In the majority of profitable sales environments you are bound to find a high level of competition. The best salespeople gravitate to where the money is.  That is why finding niche markets where you can exploit your own strengths and position in the marketplace is paramount to finding the best opportunities in sales.  The key to finding the right niche is determining where you can be the most productive.  

The first step in determining which niche markets to pursue is to take a serious look at your own personality and sales acumen.  Are you a person that thrives on fast-paced, high pressure sales?  Or are you a listener with a penchant for relationship building?  Finding the best niche for your own skill set is just as important as finding the one where your product or service fits well.  Your greatest opportunities in sales will often be where your disposition fits most naturally.  

A salesperson’s interests can play heavily into their most profitable opportunities in sales.  If you enjoy something outside of work you are probably more apt to be successful at selling it.  Additionally, knowing an industry, the customer base, and its lingo from the consumer’s point of view can aid you greatly in developing successful sales strategies.  If you happen to be a foodie or a wine connoisseur, selling any of the vast array of products and services within the restaurant industry might make for a nice play for you; perhaps even a specific type of restaurant.   Niche opportunities in sales are everywhere and finding the best fit is often somewhere you’ve already been.

The next phase to finding greater opportunities in sales through niche markets is reviewing your experience.  Taking an intuitive look at your successes and failures is a good practice for any sales professional but even more important for those seeking out the right niches.  If you’ve performed well in service industries you may want to seek out niches within that realm.  If interpersonal relationships have provided greater profitability you may be more suited to approaching small businesses.  

Technical skills are another area that every salesperson needs to examine.  Locating niche opportunities in sales is no different.  You don’t want to spend time pursuing a sales career in an area where you’re not qualified or skilled.  Take a close look at your experience and skills in areas such as desktop computing, software such as spreadsheets and database management tools, writing, and mechanical aptitude.  You can sharpen your skills in areas where you may be deficient but your opportunities in sales within the financial products sector will be limited if you don’t have a proclivity for math.  

The best opportunities in sales are often those where your interests, experience, and skills are most closely aligned.  Finding the right niche path requires you to spend some time evaluating yourself for the best fit.  Do so and you’ll be on the way to a successful career selling in niche markets.