Last week I was in Arizona, visiting Airguns of Arizona and Precision Air Distribution (PAD). While there I was able to attend the airgun dealer training class being held by PAD.
Below. Some of the participants are in this group photograph. Hey it was impossible to grab them all at once!
For those not familiar with the name, Precision Air Distribution distributes Daystate, BRK (formerly Brocock), MTC Optics, Western Airguns and American Air Arms products throughout the USA.
OK, I know what you’re thinking. “Who cares about airgun dealer training?”
Well, actually, there’s a lot of commitment and a ton of benefits for everyone – including us, the customers – from events like this. Read on to find out…
Below. BRK airguns are hot right now. They received significant coverage in the course.
Why This Training?
Above and below, Steve Buchanan of PAD shared much technical information on Daystate and BRK air rifles.
Precision Air Distribution supports a network of dealers across the USA. These dealers may not all be household names, but they do all have a strong base of loyal, devoted local customers. They are the “go to” resource for their customers in everything airgun. They ARE the local airgun experts.
PAD dealers have a store front, stock product and offer the friendly, knowledgeable face of real, live people. And – in most cases – people still like to buy from people!
For many airgunners, these are valuable commodities that are becoming increasingly rare in today’s wired world.
In other words, these dealers offer a strong alternative to the “buy on the Internet, sight unseen” business model we all know. This is the antithesis of buying from Amazon!
So the two-day PAD training course is specifically-designed to provide useful support and information to this dealer network. The result is more knowledgeable dealers and that is a direct benefit to their customers. Us!
Below. Shane Roberts of PAD refreshes his voice while covering Daystate service and support.
Commitment
PAD offers dealer training courses every two or three years. Why not more frequently? Because it involves a lot of work and commitment from all parties…
First – and obviously – the course has to be arranged! That in itself is a ton of work for PAD’s sales director Jared Clark.
Below, that’s Jared, with his friend, the company mascot “Target”. (Target really loves Jared!)
Topics are agreed, speakers briefed, equipment made available, teaching spaces requisitioned, schedules arranged. Plus all the many other little things that are required for any event to be successful (and which are not noticed when everything runs smoothly).
In addition we need to make clear that Precision Airgun Distribution offers this two-day course at no charge to attendees. Yes, it’s a free benefit to those dealers who chose to sign up. Plus, PAD pays for lunch on both days.
Above. Tom Costan shared his huge knowledge of American Air Arms products.
So there’s plenty of commitment from PAD, that’s easy to see. But there’s also a lot of commitment from the attendees, too.
Sure, there’s no charge for the training, but the attending dealers need to pay their own travel and expenses. More significantly, some had to close their store for the duration of the trip – and for most that was a total of four days including travel time.
Ask any small business owner! They will tell you that this shows an exceptional level of commitment by these dealers to PAD and their products – Daystate, BRK, etc.
The dealers are investing that time and the absorbing the costs involved as a long-term commitment both to their customers and to these brands.
Below. Participants were impressed by the stocking levels at PAD. Here’s just part of a recent delivery of Daystate and BRK airguns in the process of being unpacked.
PAD Airgun Dealer Training Benefits
The benefits to this training are knowledge and the confidence to use it. That translates into superior service for the dealers’ customers. And we all want to be happy customers, don’t we?
Below. Kip Perow shared information about Western Airguns.
In a raft of sessions, PAD dealers learned about product features and benefits. Also included were details of many latest product updates. That enables all participants to provide better pre-sales advice to their customers.
They also benefitted from some advanced information about forthcoming secret new products and projects. In fact, attending dealers all had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) binding them not to share this very exciting information with customers. At least not yet. Sorry!
Below. Robert Buchanan of PAD shares an exciting new, top secret airgun with the group. My lips are sealed…
Another benefit they absorbed was a host of tips on product maintenance and repair. Being able to confidently implement a simple “instant fix” for a customer problem on the spot is a HUGE benefit, both for the dealers and their customers.
That also benefits PAD, of course, as many small issues will no longer require their input to resolve.
I can tell you that the dealers loved all this stuff!
Below. All participants received a framed Certificate to commemorate their attendance.
Again, the product ranges covered included:
– Daystate
– BRK (formerly Brocock)
– MTC Optics
– Western Airguns
– American Air Arms.
Finally, this training course was also a reminder of the strength of support that’s provided to PAD airgun dealers. From PAD’s considerable in-house technical knowledge to the significant levels of inventory held to fulfill dealer orders, the attendees I spoke to were all impressed.
Below. It was fun, too. That’s Robert Buchanan and Jared Clark from PAD.
Training? It’s all more reason to buy from your local Precision Airgun Distribution dealer!
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