Gunsmithing Business Tips, Part 2

This is a topic that is often left out of business-related education materials. I mention this because I did touch upon it in The Business of Gunsmithing; A Practical Strategic Compendium. I opted not to go too deep into this subject in my book as I know there are many people out there that might say I am encroaching on psychological or human behavior, and that is better covered in medical journals and behavioral science literature.

However, I wanted to elaborate on this topic here because over the years I have encountered gunsmiths that I walk away from wondering how they manage to stay in this business. I’ll bet some of you have done the same thing. What is a "Gunsmith Persona"? Well, I wasn’t a psych major (a little slack here, please?) but there is a line between personality traits and customer service that I’ve observed to suit successful gunsmiths.

In my book I brought up the thought process of creating, working on, refining, and making a persona for yourself to succeed. I don’t mean to call out people that my posses some of these negative traits, rather, I bring it up as a discussion to help your career. Professional craftsmen are best served by simply being themselves. Working with customers, wholesalers, dealers, and whomever else you have business dealings with as being yourself typically translates to honesty, integrity, and self-confidence.

But each of us have our own way of communicating with other people and how we interact with Live up to this motto and you’ll improve your gunsmith persona. them and that can make the difference between "good word of mouth" or "stay away from that guy". Each of us probably knows if we tend to communicate with others in a more positive or more negative way.

And if you can recognize that you’ll have opportunities moving forward to make any needed changes on how you interact with other people in refining communication skills and interactions. The goal is to make your interactions a positive experience. This is so very important when working with your customer base. Outward projection of impatience coupled with negative facial expressions, eye rolling, or routinely correcting customers can project a negative ex-

perience. "So what?" you ask? It’s only a problem if customers stop returning and having negative interactions with customers can doom a business faster than poor gunsmithing work itself. You could actually be a very talented gunsmith and still ruin your prospective future by demonstrating superiority or negative connotations when working with customers. And that type of attitude can even translate over the telephone as well as in emails and text messaging.

I once worked for an individual that assigned his employees work via email and the messages read like someone screaming. After getting to know him I learned it was just his writing style with nothing negative intended, even though first impression of his writing indicated otherwise. I brought this to his attention and began making changes to his messages. Turns out, I wasn’t the first person to mention this and even he was realizing the unintentional distancing.

He began refining his persona, starting by asking me to review his emails before sending for a second opinion. Being the boss, he didn’t have to do this but he felt is was important to improve and took the steps necessary to do so. Not everyone will do that. Creating, building, and everrefining a positive persona is not Developing your business persona is also key. something taught in gunsmith school and you seldom ever hear about this unless you are taking a course on specific psychological or personality traits.

No, I didn’t learn any of this from a book; I learned from day-to-day communication with people, employees, co-workers, and my customers. This also includes people at other businesses, such as local gun shops, parts distributors, wholesalers, local hardware stores, manufacturers, local licensing authorities, etc. You need a well refined and defined positive persona to effectively carry out your job and move your career forward regardless if you are working as gunsmith in someone else’s shop or your own.

Apart of forming positive relationships and your persona is the ability to talk with customers and not to them. Listen first, then discuss their issues to better understand the best service you can provide. As we get better at our job, we can quickly become "short" with a customer because we have presumably "heard it all" before. But that way of thinking can quickly lead you down the path of exhibiting negative behavior—intentional or not—in the eyes of the customer.

Believe me, there is likely a negative-projecting gun shop employee or gunsmith in your neighborhood right now. Don’t make yourself part of that crowd, especially when it is unnecessary and will only hurt future business. Be the considerate gunsmith that hears complaints (while improving your business) rather than causes them. One area that can help influence your "gunsmith persona" with being positive is to follow the Gunsmith Patch motto, which says, "Gunsmith: Dedicated to Shooters and Their Guns".

During my career in the U. S. Border Patrol our motto was "Honor First" as a reminder to us to carry out our daily duties with that in mind. Make all decisions based on doing what is right, with honor and you pretty much will make good decisions all day long. A quote I like states, "Always do what’s right, and do it because it’s right, not because it’s popular or will be noticed. It will be difficult at times, but do it anyway. In Memory of John H.

Nelson." Following this advice has served me well throughout my working life. More on the Gunsmith Patch motto. You owe it to your customers to be dedicated their shooting and their guns. I have seen some gunsmiths become very selective about what they do, and as time moves along, they begin to see themselves as "having arrived" and therefore, no longer need to worry about that motto. I disagree. I think as long as we are gunsmiths and serving our customers we should be dedicated to those shooters and their guns.

