In my view, the single-best way for an advisor to make a mark is to target...and dominate...a prospect niche. With more than 660,000 advisors out there, you need to find a way to position yourself as distinctive. Prospect niche dominance does this.
Where do you start? How do you find a prospect niche to target? Presumably, that's why you've clicked on to The Prospecting Professor. Looking for ideas? How about Air Conditioning Contractors?
Air Conditioning Contractors have had a good couple of years. Their fortunes have been closely linked to the US economy's construction boom...and most have been very busy. (It always helps to call upon prospects who are making $$$. As a general rule, wealthy clients are better than poor clients.) For example, last week Watsco Corp. (NYSE:WSO), the largest distributor of air conditioning and heating products reported a record quarter...EPS up 34%. Moreover, with the insidious reality of global warming, the world is not getting colder any time soon.
In order to dominate a prospect group, it greatly helps to become very knowledgeable on what's going on in the industry. Fortunately, online resources make it rather easy to immerse oneself in the comings-and-goings of any industry in a short period of time. Here are some resources for Air Conditioning Contractors (SIC code: 1711).
The Air Conditioning Contractors of America, www.acca.org, is the nationwide association of the HVACR (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration) industry. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers, www.ashrae.org is an association that is more engineer focused. The Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association, www.smacna.org includes sheet metal contractors as well as the a/c folks. Finally, the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute, www.ari.org is the trade association representing the manufacturers of air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration equipment.
The most obvious place to begin your "industry immersion" is by browsing each of the websites above. You will find newsletters, trade journals, press releases, etc. In fact, the Air Conditioning Contractors have a pretty good weblog...that is updated daily with inside news and tips, ACCA Buzz. A great source for smalltalk. Also, the Sheet Metal Contractors site has a very good member director online that will provide names of the contractors in your area.
If you are full of chutzpah and brio, you can attend the ACCA Convention and Indoor Air Expo in two weeks...March 9-12 in Austin Texas. The keynote speaker is futurist/economist Lowell Catlett, Ph.D., a professor at New Mexico State. He spoke at the conference two years ago and is back by popular demand. He will talk about new "trends for a/c contractors to explore, and provide tips that will assist contractors to stay at the top of their game" (That's what the ACCA press release says.) Also speaking at the conference is Terrell Jones, founder and ex-CEO of Travelocity. His topic will be how the "wired generation" is changing the way people buy HVAC services and products.
Here's a wacky idea. Why don't you call every a/c contractor in your area, and ask if you could meet them for a cup of coffee (or your other favorite beverage) at the conference in two weeks? Even if they can't meet you, or aren't going to the conference themselves...I bet they remember your call!
Lastly, if you are a member of Horsesmouth, enter "niche" into the keyword search and you'll find a number of very good articles that will get you started, including: "How Niche Practitioners Connect With Clients" and "How to Dominate a Niche in 12 Months".
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