Latest / Auto Collabs / Pushing a Billy Goat with Ron Smith

Transcript

Pushing a Billy Goat with Ron Smith · Auto Collabs

0:00
Well, hey, we are sitting down with the director of enterprise sales at Stella Automotive, Ron Smith. [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs. Enterprise sales. Sales.
0:17
Director. Director. Hey, look at that. Hey. Guys, get just real quick, real quick, first of all, when you fly into Chicago- [laughs]... and it's rainy and cloudy, you're like- Oh... about right, about right.
0:29
Very Chicago-y. About the course. They're not really Chicago-y in the spring. It should be a little nicer about this time of year. It should be nicer. It's unbelievable.
0:36
But the, I will say the salad that I had was extremely nice, and it was wonderful. Keep talking about this salad. Keep talking about the salad. Talking about a salad. I gotta talk about a salad.
0:43
Salad is a promissory note that real food will soon arrive. [laughs] This is why restaurants, [laughs] this is why restaurants bring it out first. Getting salad first. Oh, I'm putting that on a T-shirt.
0:54
And then they bring the IOU. Well, it's okay. I just got invited to lunch, so maybe I'll go eat the meat here in just a second. Yeah, there you go. I'll go get the meat. You should. [laughs] You should. You should.
1:01
Go get a deep dish. Well, hey, we are sitting down with the director of enterprise sales at Stella Automotive, Ron Smith. Um, tell me a little bit more about what, what do you guys know about Ron?
1:12
He, he won the Pitch Tank. Yeah. He won the Pitch Tank. That's most of what I know about Ron. Works for Stella. Except for, I, he works for Stella. No. Well, I met him, I met him at, uh, at ASOTU Con last year.
1:24
Tons of energy. Um, I think he was actually new in the role. They brought their whole team to ASOTU Con. I will say, just the- We're awesome... Stella team, uh, just has a ton of energy.
1:33
They're aligned with what we're doing here at ASOTU. Um- Yeah... just as, like, person- like, personally they are. And- Kind people. Yeah... so it's always encouraging. Yeah, they're just kind people.
1:42
It's always encouraging to jam with them.
1:44
Um, and so I'm sure that, I'm sure that we're gonna discover things that, that, uh, that we'll all look back and be like, "Yeah, Ron's one of our own," you know, just 'cause I know the vibe of the people that they typically bring, bring around.
1:56
So we hope you enjoy this conversation, uh, uh, with Ron. [upbeat music] Ron, what's up, man? We are excited to be hanging out with you.
2:07
You were the winner of one of the months of Pitch Tank Championship, so congratulations first on that, 'cause that's a whole deal. [laughs] Man, thanks for joining me. It's been a heat lamp. We appreciate it.
2:17
We appreciate the opportunity getting, uh, getting into there and winning it, so it's great to be, uh, here with you guys.
2:21
Real quick, for those that don't know what Pitch Tank is, it's like a three-minute audio only p- presentation. If you're watching this on video, Ron can actually... He's got a great voice for radio, too. But
2:32
tell the people, like, what the preparation, the process, and the feeling is going into just having to explain everything you do in under three minutes without a deck.
2:43
[laughs] Like, how does that, how, how does that work in your brain leading up to something like that? Oh, man. Well, like, one thing that really helps us out is the fact that our AI, we c- we usually do live demos.
2:55
And we can usually get on and off the phone in a minute and 20 seconds, so I can just fill up a minute and 20 of the three minute with talking. That is an un- That's a pretty great advantage.
3:03
So that's, that's, like, the easiest part about it. So we do a, we do, like, our little intro. "Hey, this is what Stella does." Show something cool and new to everybody.
3:11
And on the outro just, uh, you know, just touch a little bit more, put a hook in, get the dealers to wanna pump up. But there was preparation we had to do on there, right?
3:18
I, I probably s- ran through it, uh, 10 times, my VP of marketing, just to ensure that I was falling within that three-minute timeframe. Uh, so- Did that change the game for you, like, with the rest of stuff?
3:28
Because you're pit- You, you know, you're in the sales environment. Did that change the game for you to pitch in, like, you're in elevators at NADA just like, "Just so you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
3:37
Here it is," right? You know. Uh, it did. So just to tell you all this, like, a little behind the scenes, the last pitch that I did, we decided to change the entire pitch up 30 minutes before.
3:46
That's the first time I ever did that pitch. [laughs] And, and legitimately, the whole entire team has taken that pitch and just ran with it across the board.
3:54
So, like, we, we found new ways to talk about Stella just by going through a little, a three-minute timeframe of a Pitch Tank. It was pretty cool.