I think we owe it to them to educate them about their guns and the firearm industry, repairing and enhancing their firearms and to simply be there for them when they need something gun related. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t specialize in certain tasks as a working gunsmith. Many do. But whatever you specialize in, be the gunsmith with the positive persona that is there for those customers who needed your service.

You want your customer base to have the trust to come to you whenever they need something and, just as important, to refer you to their friends and fellow shooters with confidence. Word of mouth will always be important, especially in our business, and which direction it goes depends on you. Negative word of mouth seems to spread much faster, though. Consider a customer asking for a repair on an old, beaten up shotgun

that you estimate to be worth $75. The negative persona might reply with something like, "I don’t work on junk like that." Think what that customer feels in the moment. How would you feel? Even though we may know that the firearm is low quality or that any work will cost much more than it is worth, don’t project negative feelings toward a would-be customer. A positive reply might be something like, "Let me see what you have there. Those were good old guns back in their day.

What are you thinking about doing with it if it is repairable?" This starts the positive interaction you want with the customer. That customer may tell you that the old gun belonged to a relative and they really want to clean it up, shoot it again, and keep it in their family. Or perhaps they just want to clean up an old gun as a family keepsake with no need to return it to normal function. The gun may have a sentimental value to that customer worth more than the estimated value, repair, or refurbishing cost.

This is the case more often than you think. Why would a customer seek your services to repair an obviously old and worn gun if they simply wanted something to take shooting or hunting? After learning what the customer wants without making assumptions, a good follow up would be an offer to look the gun over and provide an estimate to see if they want to move forward. Not too hard to do.

Even if they choose against paying for your services, I guarantee that customer will walk out of your shop pleased that at least somebody cared enough to take a look. And whether the customer decides to move forward and pay what it costs to repair it or gives you the all-stop on it, that customer will more than likely go home, dig out all of their guns and bring them to you for some sort of service, inspection, cleaning, or repair down the road.

This approach is better than being dismissive, only to have them leave and tell everyone they know what ana-hole you are. Believe they will do that! Avid shooters go to ranges, gun shows, on hunting and fishing trips, to competitive shooting events, and are only too happy to lend a story. When a discussion on the subject of a "gunsmith" comes up, the bad gunsmith always comes up first. How is that kind of "Gunsmith Persona" going to serve you and your shop?

Since gunsmithing as a career doesn’t always make enough money to allow advertising during the Super Bowl half-time ceremonies, you’ll have to use what you can to get the message out about who you are, what kind of work you do, and what kind of a gunsmith you are in the eyes of your customer base. This is so important in becoming a successful gunsmith. You have to remember that people have bills to pay. Things like electricity, fuel, car payments, insurance, food and other must have essentials to live their life.

So when trying to become a successful gunsmith, you are competing for that money; money that they spend while making ends meet. Leave a bad taste in the mouth of a customer and they will re-weigh how (and where) they spend their hard-earned dollars. I have found that honesty alone can pave the way for more customers. It’s not about low pricing. People will respect you if you are completely honest with them and then charge a fair and honest fee for your services.

Having integrity, projecting a positive image, and being truthful with your customers makes up the base of your gunsmith persona goals. Treat customers as you would like to be treated. You will be tested from time to time but that will define the gunsmith persona you are working so hard to build. I’m not saying you must take crap from belligerent customers. You will know when the time is right to be firm even if it risks losing that particular customer. But for a truly problematic customer, that isn’t a bad thing.

If that happens to you, those customers probably already have a bad reputation so it’ll hardly be surprising you were forced to lower the boom due to their irrational behavior. Just make sure you have done everything you possibly can to be the supportive, honest, and positive. Integrity is one thing people can never take from you. Creating your gunsmith persona doesn’t stop with your customers bringing in repairs. This needs to be extended outward to all of the people that you are working with within the industry.

Take for example a parts house that misfilled your order by sending an extra or additional items without charge. Even if though the mistake is theirs, don’t pocket the parts. Instead, contact them and ask how to proceed. Even if they wouldn’t have caught the error you build rapport as an honest broker and the kind of customer worth extending a favor or preference to in the future. Or, say a customer pays you cash and in recounting later you find there was too much.

