To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. CLEANING UP WITH WITH Don’t Let Let Low Low MSRPs MSRPs Fool Fool You You — — There’s There’s Gold Gold in in Cleaning-Gear Cleaning-Gear Sales! Sales! Don’t John Morrison Morrison John CLEANING GEAR important, weaving gun cleaning and maintenance into every firearm and ammunition transaction, you’ll see every shooting-sports customer as a potential “upgrade” or “resupply” buyer. Shooting Industry spoke with four widely separated dealers who make cleaning-gear sales a successful bread-and-butter part of their business. T D he sale of a $9.95 cleaning kit may not pay the rent, but multiply those seemingly insignificant margins by 50 or 100 — or more — and suddenly you’re covering the utility bills for the month. In many gun shops, firearm cleaning and maintenance products are stocked reluctantly, with low expectations. But with careful selection, proper display placement and, most Selling A System, Not Just A Product oug VanderWoude, co-owner of Silver Bullet Firearms, Range & Training Center in Wyoming, Mich., believes the best way to create satisfied customers and generate return sales is to “never offer any bad choices.” “We only carry top-of-the-line quality and beyond that, we’ll even bundle it for them into a neat, convenient package,” he said. What are VanderWoude’s best-selling cleaning supplies? “In chemicals — solvents, lubricants, preservatives and grease — TetraGun’s fluoropolymer-based products are the finest available,” VanderWoude said. “We never have complaints about their performance, and we use TetraGun on our own guns, including hard-used range guns. ProShot makes excellent rods, jags and brushes. These two make up the core of our Silver Bullet Ultimate Handgun Cleaning Kit.” In the kit, VanderWoude includes a set of TetraGun chemicals, Pro-Shot hardware for the popular handgun calibers, patches and a silicon cloth bearing the Silver Bullet logo and business information. He puts it all in a Plano pistol case for customers. “The kit sells for $49.98,” VanderWoude said. “Our customers really appreciate having quality products bundled like that, and we’re happy with the 35-percent margin. It’s an easy sale.” Additionally, with every firearm purchase, VanderWoude and his staff go over operation, safety features, disassembly, cleaning and maintenance with the customer. “For example, we’ll point out a place where a small amount of quality gun grease is needed — something that won’t break down with heat and hard use,” VanderWoude said. “The customer asks if we carry what he needs, and often, we wind up selling the entire kit. You’ve taken a dozen individual components and bundled them into one add-on sale that takes about a minute. It’s good for the customer and good for our business.” In addition to TetraGun and Pro-Shot, VanderWoude carries Hoppe’s, Sweets, Shooter’s Choice, Break-Free, Birchwood Casey and Butch’s Bore Shine. Silver Bullet co-owner Doug VanderWoude (right) shows TetraGun products to customer Tom Tiethoff and daughter, Tamara. Products are bundled for the Silver Bullet’s Ultimate Handgun Cleaning Kit. www.shootingindustry.com JULY 2008 45