Teach Your Customers Something New

Unless you are fortunate enough to live in an ice fishing zone or one that consistently has open water and fish biting, your sales may be down during the off-season. Many retailers are using this time to transform their stores into the spring fishing oasis they will need to be in a few short weeks, while planning their marketing strategy for the coming season. Other retailers are capitalizing on this slow time period by guaranteeing regular traffic to their store; they do this by offering classes and seminars.

Hire locally
Most anglers want to learn more about their sport, or find ways to improve their time on the water. Many will travel great distances for the opportunity to hear a well-known speaker share their knowledge and tips on fishing. Many times these nationally-known anglers have not spent as much time as your customers have on the local waters, and may miss a certain nuance only a local will know. This is where you can offer a local seminar or class and share that local knowledge. If you are fortunate enough to have a good fishing guide industry that is supported by an equally strong travel industry, then finding someone who is willing to share his or her knowledge of the local waters should be relatively easy. Realize that many guides who are looking to hold onto their business will always hold back some information. No guide wants to share information on their favorite spot – if they did, they would find everyone who has attended their seminar in it. Then there would be no place for his clients to fish. If you can find a retired guide though, you may have a greater chance of him or her sharing their information since their livelihood no longer relies on paying clients.

Be the star
If you are unable to locate a guide, become the expert yourself. If you have been in the industry for any amount of time you, are quite knowledgeable – more knowledgeable than many of your attendees. If you need practice speaking to the public, invite a Boy Scout or Cub Scout Troop into your store to learn the basics of fishing. The benefits from this will amaze you and pay off in the years to come as a trusted source for many of these young men when they are looking to purchase more fishing equipment. Many of these young men may need the knowledge you are able to share to complete a badge, or are just looking for someone to take their fishing to the next level. You can also chalk this up to a great opportunity for public relations, and should brag about it via your social media outlets. In the end you will also gain experience talking to the public.

If this foray proves successful, consider running a small class, such as Introduction to Fishing, once or twice a year. Give away small prizes, or gift certificates to your store during the classes or seminars, and be prepared to sell some merchandise afterwards. It is suggested that if you do not have the space to hold your seminar in a special room or designated area that is closed off to the non-attendees, you should hold them after-hours. This way you can control the number of attendees, have less outside disturbances, and ensure you are able to focus your attention on the seminar at hand and not on running your business. This is also a great way to showcase your employees and allow them to share their knowledge by taking part in portions of the seminar. This will also allow your attendees and future customers to learn what everyone’s specialty is and then search them out when they have questions.

Go beyond
If your store has a large contingent of anglers who head to the coast to fish inshore, then you have the added opportunity of showcasing your store to that audience. You can also run seminars on lure building, fly tying, rod building and maintenance as well as basic boat maintenance if you also deal in marine supplies. Your options are limitless, but you have to take the initiative to go beyond your day-to-day selling. Yes, running classes and seminars may take away more of your personal time, but the pay off can be well worth it.

Have you ever run any classes or seminars in your store? If so, how did they turn out? What are some tips you can share on our Facebook page with your fellow Fishing Tackle Retailers to make their experience more successful?