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. “When we do, for instance, a Smith & Wesson promotion, we put the inexpensive guns on sale just like everyone else does,” McClain said. “We also put in a Performance Center gun, a .44 Magnum, and a 6-inch .357 Magnum. People are going to come in and buy 50 of the less expensive guns. But a few people will come in and buy the Performance Center guns.” And some customers will come in and look longingly at the Performance Center guns. “They really want that $1,200 Performance Center gun, but they just can’t do it,” McClain said. “So I say, ‘Well, let me show you their entry-level 1911. It has a lot of features, and we’re throwing in two free magazines with every purchase.’” You can downsell that customer to an $800 gun, make him happy, and put dollars in your pocket all at the same time. “No one advertises those $1,200 guns,” McClain said. “But customers come in to see them, knowing they can’t afford them, and you can show them three other models that they can afford.” “One of the biggest things retailers can do to promote sales is hold training classes for their customers,” Aronson said. “That includes handgun safety courses and concealed carry permit courses.” Even if you don’t hold classes yourself, if you know of law enforcement agencies, wildlife agencies or other groups that do, advertise them in your store. “All of this encourages handgun sales,” Aronson said. If you have a range in your store, you’re at a distinct advantage when it comes to classes and, by extension, handgun sales. “More and more firearms stores have ranges available to their customers,” Aronson said. “And many times a gun shop will open up a range in a separate location.” Either scenario gives your customer a chance to shoot a gun and develop a sense of ownership about it that encourages him to buy it. If you don’t have or can’t add a range, don’t give up on letting your customers shoot before they buy. “Develop a good relationship with someone in town who does have a range,” Aronson said. “Then exchange business with him. There’s nothing wrong with a gun shop that doesn’t have a range sending customers to a nearby range, and the range sending retail customers back to the gun shop. Smart dealers build those mutually beneficial relationships.” Customers who are interested in new firearms, such as the Ruger SR9, will likely have a lot of questions. Aronson advises: “Have an attitude that makes people feel comfortable about approaching the counter and asking to look at a firearm.” Hold Classes he uses for direct mail before every instore promotion. “We send out 20,000 well-designed, multicolored fliers that have 20 or 30 guns on them,” he said. “People come in with a gun circled and say, ‘I want this one.’” McClain doesn’t chase co-op dollars when he prints his fliers. “I have a budget that I use for direct mailing,” he said. “If a vendor reimburses me some of that, I’m tickled. If they don’t, I budgeted that money anyway.” These sales, McClain said, probably won’t cover the cost of the mailing. However, he said, over the next six months, he will continue to make sales because of people who saw the flier but couldn’t come in at the time. “The residual effects of the sale carry over for six months,” he said. “That’s the big picture you have to look at.” 9 H-S Precision Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kahr Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kel-Tec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kimber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Les Baer Custom . . . . . . . . . . . . . Magnum Research . . . . . . . . . . . . Navy Arms Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nighthawk Custom . . . . . . . . . . . . North American Arms . . . . . . . . . . Para USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rock River Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rossi Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seecamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sig Sauer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Smith & Wesson . . . . . . . . . . . . . Springfield Armory . . . . . . . . . . . . STI International . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sturm, Ruger & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . Taurus International . . . . . . . . . . . Thompson/Center . . . . . . . . . . . . U .S . Fire Arms Mfg . . . . . . . . . . . . Uberti USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walther USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Weatherby & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . Wilson Combat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 43 HANDGUN SALES American Derringer . . . . . . . . . . . Beretta USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bersa (Eagle Imports) . . . . . . . . . . Bond Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Browning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Daly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charter Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cimarron Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . Cobra Enterprises of Utah . . . . . . . Colt's Mfg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CZ-USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Wesson Firearms . . . . . . . . . . EMF Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . European American Armory . . . . . . FireStorm (SGS Importers) . . . . . . FNH USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Freedom Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glock Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heckler & Koch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heritage Mfg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High Standard Mfg . . . . . . . . . . . . Hi-Point Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 Promote Your Promotions www.shootingindustry.com McClain has a customer database that MAY 2008 Joseph Novelozo Don’t Upsell — Downsell