Tag: business

2015 SHOT Show University—Don’t Miss Out!

With the holidays almost upon us and SHOT Show just weeks away, I wanted to take a moment to round up the stream of information available for the 2015 SHOT Show University and encourage all retailers and range owners to attend. I firmly believe that this year’s lineup of speakers and sponsors brings more to the table than ever before, with ideas and discussion that will help everyone on the front lines of the firearms industry improve their businesses and meet the challenges of the year ahead.

We’ll start the day with a keynote address by the talented Dr. Linda Talley, who’s discussion on leadership development skills will help store owners and managers get the most out of their employees and create a productive, profitable environment for all staff members.

After the opening address by Dr. Talley, attendees will participate in one of four learning tracks.  Track 1, ATF Compliance, is geared toward newer retail owners and certainly a solid refresher for anyone. Choose Track 2, Drive Your Sales, and you’ll get lessons from experts Larry Messereau, Doug VanderWoude, Miles Hall and Gene Marks on how to profit from digital marketing, enhance your Internet presence, differentiate your business from the competition, increase cash flow and improve your promotions for better returns. In Track 3, Retailing 101, industry retail professionals Tom Shay, Karl Stearns and Bill Napier will discuss honing the basics of retailing firearms, with topics such as advertising planning, and merchandising practices that increase turns. Finally those attending Track 4, Veteran Retailer, will glean knowledge from some of our industry’s most successful and long-time entrepreneurs, such as Janey and Meaghan Hall, Tom Shay, Bill Napier, Karl Stearns and NSSF’s own Deb Kenney, with panels on human resources, ecommerce planning, security strategies, and store layout enhancements.

The 2015 SHOT Show University will conclude with a closing address from business consultant giant Afterburner, Inc.—and I promise, you do not want to miss this dynamic presentation.

This year’s University is represented by an unprecedented lineup of talent and expertise. But none of that would be possible without the industry support of our sponsors. These include Smith & Wesson, Celerant Technology, the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers, Winchester, and our two newest sponsors, iTech Digital and Joseph Chiarello and Co., Inc. Their contributions to making the 2015 SHOT Show University live up to and surpass the success of past Universities amply demonstrates the industry’s commitment to helping today’s firearms retailers succeed. Be sure to visit with them during SHOT Show and thank them for their partnership in this year’s event—together, this is how we all continue to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports for the generations to come.

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 Retailer members 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 NSSF at the level that best serves your business needs, visit nssf.org/join or e-mail membership@nssf.org.

SHOT Show University Adds Seats, Encourages Exhibitors to Attend

Thanks to an outstanding lineup of topics and speakers, we’ve received numerous calls from exhibitor representatives asking to attend the 2015 SHOT Show University. Though SHOT Show University is generally geared toward firearms retailers, with the number of seat requests we received, we took a look at the panels and realized that there was indeed value in many of them for exhibitors at the show. We recently sent an invitation to the full list of exhibitors announcing the expanded seating, and I just want to take a moment here to emphasize the breadth of information they’ll receive by attending SHOT Show University.

For those exhibitors unfamiliar with the forum, SHOT Show University is a one-day educational event that takes place on Monday, Jan. 19, the day before the official start of the SHOT Show. Sessions are geared toward the unique needs of professionals in the firearms business and cover such varied topics as working with the Federal form 4473 and other important compliance issues, as well as business development forums such as digital and content marketing, cash flow practices, store security, loss prevention, advertising planning, store layout maximization and more.

The day starts with an opening address by Dr. Linda Talley, one of the country’s most respected business-development leaders. After that, University attendees will break into one of four educational tracks—ATF Compliance, Drive Your Sales, Retailing 101 and Veteran Retailer—learning about developments in our industry through leading experts such as Gene Marks, Tom Shay, Larry Mersereau, Karl Stearns, Bill Napier and NSSF’s own ATF Compliance Consultants Wally Nelson and Harry McCabe. This year’s University will end with a dynamic closing address by former Marine pilot Patrick “Lips” Houlahan, a team leader with business consultant company Afterburner, Inc.

“After seeing the number of requests to attend SHOT Show University that were coming from exhibitors, we realized that they had a genuine and valid interest in knowing the business through their retailers’ eyes,” said Randy Clark, NSSF Senior Director, Business Development. “There is tremendous knowledge to be had by learning about what’s important to others in the chain of people who move product from maker to consumer within our industry. Thus it makes perfect sense to open the doors wider to the unique forum that is SHOT Show University.”

