2015 SHOT Show – Page 6 – SHOT Show Blog

FFL Retail Expert Marily Haley Joins NSSF’s 2015 SHOT SHOW Diversity Panel

Marily Haley Headshot NSSF is pleased to announce that Marily Haley, manager of highly popular Shoot Smart ranges in Texas, has joined the list of speakers educating today’s retailers on the issues of diversity during the 2015 SHOT Show special Diversity Panel, sponsored by NSSF. Haley will be joining Don Adair, president of the African American Hunting Association, and husband and wife team Lilly Gibbs and Frank Manuel, founders and developers of the Montgomery Indoor Shooting Complex.

Haley brings a wealth of front-line, bottom-to-top retail experience to the panel’s discussion. As a founding member of the Shoot Smart staff, Marily’s cordial and friendly personality set the standard for customer service at the company, quickly earning her a reputation for taking a room full of impatient customers and making each of them feel as if they were the only one being served. Those abilities saw her quickly rise through the ranks at Shoot Smart, moving first to head cashier, then shift supervisor, trainer, assistant manager and manager in quick progression.

Through her leadership skills and abilities to communicate to a wide variety of people, Haley streamlined customer service procedures at Shoot Smart, developed best practices for customer service and a created a formal customer service training program for the Shoot Smart staff.

This string of successes saw her promotion to range manager of the second Shoot Smart range, which opened in Grand Prairie, Texas, in 2013. That range, just one year after opening, earned NSSF’s prestigious Five Star Range Rating under Haley’s tutelage.

“Marily is a dynamic individual making a noticeable mark in the shooting industry,” said Patrick Shay, co-creator of the 2015 SHOT Show Diversity Panel and NSSF’s Director, Retail Development. “She was raised in both Texas and Mexico, attending Brookhaven College in Dallas. She has strong communication skills in English and Spanish, and that duality, combined with her reputation among both her customers and peers, positions her uniquely to speak about diversity in the shooting industry. Her insights on how to engage customers of different cultures, races, beliefs and needs will be invaluable to any retailer or range owner looking for new ways to reach new customers and expand their businesses.”

Created to provide retailers with a fresh approach to connecting with new customers, the 2015 SHOT Show Diversity Panel will take place Wednesday, January 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“The face of today’s recreational shooter is not what it was even five years ago. It’s younger, includes more females and is much better represented across multiple ethnicities than in the past,” explained Shay. “It’s time for firearms retailers and range operators to realize that their best potential for growth and long-term viability in the coming years is in discovering how to reach these new shooters and provide them with goods and services they need. We think this Diversity Panel will provide essential information for making those connections and turning them into happy, loyal customers.”

Tickets for the 2015 SHOT Show Diversity Panel are $20 for both NSSF member and non-member retailers and range owners, but seating is limited, so we urge you to register now for this important event. To register, go to the shotshow.org website, click on the “Apply” button and follow the directions on the page. Anyone already registered to attend the 2015 SHOT Show may revisit shotshow.org, click on “Apply,” then click the “Check Status” button on the bottom left-hand portion of the screen. Once there, scroll to the bottom of the page to “Access Your Attendee Dashboard” and provide your email and password to enter. For more information, contact Patrick Shay, pshay@nssf.org.

December SHOT Show Deadlines

December is a hectic month for nearly everyone in the firearms industry. Retailers are dealing with fast-paced seasonal sales, distributors are working to fill last-minute orders and meet yearly quotas, and all of us are making plans for the month-end holiday visits with family and friends.

On top of all of this, SHOT Show preparations are in full swing. There are just seven weeks left until the 2015 SHOT Show. That means December has dozens of deadlines important to exhibitors, advertisers and attendees. In fact, we have so many, that this month we’re going to break them into a couple blog posts here, to better help all going to SHOT better organize their pre-show planning. You can always keep abreast of the deadlines by printing out the Deadline Checklist located in the online Exhibitor Resource Center and reading the weekly Exhibitor Update that is emailed to the main show contact and posted online in the Exhibitor Resource Center.

