If you’re one of the people that rarely deals with challenges, or has to overcome huge obstacles in order to achieve your goals, consider yourself an exceptionally fortunate individual. It’s rare, so rare as to almost be an impossibility.
As we enter into a summer sales season that’s been anything but fun, I know many of our members, and really the industry as a whole, are dealing with challenges testing the very fabric of their organization and the ability to keep moving forward.
We’ve had bad times before. And fortunately, there have been plenty of good times.
One current bright spot in the market is the suppressor arena. With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) and the upcoming removal of the tax on suppressor purchases (set to take effect in January 2026), it’s quite likely the suppressor market will continue to be strong. Our SCOPE data tells us that unfortunately, most other sales verticals are currently experiencing some dips, some more than others.
If you used the last down cycle to set yourself and your company up to weather the current situation, good for you. There’s no substitute for strong preparation. Sometimes though, it seems no matter what you do, it’s hard to work through the significant challenges that come with a slow market.
In the past I’ve written about sales tactics you can employ to try and work your way through the murky landscape. I thought I might revisit a few of them again here.
Of course understanding the “why” of your particular situation is a great place to start. Analyzing your own company data and re-evaluating your sales strategies, in addition to branching out and taking a look at what your competitors are doing, can be helpful in really knowing the details behind your unique challenges.
You might also consider spending extra time talking to your customers. What are they seeing, how are they handling things? Can you work in cooperation with them to come up with new initiatives and sales processes? Can you brainstorm with them to develop new incentives or target new sales channels you’ve not explored previously?
Of course remaining flexible and willing to try new things is critical but you may also consider focusing on the mindset you bring with you to work every day. Are you tackling these challenges as an opportunity or has negativity and doubt been allowed to infiltrate your team and your markets?
In my opinion, one of the best and smartest things any leader can do in a tough market is to empower his or her team. When the team believes they are in this with you, and not just for you, they are much more likely to step up and bring new ideas that can give clarity to your path forward. Adjust and set realistic goals, consider new training opportunities, but most importantly, help them understand they are part of the solution and their ideas and attitudes will make the ultimate difference in whether or not you succeed. Give them the tools to do great things and 99 times out of 100, they’ll use those tools to do just that.
There’s an old saying that when God wanted to make a king out of David, he didn’t bring him a crown, he brought him Goliath. The message is, your challenges prepare you for your purpose. So how are you reacting and adjusting to these challenges?
David was able to overcome Goliath because he was smarter, more versatile. Because of this, and with the help of a simple slingshot, he beat the odds. Truly, no matter how big the challenge, tackling it with the right mindset and the right team engaged in the effort with you, and of course utilizing the right tools, no matter how insignificant they may seem, you can beat this market and come out on top.
I wish you all the best as you continue to work to overcome the challenges in the industry today.
A quick reminder for you, if you and your team have not yet submitted your Caliber Award products, to take part in this year’s Caliber Award program, you’ll want to get those prepared and uploaded to the website before August 1st. We’re putting together the judging panel for this year’s program and you can’t win if you don’t enter.
The NASGW team is also busily getting ready for this year’s Expo at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine, Texas. We’ve got a lot of great things planned for this year’s show and we’re eager to get to Texas and celebrate our industry with you.
Until next time,
Kenyon Gleason
NASGW President