What is the biggest hesitation for consumers when considering an electric vehicle purchase? How should dealers start to think differently about marketing EVs to their consumers? Listen in as AJ Detrick, Head of Sales in the US for Swedish automotive brand Polestar, answers these pressing EV questions – and more.

AJ shares sales techniques, his thoughts on consumer adoption to EVs and his personal experience driving EVs, plus a look at how Polestar’s business model helps them develop interpersonal longevity and relationships.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• Benefits of the direct-to-consumer model, and how Polestar has created longevity that contributes to their sales goals
• How to drive long-term consumer relationships through a focus on retention
• What your dealership can do to address concerns around consumer hesitations towards EVs
• The need for educational offerings at your dealership (and how it can help your sales! 😎) plus other tips

AJ has had the opportunity to oversee tremendous sales gains and forecast future growth for Polestar while supervising all sales and retail operations. Previously, he held positions at Volvo Cars North America and has over 15 years of experience in various sectors of the automotive retail industry, such as customer service, fleet and marketing.

For more about AJ, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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The auto industry continues to face a rise in electric vehicles, shortages in labor and speculation over the future of dealership relevancy as direct-to-consumer manufacturers like Tesla impact traditional sales processes. Today’s guest, Jason Stein, is well-positioned to discuss these trends and others impacting  dealers, and spotlight what they can be excited (yes, excited!) about over the next few years.

A legend in the automotive industry, Jason Stein’s career in journalism has lasted more than 25 years and spanned the globe. He’s lived in Munich, Germany as a reporter and publisher, attended auto shows in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and contributed to national and international radio programs and various speaking engagements. He led industry-known Automotive News in various capacities – as reporter and publisher of Automotive News Europe, to publisher of Detroit-based Automotive News from 2013 until August 2021. Currently Jason is the Owner & CEO of Flat Six Media, a media services and broadcasting platform, and the host of SiriusXM’s radio show, “Cars & Culture with Jason Stein,” which has featured celebrity guests like Mark Wahlberg, Jay Leno and Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• How cars unite the world and why people experience emotional connections to vehicles
• How those emotional connections indicate that the traditional dealership model is still relevant 
• Why dealers should not let the Teslas of the world cloud their growth goals 
• Speculation over where consumers will gravitate in the future as it relates to powertrains 
• Dialogue over whether there is a correct way for OEMs to approach EVs as a business model
• The importance of continuous learning for dealers to stay relevant as the industry changes and more 

For more about Jason, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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With the rising prevalence of online car buying and digital purchase pathways, in what ways can dealerships maximize their presence to engage consumers and turn those engagements into meaningful in-person experiences? We dig into the details and much more in this episode of The Walk Around.

Customer acquisition is a necessity for all retailers, and digital engagement is a key resource for meeting your customers where they are and understanding what drives them. For dealerships it also creates an opportunity to educate consumers on your products and position your business as a helpful advisor in the awareness and sales process. This can play a pivotal role in building knowledge and comfort for consumers in the EV buying and ownership experience.

Knowing this, consider if your dealership is optimizing digital retail tools. There’s an exciting opportunity in today’s market to significantly improve your dealership’s technology offerings to reach more customers to drive brand awareness as well as product education. Kevin Joostema, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Car-ED, a media and digital marketing services provider, has the insights dealers need to know on how to leverage digital touchpoints and turn them into quality in-person interactions. Speaking from years of experience in the automotive world, where he’s worked with top brands within the US, Japan/Asia and Germany, he is also the current sitting President of the Washington Automotive Press Association (WAPA) and has served on the board for four years.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Will autonomous driving make a comeback amidst the presence of EVs? 
• The link between emotional connections and consumer satisfaction with products 
• How will test driving change with EV sales despite the trend of buying completely online? 
• How digital retail tools can be a gamechanger for acquiring customers in today’s market 
• As a journalist who gets to test drive and review various vehicles, Kevin shares what’s exciting to him in auto products technology today and more! 

For more about Kevin, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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Has employee hiring and retention been a pressing issue for your dealership lately? With a slowing economy and inventory shortages still present, retention is a prevalent issue at dealerships nationwide. Adam Robinson, Co-Founder and CEO at Hireology, details his thoughts on the industry’s service demand and what dealers can do to mitigate turnover.

For over 20 years, Adam has shared his expertise in recruiting and development. He authored “The Best Team Wins: Build Your Business Through Predictive Hiring,” and has helped Hireology grow into a leading people-first recruiting and HR platform that uses predictive data and technology to improve hiring processes for business owners.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• How dealers can stay relevant in an industry that is rigidly retail
• The concept of viewing employment as a product and how that can help recruitment processes
• Labor market trends in the automotive industry
• Why money IS NOT the primary motivator when employees consider their employer
• What dealers can offer employees to help retention, plus a lot more!

For more about Matt, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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It’s 2022, we can celebrate podcast birthdays right?

Well it’s our second birthday at The Walk Around podcast, and we couldn’t be more excited. Throughout the production of more than 50 episodes (wow!), we’ve discussed the automotive trends and issues facing the modern industry with thought leaders across the nation.

In this episode, Marc Spoto and Elliot Schor are joined by our first season’s podcast hosts Danny Vendrell and Nick Funsch. Together, they reflect on highlights from the past two years and end with – you guessed it – A Schor Thing. And a special, heartfelt thanks to one former host who helped shape the beginning of The Walk Around.

