If you offer gunsmithing services, I can add you to my FREE online gunsmithing database at www.GunsmithUSA.com.
Shoot me an email to [email protected] if you are interested.
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The fact that you realize you donāt know it all (none of us do) and are willing to learn and work hard would keep me coming back to your store.
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Hi and welcome aboard! Lots of good advice above for āestablishedā stores.
I donāt know what your base investment was or what your distributor buy in level was but that is something to consider. Additionally many vendors on the internet have FFL only pricing, research and ask about these opportunities.
Clean and open: You mentioned you are the trio of āMe, Myself and Iā. Keep your store clean, well organized and your fields of fire open. Donāt pack the floor space with shelves and such that block your view.
Pay attention to internet sales. If you can buy something on sale and then sell it for retail after the sale is done you make that profit + your margin.
Parts: AR parts can be had for cheap in bulk Get pinās, āOooppās Kitsā small parts for various platforms., mebby even some high end replacement parts for Glock, 1911, Springfield etc. The longer it sits on your shelf the less ROI you get.
Hunting ammo: Make sure you have it in the various flavors for your area. Order it in June, prices go up in September.
Gunsmithing services: Be very careful. Once you take a firearm in for modification you must be completely positive you have not made the gun unsafe. Worse is if the customer doesnāt like what you have done after he/she asked for it. Starting out I would consider offering āPre seasonā cleaning and inspection as well as āPost seasonā cleaning and inspection. Donāt gunsmith on the fly, ensure you have the proper tools. If you get multiple requests for night sight installation and you have a vice, hammer and pin punch you might want to invest in a pusher tool or make your own.
Scopes: Scopes can be money pits, be wary and know your clientele. Are they hunters wanting a generic 3x9, tac guys that want LPVOās , red dotās etc. Stock your shelves with name brands and stay away from Chinese junk. Leupold, Weaver, Nightforce, Arken, USO and Vortex. If you offer scope mounting services make sure you KNOW how to mount one and have the tools to do it, to and including lapping bars. Nothing will piss off a customer more than a ring mark on their brandy new gloss optic when you have to change the sight distance. Give the customer a data card. āI zeroād your scope at 50 yards OPTICALLY (NOT by firing). You have 34 MOA up, 22 MOA down, 17 MOA Right and 15 MOA left to the stops. The scope appears to be in IPHY (Inch Per Hundred Yards) because when I dialed on 10 MOA of travel the scope adjusted to 5ā at 50 yards instead of 5.24."
Lotās of little things.
Cheers,
Craig6
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The fact you reached out here - speaks volumes to your being opened minded.
I hope I found your correct location, in Kansas.
Web site listed as:
Pretty cool shop. Some of the shops in my area also have a photo galleries page, kinda attractive, drawing me in per se.
From my humble experience, Iāve noticed some negatives when gun shop staff treated me or others with disrespect, or treated their fellow coworkers in such a way; Of note, in front of all the customers.
On a positive note, Iāve seen whole families in some shops, with younginās in tote, enjoying their visit, when some of the shop staff were very engaged and friendly. And thatās when Iāll bring back friends and family over again, even when prices were higher than a competitorās.
Best to you.
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Yes that is our website. You can also connect with us on Facebook.
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What I look for is a friendly employee. Doesnāt need to hover or kiss my ass, but act semi interested when I approach with a question or comment. Iāve unexpectedly dropped $600-1800 dollars at shops that acted like they wanted my business, and kept the $2k in the wallet when it feels like Iām a bother to them.
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I use a combination of my local gun store with true professional gunsmiths that has been in business for 60 years, box stores like Academy & online stores like Sportsman superstore & Firearm despot etc.
Depending on what I want, is what I will use. So many resources online & a great gunsmith around the corner also. I have purchaced most of my pistols at Academy but recently bought a 44mag from sportsmanās superstore
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Bean Counter:" Itās in FB that I found out about a new gun range.
