Ep 198: How to Differentiate Your Consulting Business Without Niching Down
Marketing consultant. Business coach. Copywriter. Graphic designer.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these labels. The problem is that there are thousands of other people using them too.
If I tell someone, “I’m a marketing consultant,” they have a general idea of what I do. But they don’t necessarily know why they should work with me instead of another marketing consultant.
That’s where becoming a category of one comes in.
And no, becoming a category of one doesn’t mean inventing an entirely new service nobody has ever heard of.
It means getting clear about what makes your approach, experience, perspective and transformation different — and making those differences visible.
Here’s how I think about it.
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What does “category of one” mean?
Every business naturally fits into a category.
You might be a consultant. A coach. A copywriter. A web designer.
Go another level down and you might be a marketing consultant, executive coach or email copywriter.
These categories are useful because they quickly help potential clients understand what you do.
But they create a problem too.
When dozens of people within the same category use the same language, offer similar services and make similar promises, they start becoming interchangeable.
That makes it harder for someone to look at your business and think:
“That’s exactly the person I need.”
Becoming a category of one means changing that.
You’re still a consultant. You’re still a coach. You’re still a designer.
But there’s something specific about the way you solve problems that makes you the obvious choice for the right person.
Start with what’s already different about you
Here’s the good news: You probably don’t need to manufacture your differentiator.
Often, it’s already there.
The challenge is recognizing it.
Maybe you have professional experience that changes the way you approach your work. Maybe your clients consistently mention something about your process. Maybe there’s a specific type of problem you solve exceptionally well.
Sometimes the most valuable differentiator is something you barely think about because it feels normal to you.
For example, imagine a coach helping women navigate periods of change.
At first glance, that’s an extremely broad category. Plenty of coaches could make a similar claim.
But what if that coach also has a PhD in psychology and brings a much more scientific understanding of change into her process?
Suddenly, there’s something interesting to work with.
Instead of hiding that background, she can incorporate it into her messaging, methodology and client experience.
The service is still coaching.
The way she approaches it is different.
Try this:
Write down your answers to these questions:
What experience or expertise do I have that my competitors might not?
What do clients repeatedly compliment me on?
What do people tell me they’ve “never thought about that way before”?
What parts of my process have developed naturally over time?
What work gives me energy instead of draining it?
What do people already come to me for advice about?
Don’t worry about turning the answers into polished marketing language yet.
Look for patterns first.
Don’t confuse becoming a category of one with niching down
This distinction is important.
When consultants hear that they need to differentiate themselves, the immediate advice is often:
Niche down.
Sometimes that works.
But niching down isn’t the only way to differentiate yourself.
Imagine you’re a graphic designer. Niching advice might tell you to work exclusively with wedding businesses or only create minimalist brands.
That certainly makes your positioning more specific.
But it can also restrict the work you do.
If you’re a creative person who thrives on variety, doing essentially the same project again and again can become boring. It can also limit your opportunities to experiment, develop new skills and discover what kind of work you actually want more of.
Instead of only asking, “What niche should I choose?”, I prefer to think about your market.
A good market contains people who:
Have a problem you can solve.
Need what you do.
And are willing to pay to solve that problem.
That gives you room to work across different industries or projects while remaining recognizable for a specific strength, perspective or methodology.
Pay attention to what your clients reflect back to you
One of the hardest things about differentiation is that we’re often too close to our own businesses to see what makes us unusual.
Your clients can help.
Pay attention when someone says:
“I’ve never thought about it like that.”
Or:
“Nobody has explained this to me this way before.”
Or:
“This process saved me so much time.”
Those comments are valuable data.
They can point directly toward your category of one.
I’ve experienced this in my own business too. When I described myself broadly as a marketing consultant, getting work required more effort.
Things became easier when I got clearer about what I actually do, who I do it for and the transformation I help create.
And something else happened:
Referrals became easier.
People could picture the exact situation where they should recommend me.
That matters.
If somebody needs five sentences to explain what you do before referring you, your positioning probably isn’t clear enough yet.
Build your differentiation around how you create transformation
Your category of one isn’t simply a clever tagline.
It should show up in the actual work.
Think about:
Your process: How do you solve problems differently?
Your perspective: What do you believe about your industry that shapes the way you work?
Your experience: What professional or personal experiences influence your approach?
Your transformation: What changes for clients after working with you?
Your strengths: What comes naturally to you that creates additional value for clients?
This is where differentiation becomes much more powerful than simply choosing a niche.
Two consultants could technically offer the same service but create completely different experiences and outcomes.
One might deliver a strategy and leave the client to implement it.
Another might take an educational approach, teaching clients why the strategy works and how to repeat the process independently.
Same broad category.
Very different experience.
Your best-fit work should give you energy
There’s another reason I care about becoming a category of one: sustainability.
Taking every project that comes your way can generate revenue in the short term.
But a poorly aligned project has a cost.
If a project drains you so much that you need two days to recover, those are two days you aren’t creating, selling, networking or serving other clients.
That energy drain has a real business impact.
Becoming clearer about what you do best makes it easier to say no to work that belongs with somebody else.
And referrals become easier in both directions.
You can say:
“This isn’t really my specialty, but I know exactly who you should talk to.”
Someone else can do the same for you.
That’s a much healthier way to build an independent business than trying to become everything to everyone.
Find your category of one by turning up the volume
You probably don’t need to reinvent yourself.
Start by noticing what’s already working.
Look at the experiences that shaped you. Pay attention to what clients value. Notice the problems people naturally bring to you. Think about the work that leaves you energized.
Then turn up the volume on those things.
Make them clearer in your messaging.
Build them into your process.
Give language to methods you’ve already developed.
And make it incredibly easy for someone to understand when you are the right person to call.
Because the goal isn’t to create a business that nobody else could technically compete with.
The goal is to create a business where your best-fit clients look at you and think:
“Nobody else does it quite like this.”
Kendall Cherry
Kendall Cherry is a sales storytelling strategist and the author of Here to Sell, a field guide to growing your business through authentic sales and marketing. She helps founders and teams attract premium clients by turning their ideas, experiences, and expertise into stories that convert.