You could assume it was a tip, but I’d call to let them know. How do you know that customer didn’t do it on purpose just to see what you really are made of? If it really was a tip, they’ll appreciate you more for being trustworthy and honest. Being known for honest business among local gun shops will have them sending customers your way. Maintain your reputation with the shop and extend that to your customers.

Remember, other businesses sending customers your way are also putting their reputation on the line with their recommendation. Burn a local shop employee or one of their customers after a referral and they’ll learn to stop. Or, they’ll only call when desperate with poor jobs that won’t that may not make

you much money. Those shops and other businesses are part of your voice in the firearms community. Have the persona that encourages repeat recommendations. When working in services, you have a lot of eyes on you every day that you turn out your work. And those eyes are your word of mouth advertising. Be mindful of that and do your best to project an image that people return to. Working with people in our type of industry can be a challenge at times so take those challenges seriously.

Place yourself in their shoes, keeping in mind that they don’t know have your knowledge and experience about firearms, servicing, and repair. Some customers will be very knowledgeable and capable and defining their problems and needs well but many won’t. Consider those customers new to the gun world. Don’t you think they feel intimidated when they simply walk into your shop and ask for help, not fully understanding what to ask for? A persona of mentoring anew customer may create a customer for life.

Haven’t you ever felt that way when walking into a car repair, computer repair, or some other shop you’re not fully versed in? You may not understand what is wrong or even how to fully explain the problem. It’s part of the reason you’re seeking help in the first place! Once there, you quickly realize that you know no one there, and then you may wonder how badly they are going to screw you over, only because that seems to be the norm anymore. I know I have felt that way many times.

Case in point: I took my pickup in for an oil change and tire rotation some years ago to anew service station about three months after I had had all of my brake shoes and rotors replaced. I had driven the truck less than 2,000 miles since that brake job. While in the waiting room, the service manager came in and began telling me that my brakes are completely worn and that all four rotors needed to be replaced as well.

He even gave me a quote on that work while looking at a work order in his hand. "What?," I replied. "I want to see my rotors and brakes since I just had them done a few months ago." Basically, I called him on it. At that point, he tried to back out of it by saying he needed to go see if the truck was still up on the lift. He came back and said, "Sorry about that, I had your car mixed up with another one." Yeah right! Just think if I had not questioned it?

Right then and there I knew I would never return to that place. Keep this in mind when quoting repair estimates and don’t take the risk of making up unnecessary repairs as you may get called on it. Be honest and up front and you will never have to worry about this type of scenario happening to you. Be mindful of the customer that comes into your shop for gun work.

They may not have experience with guns and might be taking a risk bringing their firearm(s) in to you so that you can tell them what is wrong and how much it might cost. They may try to describe to you what it is going on using wrong terminology because they don’t have the knowledge to describe the issue. Your job is to be the professional and put them at ease about the whole process.

Rather than tell them what you think or assume is wrong with it, you are better served asking them what is happening when they shoot and/or operate it so they can reveal what problems they have in their own terms. This tells the customer that you are interested in them as well as their prized firearms while standing ready to correct it. Simply saying, "Yeah, I know what it is. See it all the time. Just set it down over there." is probably not the best way to let your gunsmith persona shine through.

Your goal is to make the customer feel very comfortable about the whole process and that their prized possession is now in the right hands. Along those lines, some service providers or gunsmiths are very good at what they do and can churn out beautiful gun work. But their persona, hard as they might try, just won’t translate well during customer interactions. Try as they might, the positive doesn’t seem to shine through. There is nothing wrong with that, if you know how to work around it.

Sometimes you need a good communicator as the front person in the business while the gunsmith with the less desirable persona does the great work in back room. It happens in every career type out there, so it can and will happen in the gunsmithing or gun retail shop trade. Just be aware of it and put the positive persona that works well with the customers out in front to be the voice of the business.

Besides, there are some gunsmiths I personally know that say they would rather be left alone in the back to do their work and not have to deal with the public. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Do what you must to project the positive image you need to have. But if you plan on owning your own shop down the road, either take the steps to create a positive persona now or plan on hiring a person that does to be your positive influence in the shop that you build.

Working on your positive Gunsmith Persona can increase your bottom line by increasing clientele. I understand that time is money and that you can’t get your work done if customers are calling you all day long for advice. You just need to find away that works best for you in your business to work with your customers daily whether as the shop gunsmith, the owner of the shop, or both. Be the gunsmith that shooters want to call first or ask advice from.

They in turn will be spreading the word to others about how well you treated them. Your business will never suffer from being too honest, too fair, and too positive. Believe me! AG