In a shifting economy, all too often sales professionals make one of two common mistakes. They either cast too wide a marketing net trying to be all things to all people and in the process spend entirely too much marketing dollars or they shut their marketing efforts down entirely hoping to wait out market conditions and save a few pennies. Want a better way? Find your niche.

Niche marketing is not a new concept, but it certainly is an important one for getting the highest results possible for the best return on your investment. This process of defining a market segment that makes the most sense for you, fuels your days (and career) with passion and purpose and focuses your efforts with surgical precision is a must-do for professionals committed to excelling in today’s competitive times. So, take a page from Jim Collin’s book Good to Great, and recognize that the great in ANY industry focus on being the best in the world at ONE THING, then go make your niche tat one thing!

1. Pick a Niche. No, not any niche, but one that suits you. Make a list of the things that interest you most, things you are passionate about or even an area or neighborhood that interests you. Perhaps you love the feeling of helping first time homeowners realize the dream of home ownership. Maybe investors with their strategies are intriguing to you or if you are a boater, maybe working with like-minded people who love the open water is the right demographic. I know dog lovers who bring their passion for man’s best friend into their marketing to other prospects also crazy about their canines.

There are horse enthusiasts effectively marketing to horse-friendly communities. There are many REALTORS® who love nothing more than to celebrate the heroes in their communities such as police, firefighters, teachers and military personnel and extend special benefits and services to those demographics. Whatever your hot button is, find the niche that motivates you to strategically focus your energy and marketing plan around making yourself the ‘go-to’ agent for that target market.

2. Think and act expansively. There are niches of every conceivable shape and size, all with their own demographic base filled with quirks, perks and opportunities. Certainly owning a neighborhood and making that your specialty is an important and profitable niche category. Think outside the “block” if you will though and consider some additional groups that could represent a whole new avenue for you to travel.

• How about CPAs? These local number crunchers have clients that very often need to invest in tax-friendly solutions (real estate comes to mind) or liquidate assets such as homes for one reason or another.

• Attorneys? They, too, find themselves with clients who because of divorce perhaps need to sell a current home and sometimes buy two separate! They also deal with estates needing to successfully close on a property to finalize their probate.

• Medical Professionals? Doctors and the tight knit family of medical professionals found in and around local hospitals and private practices meet a vast variety of people daily. By nature of their business, they often develop strong, trusted relationships with their patients which can last not only years but generations. Do you think maybe every now and again they get asked, “Who do you know in real estate who could help me?” You bet!

All of these smart individuals also have a book of business that they need to stay in contact with on a regular basis as well so that they can ensure a healthy referral base, and many of them have risen to the top of their game and may be looking for investments or homes of their own! Imagine reaching out to these local business men and women and initiating a dialogue something like:

“Hello, Joe Accountant/Attorney/Doctor! My name is Julie Escobar and I first wanted to say that I admire the reputation that you’ve built in our community. Your commitment to safeguarding the interests of your clients/patients is widely known and I wanted to let you know that as a professional, I share that standard in my business.

As a top area REALTOR®, I meet terrific people every day, and have a large BusinessBASE^TM of clients and customers, many of whom I have come to call good friends. That’s probably not unlike you and your business -- am I right?

In the course of speaking with all the VIPs in my book of business regularly, I am often asked who I would recommend in the field of accounting/law/medicine. Because of that, my team and I are interested in building a small but effective referral network in which we can share not only referrals, but any valuable information we might find that can positively affect one another’s businesses. Our network includes doctors, attorneys, CPAs, the owners of several local restaurant and small businesses, builders and more.

In today’s economy, networking and synergy are quickly becoming as important as breathing when it comes to building and maintaining a healthy business, don’t you think? I’d love to have lunch with you and discuss the possibilities! I have Tuesday or Friday of next week available, what does your calendar look like?”

3. The Road Less Traveled. Leave it to me to throw a Thoreau reference in here! In a shifting market, or in any market for that matter, instead of going head-to-head with the best in your entire geographic area, why not take the road less traveled? Pick a niche that works for you, develop a plan of action to consistently, repeatedly stay top-of-mind for that targeted prospect and win where it counts, month after month and year after year: in the hearts, minds and loyalties of your client base.

So pick a niche – any niche – and make it your own. Just because the “cheese has moved,” the “times have changed,” and the “market’s shifting” doesn’t mean you have to be out of business. You have to move, change and shift with it all – and you will find yourself in the good company of those top producers who don’t let economic rollercoasters curb their productivity.