Hi Mark,
It depends what markets you want to target and that depends on what hours you want to work and how far you are prepared to travel.
I always wanted to do large commercials, (God knows why) so focused on the High Street retail chains and before long got a national chain of 120 ladies wear shops which I did on an annual basis.
In the lead up this, I had a very bruising encounter with a marketing specialist provided by the then Department of Trade. The marketing materials we were sending out to our target companies got us nowhere and got tossed back across the desk at me in our first meeting with the Group Sales and Marketing Director of Gardner Merchant Plc, 'you'll have to do better than this if you want to be taken seriously, young man,' he said. He then explained how I needed a 'corporate identity,' and then very kindly explained in detail what one of those was. So I spent £5k or so (a lot of money back then) and got the Gerrards logo and a proper brochure and stationery and a professional attitude to go with it so that I looked the part, indeed looked far bigger than we actually were, that is what a corporate identity gives you. So looking the part opened the doors and it didn't take me long to get my big first break.
You have to want to work within your chosen market and not choose it for any other reason. So I think the first step is to aim at a specific market, preferably a niche market it you can find one and then find the people you need to connect with.
At one point we did huge amounts of insurance work, fire and flood restoration etc and simply targeted Loss Adjusters, Loss Assessors and the Claim Managers at insurance companies etc. Often it is just a matter of being very focused on what you want and being persistent.
Cruise ships came to me in a roundabout sort of way so there was no marketing involved.
We also have a considerable domestic and light commercial side, which is a different kettle of fish, marketing wise, but I would be happy to discuss it.
Simon