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Shoot Your Shot (In the Right Striking Zone): Your ProBF Guide to Finding the Perfect Prospects for You

February 12th, 2026

Welcome to ProBF ProTips, our advice column from Facilisgroup’s Director of Professional Development and professional best friend (ProBF), Terri Harland! She’ll share her tips and tricks in the promotional products industry to help sales reps elevate their skills and drive incredible growth. In this Valentine’s Day edition, Terri describes finding your perfect match and finding your perfect striking zone that allows for your most authentic self to emerge. 

Let me guess…

You got into promotional products, and someone told you, “The market is unlimited! Every company needs branded merch!” All I need is a little nugget of this $27,000,000,000 pie.

And technically? They’re right. But also? That’s the fastest way to feel overwhelmed, scattered, and mildly unhinged by 3:47 PM on a Tuesday. Because when everyone is your prospect… no one really is.

Here’s what I want you to consider instead:

Stop trying to sell to everyone.

Start building inside your striking zone.

What’s a Striking Zone?

Your striking zone is the market or niche where you can show up as your most authentic self, and where becoming an expert feels energizing, not exhausting.

It’s where:

  • You understand their world.
  • You speak their language.
  • You know their calendar better than they do.
  • And you genuinely care about the problems they’re solving.

The promotional products industry is a saturated market. Yes.

But expertise inside a niche? That’s rare.

And rare wins.

Valentine’s Day Energy: Don’t Date Everyone

Let’s borrow a little Valentine’s Day logic here. You wouldn’t try to date every single person on the planet because, technically, they could be your soulmate.

You’d look for alignment.

Shared interests.

Shared values.

Chemistry.

Your striking zone is the market you’d actually want to have dinner with.

It’s the one you don’t have to pretend around. It’s the one where conversations flow, creativity sparks, and you’re not Googling “what does this industry even do” five minutes before a call.

Pick your Valentine. Commit.

Example: Sports as a Striking Zone

If sports are your thing, and I mean really your thing, you’re already ahead.

You understand:

  • Seasonal calendars (try selling team gear after playoffs… bold choice, haha).
  • Sponsorship cycles.
  • Fundraising timelines.
  • The emotional heartbeat of fans.
  • What game day actually feels like.

You know that August means pre-season prep.

You know when championships drive last-minute scramble orders.

You know when camps, clinics, and tournaments spike demand.

When you understand a day in their life, your suggestions change.

You’re not just selling a branded water bottle.

You’re solving hydration logistics for a 14-hour tournament day in July.

You’re not pitching a hoodie.

You’re building team identity for seniors in their final season.

See the difference?

That’s expertise meeting authenticity.

Healthcare as a Striking Zone

Same logic. Different world.

If you understand healthcare:

  • You know compliance matters.
  • You know shifts are long.
  • You know burnout is real.
  • You know appreciation gifts aren’t fluff; they’re retention strategies.

You understand that a “quick turnaround” means something very different in a hospital system.

You understand privacy sensitivities.

You understand purchasing structures.

You understand why certain colors, fabrics, or product types simply won’t work in clinical settings.

And when you speak? It doesn’t sound like a sales pitch.

It sounds like, “I get you.”

That’s magnetic.

Passion Changes Your Profitability

Here’s the part no one talks about.

When you’re selling outside your striking zone, you feel it.

The research takes longer.

The calls feel forced.

The follow-up feels awkward.

The creativity feels flat.

But inside your zone?

You’re faster.

You’re sharper.

You anticipate needs.

Your ideas are better.

And here’s the mic-drop moment:

ROI comes more naturally.

Because confidence converts.

Clarity converts.

Expertise converts.

When you deeply understand your niche, you stop competing on price and start competing on insight.

And insight wins.

How to Find Your Striking Zone

Ask yourself:

  • What industries do I naturally understand?
  • What do I follow for fun?
  • Where do I already have relationships?
  • What conversations energize me instead of draining me?
  • If I had to study one industry deeply for the next three years, which one wouldn’t feel like torture?

That’s your Valentine.

Commit to it.

Learn their calendar.

Learn their stress points.

Learn their buying cycles.

Learn their language.

Become the rep who “just gets it.”

Final ProBF Truth Bomb

You do not need the whole market.
You need a market that feels like home.

The promotional products industry is big enough.
Opportunity is abundant enough.
There is room for you, but not if you’re trying to be everything to everyone.

Pick your striking zone.
Lean in.
Fall a little in love with it.

And then go build something profitable, powerful, and completely you.

Always Yours,

ProBF