Archery Business: Jul/Aug 2010
28 archeryBUSINESS July/August 2010 EXPERT TUNING TIPS dures. When giving a bow-tuning seminar at the January 2010 A T A T rade Show in Columbus, Ohio, he explained his attention to detail. With so many mechanical factors to consider in each bowlet alone how they interact with each other and the shooterarchery pros must systematically iden- tify and eliminate every variable to rid each bow of its gremlins. As a result, properly tuning a bow's me-chanics isn't quick. Villa said an average bow requires two to three hours of labor. Therefore, it shouldn't be cheap. His customers pay $70 to $300 for the job, depending on when they show up during the year. "You can't do it in 15 minutes or a half-hour," Villa said. "It's impossible with the detail we go into." His hourly rates are $50 most of the year, but he offers a $70 bow-tuning coupon from Jan- uary 1 through March 31, which amounts to $35 an hour. He goes back to $50 April 1, but doubles the rate to $100 from August 1 to November 15 during the season's peak. "Our customers know our policy, but they still wait until the last minute and willingly pay $100 an hour," Villa said. "I had a customer pay for three hours at double-time and he left smiling. He was happy because he had spent his Satur -day and Sunday trying to get his broadheads to group, and he couldn't group at 30 yards. After he left my shop, he was grouping broadheads into a coffee cup at 70 yards. That speaks for itself." Happy customers build credibility, but their happiness demands your expertise. Can you diagnose their archery problem and solve it? DON'T BE SHY: DEMONSTRATE YOUR SKILLSMAYBE YOU'VE SEEN THE SIGN in an auto-repair shop that reads "Hourly Rates: If you wait outside, $25. If you watch, $50. If you ask questions, $100." One man who disagrees with that approach is Len Marsh, owner of Macrotech Accessories Ltd., in Baltimore, Maryland. During his annual bow- and arrow-tuning seminars at the A T A T rade Show, Marsh encourages pro-shop technicians to work where customers can watch every move while tun-ing or adjusting their bows. He believes con\037dent displays of skill and knowledge build lasting rapport and credibility with customers. "I've always worked in front of my customers," Marsh said. "I have nothing to hide. More impor -tantly, I know I can do the job right. I want to convince them I know what I'm doing. By working where they can watch, they can ask questions and I can answer by showing them what I'm doing. It's a real good way of doing business, as far as I'm concerned." Marsh said he enjoys the interaction and likes demonstrating tips that help customers understand complex subjects like bow tuning. "When you talk about tuning, many customers don't realize arrows are as important as the bow," he said. "When someone buys a dozen or half-dozen arrows from you, take the time to spin them for the guy before you \037nish the sale. That impresses them. It shows you don't take straightness for granted. A lot of guys just assume all carbon arrows are perfectly straight. Keep the arrow-spinner handy. If you ask for one of their arrows for tuning their bow, put it in the spinner. If its nock is wobbling all over the place, explain why that's the worst end to be crooked." Marsh even admits being a showman to make a point. "If I want to show a guy a perfectly tuned bow, I'll shoot bullet holes through paper right-handed and then I'll shoot some more bullet holes left-handed," he said. "That bow is tuned. I'm just executing the trigger. If I hand the bow back to him and he puts a 4-inch tear through there, well, now we have a teachable moment. Now you have an opportunity to cure that 4-inch tear because his bow is tuned and he's seen for himself that it's tuned. Once you've cured him, you'll have a customer for life and he'll brag on you to all his friends, and they'll start coming in. You'll increase your business because you've demonstrated your knowledge." Patrick Durkin T eijo V illa instructs retailers on his unique tuning system during his seminar at the 2010 ATA T rade Show. V illa's incredible attention to detail may seem like overkill, but the results speak for themselves; his customers regularly pay premium tuning rates that stretch to $100 per hour during the shop's peak season (Aug. 1 to Nov. 15). 026-034_AB10JUL-tuningtips.indd 28 6/8/10 10:14:54 AM
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