Are women a niche market for financial advisors? Some would consider them to be a niche market. But if women are a niche, then I guess men are too. You rarely, however, hear a business, for instance a financial advisory firm, claim that they are targeting men. Then why women?

There is no question that the key to working with women is an art – but perhaps not in the way you may think. If you would consider women as a profitable market for your firm, you might want to begin by clearing the slate.

For instance, some may think that women don’t like sports (so don’t use sports analogies), they love shopping, they take longer to make decisions, or they are interested in security first when it comes to money. Those are all assumptions, tendencies, and generalizations. Not absolutes. If the goal is to work with more women, assumptions often cause disconnects.

Specific niches of women can prove very profitable. Women executives, business owners, widows and more have been historically underserved and want and need sound advice from a financial advisor who has dealt with situations like theirs in the past.

If you truly want to serve more women clients, you may want to share how you have served those with similar situations in the past. Think of the kind of women you serve (executives, widows, single) how you understand their situation, and have applied solutions that may fit.

Here are some female-focused value propositions from financial advisors that are very successful working with specific niches of women.

1. We work with busy female executives – people who are exceptional at business and making money – but may not have the time to take care of all the details in their personal financial life.  We call our approach, “Investing Redefined.” We focus on integrated financial planning, family office-like Financial Management and organization, and investment management. We help manage the financial lives like a business for our female executive clientele.

2. Our organization cares about the success of women in business. In our investment management we use something called Gender Lens Investing where we build special portfolios of gender-diverse companies. Yes, it’s socially important – but it’s actually smart investing!

3. Our team’s passion is to help women in transition. Over the years we have worked with more than 70 widows – taking a holistic approach to their financial lives and Investment management. Fifteen years ago we started a support group for widows that to this day meets monthly with special speakers, camaraderie and resources. As a team, we are truly committed to supporting the needs of widows.

The fact is that women and men are different – yes. The reality is that there is no script you can learn that will lead to working with more women in your business. To work with women, smart professionals, of course, start with the assumption that everyone has an individual situation.