FEATURE Story:
Many car audio shops are looking to improve their OEM integration skills and now there’s a mentoring program to help them achieve that.
NAV-TV is launching a dealer-to-dealer OEM integration mentoring program. All dealers may apply, even those who are not NAV-TV dealers, said the company.
The program starts rolling out this week. Initially, it will consist of 15 mentors working with 15 “mentorees,” said Derek Schmiedl VP of NAV-TV.
So far more than 40 dealers have applied for the OEM training, although fewer have applied to be mentors. The first two mentors to participate in the program are Perzan Auto Radio (Erik Waserstein) in Upper Darby, PA, and Absolute Electronix (Ata Ehdaivand) from in Rockville, MD.
To avoid conflicts of interest, mentors will be paired with mentorees about 300 miles away or more. As incentives, both will receive discounts, shipping specials, extended warranties and advertising specific to their market from NAV-TV
“Integration is a category we’ve seen a lot dealers have trouble understanding and promoting…We wanted to take some dealers and show them how to be successful, and we found no better way than pairing them with dealers who are succeeding,” said Schmiedl.
Dealers can share expertise over the phone or via Skype. This can involve more than installation techniques. Mentors can share how they were able to start a relationship with a local car dealer and how to maintain that account and they can share advertising tips.
Initially, the program is a trial, and if it succeeds it will be rolled out to 50 or 100 dealers. NAV-TV may also welcome suppliers of amplifiers, speakers and other categories to join in the program.
After completing the program, mentorees will be required to serve as mentors for other retailers.
As part of the incentives for participants, NAV-TV will provide online advertising under the dealer’s logo tailored to a retailers’ audience and to the type of vehicles the shop typically works on.
“What this means to us is a better-informed dealer. And the end users will have a better experience,” Schmiedl said.
He added, “We are offering a ‘no obligation’ dealer acceptance under this program that does not require any opening order or yearly obligation for shops that are not current NAV-TV dealers. Inquiries should be emailed to [email protected] with title ‘Mentoring Program.'”
brilliant. great way to off load tech support of the unwashed that are graduating from jeeps and pickup
trucks.
Not encouraging and supporting the “next generation” is the quickest way to ensure their failure. I am learning every day after over 3 decades in 12 volt and have yet to meet anybody that hasn’t made mistakes. Call them unwashed or anything you like, I prefer to call them the future. We can either help to make that a positive one or a negative one. I choose the former. Since names are now hidden, I’ll post mine for you as well as for anybody that needs assistance in order to succeed in integration – Derek Schmiedl, student and teacher, 1-866-477-3336 x 410. If I can’t answer your question, I’ll do the best I can to get you to the right person that can.
What a great program Derek from NAV-TV has created. I think it’s a terrific idea. Since vehicles are becoming more complex and changing, the b&m stores, owners, sales staff, and the installers in the bay also need to change their way of thinking and be able to adapt. Learning will make the “mentorees” give their clients a better audio experience and will also allow them to not only get more clients in their doors but will give them more potential for profit to keep them in business for years to come.
Thank you for understanding what we are attempting to promote. This program is not mine, but a team effort back and orchestrated by numerous very talented people that I’m fortunate enough to work with. – Derek