The Riches are in the Niches

I wish I made up the phrase “the riches are in the niches”! Although, the fact remains I heard this somewhere and refer back to this quote on a weekly (if not more) basis!

We all know that if everyone is our prospect, then no one is our prospect. I’m beyond guilty of this. So, what I’ve done is create multiple personas so that each persona can speak to a certain prospect.

I love the consultative sales approach when it comes to selling Swag but in all honesty, I found success in dumbing down what we do. Just like you (or I hope at least) I cringe when I hear phrases like tshotskie (however you spell that), “slap a logo on it” or really anything that doesn’t shed a positive light on promotional products. However, as I alluded to earlier; when I made a conscious decision to drop the high buzz word elevator pitch and simply say “I put logos on things” … well, that’s when I started to see a drastic increase in business.

It doesn’t make any sense! But really, try saying “I put logos on things” the first opportunity you get when meeting someone new. The most common response I receive is a challenge. It’s like these people want to see if they can stump me. They go, “like on bags? What, about hats? Hmm, could you do like speakers and charges too?” This isn’t a joke. Often times these are the types of responses I get.

Here’s where the magic happens… I get to respond saying how we can do it all, “we can put your logo on anything (and I mean ANY-thing). I mean with the right quantities and the right budget; we can get it done”. THEN, this leads me into a recent case study where we’ve done a project from scratch. It could be an overseas job where you walk them through the process or even a simple one piece cut and sew backpack example from OrigAudio. The point is, all of a sudden the conversation just elevated. To them, you are now a Swag Expert. You have already assured them that any job they’re likely thinking of you can do.

I am SwagSam. I’m a simple man. This is the brand. I’m the guy that you can come to for any swag project. This is the niche I have found with my clients and prospects (and offline networking).

However, I don’t think this is enough. I’ve challenged myself to see just how far I can niche down and then niche some more. SwagSam should have a shop where he sells swag to end users like one-offs, right? Well, that shop is almost here. This is a preview of a shop in progress to another niche I’ve been drilling down on (WhatUp Silicon Valley - a podcast network by young professionals all about what’s going on in Silicon Valley).

So, here’s the point. I found success with swag by niching down with the SwagSam brand. It’s always been an offline thing. In 2017, SwagSam went online with the launch of WhatUp Silicon Valley. I’ve niched some more in 2018 with my podcasts Mojo Mondays and Brand Hero.

Mojo Mondays is perfect for the person that is motivated and doesn’t like making excuses. That’s a niche that’s strongly different than SwagSam saying “hey, I put logos on things”. Brand Hero is a deep dive interview style podcast all about marketing.

Finally, I just published my first book entitled “Success with Swag(ger)” (side note: searching your name “SwagSam” in Amazon and having a result come up in the search is pretty damn gratifying). This book is all about how to work on your business and not in it, with the help of virtual assistants. This book is probably what I’m most proud of to date. And honestly it’s what people will look at most and be like “wow, he wrote a book”. Now, that’s positioning myself as a thought leader in regard to the entrepreneurial lifestyle and startup scene. Both of which will be demographics that need swag. Seeing a common theme and a funnel here?

Whatever it is you choose to be your niche, please do yourself a favor and don’t half ass it. Go ALL IN. I promise you the riches are truly in the niches ;)

To get a copy of my book, click here or if you’re a fan of charcoal heather cotton / poly t’s with cool word graphics, that I don’t know... maybe say the words “the riches are in the niches”, then get your shirt here!

Swag On,
SwagSam

Sam Kabert is the creative director of ValueBP Marketing Group and the creator and co-host of the podcast “WhatUp Silicon Valley!” A risk taker who embraces permanent beta, Sam is leading the transformation of his family-run office supplies business into a promotional products powerhouse. Sam can be reached at Sam@ValueBP.com.