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Fernando Arellano is the CEO of Step One Automotive Group and joins the Fixed Ops Roundtable to discuss how he's been able to lead his group to tremendous success by leveraging his global experience in the retail automobile industry.

What Ted Ings and Fernando Arellano discuss in this episode:

1:27 - Fernando explains that much of what he's been able to accomplish comes from his faith in a higher power. While working hard, he believes accounts for the majority of his success, that work is deeply rooted in the fact that he knows his efforts are elevated by something bigger than him.

1:42 - Fernando has a long history in the retail automobile industry including having a grandfather who owned a Chrysler dealership in Patagonia. His time on the manufacturer side of the business working around the globe has helped shaped his unique perspective about the car business that so few operators get to have.

5:18 - It's important to set yourself and your team up for success. That means measuring effectively the key elements of the dealership that will bring the best experience for both customers and employees. Fernando sees that his responsibility reaches much further than his brick and mortar locations. Step One's responsibility is for 789 families. It's not only about the paycheck, it's who is behind that paycheck, and taking care of the families within the business is of utmost importance.

21:51 - Fernando doesn't believe that there is a secret recipe to his organization's success. It's compassion. He's always reminding his team to show compassion and love to each other, to the customers, and throughout the community.

23:10 - Ted asks Fernando what he sees coming within the next year or two within the auto industry. Fernando shares that he sees a big disruption on the horizon. Customers are especially more educated now than ever before, and eCommerce will become an even more prominent role within the dealership. 

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

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

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Don Lindsay is the Major Account Sales Manager at BG Products, a company that is committed to maintaining vehicles through high-quality automotive maintenance services. In this episode of the podcast, Don explains what he sees as a big challenge throughout the industry, and also where massive opportunities will emerge.

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What Ted Ings and Don Lindsay discuss in this episode:

1. Don shares how he got into the automotive industry and why he chose to work with BG products. In his new role with BG, he works closely with Lithia, a major automotive retailer.
2. Ted inquires about the biggest challenge Don sees throughout the industry which has remained consistent over the years.
3. People are a consistent challenge within the retail automobile industry, whether its retaining talent or acquiring talent; the challenge is that there is a seeming shortage of people.
4. Nothing will compensate for training our people and developing or iterating processes within the retail dealership.
5. Dealers should focus on updating their processes to streamline the experience for customers.
6. Don believes that moving through the remainder of 2022 and into 2023 there is a huge opportunity for service departments to maintain vehicles. The industry will continue to observe high gross inflation, which may drive prices up on the fixed side of the operation, however, there is an upswing in the form of customers hanging onto their vehicles for longer periods of time.
7. Listen to the full episode to get even more insights from Ted Ings and Don Lindsay.

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Thanks, Don Lindsay

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Steve Greenfield is the Founder and CEO of Automotive Ventures, a company focused on supporting automotive entrepreneurs, businesses, and investors with industry-specific resources, early-stage venture capital, strategic consulting, and extensive connections.

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What Ted Ings and Steve Greenfield discuss in this episode:

• The year-over-year growth of EV adoption is increasing, but it's still relatively low in contrast to gas-powered vehicles. While it may not be an issue for dealers in the next couple of years, they will continue to see EVs trickle in and take up more market share in the coming years.
• Many of the manufacturers have announced that they are going to go fully EV by 2030 - 2035, so dealers can expect to see a transition of the products they carry and will need to anticipate the needs of servicing those vehicles on-site.
• Electric Vehicles currently have fewer moving parts in comparison to the internal combustion engine which has over 2000 moving parts. While EVs only have about 20 moving parts, they are heavier and have much more torque which we can anticipate will drive more business on the wheel and tire side of the business.
• While tires aren't a high margin play for dealers, there are many options to explore to turn that into a recurring revenue stream for the store.
• We're hearing from General Motors that they expect after the dealers sell the vehicle, there's going to be all these subscription services. That means that the OEMs are already thinking about how to make less frequent visits for maintenance and turning that loss in potential margin into a more sustainable, predictable revenue stream. Car Dealers can do the same.
• GM is forecasting that by 2030 they will have an additional $25 Billion per year in additional high-margin revenue just from services that consumers subscribe to month-to-month.

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Thanks, Steve Greenfield

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Brian Benstock is a Partner, General Manager, and Vice President at Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Queens, New York. His leadership has led them to be the number one certified Honda and Acura dealer globally.