Before I get started with the most important upcoming deadlines, I need to emphasize two things. First, the names and unique email addresses for every staff member of each exhibitor attending the 2015 SHOT Show must be submitted, for qualification, through their Registration Dashboard immediately. Rules and qualifications for exhibiting staff have changed from past years, so it is important that appropriate submissions are made in advance to avoid confusion or waiting onsite. As we’ve said before, it will be very important to book your hotel rooms early. While some have sold out, there are still many hotel options available through our official block.

Now, on to the first half of December’s deadlines.

December 12—Six Deadlines

New Product Guide Advertising Deadline: This is the deadline for anyone wishing to advertise in the printed version of the New Product Guide. With the expansion of the New Product Center at the 2015 SHOT Show, its high show traffic volume and the dedicated post-show usury of the printed New Product Guide by media members and buyers, this is an excellent opportunity for all exhibitors to boost their visibility, whether they have a product in the Center or not. Contact me at djeannnette@nssf.org or Chis Tatulli, NSSF Director, Exhibitions and Sales, at ctatulli@nssf.org.
“No Soliciting” Sign Request Deadline: For exhibitor use, to help control traffic and meeting availability, as well as to help identify potential “suitcasing,” soliciting by vendors who are not SHOT Show exhibitors. Contact Jennifer Carr at jcarr@convexx.com; 702-216-5852
Press Conference Application Deadline: For exhibitors and public relations and marketing firms expecting to host press conferences either on the show floor at exhibitor booth locations or in reserved meeting rooms. Contact Tricia Hanisko at thanisko@convexx.com; 702-216-5865.
Sponsorship Artwork Deadline: For those advertisers and exhibitors sponsoring various aspects of SHOT Show and its publications (SHOT Show University, Law Enforcement Education Program Workshops, digital media, Exhibitor Spotlight, Showcase Theater and others), this is the deadline for which artwork must be received by Freeman. A detailed list of 2015 SHOT Show sponsorship opportunities can be found here. For information on artwork formats and delivery avenues, contact Convexx’s SHOT Show Manager Susan L. Schwartz, CEM, at sschwartz@convexx.com; 702-216-5858.
Visa Letter Request Submission Deadline: This deadline is intended for those international exhibitors and those who will require booth staff arriving from foreign countries. Non U.S.-based exhibitors requesting booth badges for themselves and booth staff have the option to check “yes” on their Exhibitor Dashboard during registration and receive a Letter of Invitation to the 2015 SHOT Show. That letter is then printed out by the exhibitor for presentation at the Visa appointment in their country in application for their tourist or business Visa. As the Visa application can take some time to complete, once again, we urge everyone to register for SHOT Show immediately, especially our international guests. For additional documents that may be needed for Visa application completion, email visa@shot.convexx.com.
Fabric Order Early Bird Discount Deadline: This is the deadline to order booth drapery and other fabric needs from Freeman at the discounted advanced rate. Contact Freeman Exhibitor Services Department, exhibitorhelp@convexx.com; 855-355-7468.

December 15—One Deadline

December 15 marks the halfway point of this month, but it’s an important date for exhibitors shipping materials ahead of time. This is the first date that Freeman will accept exhibitor freight in advance of the show for storage at Freeman’s warehouse until setup in the days before the show (these pre-show freight shipments stored ta Freemans warehouse will be in your booth for your scheduled setup time). For those taking advantage of advanced freight shipping, it will be important to convey this information to your freight carrier and provide them contact points with Freeman so that your shipment does not arrive before this date and incur possible holdover fees. For more information in coordinating freight shipping to Freeman’s warehouse in advance of the 2015 SHOT Show, contact Jennifer Carr at jcarr@convexx.com; 702-216-5852.

I’ll cover a second set of December deadlines in another blog post shortly. For the full list of 2015 SHOT Show deadlines, click here.

Dave Jeannette is Senior Director, Sales for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @DaveJeannette.

Two Newest Speakers to SHOT Show University to Address Veteran Retailer Needs

Our world is constantly changing, and today’s modern firearms dealer is anything but immune to those changes. Demographics shift, purchasing abilities go up and down and trends come and go—and if you’re not making the necessary adjustments to meet those challenges, your product is going to sit on your shelves and your business is going to suffer.

