How to Get a Job in the Fishing Industry with Robby Gant of Shimano and Larry Colombo, Outdoor Writer
Take Advantage of Your Surroundings to Become a Part of the Fishing Industry
 Editor’s Note: Many outdoorsmen hope to some day work in the fishing industry. Robby Gant explains how he’s become an integral part of the fishing industry without going the route of fishing professionally.
When Robby Gant graduated from high school, a new tackle store opened in his community, and he became the assistant manager in the fishing-tackle department. In Gant’s spare time, he fished tournaments, since he wanted to become a professional bass  fisherman. Gant quickly learned he couldn’t earn enough money as a tackle-store sales clerk to support his tournament-fishing addiction. After a brief stint as a plumber and an electrician, he moved to a larger tackle store where he met fishing legends like Kevin VanDam, Bill Dance and Jimmy Houston. From these experts, Gant learned how to promote himself and how to talk to sponsors.
“At this store too, I met Mark Perry, who had started a new manufacturers’ group that just had taken on Shimano for the West Coast,” Gant remembers. “I explained that Shimano was my sponsor and told him that if he needed help, I’d do whatever he needed. Mark asked me to apply for a position of telemarketer/event coordinator for the group. Once I got the job, I called dealers all day long, Monday – Friday, to see which Shimano products they had and which products they needed. During show season (January – May), I traveled to consumer shows on Fridays after work, set-up displays and did seminars from Friday night – Sunday night and returned to work on Monday calling dealers. This position was demanding. I usually worked 12 to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. I knew I had to make a choice – either be a  tournament fisherman or a marketing rep. I hung-up my tournament-fishing dream and decided to be a fishing-tackle rep.”
Only 20-years-old, Gant now focused on learning all he could about the rep business and how to sell fishing tackle, specifically Shimano fishing tackle. “I wanted to be the best salesman in the fishing-tackle industry,” Gant explains. “The traveling reps I learned from taught me the shortcuts to being a better rep. I would have made many more mistakes without these guys mentoring me. My goal was to learn enough to be an outside rep with my own sales territory.”
Tomorrow: Robby Gant’s Next Move to Become a Part of the Fishing Industry |
