“You” Is The Word For Selling
Image: Parradee // Adobe Stock
Editor’s Note: As we look back on 70 years of serving the industry, several stories stood out from 1962 — we narrowed it down to one. The following article was originally published in the June 1962 issue of Shooting Goods Retailer (which became The Shooting Industry several months later). Though written back when John F. Kennedy was president, the nuggets in this article have staying power and should impact how your business is being run.
In today’s market, every edge matters. Businesses that put customers at the forefront will capture sales unhelpful ones don’t. A lesson from six decades ago is well worth your time — especially in the last section. So, have a seat on your “davenport” and let us know what you think: editor@shootingindustry.com.
— Jade Moldae, Editor
August Vander Ley is a master of good public relations. He does not boast, he does not preach, he does not shout and he does not talk down to his customers.
Mainly because of his genuine interest in “you” and not in “I” — “me” — “my” or “mine.” He has parlayed a hobby into an enviable part-time business, one of such proportions that by 1963, the year he retires as a technician with Illinois Bell Telephone, it will have exploded into one demanding his full attention.
August “Van” Vander Ley (center) reaped the benefits of being attentive to customers —
as well as helping them “see” the value of special equipment and customization. Several
decades later, this business practice still serves retailers well.
Thorough Knowledge Counts
Are human relations alone the secret to his success? No, not entirely. “Van” as he is known to all his friends, is also an excellent gun mechanic and as such, he possesses another highly important requisite of successful selling … a thorough knowledge of his product.
Of the other basic ingredients deemed so necessary for successful merchandising — effective advertising, strategic location, eye-catching window displays — there are none. His combination store and gun shop, nestled amidst a group of farm buildings out in the “sticks,” is quite inaccessible to foot traffic. This means there are no “window shoppers” or “just browsing” clients here.
He has never advertised his services. Nevertheless, shooters are bringing him their guns and gun problems, even from towns of 125 miles away.
People instinctively like, admire and trust Van. And satisfied customers, by word of mouth, quickly pass on their findings to others.
Swift Growth
In 1946, Van found he had too much leisure time during many evenings and on weekends.
“I needed something to keep myself occupied,” he says, “and I decided to expand on my pre-war hobby of gunsmithing. I purchased more tools and co-rented a garage with a hobbyist friend. Word got around to several sporting goods stores and work started coming in.
“Within a few months’ time, I outgrew the garage and moved to the basement of my home. This wasn’t a satisfactory arrangement either. I began looking around for another site. My reason was two-fold: I wanted a gun shop of my own and I wanted a retirement home in the country.”
In 1956, Van’s dream began to materialize. Lawrence George, farmer, small-bore shooter and gun hobbyist, living near Plainfield, Ill., agreed to a partnership and sold him a parcel of land upon which to build. In fall of 1958, Van’s home and gun shop were complete.
The shop, and unused 20’x60′ farm building, was moved a few yards adjacent to his home and treated to an attractive face-lifting finish of brick. Its interior was divided equally between sales room and workshop.
When you walk into the sales area, your first impression is this is where old friends meet. The soft-finish knotty pine walls, the living room-height ceiling, the soft fluorescent lighting, the big davenport — all of this creates an atmosphere of informality.
Almost furtively, the word was passed to shooting friends: Van’s Gun Shop will be open Monday, Tuesday and Friday evenings.
Trends Of The Day
Van didn’t quite know what to expect of this new location, but figured he might pick up enough business “to keep occupied” until he was released from Illinois Bell. He most certainly did!
Long before the 1961 hunting season rolled around, gun racks, tables, chairs and storage cabinets, were bristling with guns waiting for service. Repair jobs now average more than 50 a month. Judged by city standards, this may seem to be very little, but for two men on a part-time basis, it soon became necessary to “farm out” such jobs as choke installations, bolt bending and so on.
Reloading tools and components have comprised almost 50% of sales since the shop opened. Van carries a full complement of powders, primers, shot and bullets, and stocks the reloading tools for which demand is greatest.
A good representative stock of the most popular guns (Winchester, Remington, Browning, Ithaca, Colt, Smith & Wesson and Ruger) fill the gun racks and showcases. For a short time, he stocked a few foreign-made army surplus rifles, but he found that the market for them was too limited. American-made products comprise 99% of the sales.
“Most of our customers are dyed-in-the-wool shooters,” Van says. “They shoot the year round and know what they want in a gun and accessories to improve their shooting.”
Most used bolt-action hunting and target rifles in the shop are customized or scoped, with price tags from $135 and up. These are his best sellers and he moves better than 12 of them in the course of a month.
Help Your Customers “See” Value
Van and partner Jake often can convince a customer to “buy up.” Through suggestions, comparison and questions, they point out items that can be of great value to the customer. This includes scopes, slings, custom stocking and other custom work.
“People do not always see what they look at,” Van claims. “They only see that which is pointed out to them.”
Van and Jake help their customers “see” the value of special equipment and customizing.
This is the way of the modern, creative salesman: A person who can make people see their needs. He can convert interest into desire and create interest where there was none.
Van defines salesmanship with one word: Service. In order to render this service more fully, a salesman must become an expert. He must be able to advise every prospect, through intelligent judgment and experience, on things that will be of material aid to the customer or prevent him from buying something he can not use.
His lifetime interest and practical experience in hunting, target shooting and gun repair are proving invaluable in rendering the greatest possible service to each prospective buyer.
He does not, however, rely on past experiences alone. Van keeps abreast of the changing times through reading. His favorite is Shooting Goods Retailer.
“It’s the best in its field for keeping posted on successful selling methods employed by other gun dealers,” Van claims.
Because of his interest in “you” in what “you” can use, and in what will prove most satisfactory to “you,” he changes one-time buyers into steady customers — thus building a following of happy and satisfied customers.