4:02
So tell me what it was like training the person that you called to sound just like Stella. [laughs] That's cold. During the [laughs]... That's messed up. No. [laughs] I'm just kidding, man.
4:14
I was on, I was on that pitch and it, it was awesome to just- Yeah... hear, hear it go the way it went. And, like, you had such an advantage of, like, that mic drop moment. Like, "Oh, well, you don't believe me?
4:24
I'm gonna call in right now." Yeah. Which is probably how a lot of your pitches go. [laughs] It, it is. [laughs] Right? A lot, a lot of times it's like, wow, how did that, did that person just talk to me, right?
4:33
[laughs] Like, wait, what do... They just responded. And, and so, like, many of times when we go through the pitch I'm always like, "All right, Mr. and Mrs. Car Dealer, just please let me get through these three calls."
4:43
Usually after call number one I don't go any further. I'm already answering questions, because they're just, like, so intrigued about how fast that responsiveness was with the AI. All right.
4:52
So you have it- For those that are, uh- I, I... Go ahead...
4:53
I was gonna say, for th- for those that are, you know, maybe tuning in for the first time, or maybe this is the first time they've heard Stella, can you, can you give me the Cliff's Notes on what it is, what, what problem does it solve?
5:06
So Stella is a conversational AI leading, leading provider in all of automotive, right? Stella will book, change, or cancel all of the inbound phone call traffic that comes into the service department.
5:17
Uh, we'll also do location, hours, roadside assistance. We also just launched a new product called our front end reception that'll basically eliminate the, the ability for an IVR.
5:28
Press one for sales, press two for service. Just let Stella pick it up. I mean, on average, 20, 30% of inbound phone calls are going just missed.
5:36
So Stella just helps facilitate all of that traffic to ensure the dealers don't miss any more phone calls, plus give the consumers the good experience of ensuring they're gonna accomplish their goals when they're on the phone.
5:47
Nice. Okay. Okay. Enough about Stella, 'cause this is a little bit more about Ron. [laughs] Oh, yeah? He... You know, she's, she's, she's exciting and all that type of stuff. Stella. But Ron... Stella.
5:58
Um, so to, uh, uh, just so everyone knows, I'm gonna [laughs] I'm-[laughs] It's been a mess of a day. I'm in a salad- He's in a mood. I- I'm in a whole mood. I just had a really, really great salad that I...
6:08
at a place that I've never been, so I'm on, I'm on cloud nine with this salad I just had. Now we know Kyle's a liar. Okay. [laughs] Yeah. He buys a, a really good salad. Yeah. Yeah. We're tracking. We're tracking. I did.
6:17
Okay. I had a great salad. Great salad. We all wanna be somebody else.
6:20
So- [laughs] So Ron, uh, take us back, maybe not to your childhood, but, uh, you know, uh, talk to us a little bit about what your career in automotive has been.
6:29
Um, have you, uh, uh, was Stella the first stop or, or have you been in automotive in a few other places before that? Oh, okay, so I'll take you back to my childhood. My dad's in the car business, uh, anyway. Hey, now.
6:40
So 13 years old, I was already, uh, pushing this thing called a billy goat through the lot for $5 an hour, picking up all the cigarette butts around the cars. [laughs] I know exactly what you're talking about.
6:49
Yeah, so like [laughs] it was, uh... So that's when I started. So, like, I never asked my dad. All, all I asked him at dinner was like, "How many cars did you sell today?" Right? Like, that was-... the thing.
6:58
So I went into, uh, officially a lot porter at 18, sold cars for him, and then, uh, I was the house mouse apparently, right?
7:04
So what I had to do was, uh, move from my dad down to Florida and started selling cars with Asbury Automotive at Coggin Honda in Jax. So I did that.
7:14
Made it all the way up to, uh, used car director for the first, uh, for five years there, and then I did a 10-year stint at Cox Automotive. Okay. Traded at Mark- once traded at Marketplace.
7:25
Spent my last five years with, uh, VAuto in particular. And then, uh, Stella decided to launch a sales team in August.
7:32
I got a basically, like my Shark Tank pitch, I got a three-minute phone call with the minimum of a dit- uh, and I was like, "Okay. AI, I'm in," so I came here in August.
7:42
So I've been in the car business for over 20 years, guys. It's been, uh, it's been amazing seeing the changes.
7:46
Look, I think that there's always just such a wasted time slot in the beginning of anyone who's selling a tech product in automotive to be like, "I grew up on the lot," right? Yeah. "I grew up pushing the billy goat.
