How To Find Buyers

Recently, I asked several military veteran friends how they thought I might attract more former combat military to my classes. They were very gracious in their responses. The one subject line that kept coming up was ego - on the part of combat vets. The questions still remained though - how to get past that ego. I asked five different men: and I got five different answers (not surprisingly). I did not expect going in that any of them would have the answer to the question. I did expect they would provide insight from different points of view. I was not wrong in my expectations.

For the sake of clarity - vets who did not serve in combat roles and are honest about that will be lumped into the same group as most civilians - they have minimal training, and they have almost identical buying habits to civilians when it comes to gun classes.  The purpose of these questions was to attract combat vets. Based on the responses I got, here are the discoveries made:

Not all civilians advertised to are potential customers. Same is true of combat vets.
How to separate potential clients from those who have no intention of buying is the key with both civilians and combat vets.

I have and have had a very good framework from which to work to determine who are the buyers in the civilian world, but up until recently, the framework of how to attract the combat vets has eluded me. Not any more!

Benefits
It all boils down to what I have to offer: superior marksmanship instruction, superior instruction overall, and a new take on their new roles in civilian life, which will necessitate a change in the circumstances that dictate the missions they might undertake now. Of course that will be a potential stumbling block to their ego - and it can also be a tremendous motivator, as I can challenge the skills of most shooters. 

Buyers
Also, it is essential to distinguish quickly between the buyers and those who have no intent to buy. And in that part, one thing becomes painfully obvious: there are two types when it comes to combat vets. And here, to describe that difference, I'm going to borrow from a line in the movie, Full Metal Jacket:
- The Crazy Brave
- The Phony Tough

The Crazy Brave are up for a challenge. They aren't afraid to fail in training. They don't have any problem learning something new. These are all attributes of successful teachers, as well.

The Phony Tough are afraid. Afraid of being shown up. Afraid of not being able to hit their target. Afraid of the "what-ifs." Afraid a civilian might know something they don't.

The phony tough are not buyers, the crazy brave are. Just that simple. Now, how do I weed out one from the other? That's the secret you must pay for.