Donāt limit your market to curmudgeonsā¦"
Who you talkinā 'bout Willis?
I aināt no curmudgeonā¦yet
I resemble that remark though .
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Get to know your customers names and try to get to know them.
Be a friend to them.
Advertise and promote your store but do not be a nuisance to people by flooding their e-mail or phone messages, that is so annoying!
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So true. I bought a cpl mags online and now every few days I get an email from them, arrrrrgh.
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Once you have cleared and handed a firearm to a customer, let the customer decide when they are through looking at it, i.e., never take it away from them. As long as they are holding or feel in control of it, they are bonding with it. I used to sell 8 ounce suntan lotion for $75 a bottle by handing it to the customer and let them decide if they are going to buy it or put it back on the shelf. Almost all sales were repeat customers because the product was that good - make sure your products are that good and you will develop a loyal customer base that will word of mouth send new customers to you.
An important selling point for me is if the merchant will allow me to dry fire a gun I am considering. You can determine how natural aiming it is pointing it around the shop (get used to gently encouraging customers not to point the gun at you or other customers 
), but feeling how the length of pull, take-up, and break of the trigger feels makes or breaks my interest in it.
Thinking about customers pointing guns around the shop, I have always wondered why shops donāt put up a target (or 2) in a safe location to aim at? Point out the target when handing a gun to a customer.
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Indirectly answering the OP by listing some turn-offs :
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Assuming the handguns are in glass-top cases, try to keep the case tops clear of paper, clipboards, flyers, piles of ammo boxes, advertising posters, and other clutter, so that itās possible to actually see what guns are in the case.
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Sufficient lighting inside the cases. If I canāt see what you have, I canāt browse and impulse buy.
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Have a web site that, if feasible, has a way to browse or search current in-stock inventory, and is updated at least daily.
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Make sure the people working the counter have minimal training. Itās a major turn-off to go into a gun store, ask to see something, they pull it out, donāt clear it, sweep you with the muzzle, with their finger in the trigger guard.
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Correctly identify the model and caliber of used guns that are on display.
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Also refer over to the doās and donāts while in a gun store thread
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I think that getting to know customers by name is very important. In the early 90ās when I first started working with leather, there was a Tandy Leather shop near me that I bought supplies from. After a few visits, the first thing I would here when I walked in was āHi Geneā. Made me feel welcome. I carried this over to my job as a grocery store meatcutter, I would learn my customers names, and try my best to remember them and greet them by name when I saw them, soon almost everyone in the store was doing the same. Customers would say that they felt like they were with family there. One thing that I learned was to use the name after learning it three times during the first conversation. āGlad to meet you Toddā." If I can help you with anything just let me know Todd"ā. Have a great day Toddā." Looking forward to seeing you again Todd". Iāll spend more and pay a little more at stores that I feel welcome at, and visit more frequently.
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Had an FFL once that had a young man working there that put his self forward as very knowledgeable, which in a lot of moments would actually argue with customers that I knew were correct. I am thinking he was a family member of the FFL that would work during Summer and Spring break. I observed a few lost sales due to this. I always went to my usual salesman. 
.
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Yeap, knowledge for some people means the same as āI know betterā 
FLL personel must gain a trust and that takes some timeā¦
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Yeah I turn around and walk out of those places. Might come back in a year to if the a-hole still worked there
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I went to my LGS and they had a brand new former LEO. Dude was ridiculously rude, I had come in looking for a new to me bullpup. The owner was watching and came over and told him to go check a new shipment. He apologized. Iāve spent more than $100,000 over the years between firearms, ammo and accessories in that store.
Iām not going to pretend that I am seriously more educated than someone else about firearms. But I am not interested in being lectured by someone less knowledgeable than I am. I had a specific useage for a bullpup.
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I am not interested in being lectured by someone More knowledgeable than I am. Both are offensive as hell.
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Small pistol and rifle primers at a decent price.
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