About We ♥ Our Dealers
At Race Sport® Lighting we love our dealer partners. “We ♥ Our Dealers” is a video series capturing success stories from our top dealers around the country. This affords us the privilege of learning from and sharing in their successes in the lighting category. These are dealer lighting stories, in their words.
Be sure to check out the “What we learned from Freeman’s Car Stereo” section at the end of the article.
Welcoming Kim from Car-Tunes, Inc
Race Sport: Hey, everybody, this is Henry with Race Sport Lighting. And we love our dealers. And this is a forum for us as a manufacturer, to pick the brains of our most successful dealers across the country. And we want to learn from them to see what’s working. But we also want to afford other dealers across the country, the opportunity to be able to learn as well. So this is just a space for us to pick each other’s brains and learn about lighting.
Race Sport: And today, in this video, I’m super excited to have one of my favorites on, Kim with Car-Tunes, Inc. From Greenville, Mississippi. They’ve been a staple in that community for I think they’re celebrating 35 years. So, even before I existed on this earth, there was a Car-Tunes. So that’s interesting, because Kim’s not that old. But we’ll probably get that story in a minute. But yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and invite Kim onto the show today, we’re going to talk a little bit about lighting. She’s going to answer some questions. And then we got big news about them being awarded Top 50 retailers, and they’re asking for votes and all that good stuff. Kim, can you see me and hear me?
Car-Tunes: Yes, I can.
Race Sport: Yay, good. Okay, so I’m just going to pick your brain ask you a few questions about lighting. And then hopefully, we all can learn. And then I want to know everything that’s going on with you guys. You ready?
Car-Tunes: I am ready. And I want to thank you for saying that. I’m not that old to begin with. But you were correct. We have been here for 35 years. I’ve been here since 2001. So, about the past 18 years for me.
Race Sport: Now let’s make sure we clarify all that, Okay!
Before you hooked up with Race Sport®, what were you guys doing for lighting?
Race Sport: So, before you guys started using Race Sport, before you guys hooked up with us, what were you guys doing for lighting and how was that going?
Car-Tunes: I’m sure you hear this story a lot, where dealers are just using a little bit of this brand, a little bit of that brand. And honestly just never being satisfied with what we were getting, the quality wasn’t where we like it to be. And there just wasn’t solutions for every problem that we were coming across. So we got hooked up with Race Sport Lighting, and all of that changed.
Race Sport: Like what?
Car-Tunes: Well, there’s multiple things. First of all, the most important thing for me was the quality of the lighting. We were able to offer warranties that we were never able to get before. I mean, some of your products have, you know, three year warranties. And that was just unheard of on lighting in today’s industry. I mean, there’s plenty of no-name lighting out there on the internet, that doesn’t perform. And that’s not us. So we wanted to go with something that was going to give us that edge and that superior quality. And then next, of course having the solutions to back it up, so that we could use one brand exclusively. And say, “Hey, we’ve got you covered with whatever lighting needs that that you might have.” So that was the second thing for us the number of SKUs that you guys have and that you have in stock is impressive.
Race Sport: Well, thanks that means we’re doing our job.
Right now, what Race Sport® product are you selling a ton of?
Race Sport: Out of all of those SKUs, you guys do really support, the breadth of the line. I mean, light bars, HID and LED headlight kits, you guys are doing everything! But out of all those products. What’s working for you guys right now? Like, what are you guys doing a ton of right now, and then on top of that, what’s your favorite?
Car-Tunes: Let’s see. First of all, we are stocking more SKUs than ever, I actually had to invest in some additional shelving units for my stockroom because the lighting takes up some space. But I’ve found by having it on our fabulous display and having it in stock, it just makes the sales process so much smoother. That definitely helps. I would say a broad spectrum of our best selling products would be the Jeep products. Jeeps are just really in style. They are always in style. It’s like a classic. And so anything that we can put on a Jeep is definitely a fave of ours. Also, for universal type things the ColorADAPT® under body lighting, and the wheel light kits. I mean, they just really dress up just a number of different vehicles.
Race Sport: I actually am thinking of buying a Jeep. And I cannot wait for the day when I could just be like, all right, I want all the Jeep parts on my Jeep. Like all of them.
Tell me about being recognized as a Top 50 Retailer
Race Sport: I want to open the floor for you. Thank you for answering my questions. I know that you guys are up for a Top 12 Retailer award, you’ve already been recognized as a Top 50 Retailer right now. Right? But you need votes to win other awards and then also, Dalton your head technician and installer is up for an award as well? So, tell me about that.