7:59
I grew up-" Pushing a billy goat. [laughs] "... the dinner conversation was how many did you sell, and I already knew my dad's attitude how many about that was," [laughs] right? It was funny.
8:09
It's like- I was a junior, so, like, I would al- people would always come in and look for Ron at the dealership, and my dad would give deals to, like, other people because they would send them to my dad, and I was like, "What the heck?"
8:18
[laughs] But all the, all these salesmen used to call me June Bug at the dealership. So then I started going by June Bug, and I never missed another deal again from that standpoint- [laughs]...
8:27
because I just, you just had to get creative back then. That's amazing. And it, it was fun. I was also the internet manager because I knew how to change the printer ink at the time, which was pretty cool.
8:35
[laughs] Hey- Right... the good, the good news is nothing's changed. Yeah. [laughs] Right? Now you just know how to reset passwords. Yeah, that's it. [laughs] That's it. Talking about job security. [laughs] Yeah. Right.
8:48
Oh, no. Whew. Okay. I'm sideways. [laughs] No. You, you- I can't get over the billy goat. [laughs] All right. Let's... No, the billy goat. You just think about it. That little thing.
8:56
You, you push it, and it just eats up everything in its sight, right? Oh, I see exactly what it is. All the cigarette butts. Remember that? Remember the lots were littered with cigarette butts. Um, okay, so
9:04
it, dealers, industry partners, right? It's this age-old, like, "I need you, but will you get out of my office" kind of mentality. So you, as a dealer, it, you know, you've seen the sales pitch from both sides.
9:16
Um, as a vendor, you've seen the sales pitch from the like, "Okay, how quickly can I get this out? How can I actually serve the dealer instead of just, uh, telling them what I have?" You, you've experienced both sides.
9:28
So from the dealer side, okay, I'm asking you to put your dealer hat back on. All right. What is the most annoying thing that a vendor can do when they try to pitch you a product? Oh, man. Talk.
9:44
[laughs] I think you just actually nailed it. Uh. I think you just nailed it. Breathe.
9:53
[laughs] I found myself a lot of times just listening to these people just go on and on and on and never truly just ask me questions about what I needed, right? Mm. Like, you know- That's good... telling isn't selling.
10:05
So that, that is just the world that happens, like, every day. It's still happening every day with people going into stores. They just wanna come in and tell you about your product, right?
10:14
Let's, let's help them solve a problem, right? And I can tell you, the more you get your dealer to talk, like, I was, I always learn, like, the first one to talk loses, right? Right.
10:22
So l- let's just go ahead and let them, just ask them the right questions. Do a little bit of pre-work before you go in. You'll be able to find your way into the right conversation.
10:31
It's just a matter of, uh, just understand to listen a little bit more than just talking to people. Man. I always feel like, c- controversial statement of the day. [laughs] I always feel like- Too early for that.
10:42
[laughs] It's 5:00 somewhere, Paul. Yeah. [laughs] I feel like, you know, what, what lends its hand to that, why they go in with that urgency to, like, pitch, right, is because they're hard up for cash.
10:54
But here's my statement. How dare you put yourself in a position where you're so hard up for cash? [laughs] You know what I mean? Get 'em. Like- Get 'em. Yeah... y- you know what I mean?
11:06
'Cause, like, what you're saying, Ron, resonates with, I think, safe to say, all three of us here, and of course, those that are part of the ASOTU community- Yeah... which is people over everything else, right?
11:16
Like, love people more than you love the thing.
11:19
And but I always feel like, man, the only reason you feel urgency to earn the dough is because you put yourself in a position where you couldn't, or you didn't have the dough.
11:28
And then, and then that precludes you from being able to actually just build a relationship. And like, like you said, listen, curious your take. I want your con- no, I'm just kidding.
11:36
I'm not gonna ask for your controversial statement of the day. [laughs] Won't do that to you. But- Well, no, I mean-... but curious your thoughts on that...
11:41
when you think, yeah, yeah, I mean, you think about the, just, like, dealing with a, dealing with a salesperson, like a car salesperson on the ninth of the month and they haven't sold a car. You can see it in their eyes.
11:51
Right. Like hunger, you know?
11:52
And, and so the, I think that there is this, this element that when we get into sales, that when we get into product pitching, that when we get into any of that and we're prioritizing, like-Like you said, telling isn't selling.
12:07
We're just, like, shouting at people instead of solving problems. That immediately, I don't care who you are, it puts your defenses up. You know, you're, you're questioning, like, what's the motive on the other side?
12:17
Is the product really good? Anything like that. So how do... Ron, how do you combat that?
