Stop talking! sell! long gun & accessories: are you gassing your customers? are you asking for the sale? what are the "magic words"?

Shooting Industry, March, 2004 by Russ Thurman

Long-gun sales have taken a beating recently. Now, manufacturers, distributors and dealers report "movement" in the marketplace, with customers once again buying new rifles and shotguns.

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At the same time, the number of long-gun accessories pouring into the sales pipeline continues to grow, offering dealers handsome add-on sales.

What does it take to maximize this renewed sales opportunity? Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Gun Shop in Charlotte, N.C., has some solid ideas and advice, based on years of experience.

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His 15,000-plus-square-foot store has over 3,000 firearms in inventory, covering handguns, shotguns. black powder, antiques and collectables. The store is packed with thousands of accessories, including ammunition, knives, safes and other safety products, holsters, tactical equipment, cleaning supplies, reloading equipment and supplies and "much, much more." Hyatt Gun Shop has been in business in the same location since 1959.

"I have a great interest in the industry and I always look for ways to improve myself and our operation." Hyatt said. "I have a lot to learn and I learn something about business everyday. Even though we have been here a long time, we are making some significant changes in our store this year."

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Hyatt willingly shares what he has learned and is learning about how to be successful.

SI: How have your long sales been during the past few years?

Hyatt: We've had two years of soft sales, primarily because of the economy. Of course. we often ask ourselves. "Is it the economy, our competition or us?"--sometimes we don't know. You hate to beat on your staff and change your pricing policy if it's the economy. But if we're doing something wrong, we need to change it. However, we've felt the long-gun business suffered some from the economy. I will have to say that starting in about November (2003) and extending until today (February 2004), it seems like it's better. Buying decisions are being made quicker. Traffic is up. Sales are up. Yes, it's better today.

SI: What are you trying to achieve when you sell a long gun?

Hyatt: My theories are better than my practice, but my theory is: "We only sell the long gun so we can sell the accessories." Of course, we want to make profit on the long gun, but once we have the sale, we're just starting. Long guns are wonderful for add-on sales, because of rings, mounts, slings, swivels, scopes, scope covers, lens cleaners, ammunition, carrying cases, cleaning equipment--the whole list of accessories. They generally are good-margin products that the customer needs. We're not just selling somebody stuff: we're showing them the things they need and why they need it. Hopefully, that leads to a lot of additional sales.

SI: What is the biggest mistake salesman make?

Hyatt: They talk too much. We call that gassing the customers. You give so much information out that you overwhelm the customer. Sometimes you take up so much of his time that he has to leave and go back to work. And you never ask for the sale. You just give out this stream of information and the customer leaves, maybe a little confused, maybe he knows a little more, but he didn't buy anything. Plus, we've wasted a lot of time. On our staff, we notice that the quiet salesman who is a good listener, generally, at the end of the day, has more sales production.

Not asking for the sale is poor salesmanship. Some people don't want to ask for the sell, because they don't want to be rejected. Often those who have the most product knowledge are the worst salesmen. It's not that they don't want to sell, but they can't communicate with the customer and can't close the sale. They either know too much or talk too much. However, you need those guys on your staff because you can have them talk to customers who need a lot of technical assistance. However, they should be able to sell better than anybody, because of their product knowledge. We get some guys who, because they don't have as much product knowledge, only give out basic information and, this is important, they ask for the sale. They actually do better.

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SI: In long gun sales, what is the biggest mistake you've made?

Hyatt: Trying to carry too much product. There are so many long guns in the marketplace with so many calibers, so many options in finishes, so many stocks and barrels options plus so many brands, and on and on--we've tried to carry too much of everything. Now, we don't carry as many new guns, but we have what we call a "sample." I don't carry every Browning A-Bolt. If the customers wants a 7mm stainless Rem. Mag., I may have a .300 stainless Win. Mag. they can look at and I can order the gun they want. If I have nothing for them to look at. I can't sell him anything.

Now, once you've shown the customer the "sample," you say the magic words. But first, let me tell you the words that are not magic; don't say "We can order you one." That doesn't work. The magic words are. "We'll get you one out of the warehouse. that's brand new in the box and never been handled." We're taking a negative and made a positive out of it.