What Ted Ings and Brian Benstock discuss in this episode:

• Brian has been able to remain ahead of the curve by providing concierge-level service, pickup, and delivery.
• Rather than complaining about evolving markets and consumer behavior, Brian chose to be inspired by the likes of Amazon and Google and look deeply within his dealership's operations and ask, "What would they do?"
• Change doesn't happen overnight. Brian recounts gathering his team together in 2016 to identify and provide solutions to the current challenges they faced in the market. "We went through a number of iterations and thoughts."
• By examining Amazon and Google, Brian shares a funny-but-true reality. The difference between the two giants is that Google brings a customer to the product through search, and Amazon brings a product to the customer.
• Brian chose to be inspired by this simple philosophy and began to examine whether or not there was a way to bring his services closer to a customer — to make the process more convenient for them, in a way that matched their lifestyle. This led to the dealership strategically placing drop-off service points throughout the city where service advisors would pick up cars and bring them back to the shop for service. Doing so made car repairs and maintenance more accessible to the general public because they can pick a location that was nearest them. This led Brian's team from 600 car pickups per month to over 1900.
• Brian suggests that dealers keep an eye on the horizon and anticipate what services trends are coming with electric vehicles. "You want to make sure you are involved heavily in those areas."
• Listen to the full episode for even more insights from Brian Benstock.

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Thanks, Brian Benstock!

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Greg Penske is the Chairman and CEO of the Penske Motor Group and joins the FIxed Ops Roundtable to share how his dealer group operates at peak performance. In this episode Greg shares the details of his thorough dealership hiring and onboarding process.

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• Greg shares that human capital and really taking the time to hire someone that's a great cultural fit goes a long way to increasing longevity in the business.
• Each potential new hire goes through 5 rounds of vetting before they are offered a position with a Penske dealership.
• It's the leadership team's job to think of themselves as "guest-relations" managers for their business.
• When you treat your people with respect and ensure they have the right tools to perform, great things happen.
• Longo Toyota sits on 55 acres in Los Angeles and speaks 48 different languages.
• Greg shares that they are always looking at opportunities to acquire more stores, but that didn't come until they had an internal process to grow and nurture the company's internal guests (i.e., employees).
• The average tenure of Greg's team members is extraordinarily high.
• Greg has a saying, "hard to get in and hard to get out," in reference to the hiring process. He explains that having a robust onboarding experience which included setting clear expectations and how they operate contributes to low turnover.
• When team members first start, they go through Penske College which really sets a tone and standard for new team members.
• Leadership is constantly following up with team members at regularly scheduled intervals to ensure team members are enjoying their jobs or if pivots are required.
• Listen to the full episode for even more insights from Greg Penske

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Thanks, Greg Penske!

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Bob Tasca is the Vice President of the Tasca Automotive Group and CEO of Tasca Racing. He is one of the most recognized and sought-after names within the retail automotive industry. His dealer group operates in 5 states.

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What Ted Ings and Bob Tasca discuss in this episode:

• Bob shares about the mental state required to race cars.
• Racing is the ultimate accountability machine. Whatever mistake is made, the car is going to find it in three seconds or less. The performance review is watched by 2 million people.
• Bob looks at what they do on the racetrack and brings it back to the dealership.
• What is the true definition of success? In racing, it's simple: the scoreboard has no friends.
• Bringing those philosophies back to the dealership, it becomes easy to understand what accountability mechanisms need to be in place in order to operate successfully.
• Bob clearly defines winning or losing, who are the top performers and bottom performers. He has created a very competitive environment in which personnel can compete to win each month.
• Ted asks about what Bob is processing in his mind as the race occurs. Bob shares that he's not thinking about anything other than winning. That is the mental state required to be successful. That is a mindset that is burned into you in racing. We're not there to get a sunburn, we're there to get a win. That is the same mentality that is leveraged back at the dealership.
• Bob's family has a saying, "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday!"
• People want to relate with winners and brands that are successful.
• This mental state led Bob's team to become ranked 3rd in the world.
• "We measure our margin of victory in racing within thousandths of a second.
• Bob shares his views about electrification and how it will affect the retail automobile industry.
• Bob explains why he will never drive a fuel-powered engine as his daily driver ever again.
• The smart people out there are going to have to reinvent many aspects of the business to make way for electrification. The good news is that it's not going to happen overnight. It will be an evolution, but it's important to pay attention to it and do something about it!
• Listen to the full episode for even more insights from Bob Tasca.

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Thanks, Bob Tasca

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Andrew Wright, the managing partner at Vinart Dealerships, joins the Roundtable to discuss a topic that they haven't explored in-depth until now. His dealer group is focused on utilizing the internet to provide better access and an improved customer experience to car shoppers in their markets. Based on an article Andrew wrote titled, "Auto Industry Stakeholders Need To Come Together On A Standardized Data Convention."