Though NSSF has added additional seats to accommodate the many exhibitors wishing to attend SHOT Show University, seating is limited and this event will sell out. We encourage everyone to register for this event now. Exhibitors interested in attending can email me at pshay@nssf.org for assistance with registration. 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 are $250 per ticket; non-members may attend for $500 per ticket. 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 nssf.org/join or e-mail membership@nssf.org.

NSSF Welcomes Business Expert Karl Stearns to 2015 SHOT Show University Speaker Lineup

KMS_2014_WKC_croppedEntrepreneur and small business expert Karl Stearns is the newest addition to the growing list of highly respected individuals lecturing at NSSF’s 2015 SHOT Show University. Stearns will conduct two sessions for this year’s University:

  • The Four Pillars of Digital Marketing—During this presentation, retailers will learn how to “get found” in today’s vast world of cyber presence. The session will focus on ways to nurture relationships, grow contact lists, increase customer loyalty, and utilizing dedicated digital campaigns to drive customers to your business. Attendees will also learn how use and understand digital analytics to make better decisions for their businesses and their customers.
  • Tactics to Improve Your Ecommerce Plan—Give your website, online store and digital marketing plan a tune up with this exciting and insightful presentation.

With a background of accounting skills, sales and marketing expertise and the advantage of owning several small businesses, Stearns “walks the walk and talks the talk” of small business people. A winner of numerous automotive industry awards, Stearns writes for a number of industry trade journals and serves as a marketing consultant to clients nationwide. As a speaker for Tom Shay’s Profits Plus small business seminars, he addresses groups throughout the United States on a wide variety of small businesses topics from pricing strategies, getting better results from employees, business management and reading and understanding financial statements. He also is a Platinum Solution Provider for Constant Contact, one of today’s most-used business client mailing list platforms, having attained certification in presenting programs on digital marketing.

“We are extremely pleased to have someone like Karl, who’s knowledge of digital business marketing—how to plan it, how to analyze the results, how to make it work to grow any retailer’s client base—is so important to meeting the demands of retailing firearms in the 21st century,” said Randy Clark, NSSF Managing Director, Business Development. “Our retailers’ visibility absolutely depends on a digital presence these days. But in the lightning-fast pace of the Internet, it’s a mistake for today’s retailer to think that a simple web page with a picture of their staff and the store’s hours and phone number are enough to get people into your store. The web is the place where business is happening, and whether you’re actually taking and fulfilling orders via the web or merely utilizing its inherent functionality to drive more foot traffic into your store through the creative use of advertising, blogs, newsletters and more, Karl’s sessions will provide the foundation to do both.”

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 are $250 per ticket; non-members may attend for $500 per ticket. 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 nssf.org/join or e-mail membership@nssf.org.

Business Growth Expert to Lead SHOT Show University Sessions

Adding to the growing list of expert business leaders lecturing at the 2015 SHOT Show University is professional consultant Larry Mersereau. Mersereau is an engaging and highly respected speaker with more than 20 years experience providing keynote and general session addresses and specialized training in breakout and workshop settings to corporations and associations. Through his consulting enterprise PromoPower, Mersereau has worked with companies such as American Express, Inc. Magazine and Yamaha Motorsports, with a focus on business growth through sale expansion, customer retention, branding and positioning, maximization of marketing returns and leadership growth.

Mersereau will guide two sessions of the 2015 SSU. The first, “Content Marketing in Cyberspace,” will teach attendees how to connect with your “virtual” customers, the ones who are shopping with retailers without actually going to brick-and-mortar establishments. This course will discuss marketing content, execution plans, budgeting, and metrics that allow you to assess your results once your cyberspace marketing plan has been implemented.

In Mersereau’s second session, “Stand Out, Differentiate or Disappear,” retailers will learn how to position their businesses to stand out in a crowd of similar entities as the go-to place in every customer’s mind. Attendees of this session will hear about Mersereau’s “Brand Ladder” that teaches business leaders how to move potential customers into their stores and turn them from one-time shoppers to repeat, loyal customers who, in turn, continue to help spreading the word about your business through social media personal recommendations to friends and family.

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. 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.