12:22
Because obviously in the sales environment there's deadlines to meet, there's goals to, there's goals to hit, um, there, there are margins and there's, there's growth metrics that have to happen, especially your, your, uh, your role in charge of enterprise sales accounts.
12:36
Like, that's large accounts that have, that have a lot of opportunity for any, any sort of, you know, business, especially in the SAS world.
12:44
How do you balance the, like, necessity to sell, the, the, the thing that has to happen for the business to keep moving and the human element of conversation and problem-solving?
12:56
How do you balance that in a day-to-day basis? You know, I... For one, like, pre-work is, is, is critical for us. Understanding the knowledge of the conversation before you're going into the store, right?
13:07
You know, we, our, our s- our AI answers the phone, so doing some secret shop analyses of the stores is, is one way to easily combat that, uh, of just, of just preparation.
13:16
Uh, referral business from people that have already sold... Like, you've already sold that client too.
13:20
Like, nothing's more powerful than one of our current clients calling one of their buddies or even a competitor that they've done to get that door just already open for you.
13:30
So I'm really, really big on, like, warm to hot opportunities, right? The c- the cold calling is still very, very tough and it's still a challenge.
13:37
And if you're just strictly cold calling on clients in this atmosphere right here, you're gonna have a really tough time. Because, look, the vendor world's been out for a very long time dealing with dealers, right?
13:48
Dealers have had some poor experiences. They've also had some really good experiences with, with people too, but their guards are up before you even get in the door.
13:56
So if there's a way that you can use your network, your LinkedIn network or my networks from my previous people to help get me a soft introduction to somebody that's able to get me over the hump, that gets, that, that helps us stay ahead of this.
14:08
Now, the enterprise side, it's like, it's not like riding a jet ski and you can just pivot and turn and just close one rooftop, one rooftop, one rooftop.
14:16
There's gotta be a, a, a, a level of patience that I've had to learn, and I'm a very impatient person. So, like, [laughs] that level of patience that, hey, like, you, you, you know, you're, you're gonna be able to...
14:27
Like, Rome wasn't built in one day as an example. Like, you just have to e- establish the process, establish the rules of engagement that you have with your team, and then just follow it through. See it to a T.
14:38
It's tried and true through my t- from, from my experience, my 10 years at Cox Automotive.
14:41
It's, that, that is one company that is unbelievable with educating their people of how to, how to just stay on top of their days. You know what I'm saying? Okay. I have one more question.
14:50
This is probably the last one we get to today. So we just asked you that from the dealer side, what's the most annoying thing that a vendor can do? Uh, you said talk, and then we went into the conversation.
14:59
What's the most annoying thing that a dealer can do to a vendor?
15:03
Because the hope is here that through growing a little empathy between the dealers and industry partners, we help the conversations connect faster 'cause that makes innovation go faster.
15:11
So what do dealers do that if they didn't do, uh, would actually help the process go a little bit easier for everybody? Um- Let's get in trouble. Let's get in trouble with this one. [laughs] Tell it to me.
15:25
Come here, Kyle. Tell it to me, Ron. Let's go. Give it, give it to us. Yeah. You know what I want? Like, I, I want, I just want, like, yeses or nos, right? Mm. The, the gray area makes it really tough, right?
15:36
To, to not understand the, the path or the move that, that, that we're getting out of responsiveness, right? Because it...
15:42
A- and sometimes in your world you feel like you've got a great conversation moving along and along and along, and then it, and then it just drops off and goes dark, right?
15:49
Now you got to figure out how to revive that or whatnot. I love just... Like, there's, the, the people that I meet with, like, these alpha personalities that are just like, "Nope, not moving forward.
15:59
Yes, moving forward." Like, I just, I don't like the gray area in regards to the conversation piece with, with dealers, right? I just wanna know, hey, you either, you're either in.
16:07
If you're not in, tell me why you're not in so that at least if it's something that I can address, I can address that there.
16:12
But that gray area of, um, the, the, the responsiveness, like, I'm one that wants to respond fast, right? Yeah. Like, I wanna... If, if I'm texting with somebody, I'm gonna text them back quickly. Email, email quickly.
16:22
Yeah. And I don't expect for people to email me fast or, or whenever. I, I do just like timely responses at some point in time just, just to know- Understood... the position you're in. You just wanna know.
16:31
It's just like- Let's not bug in here too... you're in or you're out. Let's go. Right. That's it. I just wanna know. There you go. Dude, Paul, Paul thought he was gonna stump you, but you are clearly- He's easy...
