In the Salesforce ecosystem, there’s a lot you can do.
You can provide your services to any organization that uses Salesforce, regardless of the industry. You can also learn and know any of the many clouds: Sales, Service, Health, Nonprofit, CPQ, Field Service, Financial, etc.
What you shouldn’t do however, is try to be everything to everyone. This would make your marketing sound something like, “I help organizations solve Salesforce problems”. This generic wording probably won’t draw in many crowds. Plus, with the Salesforce ecosystem being as large as it is, it’s also not a realistic goal.
What’s the alternative? Instead of being a generalist, be a specialist. Being a specialist simply means focusing your attention on a specific industry or need, and then choosing appropriate language to market yourself.
For example, if your clients are doctors, you would use the word, “patients” when talking about their clients. If your clients are hotels, you would use the word, “guests”.
Knowing which language to use helps strengthen your marketing and strengthen your role in that market. For example, I have decided to plant my flag in the nonprofit space. This basically means all things being equal, I prefer working with profits. It doesn’t necessarily mean I refuse other work, but I definitely am more selective about it.
As such, my main website talks directly to nonprofits, and my podcast is nonprofit-oriented. As my marketing expands, I hope to be commonly known as the “Salesforce nonprofit guy”. This also means if someone else hears about a nonprofit that needs Salesforce help, hopefully my name comes up.
The takeaway
One of the many benefits of specializing is to help you separate yourself from the other Salesforce consultants. It helps you promote yourself in a more precise way so people will think about you when a need arises.
It also allows you to narrow your focus and deepen your knowledge in your domain. More on this tomorrow.