Owen Moon is the Chief Executive Officer of Fixed Ops Digital, an agency devoted to helping dealership fixed ops departments grow their online presence. In this episode of the Fixed Ops Roundtable podcast, Owen shares some valuable insights about Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for car dealers.

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What we discuss in this episode:

Car dealers need to control their analytics accounts and have a baseline understanding of what's available inside of Google Analytics to understand how they perform online. Google is revamping their entire analytics offering to make it more streamlined and intelligent so that companies can understand even more about their online performance.

Listen to the episode featuring Owen Moon for even more insights!

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, Owen Moon

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

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3. Center for Performance Improvement

Sarah Vantine is the vice president of business development strategy at Quantum 5, and is still fresh from retail, having worked for a large dealer group in North Carolina, USA. She's a great friend of the fixed operations community and is a previous best practice award winner.

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What we discuss in this episode:

Modern dealerships are a people business. People are the main differentiator from one dealership to another, and it's with the belief that people matter that Sarah Vantine shapes the narrative of this podcast episode.

"We really believe that it's the people in your organization and the people in your business development center that are the difference between what a customer experiences and having a memorable one that is impactful, that then drives retention and loyalty to your store."

Listen to the episode featuring Sarah Vantine for even more insights!

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, Sarah Vantine

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

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3. Center for Performance Improvement

Tully Williams (a.k.a. the John Madden of the Car Business) is the Fixed Operations Director of the Niello Group. He joins the podcast to give a play-by-play breakdown of a successful fixed operations department.

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What we discuss in this episode:

Tully breaks down what a successful fixed operations department should and can look like including the people and skillsets required. It's one thing to hire people, it's another thing to ensure that they are empowered to do their jobs and achieve growth.

Listen to the episode featuring Tully Williams for even more insights!

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, Tully Williams!

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

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Scott Simons is the President and Managing Partner at Valley Group, part of the CMA auto group. Scott sees the car business from a different vantage point than most dealers. He's willing to get his fingers in the dirt, so to speak, and never requires his team to do something that he's not willing to commit to himself.

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What we discuss in this episode:

• Scott provides an inside look at his organization which spans several franchises, including Chrysler, Dodge, Honda, Jeep, Nissa, Ram, Subaru, and VW. He has stewardship for over 170 employees and is keenly focused on creating a high-achievement culture.
• Scott shares that sometimes it's easy to get fixated so much on accomplishing a goal that we lose who we are as individuals. We lose focus on what truly matters because we forget what can help us drive goals forward: relationships of trust with other people!
• Scott's organization is an ESOP, which means that employees own 25% of the organization. They take 10% of the company's net profit and distribute it amongst their people. In addition, they've created a program for employees where they will pay to send them to college. Scott attributes much of their success to that heavy investment in their people.

Listen to the episode featuring Scott Simons for even more insights!

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, Scott Simons!

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

1. Register for the next Fixed Ops Roundtable Event
2. Ted Ings on LinkedIn
3. Center for Performance Improvement

Michael Weldon is the Fixed Operations Director at the Hansel Automotive Group in Santa Rosa, California. In his role, he oversees the fixed operations department of 8 rooftops and leads a team of 146 members.

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What we discuss in this episode:

Michael speaks about the importance of counseling one another at the leadership level to determine what will drive the business to grow. He offers that at Hansel, it's about the community, it's about the customers, and it's about the employees.

When asked about the challenges he faces, Michael explains that the name of the game is people. When dealing with people and different personalities, the leader needs to stay connected and spend time with each team member.

"We've now introduced into our climate a lot of younger people, different generations that don't always think the same that we did in our youth. You have to adjust and pivot and come up with new techniques to get them engaged and enjoy doing their job and to get the desired outcome by their performance."

Listen to the episode featuring Michael Weldon for even more insights!

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, Mike Weldon

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

• Register for the next Fixed Ops Roundtable Event
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• Center for Performance Improvement

Holden Scott is the fixed operations director at Regal Nissan and is one of the up-and-coming new players we are seeing on social media. He leads an impressive organization and thinks outside the box as the industry moves into a new era of automotive retail and fixed operations.

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What we discuss in this episode:

• Holden started working for Regal right out of the Marine Corps in 2011 with his first job being a dispatcher and helping book warranty work. After doing that job for a few months, he became a service advisor.
• Holden admits that his time as a service advisor was not his favorite, especially coming from a structured environment like the Marine Corps and then sort of getting thrown into the service department. There wasn't any structure — each day the job looked completely different. Holden recalls that at one point, he seriously considered going back to the military.
• Today, Holden encourages automotive professionals to control what they can control. Create process and structure that is scaleable and predictable. A lot of that comes down to mindset and attitude. "A lot of things can go wrong, but I can always choose to have a good attitude about it. And I can always choose how I treat people."

Listen to the episode featuring Holden Scott for even more insights!

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, Holden Scott!

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

• Register for the next Fixed Ops Roundtable Event
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• Center for Performance Improvement

Michael Barich is a seasoned dealership fixed operation professional who's career spans the decades back to the early 1990s. During that time he has worked as a service director for several different dealerships and now helps dealers as a consultant with BAR Automotive.

