How (and why) to target a niche market

3. Cold calling within an industry niche is usually a much warmer proposition.  Once your reputation is established, there's a good chance your prospect may have heard of you. If they don't know you, it's still easier to warm up the call because you know their challenges, you speak their language, you are an expert in their industry and you truly have more value to bring to them then a generalist.

C. Richard Weylman, CSP, professional speaker and author of "Opening Closed Doors: Keys to Reaching Hard-to-Reach People," puts it this way, "Remember the truism 'Birds of a feather flock together.' People associate and communicate with other people like themselves. For instance, people in the same type of business or profession join together in an association. To gain access to the marketplace, we should then divide it based on what our prospects do for a living, for recreation or where they have special interests. The advantage is that by segmenting your marketing into niches in this way, you can reach out to prospects that associate and communicate with each other. This means you can find and associate with them. They, in turn, can find and associate and communicate with you. Without these two factors, your marketing and prospecting efforts will continue to be frustrating and expensive."

I have a friend who is a sales rep for an advertising agency. She says that working these principles of niche marketing is like trying to move into a new lane while waiting at a traffic light. If you begin to inch over, trying to squeeze your car into the small space between neighboring vehicles, you may not get in. However, if you just catch the eye of the driver of the car you wish to cut in front of, he or she will almost always wave you in. Establish some recognition, and you'll be let in. The same is true in sales. If people have heard of you, even if they're not sure where, you can get past the gatekeeper and your voicemail messages get returned. A widespread reputation overcomes barriers.

It takes a commitment

Whether you are a rookie or a 20-year veteran (or somewhere in between), targeting your marketing efforts at an industry niche requires a high level of commitment to the process. Reputations are not built overnight. Until a critical mass of activity within the niche is reached, it may seem that your time and efforts are not producing a good return on investment. However, once that critical mass is reached, your growing reputation almost takes on a life of its own.

When you target an industry niche, reputation is everything. You need to go the extra mile. And you can't burn bridges, because word-of-mouth spreads faster within specific industries. Every transaction, every encounter, has to be handled with the utmost professionalism. Within the niche, everyone is always a prospect, at least in the sense of helping you build your reputation. If a company or individual doesn't fit your profile, you still must have an attitude of service. Even people in your target industry who aren't prospects should be treated with professionalism and dignity.

For more from Bill Cates, see:

• 7 ways to get the most out of networking events
• How to face referral objections with confidence
• The (nearly) foolproof way to contact a referral