16:39
an enterprise sales professional. You maneuvered your words with grace and dignity [laughs] Yeah. And you answered it so well. Um, man- We're flying the plane, uh, while we're building it over here.
16:53
You know what I'm saying? We understand this. That, that seems to be a theme of this, uh, this generation, so- We do... we're, we're all for it. Man, Ron, thank you so much for, uh, joining us here on Auto Claps.
17:03
How can those listening get in touch with you? Uh, so we have a fantastic website, meetstella.ai. Um, that's where you can go and do all kinds of research. We have testimonials on here.
17:13
Uh, you can certainly just call my cellphone. 904-738-4011. I will answer it. I will respond. Uh, text or phone call. Not Stella, he will. Yeah, not Stella, you. Yeah.
17:26
So it's Ron, and then ron.smith@stellaautomotive.com. But our website is loaded with content. Awesome. Love it. Ron "June Bug" Smith- [laughs] Hey... on Auto Claps. Thanks so much for joining us. Hey, there you go.
17:39
[upbeat music] Well, they... We thought we were gonna get him on some controversial questions. That, I think that is our uncommunicated strategy. We were coming for him. I'm telling you what.
17:49
[laughs] Uncommunicated strategy from now on. If you're a vendor and you're on this show, we're gonna ask you hard questions because that's actually what's gonna make everyone listen to your episode. I love it.
17:59
So be ready. I love it. Uh, his answers were amazing. Well- His answers were- His answers were amazing...
18:03
absolutely amazing The fact that he, that he's been on the dealership side, family's in the dealer, has been, uh, tons of years on the vendor side and still had some of the clarity that was, that, like, he can kinda see both sides, that's important to me.
18:17
And I think that our industry as a whole just-The more we can look across the aisle and go, "I see you. I understand where you're at, why you're doing what you're doing, what you need."
18:26
You know, like, he just said, "Hey, I don't, if you say no, that's fine. There's 17,000 dealers out there that my team has to work with." Tell me. Right? "Just tell me. Just tell me what's up." Take it.
18:37
"And if it's something I can handle, great. And if not, then we'll move on down life's highway, shake hands, and be friends." You know? You know, my mind does move to a skit.
18:44
I, I, maybe I approach life through skits, like SNL skits. Oh, boy. But I love how concisely he answered the first question that Paul asked, which was, like, "What's the biggest mistake that vendors do?"
18:54
He goes, "Talk, talk." [laughs] And then on the flip side of it- From their face... when you ask him, "Well, what's the, what's the biggest mistake?"
19:01
And, and to your point, Kyle, he's, he shares this diatribe about, "Well, like, just give me an answer. Like, make it a yes, make it a no. Don't ghost me. Don't whatever."
19:09
But then he, he asked, you know, like, "Why are you not in? Like, explain to me why you were not in." And in this skit, I picture the dealer just going, " 'Cause you talked." "Talk." [laughs] "You talked, kid." "Talk."
19:20
"You talked." Yeah. Right. It's just over and over. [laughs] I think I, I love the fact that we just found out he was in the business.
19:29
And I will say this again, because if I was an industry partner and I had sold cars and grew up in the business, it would be my profile picture. It would be my constant narrative.
19:41
It would be the first line out of my mouth, because everyone wants to know that you understand their side. And if you're an industry partner, like, the dealer's in the middle of it every single day. Yep.
19:52
The GM or the marketing manager, they're in the middle of it every single day. And why shouldn't they start with, like, "How do you understand what I'm going through right now?"
20:01
"Well, I grew up in the car business selling cars and this and that. That's how I should understand." Like, I would just lead with that. Why else do you think I'm wearing a June bug costume? Ah, the June bug.
20:09
[laughs] He's gotta lean into the June bug. I don't actually know what a June bug looks like. Me either. [laughs] Who knows? I, I know that Jim Carrey swallowed one going through the passing Dumb and Dumber.
20:17
About this big. Oh. Yeah. Oh, that got him. Well, if that wasn't a great way to end up thinking about Jim Carrey swallowing a June bug, that's that for you.
20:27
Thank you so much on behalf of, uh, Paul Jay Daly, Michael Cirillo, and myself, Kyle Mountser. Thanks for joining us on Auto Collapse.
20:34
Sign up for our free and fun-to-read daily email for a free shot of relevant news in automotive, retail, media, and pop culture. You can get it now at asotu.com. That's A-S-O-T-U.com.
20:47
If you love this podcast, please leave us a review and share it with a friend. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time.
20:56
[upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collapse. Welcome to Auto Collapse. [laughs] Why are we recording? Are we rolling yet? Not yet.