Gearing up for archery season is an exciting time for any archery retailer. It’s what keeps you going during the slow spring months when store traffic is slower and the register isn’t ringing nearly as much as you’d like. Most shops put a lot of time and energy into making sure they’ve got the right inventory on the shelves and purchase orders placed with vendors so inventory gets restocked as soon as it’s sold. While all of this is important, its relationship to your bottom line doesn’t hold a candle to the quality of your service work being done in the months leading up to your state’s season opener.
After all, having gear gets you some customer, but having the knowledge and skills to set it up correctly is what really brings people through your doors. And what makes your service work profitable is efficiency, accurate record keeping, and consistently charging a fair market value for your labor. Let’s dive into each of these to see what you can do right now to make this pre-season more profitable for your business and a top-notch experience for your customers.
Each archery pro shop is unique, but there are certainly common themes among them. Unfortunately, in my experience, one of those themes is that any horizontal surface near the bow technician’s work area is generally covered with miscellaneous fasteners, pieces, and parts. This leads to a cluttered workspace and generally also equates to tools being misplaced or lost among the chaos. Not only does a messy workspace leave a poor impression on customers, but it may cause the bow technician to operate much less efficiently than they should. When time is money, this is a big deal. Before things get crazy, take some time to seriously organize and declutter all work areas. This means throwing away those random parts to the TM Hunter arrow rest you took off your bow 25 years ago, vacuuming up the thousands of scraps of serving and d-loop material, and organizing all of your hand tools. While you’re at it, take an inventory of tools and consumables like serving and d-loop material to make sure a job won’t go undone because you didn’t have the right material in hand. If you don’t have a decent method of keeping your tools organized and easily accessible, now’s the time to purchase a storage solution or get to work building one yourself.
What information do you record when a bow is brought in for service? Is it the same information every single time? If you don’t have a good answer for either of these questions, you may want to prepare for the busy season ahead by creating a system of recordkeeping for service work. If you don’t already have one, create an intake sheet that can be used on every bow that’s dropped off for service so you (and anyone else who might work on the bow) can pick it up and know exactly what accessories need to be installed and what work needs to be done. If you have a form (printed or electronic) already in place, take a hard look at what information you’re gathering from each customer and make adjustments to the system to make sure you get all the necessary details—but nothing more. This eliminates the need to ask around the shop to figure out what “needs setup” or “fix peep” means and ensures that the customer gets exactly what they wanted when they pick up the bow.
It should go without saying, but none of these preparations mean a whole lot if you’re not consistently charging a fair market price for each and every service you perform for a customer. That means that every d-loop that gets tied on a bow string (with very few exceptions) should be charged the same amount at the register. While you might be tempted to throw in small services like d-loops and peep sight installs, every time a pro shop discounts a service (or doesn’t charge at all), they’re digging themselves a hole that’s tough to get out of. Many may not charge consistently because they aren’t certain about pricing in general and don’t want to alienate customers. Remember that customers are coming to you for your expertise, skills, and ability to use the proper bow tuning equipment. So don’t be afraid to charge for that valuable knowledge.
Check out our Labor Rate Sheet to see how shops in your region price their services and set your own prices accordingly. Photo Credit: ATA
Now is the time to get started on your preparation. Not sure where to begin? Log in to your ATA member dashboard to access valuable resources like the ATA Retail Labor Rate Sheet—a comprehensive data set compiled from surveys of retail pro shops all across the country. This document will give you great insights into where you might be charging too little (or too much). While you’re in the member dashboard, don’t forget to check out other resources like the ATA Retail Trend Tracker Survey results or Bow Technician Certification courses on our ATA Learning Center. All of these resources will lead you into the right direction to make your archery business more profitable in the year ahead.
Questions about how to get the most out of your bow technician services? Contact me at kurtsmith@archerytrade.org.
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