Clark Knapp Honda

Cesar Aranda of Clark Knapp Honda is building a successful international parts business by selling and marketing with RevolutionParts

Cesar Aranda has been the Parts Manager for Clark Knapp Honda for the past five years, and when he came onto the job, he had the foresight most parts managers didn’t; he needed to start selling his parts online. “The internet is the future,” says Cesar,“ this is the new generation, and everyone’s buying through the internet. So, I told one of my GMs I’m gonna hire more people, and I’m going to teach them.” That’s when Cesar joined RevolutionParts, and he hasn’t looked back.

“I hired somebody else that week, taught them everything, and sales went from $30,000 to $60,000,” says Cesar, “So, I hired more people.” Today, Cesar’s parts department is making over $2 million a year and sells parts internationally. 

One decision that helped Cesar reach this success was working with RevolutionParts’ Marketing Services. “We used to do our market through a third party,” says Cesar, “being with RevolutionParts helped me a lot, and my numbers skyrocketed. I went from a hundred [thousand] to 180 [thousand] because you have somebody there that is working your numbers. The challenge is to keep those numbers going up.”

Selling and Marketing Online with RevolutionParts

After Cesar decided to switch from his third-party marketing services, he saw his numbers rapidly grow, even during the pandemic.  “Once we changed to RevolutionParts, that changed my whole story, and it’s been amazing. When COVID hit, I thought we were going to lose business because they were shutting down everything,” says Cesar, “but we never stopped working.” In fact, Cesar’s business continued to do well, and they had to hire another person to help with the workload. 

Cesar knows RP’s Marketing Services work so well compared to other third-party marketing companies because they specialize specifically in marketing auto parts. “It’s kind of like taking your vehicle to service in a dealership. The technicians study for that vehicle and specialize in working with a vehicle like yours,” says Cesar, “while mom and pop shops are working all different types of vehicles, and not specifically for the one you own.” 

In Cesar’s parts department, the ability to sell and market online is only one piece of the puzzle; the rest is all about attitude and perspective. Customer service is his top priority, and he teaches his team that every order is important, whether it is a $15 order or a thousand dollar order. This positive attitude has allowed him to see past the challenges that stop most parts managers and helped his department grow into one of the largest warehouses in Texas.

“A lot of managers have the mentality that they are going to lose business, and you have to do more to get just a little bit of profit,” says Cesar, “but it’s the new generation, and I’d rather make a dollar than nothing.”

Despite all of Cesar’s success, he is not slowing down. In fact, he plans on expanding his warehouse, hiring more staff, and teaching them to sell online. “My goal is to teach everybody to do e-sales because that’s going to be the new generation. Internet sales are going to be the future for everything,” says Cesar.