INDUSTRY
INSIGHT
The “Gun Guys”
It is true that the shooting sports have some
of the most educated and technically adept
retail customers. No shoe buyer calls Adidas
to inquire about the vulcanization process
used in the rubber and at what temperature
it cures its soles. But those types of deepdetail
inquiries are common among firearms
buyers. Firearms are a relatively expensive
product, and many customers are spending
a significant portion of their discretionary
income on them. As such, they educate
themselves to make sure they’re getting what
they want or need. This most often leads
companies at all levels, but especially retail,
to hire product experts as salespeople. The
thought process is that one must be a “gun
guy” to talk intelligently to or sell to another
“gun guy” (or gal), and that customers will
reject canned sales palaver from someone they
perceive as inauthentic. There is of course
merit to this thought process, but we must
remember balance.
Those who possess the most detailed
technical knowledge on any subject are,
perhaps surprisingly, often not the best
people to present that knowledge in a sales
or teaching context. That’s because the same
personality traits that led them to accumulate
that knowledge are actually opposite those
required of a salesperson. Let me give you an
example.
Early in my career in the firearms industry,
I was confronted with a subject matter expert
who had decades in law enforcement and the
firearms trade. He had a wealth of knowledge
and taught me many things, but, in a sales
position, he was ineffective. Even though he
was well-liked, many potential customers
stayed just that – potential. He often led with
the negative, overshared information that
clouded the issue at hand, and prized the
conversation over the sale. Indeed, he would
shy away from difficult sales situations. Many
attempts were made to train him on sales
techniques, but it never did take.
Is it easier to teach a natural salesperson
product knowledge, or teach a product expert
sales skills? I will tell you from experience like
that I’ve just described, and backed up with
research, that it is the former. Any intelligent
person can be taught product knowledge, but
not every intelligent person can be taught
or coached to effectively sell. If you can find
someone who has both skill sets, then good
for you. But that doesn’t happen often. If
forced to choose, your time and resources are
much better spent hiring a sales professional
and teaching them about firearms than the
other way around. In doing so, make the
first element of their training admitting
what they don’t know and have them refer
tough questions to you or another expert
when they’re working with a customer. That’s www.nssf.org
26 www.guntradeworld.com
NSSF
both honest and authentic, the customer
will respect it, and you will have maintained
the sales opportunity instead of lost it
via someone who was unable to generate
attention and interest.
There are places within every industry for
all personality types and shooting sports is
no different. But remember that sales and
customer service are not the same thing –
and while you may need product experts
for the latter, you need salespeople for the
former.
About the Author Josh Fiorini is the former CEO of PTR
Industries, Inc. He spent the first decade of his
career in finance, holding positions as an equity
analyst and portfolio manager before starting
his own hedge fund. This experience, along with
a deep background in manufacturing, banking
and private equity, has made him a sought after
contributor on numerous boards and discussion
groups on political and economic issues for
media outlets, corporations and community
organizations. Fiorini currently invests his time
and resources with non-profit initiatives and
acts as a contributor and management consultant
to various firms in the firearms industry as the
founding and Managing Partner in the firm
Narrow Gate Management.
GTW
/www.nssf.org
/www.guntradeworld.com
