Monkeyleg
Member.
As I've been calling shops the last several weeks to pay to re-up on their trial subscriptions to my site, I've been very pleased at the renewal rate.
There's some store owners, though, who just don't get it. Some run operations so large they think they don't need new customers. Others run stores so small they don't think they'll ever benefit.
If I spent the time, I could prove both groups wrong.
At any rate, I'm now collecting enough testimonials from shop owners who've seen results from my site that I'm going to put together a Testimonials Page for new potential subscribers.
A friend of mine owns a shop here in Milwaukee, and he does not mince words. Below is what he wrote as a testimonial to what I do.
Question is, is this a turn-off or a heads-up for shop owners?
Your opinions are much appreciated.
************
I've owned my own businesses for as long as I can remember. Furniture stores, custom van shops, and now a gun store.
One thing I've learned along the way is that there's no shortage of stupid people, especially gun store owners.
I mean it. I can't believe how stupid gun store owners can be. Most of them are total idiots. They try to compete on WalMart's turf, and wonder why they're getting ground into the dirt.
Are you kidding me? I don't sell anything that WalMart or the other discount stores do. And they don't sell anything that I stock. I'm not going after WalMart or the other discount stores: I'm going after your business.
I want to buy you out.
And if you're stupid enough, I'll buy your store for pennies on the dollar.
And here's why.
Back when I bought out the previous owners of my shop--for pennies on the dollar, of course--they didn't have a clue as to how to attract new customers. They were selling the same old 870's that WalMart was beating them down on price.
One of the first things I did was get Dick Baker and his crew at Baker Advertising to put together a website for me that would draw in customers from all over the country. Within months, I was getting calls for stuff people couldn't find anywhere else: Ed Brown pistols, Chris Reeve knives, Robert Terzuola knives, and other high-ticket items. And here's the best part: I don't have to discount anything. Don't like my price? Fine. Wait nine months for Ed Brown to make the pistol you want. Meanwhile, I've got one in stock. And there's another guy on the phone who wants it now, and will pay my price.
Baker Advertising has made it possible for me to name my own price. They've made me tens of thousands of dollars over the past year, and it's getting even better. This year I'm going to buy 25% of all the pistols that Ed Brown makes. Think you can't do it? Think again. I don't need to pay Baker Advertising thousands of dollars a year for an e-commerce store that sells everything that WalMart or Galyan's or Sportmen's Warehouse does. All I need to do is sell the high-dollar stuff that those stores don't, and have Baker Advertising get me ranked high in the search engines for those things.
When Dick laid out his test version of the Gunshopfinder.com website before me back in 2004, I just played around with the site for a few minutes. Then I sat back, thought about it for a second or two, and said, "This is such a cool idea. This is great." It was such a great idea that I'm amazed that nobody thought of it before.
Dick has told me that most of the shop owners on his site are paying to renew their subscriptions. Considering what I think of most gun shop owners, I'm surprised. But I'm happy for what Dick is doing for our industry. He honestly cares about the manufacturers, the individual shops, and the gun owners. I know this because of his involvement in gun rights issues for over twenty years.
It's the brain-dead, decaying, dying dinosaurs who don't see the value of what Gunshopfinder.com is worth that keep me going. I mean it. If some dinosaur in California or Nebraska or Florida doesn't see that $10 a month can mean more sales down the road, I want to know about that shop. I want to buy that idiot's shop. I'll jump on a plane and offer that idiot a better deal than the bank will when they foreclose.
$10 a month. All I have to do is sell one Glock or Kimber or Springfield, and my cost is covered for the whole year. I charge $15 an hour for range time, so I only need one new range customer to shoot maybe six or seven times a year, and the rest is gravy.
I've been spending $600 a month for Yellow Pages advertising. Not anymore. They can't tell me how many people have looked at my $600 a month ad. Gunshopfinder.com can. I'm not going to pay $600 a month just to be in some big yellow book, especially a book that fewer and fewer people use. The people coming into my shop tell me that, if a business isn't on the internet, they figure the business is run by old-timers who just don't get it.
If your knees are shaking about spending $10 a month being featured on Gunshopfinder.com, give me a call. If you're that lousy a businessman, chances are the next call will be from the bank.
God, I love rummage sales!
