Get Them Selling For You

Editor’s Note: Letting a service or product sell itself isn’t a novel concept — even when it was emphasized in Dick Miller’s “Selling The Shooting Sports” department from the June 1960 issue, reprinted here. With millions of first-time gun owners added so far in 2020, it’s a notion worth revisiting. If you can successfully motivate these customers to get involved in the shooting sports they very well could form a passionate base of ambassadors to further the sport. This article has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

There are many ways to go about selling anything — whether it’s shooting or samovars. Some methods are easy; others require more effort. We seem to like the easy ways best, so — let’s make selling the shooting sports easy.

Surely one of the easiest ways to sell anything is to let the product or service do its own selling. In an election year, a popular phrase is “let’s take a look at the record.” The shooting sports have a long and impressive record of selling themselves to the world’s citizens. The shooting sports have millions of friends now, and have had through the ages. “Let’s look at the record.”

For The Record

When gunpowder and firearms were invented, how did we happen to think of using this new discovery in a recreational sense? We could have regarded firearms as ornaments, as signaling devices, as instruments for making loud noises at celebrations and in a score of other non-recreational lights.

We did, of course, use firearms as weapons. By so doing, we ended the feudal system, thereby advancing such commonplace rights as freedom of worship, freedom of assembly, public education, the right to vote, to own property and freedom from unlawful seizure.

But it’s in the role of equipment for such sports as skeet, trap, rifle and pistol target shooting and hunting that we are considering firearms. This is where our sales come from, so it’s our prime concern here.

Expand Your Sales Force

We said selling the shooting sports could be made easy. We said the shooting sports are their own best salesmen. So, let’s put them to work.

The more people you have shooting, the more salesmen you have working for you. If only a few people in your trade area shoot, you’re short on salesmen. Better beef up the selling force.

How do we expand our sales organization of the shooting sports? The best way I know is to get more people shooting, and provide more places for them to shoot. Let ’em sell each other. This way, we don’t have to work so hard, we don’t get ulcers and don’t make the wrong sales pitch.

As with all good things, we don’t get off scot-free. We have to give a little shove here and there to get the ball rolling. After the ball starts rolling, it does very well with its own momentum.

To get more people shooting, more people acting as salesmen for you, you must see they get a chance to shoot. You don’t know, and they don’t know, whether shooting is their “thing” unless they try it.

” One of the easiest ways to sell anything is to let the product or service do its own selling. ”

Does your local country club have shooting facilities? Many do, and many country clubs form winter leagues in trap and skeet to hold member interest when the golf course is unplayable. This is an idea you can sell to your own profit.

Why not let your local L.E. agencies double as salespersons for the shooting sports, as well as guardians of the law? Some of the biggest organized shooting programs in the country are those operated by such groups as the Police League and Junior Sheriff’s clubs.

Look for local and national organizations to sponsor shooting tournaments. You will have a larger sales force if a local chapter in your area participates. They may not take part if you don’t suggest doing so, or they may not take advantage of their own programs if they don’t have a place to shoot. Make sure they have it.

Would-Be Hunters In Sales?

Have you held farmer-sportsmen meetings in your store, gun club, conservation club, civic club or what-have-you? Your would-be hunter customer-salesperson can’t work effectively for you if he or she can’t find a place to hunt because land is posted. Promoting cooperation between hunters and landowners will benefit you.

Can you direct customers to the nearest shooting preserve, where they can hunt more and longer? Be sure to remind shooting preserve operators you know they ought to include clay target facilities in their layout. They’ll sell more shooting that way.

More Is Easier

As we said, the more salespeople you have working for you, the easier it is to sell the shooting sports. The shooting sports do a good job of selling themselves, if you will give them a boost. The methods mentioned of putting shooting to work for you are only a few. You know others. Try them, too.

Dealers, have any success stories to share with getting first-time customers or local organizations to “sell” the shooting sports to others? Contact the SI team: comments@shootingindustry.com

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