» Cartronix Car Audio has such a sleek, modern logo, visitors would never guess it opened its doors 37 years ago.
Altogether, his staff members POSITIVE MARKETING EXPERIENCE
“We tried a local newspaper coupon book that was mailed to over 100,000 people. Te ad was only $600 for full color, and we advertised remote car starters before the winter. It worked fantastic, and we still have people who have been holding on to the coupon for over five months,” said Carter. He noted that his initial goals were to
attract new clients and increase sales of remote car starters. Tere were no major issues or challenges, but if he could do one thing differently, what would it be? “I’d have added another item to the ad — maybe a remote stat/security system,” he added.
POOR MARKETING EXPERIENCE “We won’t mention any names, but we
will say there was a company that offered great promises and leads for us selling their emergency hands-free mirror system. I really thought with all of the company’s discussions, marketing and big promises, we would have had a better relationship but now I am stuck with more than $2,500 in products,” Carter stated. “I learned the hard way and now have
vowed that I will never work for a vendor — they will always work for me, no excep- tions! If you want me to sell your product, you need to punch in on my time clock and be part of my team.”
have been with him an average of nine years. Carter said he offers retention incentives to keep them content and onboard, including sales bonuses for some products, installation “spiffs,” an hourly rate starting at $14 and full health insurance, for which the company covers the majority of costs. “Sometimes we do social media promotions, like if they post so many pictures on Facebook, they get a small bonus,” he shared. “We pay for all their training, whether it’s for MERA in Texas or for a Del Ellis presentation in Ohio.” Carter also offers monthly sales incentives on certain brands and models, depending on the time of the year, as well as installation incentives to all technicians for in- stalling the equipment in a timely and professional fashion. Sales incentives can range from $5 to $100, while installation incentives may run as high as $150. For example, he said, a pair of Hertz basic component speakers would earn the technicians another $15 on top of their hourly pay. A Vi- per security and remote car starter would mean an extra $20. “Our pay structure varies de- pending on years of experience in the mobile electronics industry. We have had some technicians start as interns, making minimum wage with installation incentives, and we have some technicians that have been with us many years that make a great deal of money. Cat’s got our tongue,” he remarked.
44 Mobile Electronics May—June 2013
Face Time Still Sells Whenever Carter talks about how business is going at Cartronix, he uses the word “awesome,” which means his relatively small opera- tion manages to do big business. Again, he stresses that the secret is customer care. Carter said small touches are
important, such as answering the phone with a smile and using the client’s first name. When meeting clients at the door, Cartronix staff introduce themselves and shake hands. During installs, they pro- vide a client pick-up and drop-off service and also have a vehicle that they loan out for the short term while the client’s vehicle remains in their shop. “We sit down all clients at our consulting table to discuss their wants and needs and obtain in- formation about the type of music they listen to both in their vehicle and at home. The staff tries and be- comes friends with the client in a short time, and we discuss hobbies, the vehicle they own and some- times even family,” said Carter. Next, they take clients on a tour of the facility, showing them vehicles they are currently working on that all have the proper vehicle protection. They teach clients about the test equipment they own them- selves and why they will want them specifically to use it on their vehicle. “After the tour of the facility and showroom, we sit down again with them, offer them a [beverage] and then discuss building their system. We also get the technicians involved in looking at the client’s vehicle, offering suggestions on
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