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NRA Meeting — A Dealer’s Research Forum
As an industry event, the SHOT Show is closed to the general public. Therefore, the NRA’s Annual Meeting & Exhibits becomes the biggest “industry-direct gun show” your average customer will ever...
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Selling 9mm Pocket Pistols
I call them “slim nines” — semiautomatic pistols chambered for the 9mm Luger cartridge, with single-stack magazines, and short enough and thin enough to fit inside a trouser pocket. Their short...
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Sell Accessories Tailored To Your Customer
A gun shop’s stock in trade is largely the knowledge dealers and their sales staffs can impart to the customer. “I want a shotgun,” says the customer. That’s a good starting point, but which shotgun?...
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The Highly Dedicated Personal-Defense Customer
The highly dedicated personal-defense gun owner is the dream customer for a retail gun shop. For these customers, a weekly visit to your establishment is not uncommon — and often, it’s more than once a...
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Grip On Safety – Show ‘Em How To Work ‘Em
Recently, I was hanging out at one of my favorite gun shops, the Sand Burr Gun Ranch. Founded by Denny Reichard and run by his daughter, Ashley Gibbons, the shop is located in Rochester, Ind. Famous...
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Make The Right Impression
Sales staff dress codes vary within all retail businesses, usually reflecting the main theme of products, and of course, the shop’s primary clientele. Different gun shops have different dress codes. A...
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The Economy And The Personal Defense Gun Market
The poor economy can change the buying habits of gun shop customers, sometimes in unexpected ways. Yes, four years of the Obama presidency has seen the firearms industry flourish as a bright spot in an...
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Get A Firmer Grip On Grip Sales
For longer than any of us in the industry have been alive, replacement grips have been an important element in auxiliary sales. Before I was born, handgun connoisseurs outfitted their favorite sidearms...
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“Why Didn’t You Tell Me?”
Close on the heels of “the customer is always right” is the rule, “If I bought something I don’t know how to use correctly, it’s obviously the fault of whoever sold it to me.” It’s in the Customer’s...
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Identify The Right Handgun For Women Customers
Your female customers may have different needs than your male customers. Identifying and fulfilling those needs wins you the sale. Valerie is a young doctor and is quite new to firearms. She hadn’t...
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Selling The Guns Of The Champions
There is a certain kind of customer. You know the type. He may never win a tournament at his local course, but he will only buy the golf clubs used by the pros. He may never take his car off the...
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What Do You Sell When You Can’t Get Product?
There were plenty of rifles for sale at ProArms Gun Shop in Live Oak, Fla., in early December 2012. Following the tragic school shooting in December, there were no rifles available and few shotguns....
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When Hardware Is In Short Supply, Sell Training
Your customers come to your gun shop for more than guns and ammo. A major reason they frequent your store is the knowledge and advice you and your staff provide. Now, in a time when guns and ammo are...
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Equip Your Wheelchair-Bound Customers
Your physically challenged customers have a particular need for your knowledge and recommendations. These customers are vulnerable to criminal attack, as predators seek the weakest prey. When a...
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New Products, Intense Enthusiasm At NRA Show
The NRA annual gathering is seen as a national meeting by most of its members, but industry people often refer it to as “the NRA Show.” The event’s acres of display tables make it the second largest...
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Mountain Khakis Survey: Yes, Pants Are Versatile
A new survey from Mountain Khakis reviews more than 80 percent of men default to khakis when they aren’t sure what to wear. Mountain Khakis, of the Freedom Group family of companies, markets their...
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Explore The Concealed Carry Progression
As the latest state to pass a concealed carry law, Illinois retailers will finally experience purchasing patterns dealers from other states have long enjoyed. In the second quarter of 2013, a federal...
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