This is precisely why NSSF has an educational track devoted exclusively to driving sales in its SHOT Show University Lineup. We’ve already told you about expert business professionals Larry Mersereau and Gene Marks, scheduled to speak on topics such as digital marketing and market differentiation and content marketing. Now NSSF has added well-known firearms retailing veterans Doug VanderWoude and Miles Hall to the Drive Your Sales Lineup as the featured speakers for the all-important Power Promotions session.

In this session, VanderWoude and Hall will show retailers how to drive sales and increase margins and turns with a number of unique promotional ideas that the pair have developed over their combined 60-plus years of experience in the firearms industry.

“It’s not often the an FFL dealer gets to engage with successful, veteran retailers like Doug and Miles,” said Randy Clark, NSSF Managing Director, Business Development. “Not only do these have the ‘street cred’ to speak on what works, they have the profitable and long-standing successful businesses to back them up. Having gone through innumerable ups and downs during their tenure in the firearms business and come out ahead, their insight into what works and what doesn’t should prove invaluable to today’s retailers.”

Doug VanderWoude is a 32-year veteran of the retail firearms industry, having spent 29 of those years behind a gun counter. He started a firearms retail store with an indoor shooting range from scratch and was a charter member of the industry’s first performance group. He is a current and active member of the NSSF Range Committee. Today, VanderWoude is a firearms retail and range consultant who has visited more than 190 firearms retail facilities in the past 38 months. He has worked with multiple firearms companies on proven nationwide promotions that drive consumers into ranges, and he spends many of his days helping other firearms retailers improve traffic flow inside their stores and increase profitability.

Miles Hall is Founder and President of H&H Shooting Sports Complex in Oklahoma City. Started in 1981, H&H is a community educational and retail complex with a focus on developing and promoting shooting sports. The current facility houses 61 shooting lanes for Olympic air rifle and pistol, standard pistol, high-power rifle, and archery. H&H has been ranked as a top 10 dealer by the majority of major manufacturers in the shooting sports. Hall is a founding member and serves as past president of the Association of Shooting Ranges, is a founding member of the Association of Firearm Retailers, and a past board member of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. He was named 2004 Retailer of the Year by Shot Business Magazine. H&H was also selected for that magazine’s Range of the Year honor in 2006 and was the first facility to receive NSSF’s prestigious Five Star Range Rating. Inc. Magazine has selected H&H as one of the fastest growing, privately held business in the United States for the last seven years and is the only gun dealer ever on that list for four of those years.

SHOT Show University is the premier event for firearms retailers. Seats are limited and this event will sell out, so retailers are urged to sign up now. Remember, NSSF Premium Retailers are offered a complimentary ticket to SHOT Show University. Additional tickets for both Premium Retailer members and all other NSSF members who wish to attend is $250; non-members may attend for $500. To learn more about SHOT Show University and its many sessions, click here. To upgrade your membership to the Premium Retailer level or to join at NSSF at the level that best serves your business needs, visit www.nssf.org/join or e-mail membership@nssf.org.

SHOT Show Welcomes, Encourages Law Enforcement to Attend

PI5_3067

SHOT Show is, without a doubt, all about new products and helping our exhibitors tell the world about them. There are many audiences for those displaying their wares at SHOT address—competition shooters, weekend hobbyists, hunters, self-defense experts and more—but perhaps the fastest growing segment of the show is the community of law enforcement, SWAT, private and executive security and armed forces personnel.

Currently covering more than 186,000 square feet of dedicated exhibition space on the main floor of the Sands Expo Center, our tactical and safety equipment exhibitors display a vast array of equipment and tools those in law enforcement and other public safety positions need to keep themselves and the public safe in the line of duty.

Not only is SHOT Show the place for law enforcement personnel to get a look at today’s innovative firearms, ammunition and gear, it’s also a center for educational exchange. Completely free to attend to members of law enforcement, the Law Enforcement Educational Program—LEEP—is the result of a partnership between Law Officer Magazine and NSSF. LEEP is a series of topical sessions taking place at SHOT Show from Tuesday to Thursday, these sessions covering a wide range of subject matter germane to law enforcement and private security job performance. In addition to these special seminars, law enforcement also have two networking opportunities available to them. The first is a meet-and-greet with armed forces members, while the second is a networking luncheon designed for interaction between various law enforcement agencies, LE personnel and the editors of Law Officer Magazine.