Kevin Nugent
Owner, The Shooters Shop
West Allis, Wi
There's some store owners, though, who just don't get it. Some run operations so large they think they don't need new customers. Others run stores so small they don't think they'll ever benefit.
If I spent the time, I could prove both groups wrong.
At any rate, I'm now collecting enough testimonials from shop owners who've seen results from my site that I'm going to put together a Testimonials Page for new potential subscribers.
A friend of mine owns a shop here in Milwaukee, and he does not mince words. Below is what he wrote as a testimonial to what I do.
Question is, is this a turn-off or a heads-up for shop owners?
Your opinions are much appreciated.
************
I've owned my own businesses for as long as I can remember. Furniture stores, custom van shops, and now a gun store.
One thing I've learned along the way is that there's no shortage of stupid people, especially gun store owners.
I mean it. I can't believe how stupid gun store owners can be. Most of them are total idiots. They try to compete on WalMart's turf, and wonder why they're getting ground into the dirt.
Are you kidding me? I don't sell anything that WalMart or the other discount stores do. And they don't sell anything that I stock. I'm not going after WalMart or the other discount stores: I'm going after your business.
I want to buy you out.
And if you're stupid enough, I'll buy your store for pennies on the dollar.
And here's why.
Back when I bought out the previous owners of my shop--for pennies on the dollar, of course--they didn't have a clue as to how to attract new customers. They were selling the same old 870's that WalMart was beating them down on price.
One of the first things I did was get Dick Baker and his crew at Baker Advertising to put together a website for me that would draw in customers from all over the country. Within months, I was getting calls for stuff people couldn't find anywhere else: Ed Brown pistols, Chris Reeve knives, Robert Terzuola knives, and other high-ticket items. And here's the best part: I don't have to discount anything. Don't like my price? Fine. Wait nine months for Ed Brown to make the pistol you want. Meanwhile, I've got one in stock. And there's another guy on the phone who wants it now, and will pay my price.
Baker Advertising has made it possible for me to name my own price. They've made me tens of thousands of dollars over the past year, and it's getting even better. This year I'm going to buy 25% of all the pistols that Ed Brown makes. Think you can't do it? Think again. I don't need to pay Baker Advertising thousands of dollars a year for an e-commerce store that sells everything that WalMart or Galyan's or Sportmen's Warehouse does. All I need to do is sell the high-dollar stuff that those stores don't, and have Baker Advertising get me ranked high in the search engines for those things.
When Dick laid out his test version of the Gunshopfinder.com website before me back in 2004, I just played around with the site for a few minutes. Then I sat back, thought about it for a second or two, and said, "This is such a cool idea. This is great." It was such a great idea that I'm amazed that nobody thought of it before.
Dick has told me that most of the shop owners on his site are paying to renew their subscriptions. Considering what I think of most gun shop owners, I'm surprised. But I'm happy for what Dick is doing for our industry. He honestly cares about the manufacturers, the individual shops, and the gun owners. I know this because of his involvement in gun rights issues for over twenty years.
It's the brain-dead, decaying, dying dinosaurs who don't see the value of what Gunshopfinder.com is worth that keep me going. I mean it. If some dinosaur in California or Nebraska or Florida doesn't see that $10 a month can mean more sales down the road, I want to know about that shop. I want to buy that idiot's shop. I'll jump on a plane and offer that idiot a better deal than the bank will when they foreclose.
$10 a month. All I have to do is sell one Glock or Kimber or Springfield, and my cost is covered for the whole year. I charge $15 an hour for range time, so I only need one new range customer to shoot maybe six or seven times a year, and the rest is gravy.
I've been spending $600 a month for Yellow Pages advertising. Not anymore. They can't tell me how many people have looked at my $600 a month ad. Gunshopfinder.com can. I'm not going to pay $600 a month just to be in some big yellow book, especially a book that fewer and fewer people use. The people coming into my shop tell me that, if a business isn't on the internet, they figure the business is run by old-timers who just don't get it.
If your knees are shaking about spending $10 a month being featured on Gunshopfinder.com, give me a call. If you're that lousy a businessman, chances are the next call will be from the bank.
God, I love rummage sales!
Kevin Nugent
Owner, The Shooters Shop
West Allis, Wi