Thank you to all who have listened – we’ve had over 10,000 listens on our episodes! We hope you’re learning plenty of actionable tips for improving processes in all areas of your dealership.

Make sure to subscribe so you know when new episodes are released. 😎

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Matt Poepsel, PhD, VP of Professional Services at The Predictive Index (PI), a leading talent optimization software platform, discusses the ways leaders can promote transformation among their business practices and teams. He started his career as a Marine, then went on to become a leadership author and speaker who is passionate about the intersection of business and people aspects in an organization through talent optimization.

He answers the questions leaders from all industries may already – or should— be asking for strategy enhancement, effective business leadership and fostering people development. With his background at PI, Matt talks about embracing leaders’ and employees’ unique traits and positioning each team member in a role that suits their characteristics in order to create cohesive teams.

Hear why, for fun, he calls himself, ‘The Godfather of Talent Optimization.’ His memorable catch phrases will be sure to stick in your mind long after listening to the podcast.

What else you’ll hear:

• The need for a humanistic side in leadership with transparency and integrity
• Acknowledging generational gaps in values and context at dealerships
• ‘Being, Belonging, and something bigger than myself’ – how Matt’s necessary “3 killer Bs” have affected business operations amidst post- pandemic and recent societal changes
• Nature vs. Nurture in terms of business leadership and developing people – is one more important than the other?
• Dealership brand loyalty and brand extension – Matt’s response is the “holy grail” that OEM executives will appreciate ;)

Dealers, you’ll learn actionable tips – and quality advice – for upholding strong leadership values and people practices at your dealership.

For more about Matt, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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KC Crain says he doesn’t like to give advice – only opinions, but we think the insights he gives  are quite compelling. From starting as a reporter to his current role as CEO at Crain Communications, a publishing company that includes dealer-favorite Automotive News, he has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to working with family and managing customers to navigating the influence he has overseeing an industry-leading publication.

Based in the Detroit area, KC is active in business and civic activities and is passionate about the city’s current and future growth.

Listen in to the podcast where our hosts Marc Spoto and Elliot Schor hear KC’s take on:

• Family-run businesses - conflicts, benefits and his opinion on raising the next generation
• Turning frustrated customers into long-term relationships
• The age-old battle of print vs. digital content
• Automotive News and the pressure of being an industry leader
• EV and the Tesla effect – Will EVs be a majority of future sales? Will some EV manufacturers fold in the next few years?

For more about KC, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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From humble beginnings living on a hog farm in the Midwest, to Chief Revenue Officer at EchoPark Automotive, Sonic’s nationwide pre-owned vehicle sales company, Thein Truong’s career history is a testament to the benefits of versatility in business dealings. He’s had successful positions in the worlds of finance, consumer packaged goods companies like PepsiCo, and technology startups.

So why did he transition to the auto industry? Thein delves into this career move and explains why he finds the passion and knowledge in this industry to be so incredible.

Through his multifaceted careers and work experience in consumer-facing industries, Thein has a unique perspective on the automotive industry’s dealer-facing focus. He shares the areas he believes could help the industry save time, build lasting relationships with customers, and improve processes.

What else is covered in the podcast:

• How the auto industry can learn from Nestlé’s realization that US consumers wanted bottled water before they knew they wanted it
• The power of customer segmentation – knowing your consumer’s lifestyles and needs
• The importance of value-added time – and quality time at that - when dealing with consumers and educating them before AND after the sales process is completed
• Where Thein sees EV sales going and whether he thinks consumers are ready. His answer may surprise you!
• Brick and mortar dealerships - a thing of the past?
• And they even discuss how customer segmentation in the automotive industry can relate to...Starbucks? Grab a cup of coffee and listen in to get all the details.

For more about Thien, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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In many cases, dealerships operate like small businesses, with people wearing multiple hats and struggling to focus on priorities. Vice President of Field Operations for 22Squared Nick Holliday presents a full picture of how relationships, marketing and process should work together in dealerships to accomplish key goals.

Pulling from his more than a decade of experience in automotive consulting, advertising and more, Nick shares what dealerships should be focusing on to evolve their customer experiences. As personalization matters more and more to consumers, technology and processes will play a pivotal role in acknowledging their distinct preferences and buying habits.

In this episode, Nick gives his take on questions like:

When there’s no inventory, does process become more important, or do they feed each other?

Which of the newer players in the CRM and AI space are getting you excited?

Are dealers developing bad habits or shortcuts while the tide is high, and which habits could become problems in the future?

What’s the most important customer pain point that dealers should solve for?

If you have $1 to spend on advertising, where should you spend it?

How do you keep the person-to-person relationship going when a transaction goes completely digital?

For more about Nick, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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Ever wonder what’s really going on behind those Sales Satisfaction and Customer Service Index reports? In addition to serving as industry benchmarks, you should be using them as more than tools to measure and improve results. Doug Betts, President of the Automotive division of J.D. Power explains all this and more in this episode of The Walk Around.

Listen in for his take on hot topics like:

• In what ways does pursuing a better CSI score potentially hurt the customer experience?
• What are some ways dealers can better utilize these reports or capitalize on new opportunities through J.D. Power?
• What has J.D. Power learned about “configuration complexity” in car customization and customer experience? How can too many options hurt dealers, sales and customers?
• What does research show about customer willingness to adopt EVs? What role does infrastructure play?
• Is J.D. Power working on a way to measure quality in EV batteries so customers can buy used EVs with confidence?

For more about Doug, visit his LinkedIn profile.

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