The full LEEP course listing, as well as links to register for the networking luncheon and armed forces meet-and-greet functions are available by clicking here. As NSSF encourages all members of law enforcement to attend and doing so will often require permission from commanding officers or other supervisors, we’ve also provided a tactical planning page for you, as well as a helpful video, so that others in your organization can realize the value in attending this once-a-year event.

Law enforcement members may register to attend in two categories. Buyers for law enforcement and security agencies can register for just $35 before January 13, 2015; registration after this date or on-site during the show is available for $70. All law enforcement members wishing to attend SHOT who are not buyers for their agency can take advantage of their early bird registration fee of $175 before January 13, 2015. These attendees may also register after this date or on-site during the show for $350. We strongly encourage all members of the law enforcement community to register early for SHOT show and sign up for LEEP sessions ahead of the January 13 date, as these sessions will sell out. For more information on how to register for any of these SHOT Show programs as a member of the law enforcement community, call 855-355-7468 or email regmgr@shot.convexx.com.

Diedra Cauley is the director of exhibitions and conferences for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow her on Twitter at @dcauley.

International Trade Center Open to All 2015 SHOT Show International Buyers and U.S. Exhibitors

For the second consecutive year, SHOT Show is participating in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Buyer Program (IBP). The IBP is a joint effort between the U.S. government and industry to bring thousands of international buyers to the United States for business-to-business matchmaking with U.S. firms exhibiting at major industry trade shows.

There are three components to the IBP taking place at the 2015 SHOT Show. These include the Showtime Program, where U.S.-based show exhibitors can meet one-on-one with USDOC industry specialists from our overseas embassies, and the B2B Matchmaking Program that works to promote U.S. firearms businesses and products to foreign delegates throughout the show.

The third component to the IBP is the International Trade Center. Here, breakfast, lunch and an afternoon reception are held each official show day. Private conference rooms are available for meetings; hostesses are available to assist with scheduling. Complimentary WiFi Internet access and computer access with printer capabilities and multi-language translators are available in the center.

This center offers something to “both sides of the coin.” For international buyers, experts in U.S.-based firearms manufacturers and distributors are on hand to help identify the exhibitors and products that best match those buyers’ needs and arrange introductions. For the exhibitor, trade specialists from the U.S. Department of Commerce help our U.S.-based businesses identify potential new markets and arrange in-person meetings with the buyers attending those markets.

“The International Trade Center provides a place away from the crowd and distractions of the show floor so that exhibitors working to expand their businesses can meet face-to-face with those who can provide access to new markets,” explained Chris Dolnack, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “We urge all our exhibitors searching for fresh selling avenues and business growth opportunities to utilize this meeting space to discover the potential that can be had in international sales and distribution.”

The International Trade Center Location is located in The Venetian Hotel, Level 2, Bassano Ballroom, attached to the Sands Hotel and Convention Center. For more information on the center during show hours, call 702-691-8705.

Diedra Cauley is the director of exhibitions and conferences for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow her on Twitter at @dcauley.

NSSF ATF Experts Latest Speakers to Join SHOT Show University Lineup

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is pleased to announce that two of its leading compliance experts have joined the lineup of speakers for the 2015 SHOT Show University. Retired ATF agents Harry McCabe and Wally Nelson will be moderating five classes in the ATF Compliance Track. Topics for this track include:

How to identify errors in your 4473 forms and the ways to legally correct them.
Perfecting A&D book maintenance.
A review of the best compliance practices NSSF’s team of compliance consultants has seen across the thousands of site visits and inspections they’ve conducted.
What happens during an ATF inspection and how you and your store can best prepare for one.
The top 10 compliance issues ATF routinely encounters with today’s retailers and how you can ensure your store doesn’t make these same mistakes.

“More than any other topic we encounter during discussions with thousands of retailers across the country each year, how to stay on top of compliance is a primary concern,” explained Randy Clark, NSSF Managing Director, Business Development. “Our retailers truly want to make every effort they can to conduct their businesses in a completely legal manner, and that includes working to pass an ATF audit without any errors, making sure each and every Form 4473 transaction is completed accurately and that inventory records and firearms A&D books are both up to date and accurate. This is why we are so dedicated to providing these business owners with experts in the field of compliance like Harry McCabe and Wally Nelson. These two men alone bring nearly 70 combined years of ATF experience to the table to help our retailers negotiate the maze of regulations and compliance issues that go hand in hand with selling firearms.”

