Sell Smith & Wesson's unique designs, special features

Shooting Industry, July, 2004 by Massad Ayoob

Smith & Wesson has been a proven top seller in the firearm industry almost since the brand's inception in 1852. In recent years, Smith & Wesson took a beating in the marketplace because of the ill-advised agreement between the company's former owners and the Clinton administration. Gun enthusiasts saw it as a sell-out.

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Today, Smith & Wesson is again an American-owned company. And given the tremendous losses the company experienced during the "dark days," it has made a remarkable comeback in the marketplace.

Smith & Wesson handguns continue to be made for the most part in Massachusetts--the company's .22 semi-autos are produced at a satellite factory in Maine. Skilled workers who are often second and third generation Smith & Wesson craftsmen make the firearms.

Carl Ingrao, who owns the prosperous Four Seasons gun shop in Woburn, Mass., knows a lot about selling Smith & Wesson handguns.

"Smith & Wesson is definitely our largest selling brand. Part of that is because we can't sell Glocks here, due to the restrictive new Massachusetts law," Ingrao said.

This law requires loaded-chamber indicators and other hardware that some handgun manufacturers do not put on their pistols. Smith & Wesson does.

"Our best selling Smith & Wesson models are revolvers, of course, and the Value Series semi-automatics," Ingrao said. "These include the conventional-style pistols such as the Model 457 and the plain, economy-grade Sigmas."

The Value series traditional pistols like the Model 457 are excellent buys. There also is customer interest in the highly publicized Smith & Wesson/Walther collaboration, the Model SW99 pistol.

TIP #1: Remind your customers that the Model 457, a compact .45 semi-auto with a lightweight aluminum frame and a MSRP of under $600, is functionally identical to a fancy Performance Center semi-custom model that once sold for over $1,000.

Unique Firearms Attract Customers

In the past few years, Smith & Wesson has aggressively introduced radical designs that are unique to the world of guns. They include the Model 625-10, a Scandium-frame lightweight .45 ACP revolver with an extremely short barrel for concealed carry. The Model 329 PD is the world's lightest .44 Magnum revolver. And, of course, there's the massive .500 Magnum, which garnered national media when it was introduced at the SHOT Show in February 2003. Dealers continue to sell all the .500s they can get.

"The .500 has been a tremendous conversation piece," said Brad Marshall of Marshall Firearms in Boscawen, N.H. "A day doesn't go by that someone doesn't ask about it."

TIP #2: Marshall sells .500 Magnum cartridges for $4 apiece as conversation pieces. They create interest in the gun when his customers show them around, which brings new customers into the store to see and, frequently, to buy "that humongous revolver."

For 50 years, Smith & Wesson has offered economy guns by taking popular, expensive models and producing them in a variation with less polishing and fewer bells and whistles. The knowledgeable gun-buying public does not see Smith & Wesson's Value Series guns as cheap knock-offs, but rather as bargains.

From the Highway Patrolman .357 in 1954 to the present Value Series autoloaders, this has been a wise marketing strategy. In turn, it has won appreciation from experienced consumers familiar with the product line.

Smith & Wesson recently offered some fabulous price cuts on two of their most desirable personal-defense revolvers, the stainless Airweight Model 637 Chief Special in conventional style and the Model 642 Centennial hammerless. These are not rough-finish economy guns, but straight-off-the-top-shelf firearms at bargain prices you can pass on to your customers.

TIP #3: These deep price cuts call for a heavily advertised sale to draw customers into your shop. Combine it with Smith's bargain-priced combo deal on the Model 642, which comes from the factory with Crimson Trace's heavily advertised and publicized Lasergrips. And don't forget the Carry Combos Smith is pushing with extensive commercial and trade advertising. When your customers purchase a Model 637 in .38 S & W Special or a Model 908 in 9mm, they get an Uncle Mike's Kydex holster free.

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Emphasize Special Features To Boost Sales

Smith & Wesson's traditional autoloaders are unique among double-action pistols. They incorporate a manual safety on the slide and a magazine disconnector, which is designed to prevent the gun from firing the chambered round if the magazine has been removed.

"Since so many customers buying their first handgun express a concern about safety devices, I put together a separate display of Smith & Wesson semi-autos," said Ralph Demicco, co-owner of Riley's Sport Shop in Hooksett, N.H. "When a customer voices that safety concern (cambered round/magazine removed), we steer them right to the Smith showcase and demonstrate everything from the little 9mm Model 3913 LadySmith to a Model 4566 .45."

TIP #4: Displaying products together that have special or similar features makes it easier for the dealer and the customers to remain focused on selecting the right firearm.