A great place to begin is the Car Audio Retail Solutions Show (CARSS) at the Palms Las Vegas from January 10 to 12 — the same weekend as the must-see Consumer Electronics Show (CES).                                   

AVIDWORX is co-hosting CARSS along with partners Hushmat, Atrend and Audiomobile.

CARSS is the only event in CES weekend that’s dedicated to shops and distributors in car audio. AVIDWORX will be there to show off our new  IMAGEWORX sound stages and answer all your questions about our custom and modular kiosks and sound stages, our new portable audio displays, our whole store solutions and our support for everything from sales training to the presentation of your products.                                   

This is a new event for us, and we couldn’t be more excited. Hey, it’s Vegas, it’s CES and it’s the Palms, home of the Playboy Club and the $40,000 Hugh Hefner suite… what’s not to like?

CARSS runs 11am to 8pm daily, and there are free shuttles 11am to 6pm between the Palms and the Renaissance Hotel, adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center. The atmosphere will be festive with complimentary cocktails and prize giveaways from AVIDWORX and others.

What happens in Vegas doesn’t have to stay there. We know you’re going to want to bring everything you learn at CARSS home with you.                                   

Retail Resolutions                                   

New Year’s Resolutions are not just for people with a few extra pounds to shed. You can make resolutions for your business by setting milestones for the upcoming year:   

• Do some easy market research. Make a resolution to call back one of your customers every month for a quick survey — what did they think of your selection of products, the customer service, the installation, the price? Are they happy? Do they feel they knew enough about the product before buying? Do they have any questions about how it works? Would they recommend your store to others?
• Do one thing for your store every month. Is there a light out that you never get around to replacing? Does your sign need new paint? Your floor a new carpet? Make a hit list and start knocking things off.
• Book some professional development time for yourself and your staff. AVIDWORX can help out through our SALESWORX program, but you can also read books, attend workshops and seminars, or just hold a few meetings where your staff can talk about the newest products and what techniques are successful in closing sales.
  Set a target for end of year 2012, whether it’s to increase sales by 10 per cent, to expand your business or to upgrade your space.
• Do some marketing in your community, such as an ad, an event or an in-store promotion. Figure out who your customers are and make 2012 the year where you embrace technology and social networking.   
• Stay current. Familiarize yourself with your products and the latest technology, subscribe to magazines and newsletters, make the rounds of technology websites, book some time with your distributors to demo their products, make a list of online review sites to see what people are saying… know all about the next big thing before it becomes the next big thing.

AVIDWORX is also big on the makeover concept, just as we’re big on giving back to the industry. That’s why we created our Pay It Forward fund.

Through Pay It Forward, we will redirect one per cent of our profits back into our customers’ stores by picking one store each year to transform into a lean, mean 12V audio-selling machine — completely free of charge.

How do we pick? We find one fan of our Facebook page that could use a little boost — they have the passion, drive and willingness to grow and change with the evolving 12V industry, but may be a little short of funds.

It sounds crazy, but we know that our showcases and services really do help our customers move more product. In fact, the 500-plus stores we’ve worked with over the years have typically seen a minimum 20 percent increase in revenue after going with AVIDWORX — and in some cases growth is 50 percent or 100 percent.

In exchange for giving one lucky store the full AVIDWORX treatment, in return we ask that the store contribute a small portion of their increased sales back into the Pay It Forward fund to help the next store along.

And why, you may wonder, would anyone contribute their profits back to other stores who could be their competitors?

The answer is, because we’re in this together. We’re not just selling electronics, we’re creating an culture of 12V fanatics — a growing legion of customers who understand and appreciate audio and electronics and all the ways our products enhance their lives. We’re committed to modernizing our industry and making everyone better, one store at a time.

This year’s Pay It Forward winner is Lance Putnam of Audio Center in Kentucky. We’ll be checking in on Lance’s progress this year and will give you an update in 2012.

If you have a story to share and want to be the next Pay It Forward winner, be sure to become a fan of AVIDWORX’s Facebook page.

Click on the link below to see a video interview about their success, as well as to see our new “DEALERWORX Express Showcase” in the back ground.

Link: Automotive News TV “Karl Chevrolet”

This year’s Mobile Electronics Retailers Association (MERA) Knowledgefest 2011 conference was a learning experience for all of us. And a kick in the pants for those of us not living up to our full potential.

If you enjoyed our presentations, please email us at feedback@avidworx.com

All our IMAGEWORX showcases are built on our M2 framework, so they can be easily converted into any popular product category just by updated a few graphics and plates.  Yes, these units an be upgraded to the MA2 platform.

If you are serious about Marine Audio, check out our IMAGEWORX MA2 for a serious presence in this category.