Harry McCabe has more than 36 years of service with the ATF under his belt. He began his career as an inspector in Raleigh, North Carolina, eventually becoming an area supervisor in Detroit and a branch chief at Headquarters. In 1998, he became Director, Industry Operations of the Nashville Field Division. During the 12 years he spent in that position, he oversaw more than 5,000 firearms qualification and compliance inspections and conducted approximately dozens of firearms industry educational seminars. In 2010, he became Deputy Assistant Director for Field Operations, a position he maintained until he retired from ATF in June of 2012.

Wally Nelson is a retired ATF Deputy Assistant Director with more than 30 years experience. As DAD, he directed all regulatory firearms programs, including the development and monitoring of firearms inspection programs, licensing, NFA, imports, tracing and regulations, as well as the firearms technology branch. He retired from ATF in October 2005 and for the last nine years has brought his expertise in firearms laws and regulations to industry members as a private consultant. In that capacity, Nelson performs site inspections, provides employee training and helps develop compliance plans.

Both McCabe and Nelson are members of NSSF’s team of FFL compliance consultants available to our members for on-site consultations. Both men also frequently lecture at NSSF’s regional Retailer Seminars held throughout the year.

Registration for the 2015 SHOT Show University is open now, but seats are limited and this event will sell out. New this year, NSSF Premium Retail members are offered one complimentary ticket to attend this event. Additional tickets for Premium Retail members and tickets purchased by other NSSF members are $250. Non-members may attend SSU for $500. To register for the 2015 SHOT Show University, go to shotshow.org and log back into the show registration panel using the username and password you originally used to register to attend the show. Once logged in, you’ll find a full list of events and ticket prices. Not an NSSF member? Join here.

Renowned Business Author Tom Shay Joins SHOT Show University Speaker Lineup

NSSF is pleased to announce that expert small business owner and author Tom Shay will be presiding over four sessions of the 2015 SHOT Show University. These sessions include:

Merchandising and Maximizing Turns
Advertising Effectively: Your Ad Plan and Budget
Understanding Your Financials: There Are Dollars in the Details
Maximizing Your Store Layout

“While compliance is the leading concern of our retailers,” explained Randy Clark, NSSF Managing Director, Business Development, “there are many other topics important to running their businesses successfully. This is where Tom comes in. As a lifelong small business owner and the fourth generation to be involved in a family business, Tom has great insight into how to realize the potential in any store floor plan and how merchandise should be displayed within the space you have so that your customers see the products you have and they want. Getting these kinds of behind the scenes things down is what will keep product moving off your shelves and your cash flow up.

“Cash flow, of course, is part of any retailer’s overall financial picture, and that’s another subject Tom knows well. In his session on financials, he’ll help SSU attendees learn why they should drill down into their cash flow, fixed costs, overhead and more so that retailers get both the most for the money they need to spend and see ways to increase profits.

“Finally, Tom will address the value of advertising. Word of mouth used to be enough, and retailers still need that, but to be truly successful, they also need to utilize both the traditional methods of advertising, such as radio and newspaper ads, and the modern, such as social media and website placements. Tom will show this year’s SSU attendees how to discover which methods will provide the greatest outreach to your store’s community and produce the biggest results.”

Tom Shay has authored 11 books on small business management, a textbook on small business financial management, and he’s co-authored a book on retailer/vendor relations. During the past 18 years, he has written more than 400 management articles that have appeared in more than 70 national and international trade magazines. He is also the author of NSSF’s series of books specifically for firearms retailers, covering topics such as business plan writing, merchandising and financials, among others.

“Since the retailer books were first created by NSSF some 8 years ago,” said Tom Shay, “I have continually updated the content to reflect the changes that have occurred in retailing, as well as the changes that have occurred within the economy. I’ll bring those attending the 2015 SHOT Show University a wealth of these latest concepts.”

