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HOW TO SHOT SHOW

As I look ahead to my 20th SHOT Show next year I realize that my annual reports in this forum are usually about sharing experiences among insiders and old-timers. So this year I thought instead I’d start with an overview and some tips for my readers who are new to the industry. “What’s The SHOT Show?” That was my question nearly 20 years ago when I was an established patent attorney but a newbie gun nut. I had called a riflescope company about buying a scope and was having a technical discussion with the guy on the phone. He turned out to be the owner of the  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | January 31, 2020 | How To | 0 Comments Read More »

HOW TO GET YOUR CUSTOMERS TO PAY YOU TO SELL TO THEM

My favorite conversation starter at a dinner table with a client and their key employees (who are usually sick of talking to each other about work) is: “So, what do you like to do outside of the gun world?” These folks who’ve worked together for years sometimes end up learning interesting new things about each other, and I’m invariably reminded about just how interesting the people in our industry are. I have a special soft spot for the “geek” who acquires extraordinary expertise on one narrow area (as half the industry including me did with guns before joining  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | January 10, 2020 | Marketing | 0 Comments Read More »

TAKE THE TESLA TEST

Which way did this rub you? How did you react when you first saw this truck? On social media, especially among gun industry people, I saw two opposite reactions. One was: “I ordered mine already” (or the admiring equivalent). The other was horrified, that it doesn’t look like a truck (or like an El Camino mated with a Pontiac Aztec). Obviously, no one was talking down the design because they work for a traditional automaker and found it threatening. But there is clearly something threatening about a radical new design for a traditional product that normally  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | December 10, 2019 | Marketing | 0 Comments Read More »

WHEN IT’S SAFE TO LIFT THE SKIRT

The Surprises and Secrets of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) Photo credit: Oleg Volk Photo credit: Oleg Volk In the patent world, one of the most important, yet sur­pris­ingly overrated, issues is secrecy. Yet while it’s a need­less fear for many, it can make sense to protect your­self when you have to trust someone else with your secrets.  An NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) is also known as a “confi­dentiality agreement” (CA), “confidential disclosure agreement” (CDA), “proprietary information agreement” (PIA), or “secrecy agreement”  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | November 8, 2019 | Business | 0 Comments Read More »

THE GUN CONTROL ‘COMPROMISE’ THE LEFT WILL NEVER ACCEPT

My Townhall Debut Thanks to some nice encouragement from prominent social media presence, author, and attorney Kurt Schlichter, I submitted and had my first column published by Townhall.com, one of the most esteemed internet opinion venues. They host the columns of geniuses like Thomas Sowell, so I hope some of that rubs off! So-called “Gun Safety” advocates don’t really care about public safety, and it’s easy to prove that all they really fear is an armed populace who opposes their political agenda. Here’s the deal: They could have the “Universal  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | September 20, 2019 | Opinion Pieces | 0 Comments Read More »

KNOT GOOD MARKETING? How Well Does the Firearms Industry Do it?

Every Vacation Day Carry? I'm a fan of good marketing.  I loved Mad Men and I admire the fictional genius of Donald Draper.  I’m probably not the only one who likes to play armchair ad-man now and then.  Still, I admit it’s a lot easier to criticize after the fact than to create a good marketing campaign from scratch. For example, a Facebook meme revealed that decades ago A&W root beer hamburger stands tried to compete with the McDonalds Quarter Pounder(tm).  Proving that some things are more important that price and quality, they offered more (1/3 pound  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | July 30, 2019 | Marketing | 0 Comments Read More »