Halfway through the show and I was getting crushed...

My wife, Susan, and I were in Champaign, Illinois, working a small show. Not exactly the Super Bowl of hunting expos, but a gritty little arena where you shook every hand, looked people in the eye, and earned every single sale.

I had the sales background. I was the competitive one. I expected to dominate.

Instead, Susan, kind, soft-spoken, gentle, was outselling me five to one.

After watching customer after customer leave her table with a purchase, I finally asked, “What are you doing?”

She shrugged. “I just keep telling them about the VIP Warranty.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”

I frowned. “I don’t want people thinking our gear breaks. We make great stuff.”

She smiled, a little sass in her voice. “You keep talking specs and features. I keep it simple. VIP Warranty. That’s why I have all the sales, and you have 20%.”

This was over 15 years ago, early in our journey, and I still wasn’t convinced.

A few weeks later, I flew out to Utah for a retailer meeting. While there, I was introduced to John, one of the top Vortex salesman in the country. Big, friendly, part Santa Claus, part Grizzly Adams.

“What’s your secret?” I asked.

He let the silence sit, then grinned.
“Joe, I just keep telling them about that VIP Warranty.”

I laughed. “Are you serious? That’s it?”

“That’s it. Keep it simple. Stick to the warranty. Let them know you have their back and the rest takes care of itself.”

I flew home shaking my head. Two people. Two states. Same answer. And me, the so-called "sales guy", still not fully convinced.

Around that time, I was reading Switch by Chip and Dan Heath. There was a section on “𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀” - the simple but powerful idea that instead of chasing new answers, you look closely at what’s already working and double down.

The 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 finally hit me: the most valuable things are often hiding in plain sight. They’re working so well we take them for granted, instead of mining them for gold.

That thought followed me back into the office. I sat in my cubicle and looked around, our catalog, counter mats, product boxes. Flipping through page after page.

Nothing about the VIP Warranty.

Our Bright Spot was sitting right there, and we were barely even talking about it.

So we went to work. We put the VIP Warranty everywhere, ads, boxes, videos, dealer displays. And we told real stories, like the guy whose dog chewed up his binoculars. He mailed them in. We replaced them. No questions asked.

And here's the thing: People didn’t think our gear was weak. Instead, they trusted us even more.

When we poured focus into telling our customers' VIP Warranty stories, it became rocket fuel for our growth.

VIP Warranty Trilogy: Episode 2 - THE BRIGHT SPOT

VIP Warranty Trilogy: Episode 1 - THE SHOWDOWN