A Chat With David Isham, president/CEO, National Roper’s Supply

Our biggest goal — or barrier — was to take a person with a rural lifestyle and convince him to order via mail order. Ten years ago when a guy bought ropes, he typically would go to the store, take five or six ropes off the rack and swing each of them around. He may swing a dozen ropes before he picks out two or three that he thought were just right. And again, it’s like packages of golf balls; all the ropes are the same. Within a brand, the naked eye can’t tell the difference, and you can’t really feel the difference. I knew that, but guys historically felt as though they had to actually swing the ropes in order to pick out good ones. So they were hesitant to buy their ropes mail order. That was our challenge: letting them know buying ropes mail order was alright.