and announces he’ll take the gun
and the Lead Sled, too. Great job,
salesman. You successfully created
enthusiasm by providing a solution
to a problem and closed a sale. Yet,
your job is not quite done. They are
going to need ammunition and a
few essential shooting accessories.
Caldwell’s Platinum Series™ G3
electronic hearing protection provide dual benefit of amplifying
low level sounds and compressing harmful noise. The son will
be able to hear the father’s instructions, while remaining protected
“I understand your concern
about starting him too early. You
definitely don’t want to establish
any bad habits from a fear of recoil,
but I believe I’ve got answer. Have
you ever heard of a Caldwell® Lead
Sled®?”
BATTENFELD TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Understanding Customers
Leads to Building Better Sales
A man walks up to your gun
counter with his son by his side.
The boy is probably about 10 years
old, and a little on the skinny side.
He’s wearing a camouflage t-shirt
and a matching hat. Dad is wearing
a camouflage hat, too. From their
attire, you assume dad is a hunter,
and his son is involved. How involved though, is the question?
You’ve already invested work
by assessing the situation, so don’t
waste those efforts by simply asking, “Can I help you?” Engage your
customer. Use probing questions
to extract information. Avoid any
question that can be answered with
a simple yes or no. You must get
people talking if you hope to understand their needs and desires.
You’ve spent five minutes talking with the man and his son, and
learned a number of things. Most
importantly, the boy wants to turkey hunt this spring, but his dad’s
afraid he’s still too small to handle the recoil of a shotgun. Bingo.
You’ve found their problem. Now
acknowledge it and offer a solution.
Behind the counter, you have a
lightweight, youth model 20 gauge.
You pluck it from the rack, open the
action, and hand it to the father.
He examines it, then hands it to
his son. The boy shoulders it like a
pro, then cracks a slight smile as he
glances up at his dad. Now, begin
your sales pitch.
Customers are unique, with unique motivations. That’s why information about a customer is the most important tool you have. What do they want? What do they need? It’s your job as
a salesman to discern the answer. Establish a dialogue to dig for clues.
Once you know what’s right for them, offer your customer a solution to
their problem. If they agree, and it works, you establish credibility. And
credibility builds repeat customers.
You explain Lead Sleds are
gun rests that reduce recoil up to
95 percent, and assure the father if
the boy shoots the shotgun from
a Lead Sled, he’ll hardly notice it
kick. When it’s time for the boy to
drop a bead on a big ol’ gobbler in
the field, because of the confidence
he established on the range and his
adrenaline, he likely won’t even feel
the gun go off.
The man ponders your pitch for
a minute. He examines the Lead
Sled, takes another look at his son
holding the shotgun, cracks a smile,
from gunshot noise. They’re going
to need targets. In this case, Cald-
well’s Orange Peel® Turkey Targets
are a great choice, because the boy
can pattern his new gun on a life-
like image and easily see where he’s
hitting. Does he need a cleaning kit,
a gun case, a sling? It’s your job to
find out.
For more information about Battenfeld Technologies, Inc. and our full line of products
and accessories for hunting, shooting, reloading, gun cleaning and gunsmithing,
visit us on the Web at www.battenfeldtechnologies.com or give us a call at (877) 509-9160.
