician's brain regarding the direction he wanted to take his practice. They met for lunch the following week and after a few pleasantries, the financial professional said the following:

"Hey Bill, as I said on the phone, I stumbled upon something as I was analyzing my practice on which I need your insight. I really appreciate your taking the time to allow me to pick your brain. I noticed that over 30% of my clientele are physicians, with a fairly large percentage being surgeons. I knew I worked with a number of doctors, but this number surprised me. As I thought about why this was occurring, I came up with a couple of interesting insights. I think the first catalyst was my mom, who, like many mothers, hoped her little boy would grow up one day to be a doctor. To plant that seed she bought me a book entitled, The Making of a Surgeon,¹ by William A. Nolen, published by Random House (1970). (at this point, Bill stopped me and said that was his favorite book about his profession and that he, too, had read it as a young boy), about a young doctor going through his internship and residency at the famed Bellevue Hospital in New York. Dr. Nolen's journey was so captivating that I decided that I, too, would become a surgeon.

"I later ran up against my lack of affinity for math and science, but as you know, Bill, I never lost my fascination with and respect for your profession. My second discovery was how much I enjoyed working with surgeons temperamentally. I have discovered over the years I work best with individuals who are extremely decisive. People who continually vacillate and equivocate drive me to distraction. Surgeons seem to be temperamentally wired to make tough decisions with the best information available and appear to continually move forward toward the best result. Being wired that way myself makes us, in my mind, a great fit.

"So, with my affinity for both the profession and the practitioner, I decided that I wanted to consciously grow my practice much more in this arena. And, as I thought about the best way to do that, I realized something: I could never know as much about your profession as you do, Bill. So, here's my question: If you were me (and you know me and my business model as well as anyone), how would you more consciously and systematically attract more surgeons into your practice? What would you do?"

At this point, say nothing, and let your client talk.

And here's how the story ended. His physician friend thought for a moment, smiled, and said, "Well the first thing I would do is take me to lunch on Wednesdays." The financial professional responded somewhat quizzically, "You know I always enjoy lunch with you, Bill ... but why?" He said, "Well, every Wednesday, a number of my colleagues and I meet for lunch down here. On any given week, there could be anywhere from five to 15 of us sitting around just shooting the breeze, telling war stories, complaining about the bureaucracy. Basically we've become an informal support group.

"These are exactly the kind of men and women that fit your profile. So, here's what we should do: the next Wednesday you find yourself in the neighborhood, give me a heads-up, and you can join us for lunch. I'll simply tell everyone that I was meeting with my financial professional and asked you to join us for lunch. The rest is up to you." He, of course, said, "How does next Wednesday look?" The friend laughed, and said, "That would be great." It went off just as anticipated. He introduced the financial professional, and because he was the new kid on the block, he was the center of both attention and conversation. At the conclusion of the first lunch, the financial professional was not only invited back, "any time you're in the neighborhood," but also to stop by to chat with a couple of the surgeons at the table on his next visit.

The bottom line is that the financial professional would never have considered this approach without the direct insight and guidance of his physician friend.