Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. best gun for him.” The key to making the right sale, Aronson said, is to find out the real reason the customer is buying the firearm and address it. “And don’t be too intimidating about it,” she said. “Have an attitude that makes people feel comfortable about approaching the counter and asking to look at a firearm.” A special challenge in customer service is when a couple comes in and the husband says, “I want to buy a gun for my wife.” “Talk to them as a couple, but be sure you find out what the woman wants,” McClain said. “Sometimes the man thinks he knows what’s best for his lady. But a .44 Magnum 2 1/2-inch snub nose is not a good choice for a woman. Just because it will top off his collection of cool .44 Magnums doesn’t justify you selling it as a good protection gun for his wife, who’s 5'2" and weighs 110 pounds.” Laurie Lipsey Aronson, president of Lipsey’s, in the company’s new training room, says, “One of the biggest things retailers can do to promote sales is hold training classes for their customers.” Ichiro Nagata Jim McClain uses Smith & Wesson Performance Center guns to attract customers, knowing he’ll sell more “less expensive guns. But a few people will come in and buy the Performance Center guns,” like this Model 325 Thunder Ranch Defensive Revolver. them to really ask questions of your consumers to find out what it is that they’re looking for, instead of just trying to get them to buy one product over another.” Selling isn’t about telling your customer what you think he should buy. In fact, some sales experts say “selling” really should be called “listening.” “Ask questions like, ‘Are you a target shooter?’ and ‘Are you interested in a gun with a lot of safety features 42 MAY 2008 on it?’” McClain said. “Find out if the customer is looking for a gun for personal protection.” In other words, learn all you can before you make a recommendation, and then be sure you make a recommendation that meets the customer’s needs, not just one you happen to like. “When you ask a lot of questions, that relaxes the customer,” McClain said. “Then he feels like you’re trying to get the “A lot of dealers carry just the top sellers, and I think that’s a mistake,” McClain said. “When you do that, you’re going head-to-head against everyone else who looks at the top sellers. However, if you have the complete product line and a wide assortment of brands — such as Taurus, Smith, Springfield Armory, Sig Sauer, HK, Glock, Kahr Arms — and you have the accessories to go with them, you get the consumer excited about their purchase. The way to increase your handgun sales is to increase the size of your customers’ purchases.” Other accessories you should be selling with every gun include a cleaning kit, practice ammo, personal defense ammo and a holster that suits the customer’s needs. “Spend a little time with each customer showing him how to use the gun, and how to clean it,” McClain said. “Then say, ‘By the way, you got a few minutes? Let me try these grips on the gun for you. If you don’t like them, we can take them off, but I think you’ll really like the way they feel.’ “Ninety percent of the time, if you put a pair of grips on, you don’t take them off,” McClain said. “The customer isn’t looking at the bottom end price anymore; instead, he’s feeling good about the purchase, and very comfortable about what he bought. And he’s going to tell his friends that you sold him the gun he really liked, and took good care of him at the same time.” Six months later, when that friend wants to buy a gun, he or she is going to come into your store looking for the same level of service. www.shootingindustry.com Have Product To Sell