Car-Tunes: Correct. So, we were chosen as a Top 50 retailer and our head tech Dalton Trainer was chosen to be in the Top 50 installers. So right now, we’re in the voting stages. So other industry professionals that we value, our connections, whether it be people like you that are at companies that we deal with, or other businesses. I know on the installer side of things, Dalton and his fellow, you know, techs around the whole country. They correspond daily, when they’re doing these installations. And stay up on the newest techniques and the best ways and the best solutions and the best product. So we’re asking all of those people we know if they would please throw us their vote. We are so excited about this opportunity. And we can’t wait to see if we can get into the Top 12 that would be amazing.
Race Sport: One: we need “Vote for Dalton” buttons. Two: when does the voting close? Like how soon do we got to get our votes in?
Car-Tunes: I believe July 8, so it’s coming up really quick. All the different types of awards and things like that will be announced at Knowledge Fest in Dallas coming up its beginning of August so it’s coming up quick
Race Sport: We will be there at Knowledge Fest in Dallas, I believe Ignacio is going to be doing that show. It might be him or Cesar. I don’t know. We’ll be there. Either way. I think we’re doing a training. Well, I’m going to make sure that I vote and if you’re listening to this, please go on to mobile electronics website and make sure you vote for Car-Tunes, Inc and Dalton. It’ll be awesome to see them rise in the ranks because they deserve it.
What are you doing to celebrate?
Race Sport: Top 50 is big, you guys celebrating with a big sale or another location grand opening?
Car-Tunes: Really, we’ve been offered to open additional locations over the years. And we have always turned it down. And I tell you our main reason is because we are here every single day for our customers. So I feel like they get the best service they could possibly get by having the same people the same staff here every day. And by having the owner here every day. So it’s mainly just three of us that are full time people. And then we have two part time people that help us out as well. And so, you know, we just really like to be here for our customers. And I think if we had to split, they would not necessarily get that same level of service that they get right now. And we rely on them for advertisement, they do a great job, we take care of them, they take care of us and they send us other customers that are looking for that kind of quality. And it just works.
Race Sport: You know, my plan is to start working for you part time. So in the winter, I can leave Chicago and I can come down there. I hope that’s okay? Do you got office space for me?
Car Tunes: That’d be awesome. Come on. And it is much milder here than in Chicago. I actually was was born in East Chicago. So for 15 years, I lived up in the area there around like Michigan. So I was a child of course and love the winters. But as an adult, I could see where you might want to get some warmer weather.
Race Sport: Yeah, I didn’t know that you were from around Chicago. That’s interesting. It’s probably why we get along, you know you’re just a Chicagoan at heart.
Email Marketing Makes a Big Difference in Sales Volume
Car-Tunes: I guess maybe I can plug some of our lighting sales.
Race Sport: Do it! Plug your lighting sales, I love it when people plug lighting sales!
Car-Tunes: Yes, we feature different and highlight different Race Sport products every month. We have a monthly email that goes out to all of our customers. And we have a section that’s dedicated to Race Sport to highlight and show them some different and new products that maybe they haven’t seen before. And that makes a big difference in our sales volume. Because we get the calls all the time. Hey, I didn’t even know that that was a thing, you know. So while we really like to feature different and unusual products that Race Sport has that are really good solutions for problems that people have and they don’t know what to do about. So we definitely do that some of our different products come 10% off every once while we do a half price really huge deal sale and so we always have something on sale and a great solution with Race Sport.
Race Sport: I’m going to be honest, I didn’t even know that you were doing that. I wish that more dealers across the country would really take the initiative and the ownership to to do the email thing especially with our line and just so you know if you ever need any content for that just hit me or Dean up and we’ll make sure that we get to guys whatever you need.
Car-Tunes: You guys do an awesome job with that content as well. So for other dealers if you’re looking for something that helps speed up the time that’s ready made especially like on our display we have video content that just loops over and over in really highlights all the products in its it’s a great attention-getter in the store.
Thank you’s and wrap up
Race Sport: Kim, thank you, I really appreciate you being on the show. I say you’re my favorite not because I’m talking to you. But because you’re literally one of my favorites. Thank you for your flexibility and availability, everything you guys do for the line. We love you guys for real.
Car-Tunes: Well, thank you also for having us. Like I said we value those partnerships. It’s not a one way street, we don’t expect everybody to snap their fingers. And it happens. We really have to work together. And so I appreciate that partnership.
