by Marty Hayes, J.D.
Once again, the Network had an excellent three-day promotional outreach, setting up and working our new booth at the 2016 NRA Annual Meeting and exhibits. Of course, whenever we all go out of town, the work piles up here at home, so this will only be a quick message this month as we try to get caught up.
First off, my apologies to our members who stopped by the booth and whom I missed. At least you got to meet either Vincent or Gila. At these shows, I spend some time touching bases with industry friends, and of course, being a consumer. I didn’t buy much this year, but did happen to add a few goodies to pack in my luggage for the trip home.
The highlight of the three days though, was the interaction with both current members and those new members who signed up at the show, after talking with Gila, Vincent or me. The Network is stronger due to the increased membership, and I feel it is very important to touch bases with our current members.
Many Network Affiliated Instructors came by to say hi and order more materials to be sent to them for their classes, and we even saw a few of our old attorney friends. I know I was going to take pictures of everyone who dropped by, but that quickly went down the hole known as “good intentions, but never fulfilled.” Just too busy.
We Were Not Alone…
Two of our competitors in the “after self-defense” business were also at the meeting. As I walked the show, I stumbled across both booths, but made it out before anyone recognized me. (Ha, ha). But what struck me as a little sad, was that both were busy collecting e-mails for marketing purposes, taking drawing entries for gun giveaways, and one even traded a t-shirt for an e-mail address. I guess I am still firmly rooted in Gun Culture 1.0, as I believe one should simply make a better product, and entice people to join because they understand the benefits that you offer, as opposed to having to be inundated by spam e-mails. In fact, I was discussing this very thing with Josh Amos, our new Affiliate Liaison who also has an MBA, and he said that, “The sophisticated consumer knows you don’t get something for nothing.” So, please understand that because we don’t have an aggressive presence in your “inbox” it doesn’t mean we don’t love you. We just like to show it in a different way!
Good News for The Best Defense Fans
This month, I will be flying to Denver for a production/planning meeting for the next season of the Outdoor Channel’s award winning self-defense show, The Best Defense. This popular TV program has been renewed once again, and I look forward to another season of participation.
When I started my life in the gun business, I never dreamed I would have a few hundred fans show up at a booth and want to shake my hand and tell me how much they liked “my show.” My co-hosts Michael Bane, Michael Janich (left side in photo) and Mike Seeklander (right side in photo) will smile at me saying this, because the reality is that they get most of the airtime, but as an objective journalist, I am just reporting the facts!
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