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What we discuss in this episode:

00:56 - Ted notes that it's a lot of fun following Michael on social media where he showcased the work him and his team accomplished while working at Murfreesboro Nissan.

"That's the part that always inspired me from the get go was the ability to coach and teach and train people and watch their success in their career path. It has always been my favorite part."

3:35 - Michael's first job as a manager was when he served as a parts manager, and notes that the experience really helped him understand both sides of the fixed ops department.

9:35 - Michael believes that winning in fixed ops requires a competitive nature, and leaders who want to help their team win.

"I would first tell everybody to maintain being a student. I think being a student allows us to continue to grow. In this business, there's a lot of information that gets shared on a daily basis and I think for me, it's always inspired me to be a lifelong student."

Listen to the episode featuring Michael Barich for even more insights!

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, Guest Name

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

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Leonard A. Bellavia is the founding partner at Bellavia Blatt (dealerlaw.com) and specializes in dealership franchise law. With the variety of announcements coming from OEMs, including class action lawsuits in Australia, it's timely that Leonard joins us to discuss the future of retail automotive and answer the question: Are OEMs taking over for franchise dealers?

What we discuss in this episode:

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What we discuss in this episode:

03:25 - Are dealers going to be at risk of being cut out of the sales process? Leonard explains that the franchise system has been in place for a hundred plus years, which begs the question: Is something that's not broken really in need of repair?

"The concept of radicalizing and revolutionizing changes to the auto franchise system is nothing new. We saw it in the eighties and then with companies like Saturn. We could probably write a book on all of the things that were supposed to radically change the way cars get sold to the public, but low and behold, we seem to always revert back to the good old hometown dealer."

07:23 - Leonard shares that manufacturers will say that things need to chang because the public "doesn't like the current system of buying a car." They aren't wrong. The current experience takes longer than it should and it's not convenient to have to wait through the back and forth.

If anything, this should cause dealers to look deeply at the customer experience they are offering. As Len points out, "the problem with the term customer experience is that it's being relied upon too heavily as a scaepgot for changing the whole system. Dealers and OEMs are in lockstep. They both want the customer experience to be positive, so sometimes the manufacturer will say that they are going to make changes because they want to try and improve the way dealers treat the consumer. But dealers treat the consumer pretty well, and they are trying to improve."

Listen to the episode featuring Leonard Bellavia for even more insights!

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, Leonard Bellavia!

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

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Dealership fixed operations continue to evolve, especially in the last few years when more dealerships are offering mobile service solutions. Ed Robert, Mark Mickens, and Robert Stage are join the podcast and share their insights about mobile fixed operations.

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What we discuss in this episode:

01:52 - Mobile fixed ops services are the way of the future and an opportunity just sitting in front of car dealership. Ed Roberts, Chief Operations Officer at Bozard Ford, Lincoln shares that including his mobile units, he has a capacity of 103 stalls. "I have 98 here at the store that I can't move very easily and then five that I could roll around."

03:23 - Mark Mickens is located 20 miles outside of New York City. Because everything is so close to the city, having mobile units on the road allows his dealership to service more customers and increase the customer base for the store. "I would recommend it to everybody."

06:32 - Facebook has been a great channel for letting existing and new potential customers know about the dealership's mobile service abilities.

08:56 - "Every time I add a truck, it stays busy from day one. we don't even add it to the website because it's full without the extra advertising."

Listen to the episode featuring Ed Roberts, Mark Mickens, and Robert Stage for even more insights!

Enjoying The Fixed Ops Roundtable Podcast? Please leave a rating and review 👇

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

1. Register for the next Fixed Ops Roundtable Event
2. Ted Ings on LinkedIn
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John Riffe is the Fixed Ops Installer at DealerBuilt, a highly-flexible, enterprise-class ceDMS (consumer experience dealer management system) that empowers forward-looking auto dealers to realize their unique vision for their dealership.

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What we discuss in this episode:

01:15 - Ted shares how interesting it is that, especially in the last two years, that has been a spike in interest around the dealership fixed operations department. John adds that he believes the interest was always there. Traditionally fixed ops were at the back of the operation, which made it less visible. Still, in recent years it has moved more to the forefront with a heightened awareness of the importance of investing in the back-end.

02:40 - Dealers are increasingly interested in leveraging the back end of the business because they understand how the fixed ops department contributes to the bottom line revenue.

03:25 - John shares about some of the under-utilized possibilities when it comes to dealers using the DealerBuilt software.

07:00 - Ted asks John about ways to speed up customer service times, especially as it pertains to parts orders and other supply chain issues. The key is getting the fixed ops department to be more unified and getting the two departments (parts and service) to work more closely together as one.

Listen to the full episode featuring John Riffe for even more insights!

Enjoying The Fixed Ops Roundtable Podcast? Please leave a rating and review 👇

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fixed-ops-roundtable/id1608656237
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/15HHYoyvCo1PSFwYn02UXY

Thanks, John Riffe!

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

• Register for the next Fixed Ops Roundtable Event
• Ted Ings on LinkedIn
• Center for Performance Improvement