Does the concept of saying “no” to a prospect seem ridiculous to you? You are not alone. However, you will actually experience more growth and greater profitability while doing more rewarding work if you narrow your focus to a sub-segment of the buying population you can help best.

Implementing a niche strategy is one way professionals can differentiate themselves from their competition. It’s quite difficult to claim that you prepare a better tax return than the person down the street. There is no way you could even prove that. However, you can claim an area of expertise your competition doesn’t have. For example, a significant part of your work may be done with businesses in the oil & gas industry or with churches. Or you could have significant experience with expat tax services. As a result, you are able to bring something extra to those businesses and individuals; you can translate sound experience into better advice.

You need to start with identifying a potential niche. That requires that you know your strengths and where you have opportunity in the marketplace. Once you decide what areas you can focus on, develop a marketing strategy. Know which channels of distribution will produce the leads you desires. And with any initiative, you need to measure your success. Growth will take time, but it should be measurable. And in the end, you will have a stronger firm.

Read more about how to select and market a niche in this Main Street Practitioner article Katie Tolin authored.