Are you ready? It's that time when thousands of distributors and suppliers across the globe converge in Las Vegas for The PPAI Expo—one week of ideas, networking and, of course, industry education. The show, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, kicks off today with Education Day. This year, PPAI has created an outstanding lineup of both paid and free education. Both industry and business speakers will be featured during these interactive sessions, and speaker materials are available for download at www.expo.ppai.org.

This week, Promotional Consultant Today features content from select speakers, beginning with these tips on how to target niche markets from Danny Friedman, president of Danny Inc., one of today's education presenters (see specifics on his sessions below).

Is your promotional products business stuck in neutral? Are you confused about how to jump-start your career or reinvigorate your slower-than-you'd-like book of business? One way of getting to where you want to be in your career is to target specific niche markets and become an expert in one or multiple industries. No matter what industry you choose to target, you must go in with a plan of action that will give you the opportunity to succeed. Start to cultivate new, profitable clients by answering the questions below:

  1. What specific industries do I want to target?

  2. Who are the decision makers in these industries?

  3. What are the needs of these decision makers?

What specific industries do I want to target? This is the starting point and will dictate your path to success. You want to pick industries that are:

  • Very prominent in your geographical area. Example: If you're in Northern California, you're going want to target tech companies, computer consultants, software companies, etc. If you're in the Detroit area, you want to look at the auto industry. Find what industries are prominent in your area and go after them.

  • Industries that you have an interest in. If you have a genuine interest or are passionate about something, then find the businesses that go along with your interest. The fact that you have an interest or passion about companies in a certain industry will not guarantee success but your chances increase dramatically. For example, if in your past life you were an accountant, then you may be more apt to focus on companies in the financial industry such as banks, insurance companies or mortgage companies. Chances are, you already know how the decision makers think at these companies and, at minimum, you know a lot of the jargon or can "speak their language." You may also have contacts from your past industry that you can parlay into new business.

Who are the decision makers in these industries? Although all industries are different, there are three main departments in which you can usually find decision makers related to the promotional products industry. To name a few they are:

  • Marketing: director of marketing, marketing managers, marketing associates

  • Human Resources: director of HR, HR managers, personnel director

  • Recruiting: director of recruiting, HR managers, recruiting coordinators

You must be a detective and find out who the decision makers are in these specific departments.

What are the needs of these decision makers? Now that you've found out who the decision makers are, it's time to find out what their specific needs are. And the best way to know that is to know what these decision makers are responsible for; then you can target what type of promotional plan you will discuss with them. So in a general sense, the responsibilities of the specific decision makers are:

  • Marketing: overall marketing of the brand, business development and sales/revenue support

  • Human Resources: personnel/employee morale

  • Recruiting: finding and hiring the best-qualified candidates for job openings in a company

So what are you waiting for? It's time to make a plan (write it down!) to target in which industries you're going to become an expert and how you're going to do it. All you need to become an expert in one industry is to get one new client and you're on your way.

Source: Danny Friedman has more than 25 years of sales experience and is a multi-million-dollar producer. His clientele includes some of the top companies in the Fortune 500 and he has been in the promotional products industry for the past 18 years. Friedman combines his promotional products industry experience with other industries he has been in, including office products, real estate and sporting goods. He has also been a sales manager and sales trainer for the past 12 years. Hear Friedman live at the following free sessions:

For more education sessions, go to expo.ppai.org.