SHOT Show University is the premier event for firearms retailers. Seats are limited and this event will sell out, so retailers are urged to sign up now. Remember, NSSF Premium Retailers are offered a complimentary ticket to SSU. Additional tickets for both Premium Retail members and all other NSSF members who wish to attend is $250; non-members may attend for $500. To learn more about SSU and its many sessions, click here. To upgrade your membership to the Premium Retail level or to join at NSSF at the level that best serves your business needs, visit nssf.org/join or e-mail membership@nssf.org.

2015 SHOT Show Exhibitor Upcoming November Deadlines

November is a busy time for everyone with the upcoming holidays, but there’s no rest for the weary when it comes to organizing the 2015 SHOT Show. With the Show less than three months away, there are several deadlines crucial to exhibitors and advertisers.

The first two deadlines fall on Nov. 7. On that date, SHOT Show Directory advertising space reservations need to be completed and all Directory listings need to have any updates finalized. Contact Chris Tatulli, ctatulli@nssf.org with advertising questions and exhibitorhelp@shot.convexx.com for directory listing information.

Nov. 21 has four deadlines. On this Friday before the holiday week of Thanksgiving, advertising space reservations and listing descriptions are due for the much-anticipated New Product Guide. With the expanded floor space granted the New Product Center this year and the additional exposure exhibitors in this special center will receive through the online product photo gallery to be launched this year, ensuring your company and product information are accurately listed in the New Product Guide is paramount. Again, contact ctatulli@nssf.org for advertising questions and exhibitorhelp@shot.convexx.com for listing information.

The third deadline for Nov. 21 is for SHOT Show Directory & Buyer Guide artwork submissions (following the space reservation deadline of Nov. 7), while the fourth deadline for this date is for permitting exhibitor mobile units and motorized vehicles.

This final Nov. 21 deadline refers to ATVs, watercraft, trucks, cars and other motorized equipment to be included in booth displays. Exhibitors planning to display such equipment at the 2015 SHOT Show must obtain a Liquid or Gas-Fueled Vehicles or Equipment in Assembly Area Permit from Nevada’s Clark County Fire Department. Full information regarding this permit and restrictions on displaying motorized vehicles or equipment can be found here. This permit is required before exhibitors pay the spotting fee (deadline Dec. 26) and provide notice to Show organizer Freeman regarding the type of equipment to be displayed in your booth—weight, length, height, width and type—as well a requests for forklifts and cranes if necessary to properly position such equipment in the allotted booth spaces. Click here for the Freeman motorized vehicles booth reservation form. For questions about mobile units and motorized vehicles to be displayed in SHOT Show booths, contact Brian Nilson, Freeman Material Handling Supervisor, at 702-579-1784 or by email at brian.nilson@freemanco.com.

The final deadline for this month occurs on Nov. 24, and it’s one exhibitors interested in saving money will want to pay attention to. This is the deadline to receive the early-bird discounts on selected CompuLEAD applications and services from show provider CompuSystems. CompuLEAD provides a suite of lead management products that ensure each exhibitor capitalizes on every visitor to their booth. Products include the handheld CompuLEAD Mobile and Mobile Elite devices, the smartphone downloadable app CompuLEAD Smart, and the CompuLEAD Desktop unit. All offer a variety of lead generating tools, such as attendee badge scanning and contact editing, note taking and survey generating functionalities, custom lead qualifier creation, electronic literature sending capabilities and more. Early bird ordering offers substantial savings, so exhibitors are urged to reserve their devices and download applications now. Click here to access the CompuLEAD order form.

Dave Jeannette is Senior Director, Sales for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @DaveJeannette.

Manufacturer/Retailer Market Research Seminars Scheduled for 2015 SHOT Show

New to the growing schedule of educational classes, NSSF is pleased to be offering two presentations of its Market Research 101 Seminar during the 2015 SHOT Show. Lead by NSSF’s own Jim Curcuruto, Director of Industry Research & Analysis, in partnership with research experts Rob Southwick and Nancy Bacon of Southwick Associates, this seminar will cover industry indicators affecting how our member manufacturers and retailers are and will be doing business.

