Ways to learn about guns for sales position

B

Bel5191

New member
Hi all,
There is a sales position coming open at a law enforcement sales store near where I live. I was approached about the position (someone there knows me) because they know I can be trusted. The thing is, I don't have much firearms experience besides the hunting arms I own, what I read (American Rifleman, Guns & Ammo, etc.) and from what I read here and on gun manufacturer's websites.

Any suggestions on how I can familiarize myself with current guns/equipment over the summer to better qualify myself? They know I'm not a guru but I still want to make myself more qualified. Thanks.
 
One thing's for sure, you're not gonna learn a lot from reading those magazines. If those were all you read you'd have a pretty rosy impression of whatever company paid their advertising bill the quickest that month. :D
 
Cartridges of the World and the Gun Digest books make for good starter reading and will come in handy as reference material. Talk to your friend and find out what the shop's niche is: handguns, tactical rifles, hunting, whatever. Read up on that area in particular.

Be wary of gun magazines, as they're often thinly-veiled promotional material. Be even more skeptical of what you read on the internet, as it is largely opinion, and often ill-informed.

The biggest thing? Don't be afraid to say "I don't know." Ask for help. Never assume: that can backfire. A great deal of firearms lore isn't on Google or any forum, and it'll only be learned by keeping your ears open.
 
If the job is open now, apply now -- and be honest about the limits of your knowledge while emphasizing you willingness and desire to learn.
 
cambeul41 said:
If the job is open now, apply now -- and be honest about the limits of your knowledge while emphasizing you willingness and desire to learn.
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This.

IMO, customers (and your potential future boss) are much more tolerant of lack of knowledge, than attempting to cover up a lack of knowledge.
 
"IMO, customers (and your potential future boss) are much more tolerant of lack of knowledge, than attempting to cover up a lack of knowledge. "

As a customer I agree with that. My best LGS has several specialized salespeople. They pass you off to the specialized guy or ask him a question if they do not know. Makes me feel as though paying a few dollars more when I go there is worth it. Too bad they are 45+ minutes away though.
 
I agree w/ the advice to be candid about your knowledge, and demonstrate a willingness to learn. They may actually prefer to train someone from the ground up rather than have to re-train someone with a different retail background.
 
No one can possibly know everything there is to know about firearms as it is such a broad subject. To make the task less daunting, I'd suggest finding out what types of guns are used by the various police agencies in your area so that you can focus your research on the products your clientele will be most interested in.

Among cops today, popular firearms would include Glock and Sig pistols, Remington and Mossberg shotguns, AR-15/M16 pattern rifles, and possibly, in the case of a SWAT team, H&K MP5 submachine guns and Remington 700 bolt-action rifles. Other guns that might be popular for private-purchase among cops would be subcompact variants of their duty weapon, small .380 semi-auto pistols, and small revolvers as these are all popular as secondary "back-up-guns" or BUGs for short.

As far as ammunition is concerned, that too will likely depend on what is preferred by your local agencies. The three most popular lines of ammo for cops nowadays seems to be Winchester Ranger, Federal HST, and Speer Gold Dot although older loadings like Federal Hydra-Shok and Winchester Silvertip may still be used by some smaller or more conservative departments.

Cartridges that you should be familiar with include 9x19 Parabellum, .357 Sig, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .38 Special, and .357 Magnum for handguns and it wouldn't hurt to know a bit about .32 Auto and .380 Auto for those interested in them as BUGs. In rifles, the two cartridges you need to know most about are probably .223 Remington/5.56x45 NATO and .308 Winchester/7.62x51 NATO. Other cartridges like .30-06 Springfield and 6.8 Remington SPC might also be encountered, but they're far less common. As far as shotguns go, 2 3/4" 12 gauge loaded with either 00 Buckshot or rifled slugs seems to be the near-universal choice of American law enforcement.
 
Does this store have a range and gun rentals?
Rent, borrow the kinds of guns that you will be selling, shoot them and get familiar with them.
If not there, somewhere else.
There's nothing like hands on experience.
Also get familiar with all the other gear, not just the guns.
 
Be honest, if you don't know, say so.

Shoot all you can, read books by the major writers all you can! I put little into things I read on the net (this post included) since you never know if it's a 12yr old writing it acting like a pro.
 
Something I forgot to mention: brush up on your state's laws, particularly those regarding the issuance of carry permits, and the restrictions on them. I get asked at least seven or eight times a day, and there's a lot of misinformation out there.

Why people assume gun store employees are legal experts is beyond me, but they do.
 
Do the basic reseach and then listen. Your customers, generally the quite ones, will provide you with a wealth of info.

There was an old Rock Hudson movie were he portrayed a salesman who specialized in selling High end Sporting equipment at an Abercrombie Fitch when they were still an outfitter. He wrote a successful book on fishing without ever wetting a line. He listened to his customers.
 
Like when I worked for a Yamaha dealer, in the winter they did those things called Snowmobiles, I then head to Florida on my motorcycle for the season. Well, one fall, I did a fall on my motorcycle and broke my foot off, they put it back on, but I had to stay there and did snowmobile parts for the winter on crutch's.:mad:

My point is, your going to have customers that will, and always will know more about what ever...."High fax?"

Listen to them, all these guys that come in, they live, eat, and breath what you have to offer, and they want to be heard.

Point? Pay attention with intent to give them what they need or want.

PS: I have a youtube video (1993) under Vstarpilot to see my broken foot, it's bloody.:D
 
Don't put yourself down !!!

IMO, customers (and your potential future boss) are much more tolerant of lack of knowledge, than attempting to cover up a lack of knowledge.
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Other than this good advice and dealing with sales, your new company has a catalog in some form. Learn your catalog, from front to back as this is a good starting point.

Be honest, if you don't know, say so
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There is always a better way of saying so and whatever you do, don't apologies or make excuses for what you don't know. I dislike it when a sales person says; "Well, I just started doing this job and don't know that" .... :mad:
Instead try; That's interesting and will have to do some additional checking on it and have to get back to you, on this. ..... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
Also be aware that there are certain questions which don't have a clear black and white answer. Most often, these topics are ones which have been debated to ad nauseum for years, if not decades. A few examples include revolver vs. semi-automatic, 9mm vs. .45, and permanent crush cavity vs. kinetic energy transfer. All of these topics have very knowledgeable people on both sides and no one has been able to prove their argument nor disprove their opponents' beyond a shadow of a doubt.
 
Other than this good advice and dealing with sales, your new company has a catalog in some form. Learn your catalog, from front to back as this is a good starting point.
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So totally true, if your not lazy, which is a human characteristic that say's you don't care!

There is always a better way of saying so and whatever you do, don't apologies or make excuses for what you don't know. I dislike it when a sales person says; "Well, I just started doing this job and don't know that" ....

Instead try; That's interesting and I will have to do some additional checking on it and have to get back to you, on this. .....
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I find "I don't know Sr., I don't know Sr." unacceptable. At least they called me Sr., right!? As per my last post's talking about Bud's, they lost two sales from me by being condescending and short. It's easy to find my post on them.
 
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