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How to be a better gun store clerk

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When you are working at a gun shop , there are a few things you should do to improve the customer‘s experience (and make more sales). I learned these through trial and error while working at NOVA Firearms in Falls Church, VA.

  1. DON’T BE A GROUCH!
    • I cannot stand going into a gun store with a clerk who treats customers like they are idiots because they are total newbies or they don’t know the lineage of some 1918 Browning vest pistol with silver engraving.
    • Smile at and greet everyone who comes into the store WITHOUT FAIL.
    • If the store is busy, just say “We’ll be right with you.”
  2. Phone Skills
    • Politely greet the customer
    • If you are dealing with someone who want to just compulsively check prices, just ask them to come into the store as we are really busy.
  3. Know your material.
    • Know the differences between common pistol and rifle cartridges.
    • Know how hollowpoint bullets work
    • Know how the AR-15 gas system works
    • Know how the AK-47 gas system works
    • Know the differences between a DA/SA Pistol, a single-action pistol, a double-action only pistol, and a striker-fired pistol.
    • Be able to explain why you carry your gun a particular way
      • If you are going to carry your gun in a Sonny Crockett style shoulder rig, be sure the damn thing is anchored to your belt and not just draped over your shoulders.
      • Better yet, ditch the shoulder rig.
  4. Sell what you like
    • Ask the customer what they are buying the gun for.
      • Most will say for personal security.
      • Ask if it will be for home defense or concealed carry.
    • When making a recommendation, be forthright and bold in what you recommend because it is what you would use to defend yourself.
    • If you are trying to talk up something that you wouldn’t carry for yourself, then it will show through to the customer.
  5. Knock off the Walter Mitty BS.
    • Don’t spout junk about the sound of a shotgun racking scaring the bad guy off or “they all fall to .45 hardball”.
    • It turns off new customers and makes you look like an idiot
    • DO NOT LIE about military service.
  6. DON’T SMELL LIKE S**T!
    • Wear a good quality cologne, especially if you are a smoker
    • Wear a clean shirt.
    • Be clean-shaven or have a well groomed beard.
    • Chew any sort of gum.
      • I like Dentyne Fire and Dentyne Ice.
  7. You are not a lawyer and do not play one on TV
    • Advise customers to check their state’s self-defense laws.
    • Rule of thumb is that lethal force may be merited if you are in a situation in which you are in fear of being murdered or raped.
  8. It is not about making the sale.
    • The moment all that you think about is “making the sale” or “pushing” a gun is when sales will be much harder to make.
    • The guns will sell themselves, your job is to guide the customer to the right gun.
    • Your goal is to determine what is right for the customer, here is how to do it.
      1. Ask if the gun is for home defense or concealed carry.
        • If it is for home defense, show a semiautomatic rifle or a full size polymer framed modern striker-fired pistol (Glock/Springfield/S&W M&P)
          • The problem with home defense shotguns, is that significant others often find shotguns uncomfortable to shoot.
        • If it is for concealed carry, ask how they plan on carrying it and then make your recommendations for carrying it.
        • If the method of carry they propose is something really stupid, then be able to politely articulate “you might want to consider this way instead”.
  9. If the customer doesn’t have all the IDs needed…
    • If a customer gets grouchy over not having the right IDs on hand, you need to politely emphasize that you do not make the rules, the state/feds make the rules.
    • Offer to have the customer put the gun on account, they pay now, then come back with their IDs to fill out the paperwork.
  10. Dealing with a prohibited person
    • During the course of conversation with a customer, the customer mentions something about going to jail, smacking his girlfriend around, or getting arrested for dope or  smoking weed, then you need to immediately and politely state “I’m sorry sir, because of what you just told me, I’m not allowed to sell you a gun or ammo and it would be best if you leave.”

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