Radio today (Apr-Dec 1939)

Auto Iodic SeUikftips Radio men have edge on car dealers. Displays to boost tube and antenna replacements. Optimistic 1939 predictions of soaring auto-radio sales are now becoming fact. Equally important and encouraging are the reports of increased income from sale of accessories, servicing and installation. While the trend of auto-radio sales has been much in favor of car dealers, many radio men believe that they can wean much of this business away by concerted effort and ingenious sales ideas. After all, when the car is sold, the automobile dealer has little contact with the owner, since he is not equipped to service the set should trouble develop. The auto-radio man is then in a position to advise standard installations RCA-Victor's model M-70 has a combined speaker and power unit thus reducing size of control unit to a minimum. ABC Lab's short-wave police converter tuning 1,600-2,500 KC for use with standard set. Crosley's 5-tube Roamio features Mag natune push-button control and lists at $19.99. rather than a custom built radio when the next car or set is purchased. He can back this advice up by proving to customers that custom-built sets cannot be transferred to a different car without an expensive change-over ; that he has a much wider variety of models from which to choose; and that, in some instances, he may get more features for less money. Add to this the guarantee of expert service and a prospect is hit with a pretty powerful sales story. Several far-seeing radio men have gone into the field not only extensively, but exclusively; catering only to the market for auto-radio sales, service, installation, parts and accessories. A good representative of the trade is "Mac" McCullough, of the Mac Adams Equipment Co., New York City, one of the leading auto-radio specialists for many years. He is at present chairman of a newly formed Auto-Radio Dealers Association in New York and outlines for Radio Today some of the necessities for the successful auto-radio dealer. FLAT-RATE SERVICE CHARGES Service charges must be fixed and adhered to. A good basis to work on is a $1 charge for removing the set and replacing it in the car. This charge is made for every repair job, large or small. The customer can actually be shown that removing the set will cost him less money than a haphazard, time-consuming job in the car. The serviceman is also in a better position to sell him necessary parts wben the job is on the bench. Further standard service charges may be obtained by adding seventyfive cents for a minor repair job (such as tubes or a vibrator), and $1.75 to $2.00 for a major repair (such as volume control or transformer), to the $1.00 removal and replacement charge. To each of these charges is added the cost of parts. With a good selling job customers won't feel this is too much. GRAPHIC DISPLAYS SELL SERVICE The supplying of parts and equipment is a sweet market if plugged right. Seventy-five per cent of autoradios, one year old or over, need one or more new tubes or a new vibrator, and antennas become inoperative due to wear and tear The cue here is to sell a new antenna, rather than repairing the old one — selling the cus tomer on better performance over a long period — not the cost. Graphic methods of showing customers the need for tube check-ups and antenna inspection are used by MacAdams. A large crate with the slogan "Worn-out tubes, watch the pile grow," contains over 2,000 old tubes, and is used to point out to prospects that so many radios need new tubes that it would be wise to have theirs checked. Antennas are promoted by the display of an old auto aerial with the worn-out parts made plainly visible. Customers are shown how their antenna may be worn and the advisability of replacing it with one of the excellent new rods now on the market. News of another alert auto-radio dealer comes from Evanston, 111. William J. Becker of that town has established a business that keeps three men busy selling radios at wholesale to local auto-dealers, then paying them a small commission for each installation job which they send him. This has proved a profitable method of capitalizing on the trend of buying radios through car dealer's, and aided by emphasis on his ability to service and install auto-radios, has catapulted Mr. Becker into a profitable, specialized business. He now takes care of Evanston automobile dealers and four radio stores not equipped to handle installation and service themselves. "Teeny-Weeny" 5-tube auto set by Sonora is the smallest one yet built. 7 in 1 socket wrench manufactured by Star Machine for autoradio installation. 24 RADIO TODAY