Discussions during this seminar will cover topics such as the current status of the National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) system, excise taxes, firearms production numbers, imports and export numbers for firearms and ammunition and hunting license sales. There will also be an overview of NSSF’s research on first-time gun buyers and women gun owner demographics, as well as the increasing importance of understanding diversity in hunting and shooting sports. Along with an overview of current consumer sentiment, buying trends and related demographics from Southwick Associates, this in-depth seminar will provide a detailed picture of the firearms industry and its consumer behaviors today, allowing manufacturers and retailers to make better informed business decisions in the coming year.

“This kind of research is invaluable to the members of our industry, but it’s not something everyone knows to take advantage of,” explained Curcuruto. “We want to give our manufacturers and retailers every chance to be the most successful businesses they can be by providing them the full picture of today’s buying trends and customer demographics and helping them to identify fresh ways in which to conduct their businesses.”

The Market Research 101 Seminar will be presented twice, first on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and again on Thursday, Jan. 22 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30pm. We will announce the location in the Venetian closer to the show.

Registration to attend either Market Research 101 Seminar is $50 for NSSF members, $100 for non-members. Click here to register. For additional information, contact Jim Curcuruto, jcurcuruto@nssf.org.

SHOT Show Diversity Panel Helps Retailers Reach New Customers

Retailers seeking to grow their businesses should constantly be seeking for ways to reach new customers and engage them in a way that they become loyal customers. There are many ways to do this, but one often missed is community outreach.

“As humans, we’re prone to getting stuck in a rut,” explained Patrick Shay, NSSF Director, Retail Development. “That holds true as much for firearms retailers as it does for anyone else. We get comfortable with our current client base, comfortable knowing what they like and want, because they’re the same customers in front of the counter or lining up to use the range every day, every week, every month. It’s easy to sell to what and who you know.”

“Having a solid and reliable customer base is good for business, no question about it, but it’s not a recipe for growth,” Shay continued. “Growth requires connecting with new customers and turning them into what should be an ever-expanding client base. To do that, retailers have to think beyond the faces they’re used to seeing in their stores and realize there are many more people out there who shoot. To help our retailers and range owners embrace that idea, as well as help them understand the barriers those potential new customers may be experiencing when it comes to finding firearms stores and shooting ranges that meet their needs, the NSSF developed its first Diversity Panel for the 2015 SHOT Show.”

Featured speakers will bring their “outside” intelligence to today’s firearms dealer:

Donny Adair is president of the African American Hunting Association. Since 2008, he has been working to prompt African Americans, other people of color and urban residents to get involved in hunting, shooting, fishing and other outdoor recreation and sports. His efforts, including his website, aaha.com, and television program, The AAHA Outdoor Show, have resulted in a resurgence of interest nationwide among these non-traditional audiences. Adair’s background in public speaking includes more than 40 years in public agencies, private companies and as a consultant in equal opportunity, diversity, and human relations.

Lilly Gibbs was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She immigrated to America as a young girl and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Gibbs currently heads the Real Estate Division of La Femme, Inc., which, in Oct. 2012, secured financing for the development of Montgomery Indoor Shooting Complex.

Frank Manuel, Gibbs’ husband and co-owner of Montgomery Indoor Shooting Complex, is a highly respected master tradesman in the Alabama construction industry, Manuel heads the Design and Construction Division of La Femme. Together they opened Montgomery Indoor Shooting Complex in Sept 2013.

The panel will be moderated by Jim Curcuruto, NSSF, Director of Industry Research & Analysis, who has lead several projects on the subject of diversity for NSSF.

“We are thrilled to have this panel of distinguished and successful entrepreneurs join us at the 2015 SHOT Show to discuss with our retailers the challenges non-traditional shooters face in understanding and utilizing the vast resources the NSSF and, indeed, the industry in general has to offer them,” said Shay. “We think that through this discussion and learning about the face of today’s shooter, our retailers will realize that they already have the common ground needed to connect with a new and continually expanding customer base.”

The 2015 SHOT Show Diversity Panel will be held Wednesday, January 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Location in the Venetian to be announced shortly.). Tickets for this event are $20 for both member and non-member retail and range owners, but seating is limited, so we urge you to register now for this important event. Anyone already registered to attend the 2015 SHOT Show may revisit shotshow.org, log in, and purchase panel tickets on the event listings page. For more information, contact Patrick Shay, pshay@nssf.org.