Goal Story
A host of new products, advanced technologies – and, of course, pickleball – highlight 2023.
Goal Story
A host of new products, advanced technologies – and, of course, pickleball – highlight 2023.
Bison
Advice for Team Dealers: While most team dealers have a very capable sales team that has been selling for years and know what to look for and what to ask, for the less experienced salesperson national sales manager Chris Livingston would like to them to get the manufacturer involved as much as possible. “Especially for technical product and equipment like Bison produces, there will be times when the salesperson is uncomfortable with some of the questions they’re being asked by the end user,” he points out. “Nobody knows our product better than us, so we encourage our partners to call us for anything so we can help get the right equipment at the right price to the customer.”
Technology Trends: Bison has started to put more focus on making its products lighter by switching to aluminum over steel where it makes sense. Not only does it make the product lighter and easier for the customer to move and use, it also allows for lower freight and shipping costs.
New Product Focus 2024: Pickleball systems (photo at left) have been selling like crazy and Bison is up to the challenge of keeping them in stock with multiple options for different levels of play.
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Blazer
Advice for Team Dealers: The soccer market is large and multi-faceted and sales manager Paige Kapperman urges team dealers to look beyond the high school market to the club and recreational soccer space that is constantly growing and Blazer goals are priced competitive enough for every size of organization.
New Product Focus 2024: Blazer’s best sellers – the Collegiate/High School Soccer Goal and Junior Soccer Goal (above) – come complete for any field. They include a pair of nets, four anchors for each goal and permanently attached “S” hooks for the nets and the wheel kit makes moving soccer goals easier. Blazer Soccer Goals are made of rounded-edge tubing for safety and performance.
Carron Net
Advice for Team Dealers:With the supply chain back up to speed, the best thing that team dealers can do to sell more is to have common sizes in stock, advises director of sales Russ Schirmer. “No one wants to carry a larger inventory, but doing so ensures filled sales and fixed costs,” he says, and with raw material and labor costs continuing to escalate dealers can keep their costs down by investing in inventory now. Being proactive with client needs can help determine what their inventories should look like to meet the market. “We’ve been busy making high-quality replacement nets for the ones that have been coming in from offshore,” he adds. “Although our lead times are good right now, dealers should plan on waiting a couple of weeks for custom nets.” Again, staying on top of customer needs will avoid the “hey, we need new custom nets ... today!” conversation.
Technology Trends: While most of the goal nets are offshored polypropylene, Carron Net continues to make its product out of nylon, which has a greater life in the field.
New Product Focus 2024: With pickleball teams and leagues looking to adhere to the official rules, Carron Net’s superior quality nets in regulation sizes are made for individual or group customer specs, including custom imprinting, while the regulation size nets have become one of its biggest sellers.
Champro
Advice for Team Dealers: Durability, quality and speed to market are Champro’s strengths and hard goods senior product manager Matt Klein advises team dealers to rely on the company for quality products.
Technology Trends: Champro has focused on increasing the level of durability in its goals, says Klein, so athletes to confidently play at all speeds knowing that the goal will withstand their performance. Using more steel-based reinforcements, Champro goals provide greater player response due to the quality created for their needs.
New Product Focus 2024: New is the MVP Soccer Goal (photo previous page), developed in conjunction with elite soccer players and engineered to meet the fundamental need of youth players, but with the strength to compete with the highest-level athletes. It is available in two sizes (12’x6’ and 6’x4’), which meets USSF regulation sizes for U6-U8.
Gared Performance Sports Systems
Advice for Team Dealers: Being knowledgeable about product life cycles is key, according to marketing manager Kara Oughton. For example, most basketball rims need to be replaced every two-to-five years, depending on use and play level. “Getting into schools and offering to do visual inspections on products is a great way to gain additional sales and help facilities maintain the health of their equipment by replacing worn or broken items that personnel may have missed,” she says. In addition, dealers can easily stock smaller items such as basketball rims, nets and pads at their location to make it easy for customers to get the replacement products they need quickly. “This helps promote continual sales and solidifies the dealer as a reliable source for future equipment needs.”
Technology Trends: Technology in the hard goods category is all about making the equipment more user-friendly and elevating the game for players, Oughton explains, pointing out that “in the portable basketball market, we’re seeing more high-tech systems equipped with full multi-media capabilities to be broadcast and live-stream ready for highly televised basketball programs, such as with our newly designed Gared Pro arena portable system.” Gared is also seeing more facilities opting to purchase electronic group controllers that can operate all of their motorized gym equipment with the push of a button and conveniently operated using their smartphone or tablet.
New Product Focus 2024: Gared is continuing to expand its pickleball line with improvements to its existing indoor and outdoor systems and the introduction of a new portable bagged pickleball system (in photo) that’s durable for competition play, rec leagues and tournaments. It has also made major improvements to its portable basketball line, including new features on our Gared Pro arena system and the redesigned Hoopmaster competition portable system.
Gill/Porter Team Sports
Advice for Team Dealers:There are so many opportunities for team dealers to sell goals and net equipment, points out VP-sales Steve Vogelsang, but it does require the sales rep to understand equipment selling season for each of their sports. Gill provides its dealers with sport-specific facility equipment checklists to use when they meet with their school customers and also discusses equipment selling season game plans to improve sales results. “The best practice is to walk through each court and field to inspect equipment, note concerns and propose replacement or upgrade plan,” he says. “The most successful sales reps are considered trusted advisors by their customers.
On the Porter equipment side of the business, sales manager Shelby Howard encourages dealers to reach out to their volleyball coaches this spring to identify their equipment needs for the 2024 volleyball season.
Technology Trends: New product development and technology is focused on equipment safety, durability and performance. For example, VB net posts are moving from aluminum to carbon or carbon hybrid to reduce weight, making for easier and safer set-up, and increase strength, providing for a consistent net height.
Trigon Sports
Advice for Team Dealers: Knowledge is key. As in, be sure your customers know that you carry these hard goods, such as batting cages and nets, soccer goals, lacrosse goals, etc. That’s the advice from national sales manager Neal Halvorson, who points out that team dealers have a unique advantage over all catalog and online direct sellers in that they can meet with and get to know the AD, coach or facility director. “They can walk around their campus or facility to see what equipment needs they may have and then they need to know about the products they are selling so they can offer solutions,” he says. Unlike catalog or online sellers, team dealers are also able to service the customer after the sale, sometimes even offering to help assemble goals if it will help close a sale.
Technology Trends: Continuing with the knowledge theme, Halvorson points out that Trigon continues to upgrade its website functionality and digital technology to allow its dealers easier access to catalogs, product info, pricing, inventory and even assembly instructions. “This will enable them to streamline and focus their sales processes with their customers to increase more sales,” he explains. As for equipment, portability and safety will continuing to be driving factors in product development..
New Product Focus 2024: Trigon continues to see increasing demand for baseball, lacrosse and soccer equipment, particularly its ProCageT brand of team equipment. Its expanding lines in soccer and lacrosse now include everything from backyard and recreational goals, up to official NFHS/ NCAA game goals and its newest football sideline kicking cage has also been a hit at all levels.
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