The first step in an effective prospecting strategy is deciding which markets you want to make up your client base.

If your goal is to specialize, you should aim to limit your client base to one or two groups, says Sylvia Garibaldi, a business-building coach and founder of SG and Associates in Toronto.

Garibaldi shares four questions you should ask when investigating which clients you want to serve:

1. Who do I enjoy working with?
Before looking outside of your practice, take stock of your current client base. Ask yourself which individuals you enjoy working with most.

Which target groups do those individuals belong to? Are your favourite clients young professionals who are motivated to follow a plan? Maybe your favourite clients are well-educated, with a high degree of financial knowledge so you can spend less time explaining concepts to them.

2. What characteristics should my prospects have?
Identify the attributes that are most important to you in a client. Some of the factors you might consider are: age; profession; family structure; interests; affiliations (professional, social or cultural); and asset level.

Be realistic about how much weight you give each factor.

3. What financial challenges do my ideal clients have?
It’s not enough to know who those clients are. You also have to develop the expertise that will allow you to help them with their financial goals.

“You need to really believe that you can support this group, that you have the expertise and the knowledge and that you enjoy working with them,” Garibaldi says.

Do some brainstorming. For example, if you believe you would work well with physiotherapists, what are some of the issues they face? These may include managing clinic expenses, maintaining and paying staff and minimizing their tax exposure.

4. Who do I not want to work with?
Just as you have determined the characteristics your ideal clients will have, you need to know what would make for an unsuccessful relationship.

A good way to figure this out is by looking at personality types. Which personalities mesh well with yours? If you have a prospect who is very cynical and questions every recommendation, do you think that will make a good partnership? What about a client who is organized and always on time for meetings?

Revenue should not be the deciding factor in trying to establish a long-term relationship with someone.

“If you’re just doing it for prosperity,” Garibaldi says, “and you don’t have a passion for it, it’ll be very challenging to succeed.”

This is the first installment in a two-part series on prospecting.

Next: Locating your target market.