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What Ted Ings and Andrew Wright discuss in this episode:

• Andrew has a lingering passion for data and data standardization in the auto industry given his involvement in various different boards and organizations. He has a front-row seat to a lot of things going on in the industry. 
• Something that frustrates so many dealers is that OEMs splash into the notion that they are going to mandate the solutions dealers can use which causes a lot of friction in the industry.
• There is a lot of conversation around the dealership's tech stack and also removing friction. 
• Data is key. It's not so much about the widget on the screen. It's more about having insights into what's actually happening across all rooftops so that dealers can make data-informed decisions. 
• The devil is in the data. If we make it about a standardized convention that can facilitate the flow of data, we will go a lot further in streamlining the tech stack and help the industry move forward by removing a lot of friction.
• Listen to the entire episode for even more insights from Andrew Wright. 

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Thanks, Andrew Wright

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Glenn Pasch is the CEO of PCG Digital, an international speaker, and works with individuals on the front lines all the way to the C-suite to help them create leadership structures that foster healthier cultures and profitable teams.

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What Ted Ings and Glenn Pasch discuss in this episode:

• Dealerships have many plates spinning across all departments, which impacts the amount of time we have to catch a problem in its infancy so that it doesn't fester and become a bigger problem. 
• There are ways that leaders can inspect and steer the business so that small problems don't compound, and so that the daily business operations run more efficiently.
• It's important to spend time with your team training them and helping them get clear on what your expectations are as a leader. Often when leaders don't see what they expect is because there is a disconnect between expectations in the leader's mind and how those expectations were conveyed to the people responsible for performing the work.
• Glenn recommends that the best focus for dealers is around what experience they would like their customers to have while shopping for products and receving services. In so doing, dealers should have cause to find issues within their process and address those that cause friction.
• A great experience is created by a compounding of small elements. Is the dealership clean? Is the space inviting? Do the advisors get up from around the desk to greet customers? Each small element of the experience contributes to the whole. 
• Listen to the full episode to get even more insights from Glenn Pasch. 

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Thanks, Glenn Pasch

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Sarah Vantine is the Vice President of Business Development Strategy at Quantum5, LLC, an innovative training platform that helps dealers focus in on processes that increase profits and retention.  

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In this episode Ted Ings and Sarah Vantine discuss:

• Cohesive communication has been a key element that has increased the success of Sarah's BDC, and in a way that resonates with customers.
• For young women who are thinking about starting a career in retail automotive, Sarah suggests that it's important to find a group of people that can offer support. It's important to have diversity and a lot of different types of people within the car business because that's our customer base.
• Don't be afraid to jump into the retail car business with both feet. This is a career that which you can make a great living for yourself and there are so many different possibilities out there from OEMs to dealerships to service centers. 
• This is a people business. If we can keep the focus on people, we can win more relationships that lead to long-term business opportunities. 
• A large part of Sarah's success within the BDC comes from injecting more human touchpoints. In an increasingly digital workspace, it's important to focus on retention and adding the human touch.
• Listen to the full episode to get even more insights from this episode.  

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Thanks, Sarah Vantine!

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• Click here to thank Sarah Vantine on LinkedIn   

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Joe St. John is the Vice President of Business Development at Stone Eagle F&I, and works with over 6000 dealerships to provide even greater profitability. 

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What Ted Ings and Joe St. John discuss in this episode:

• Joe explains what online transparency actually means. Transparency is a buzz-word that gets tossed around a lot in the industry
• It's important to standardize the F&I data coming from the DMS so that we can understand what's actually happening in the world at the transactional level of vehicle purchase. Doing so empowers dealers to understand that it matched the narrative throughout the industry and what information can be validated or invalidated.
• In 2018 NADA shared that less than 5% of dealers have a payment calculator on their website in any way, shape, or form. Today, more than 91% of dealers have payment information on their sites.
• What kicked the fear for dealers? COVID created an urgency to move the buying process online and make it more transparent upfront.
• When customers have control of the process, they seem to make some really good decisions and land themselves on cars that fit within their budget. They don't push themselves to the limit of their budget. Their ability to have room in that budget to place them where they need to be.
• We have to apply the same idea and concept to the fixed ops world. With more upfront transparency and allowing customers more control over the process, they will make smart decisions, despite what we've historically believed in the industry.
• Transparency is not the eroder of profitability, it should equal profitability.
• Listen to the full episode for even more insights from Joe St. John.

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Thanks, Joe St. John!

If you enjoyed this episode featuring Joe St. John, be sure to click the link below to say thanks!

• Click here to thank Joe St. John on LinkedIn

Connect with Ted Ings and the Fixed Ops Roundtable:

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