Crazy Cool Cutter

We go to a lot of trade shows, meet lots of nice people and have a good time talking about our new products, how our customers are doing—all that normal stuff. But every once in a while something happens that really stands out.

Like what happened at a recent show. We were showing off some new products that we thought were really cool, like our new B-crimper (we’ll talk about that soon, but you can check it out here) and our new 500 MCM telescoping handle ratcheting cutter.

I was holding the cutter and showing how the handles adjust (see the video here) and all of a sudden a guy watching and listening goes “WOAH! Let me see that.” And he grabs it out of my hand.

Now he’s walking up and down the aisle, working the ratchet, moving the handles in and out. “This is bitchin’” he says. He’s showing it to everyone around him. “I need one of these. Check how this works.” He’s going on and on, and so excited he’s got everyone into it.

Working at the booth you do the best you can to tell a product story, but there’s nothing like someone who goes completely crazy and freaks out about how cool your stuff is.

Now, you may not freak out, but check the cutter out anyway. See for yourself.

Get Max Dollars Per Square Foot

One of the ways to measure how well your business is doing is to calculate how many sales dollars you get per square foot of your building per year. Big retailers live and die by this number—but it is helpful even to small and medium sized battery shops, automotive supply shops and even ag dealers. If you’re one of those, these thoughts are for you.

Many times, retail floor space in a small shop is at a premium. Everything you put out takes up space and you have to be aware of how much profit you can generate. We were thinking about those things for you when we created three different retail rack displays that only require a 3.9 square foot space.

Each of these displays is based on our basic Rescue Portable Power Pack rack, but the components were designed for three different markets. Our heavy-duty ag display, 990134-001, features some workhorse power packs, booster cables and other components that sell well in that market. Sell the inventory once and you can generate over $2,000 in profits or over $500 per square foot.

Our automotive rack (990136-001) is about half the cost but still would generate over $250 per square foot in just one inventory turn. Our battery retailer rack (990137-001) is a little bit higher and cost and potential. But the point is, most stores would sell the rack components two or even three times in a season.

 The big boys say a good target for any store is $300 per square foot per year. With the right stuff and the right display, you could beat that by two or three times. Want more information? Call your Quick Cable account manager and get the details.

Auto Auction Depends on Rescue Packs

This is the kind of story we love to tell:

At the Metro Auto Auction in Lewisville, Texas, just outside of Dallas, they bring in 1,000 to 1,400 cars every week for the Tuesday morning auctions. It takes quite a crew to move these cars around, clean them up, stage them and get them ready for delivery. When you’re moving that many cars and offloading transporters, a lot of them have trouble starting—and that’s where Quick Cable Rescue Portable Power Packs come in.

According to Ed Bowers, the auction started using Rescue 950’s and 1060’s in the vans they run to move drivers around—four Econoline E-350’s and 1 Chrysler Town and Country. “We use the Rescue 950’s and 1060’s in the vans when we go to the dealerships to pick up cars and trucks coming to the auction. We use them all day and return them to the transportation department for recharging each night,” Ed said.

“Outside the main building, we have the Operations Department where we have the lot equipment for the auction. We previously rented out jump boxes from an outside vendor. After using the Rescue units in the vans, I made a presentation to purchase our own lot units from Quick Cable. We started out with one Rescue 4000 test unit to see how it compared to the rented units. It proved to be a better unit for starting the cars on the lot plus the lighter weight made it easier for the ladies to use it.”

“We now have 9 Rescue 4000 units for use on the auction lot. Hope to get a few Rescue 4050 units in early 2014,” Ed explained.