Remote Start Season Is Coming — Will Your Shop Be Ready?
For automotive aftermarket retailers in the Northeast, the first cold morning of the year means one thing:
REMOTE START SEASON IS HERE.
Phones start ringing. Customers start asking questions. Installation bays fill up. And for shops that are properly trained, properly stocked and prepared to confidently upsell their customers, the fall and winter months can become one of the most profitable periods of the entire year.
That’s exactly why Remote Start Training will be a major focus at GoFast Solutions Winter Summit 2026 on October 14th in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
This year, we’re bringing together industry experts from Fortin, VOXX/Prestige, Flashlogic, Directed and Firstech to give retailers and technicians multiple opportunities to sharpen their skills before the season kicks into high gear.
And these aren’t just “here’s our new product” presentations.
The goal is simple:
Help you install smarter. Sell better. Increase your average ticket. And make more money this remote start season.
Fortin: Sell More. Earn More. Install Smarter.
One of the biggest missed opportunities in remote start isn’t happening in the installation bay—it’s happening at the sales counter.
How often does a customer walk in asking for “a remote starter” and leave with exactly that?
Fortin’s training will dig into how retailers can change that conversation.
The installation time and difficulty between an entry-level system and a premium solution can often be surprisingly similar. That means features such as long-range remotes, smartphone control, security integration and additional convenience features can represent tremendous upsell opportunities.
Learn how to identify what your customer actually needs, explain the differences between solutions and confidently move the conversation from “How cheap can I do this?” to “Which system is right for me?”
Because adding profit to the ticket without dramatically adding installation time is one of the smartest ways to grow your business.
Fortin will also address evolving vehicle technology, including CAN-FD applications and newer integration solutions, helping technicians prepare for the vehicles entering their bays now and in the future.
VOXX, Prestige & Flashlogic: Turn One Remote Start Sale Into a Bigger Ticket
Remote start shouldn’t necessarily be a one-product transaction.
VOXX will show salespeople and technicians how the Prestige remote start and security lineup, Flashlogic vehicle integration and CarLink ASCL7 can work together to create complete solutions—and more profitable installations.
Technicians will get valuable information on installation, programming and integration, including the Flashlogic FLRSGX for select GM applications and strategies for achieving cleaner, more OEM-like installations.
But there’s an equally important lesson for the sales counter.
Customers have different expectations for range and control. Some are perfectly happy using their factory key. Others want extended-range RF remotes. And increasingly, customers want the ability to control their vehicle through their smartphone.
Understanding those differences gives your salespeople something extremely valuable:
Options to sell.
Instead of quoting one remote starter and one price, your team can build good-better-best solutions around the customer—and increase the profitability of the job in the process.
Firstech: Sell the Solution the Customer Actually Wants
Today’s remote start customer isn’t necessarily just buying a way to warm up the car.
They’re buying convenience, connectivity, range, security and control.
Firstech’s Winter Summit training will help retailers better understand the expanding remote start and connected-car ecosystem, including DroneMobile, new remote technologies and integration solutions.
The goal is to help both salespeople and technicians understand what’s available, how the technology works and—most importantly—which features make sense for different customers.
When your salesperson understands the technology well enough to ask better questions, the conversation changes.
“How far away do you need to start your vehicle?”
“Would you like to control it from your phone?”
“Would vehicle security or additional connected features be valuable to you?”
Those questions can turn a basic remote start request into a much more valuable solution.
Directed: Prepare for the Vehicles Coming Into Your Bay
Vehicles aren’t getting simpler.
New vehicle communication technologies such as CAN-FD are changing how aftermarket electronics integrate with today’s cars and trucks.
Directed’s Winter Summit training will help technicians stay ahead of that curve with information on CAN-FD digital vehicle integration, new T-harness applications, firmware developments and SmartStart Pro smartphone control.
For a professional installation shop, technical knowledge isn’t optional.
The ability to confidently say “Yes, we can do that vehicle” can be the difference between earning the job and watching the customer—and the revenue—walk out the door.
Don’t Forget the Business Side: The 2026 GoFast Remote Start Program
Knowing how to sell and install remote starters is only part of running a profitable season.
You also have to buy them intelligently.
Winter and holiday season inventory can consume a tremendous amount of working capital. Buying too much inventory too early leaves cash sitting on a shelf. Buying too little can leave you scrambling when temperatures drop and demand spikes.
At Winter Summit, we’ll also present the 2026 GoFast Solutions Remote Start Program and discuss the value of buying through distribution.
The objective is to help dealers stock smarter, react quickly to demand and preserve cash flow during one of the most important selling periods of the year.
Your money should be working for your business—not unnecessarily sitting on a shelf.
Salespeople AND Installers Should Attend
Here’s something every shop owner should consider:
Don’t send only your installer to remote start training.
Your installer needs to understand integration, programming, troubleshooting and new vehicle technology.
But your salespeople need to understand what those technologies allow them to SELL.
Longer range.
Smartphone control.
Security.
Connected-car features.
Premium remotes.
Vehicle-specific integration.
Every feature your technician learns about can potentially become an additional profit opportunity at the sales counter.
When the salesperson and installer understand the same product ecosystem, the entire shop becomes better at selling it.
One Day of Training Can Impact an Entire Season
Think about the value of adding even a modest amount of additional profit to every remote start installation your shop performs this winter.
Now multiply that across an entire season.
That’s why attending Winter Summit isn’t just about seeing what’s new.
It’s about taking knowledge back to your business that can help you increase your average ticket, reduce installation headaches, confidently tackle more vehicles and capture opportunities you may currently be leaving on the table.
And you’ll be learning directly from the people behind the products—giving you the opportunity to ask questions, see new technology, meet factory representatives and get answers before you’re standing in the installation bay with a customer’s vehicle.
October 14, 2026 — Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Remote start season waits for no one.
The first freezing morning will come, customers will start calling, and the shops that prepared beforehand will have the advantage.
Come to Winter Summit 2026. Bring your salespeople. Bring your installers. Sit in on the remote start trainings. Ask questions. Learn the technology. Learn the upsells. Build your winter strategy.
Then go back to your shop ready to make this your most profitable remote start season yet.
Train smarter. Install smarter. Sell smarter. Profit all winter.
