I saw barriers at every turn that could stop a sale dead in its tracks.
“There was often a sense that each staff member had to one-up each other. “There were staff members who were single-task focused and not always very friendly,” he says. Although the facility’s footprint was ideal, the existing staff created challenges for the new managing partner. A few years later, after assembling a group of investors, Thomas founded Freedom Shooting Center by taking over an existing Virginia Beach facility in 2018. It was a pivotal moment in his life, and it set him on a course to sell firearms and teach firearm training to the public.
The interaction deteriorated from there, and a stunned Thomas thought, How does this store stay in business? What would it be like for a first-time purchaser? What would that shooter do for training? Go see this guy? No! The older gentleman behind the counter scoffed at his request, and in a surly tone told him, "Why would you or anyone else want a plastic gun?" He then shook his head in disgust as he handed him the pistol. Al and I visited a gun store in the town our training was scheduled in. “I was working as a training instructor at Blackwater while I was in college.
#FREEDOM SHOOTING CENTER GUNSMITHING PROFESSIONAL#
The second was an epiphany he experienced when he visited a gun store as a professional firearms trainer.
First, his mentor Al Clark, a former Navy SEAL firearm instructor and founder of Blackwater, imparted to him a deep commitment to sharing and translating leadership skills to the private sector. Two critical experiences brought Skyler Thomas, a former Naval Security Specialist, to the shooting-sports retail and training world.
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