Program helps builds sales selling cycling, not products

BOULDER – For Ray Keener, the underlying concept of his business, Growth Cycle, is contained in the company’s mission statement: “You’re selling the sport and the activity of cycling, not the equipment. If you can help the customer learn and grow as a cyclist in the process of making the sale, you’ll earn their loyalty and referrals.”

Today, 1,200 bicycle retailers in America are using Growth Cycle’s “Selling Cycling” program. The DVD-format customer service training program basically covers three topics: How to sell, how to sell product categories and how to sell the individual products.

Keener, a former biochemist with a love for biking, traded the research industry for the cycling industry several decades ago. He moved to Boulder in 1986 to become a manager for Bicycle Products Corp., which later became Catalyst, and in 1994 became the executive director for the Bicycle Industry Organization.

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During his years with the now-defunct industry organization, Keener felt that cycling retailers not only were in sore need of sales training, but that cycling customers themselves were being underserved and undereducated.

Because of this need, he conceived the idea of producing a customer-training program for bicycle retailers.

When “Selling Cycling” debuted in 1996, 238 cycling shops purchased the program. In the next two years, “Selling Cycling” was sold to more than 800 retailers.

“People in the industry were shocked,” Keener admitted. “They didn’t think I’d sell that many – but there was a burning need there. Store owners couldn’t wait to get better at selling. They told me that they’ve learned more from looking at this program than from anything else.”

Keener said that one of the biggest challenges for store owners is in motivating their sales staff.

“Training the staff is one thing that very few retailers are good at,” he said. “Almost all sales training is based on the motivation of making more money, and bike store employees are paid by the hour, with no sales commission. Being more effective at sales doesn’t make them more money, so it’s a real disconnect.”

Keener’s training program bridges that gap by reminding salespeople that they are working in the front lines of the sport and can be influential in generating cycling throughout the country.

“We try to appeal to their love of the sport,” he said. “And we remind them that the more people who are cycling, the more they’ll perpetuate and grow the sport in America.”

The biggest untapped market in retail cycling, Keener believes, is the demographic of beginning or casual riders. If catered to in the right way, he feels that these are the customers who have the most potential to dramatically swell retail sales figures.

And the best way to sell cycling equipment to the casual rider, Keener believes, is to have the attitude that you’re selling the sport itself.

“If retailers sell the sport, they’ll always sell the equipment-but if they just sell the equipment, they won’t grow the sport,” he explained.

An important part of growing the sport, Keener said, is to encourage beginning bikers by giving them a comfortable, non-overwhelming atmosphere in cycling stores.

“We encourage salespeople to look through the beginner’s eyes; to go back to that elementary level and tap into that with their customers, instead of just trying to educate them about the technology of the bike,” Keener said.
Growth Cycle’s newest product is an interactive CD-ROM training program designed for consumers. “Riding FUNdamentals” offers 66 tips for better bicycling, covering a range of topics from body position and pedaling technique to flat repair and proper lubrication. In addition, viewers can follow online links or print PDF files of the topics they’re interested in. And for retailers, the disk graphics and packaging can be customized for each individual shop.

Since “Riding FUNdamentals” was launched last February, Keener has shipped out nearly 200,000 copies of the program to 150 retailers. “Riding FUNdamentals” is being sold at bike shops for prices ranging between $10-$20. Store owners are also giving away copies of the program to bike purchasers.

Based in Boulder, Growth Cycle has no full-time employees. Keener uses two local studios-People Productions and Intrepid Films-for all Internet and media production.

The company’s revenues for 2006 have so far been under $1 million, but Keener said that he is looking to break the million-dollar mark next year.

With all these irons in the fire, Keener isn’t staying still. He also produces customized training programs for cycling corporations such as Specialized, Yakima and Mongoose, and he continues to write for industry trade publications.

For the future, Keener has plans to expand the numbers of Growth Cycle’s suppliers and retailers. For right now, his biggest project is continuing to market his “Riding FUNdamentals” CD-ROM to cycling customers nationwide.

“‘Riding FUNdamentals’ has immense potential for expansion,´ said Keener. “There are 3 million bikes sold through bicycle shops every year, and my goal is to have every one of those bikes delivered with a ‘Riding FUNdamentals’ CD-ROM included.”