It used to be that you knew you were on your game if you were targeting the Holy Grail of specific markets: the ultra-affluent, baby boomers, and seniors. Then everyone started targeting these markets, and they suddenly weren’t special anymore.
I’m not really sure where the line is anymore between baby boomers and seniors. And couldn’t they be the same person? This blending concept can dramatically diminish our potential client pool — and it may be time to change pools.
We don’t really want to get out of our familiar customer pool. After all, the water is warm, we’re comfortable paddling around, and it’s where we learned to swim. But each time we dive in, we need to dive deeper. We know this market, we love these markets — they spend money, are loyal, and ask good questions. They really need us. But how much do we need them?
I’m not suggesting that we leave our current clients. We need to pay attention to them, stay in touch, remember birthdays and anniversaries, send useful information, and — of course — ask them for referrals to prospective clients who are just like they are. But for now, we need to move on and expand into new markets. And there are only two ways to get more business: Do more business with existing customers or find new customers.
Reaching out
To find different clients, ask yourself: Where is my expertise? What are my hobbies? What types of clients are my favorites? One broker I know, George, focused exclusively on engineers. He loved engineers because he understood how their thought process worked — he had studied engineering in school, and he had a great proclivity for numbers. As a result, he knew exactly how to communicate with engineers.
In fact, the engineering community is tightly knit: The person who bought George’s first policy offered to refer him to other engineers. He told his friends they had to talk to George because George understood him.
George quickly expanded his business because the engineers viewed George as someone they could talk to, someone who could explain the complexities of insurance in a concrete, systematic manner. George became known as the go-to expert for engineers.
Along the same vein, one of our family friends has made a great income by focusing fairly exclusively on teachers. He has been in the business many years, and he has earned the trust of teachers and is continually referred to other educators. He has been so successful that he hasn’t missed a sales award trip in more than 20 years.
How to do it
There are three benefits to developing niche sales expertise:
• You earn the trust and respect of your niche client.
• You are viewed as the expert in your field.
• You earn the right to ask for and receive referrals from your niche client.
Another way to think about your business is to think about the types of policies that your company typically underwrites. What is your company known for?
So how do you find your niche clients? Consider the cultural, geographic, and special interest connections you have that can lead to new business.
These connections form your affinity network. Think about people you know who are of the same cultural or religious background as you. Don’t forget about those who share the same political agenda or your passion for travel or sports. You probably felt an immediate connection to these people, a natural liking or inclination or a feeling of identification. Your relationship is begun in an instant because you have common interests.
And what about sports? I don’t need to know who played third base for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960 (Don Hoak), but it does help when people know I’m from San Francisco and that we love the Giants. What sports do you love? Where can you make connections?
A colleague of mine was a high school water polo champion and a competitive swimmer in college. He’s way beyond his college years, but he still swims early in the morning three times a week. If that’s all I knew about him, here’s the conclusion I would draw: He’s competitive, driven, follows through, has strength and stamina, does what he says he will do, and meets deadlines. Yes, all of that from just knowing that he played water polo and was a competitive swimmer. Oh, and did I mention that his grandfather was an Olympic medalist?
You can learn a lot by asking people about themselves. Think about your background and your interests and determine how you can parlay those into new relationships, new niches, and new business for yourself.
If you can establish a common interest, the connection is immediate and significant. The faster you can dip into your connections and interests, the faster you will become accepted by your niche client group.
Joanne Black is a professional speaker and author of “No More Cold Calling: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust.” For more information, visit www.nomorecoldcalling.com.
