Black Friday

Holiday sales don’t have to be a mad scramble in a madhouse.

There are hundreds of opportunities that you as a dealer can do over the year to increase sales. One of the biggest of the year is the selling extravaganza now known as “Black Friday.” 

Our first Black Friday event was such a joy. Hundreds of folks, some of whom arrived as early as 3 a.m., were waiting for the doors to open at 9 a.m. Yes, we sold lots of stuff, but much more important, according to the feedback we received from our guests, was the amazing atmosphere that was felt by all. 

This did not happen by accident. Having been to more than a few such sales, some of which were pure horror shows, we watched, learned, and made plans to minimize any troubling areas. We also decided our event had to respect those brave souls who, despite the cold weather, honored us by showing up.

You start with products that people want to buy. Easier said than done. Here, we were blessed because Jayne, my wife and partner, was our main buyer. She helped line up great distributors and manufacturers, all of whom not only delivered hot items in time, but did so at great prices that we could pass onto our guests. 

For best results, start your Black Friday buying process at SHOT Show and other trade shows at the beginning of the calendar year. Similar to the relationship between guest and dealer that leads you to success, you must also have an equally strong relationship between you and your distributors and manufacturers. They are key linchpins to your success, and you will find them to be incredibly supportive—as long as you respect them, pay promptly, and follow the required processes.

Proper promotion of the event is also an important element. More and more manufacturers offer co-op programs (advertising dollars) that go a long way to help in buying whatever media works in your area. Take full advantage of these programs.

We started early to get the buzz going by letting the guests know something fun and special was coming. If done right, the build-up will be at a fever pitch by mid-November.

This particular Black Friday was cold, but fortunately no snow was in the forecast. Our outside security cameras saw the first guest show up at 3 a.m. It was a father-and-son team. How cool is that? Along with a few of our dedicated team members, I showed up around 6:30 a.m. By then, the crowd had expanded to several dozen. We grabbed two bus carts and loaded up cups, coffee, creamer, sugar, hot water, and lots of packages of hot cocoa mix and several bags of small marshmallows. When we carted all this outside, the guest count had swelled to more than 100. It took several trips to get everyone served with a hot beverage. The effort was well worth it, though, as we saw a relaxed and comfortable crowd standing patiently in line, talking, laughing, and generally enjoying themselves. In the last 30 minutes before we opened the doors the sun came out and helped warm things up a wee bit. As we approached the opening bell of 9 a.m. we brought out our version of the “Willy Wonka Golden Tickets.” Every item that was on sale in limited numbers was placed on a single index card. We started at the front of the line and asked each guest what they were looking for. We then handed them a “golden ticket” for that specific item. In this way we solved a pair of vexing issues: we eliminated panic running into the store for items that were only available in limited numbers, and we relieved the stress of worrying whether that particular product could be obtained (usually at the expense of another guest). Now, our guests could shop at their leisure and actually enjoy the experience.

Our approach led to another pleasant surprise: a number of guests stayed on after their purchases to shoot on our range. For these guests, we lined up their bags, boxes, and related purchases behind a long counter area where they could pick them up when they came off the range. As they did so we heard comments regarding the sheer joy of the overall experience. The most salient one was, “All the other retailers could learn something from this. And it’s awesome that a gun store and range did it.”  

Over the years since we sold our business, I still hear from folks that were part of those special times. That warms my heart, too.

I share this, not to brag on us but to explain a Simple Truth. When you plan carefully and execute properly, you not only profit monetarily, but you help create wonderful memories that will live on in hundreds of folks for years. And best of all, those happy memories involved the shooting sports.