Latest / Auto Collabs / Why Association-Dealer Relationships Should Start Before There’s a Fire With Zach Doran

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Why Association-Dealer Relationships Should Start Before There’s a Fire With Zach Doran · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  [upbeat music] We've done some out of the box stuff. Concert For A Cause is a little out of the box.
• 0:04
  We were probably one of the first associations to start actively recruiting younger dealers to go with us to Washington, DC and get them exposure on what are the issues we're working on, like, what are we doing?
• 0:13
  Because if you're waiting on trying to engage dealers at the point that they need you, they're generally gonna call you for the first time with their hair on fire.
• 0:22
  They've got some sort of problem that they expect you to solve, and if you don't solve it, then it's like, all right, well, you failed them. [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs.
• 0:37
  All right, since Michael can't be here with us today- This is my favorite... I, I, I need you to tell me, what is your top Michael Cirillo-ism? What's the thing that he says or does real life?
• 0:48
  It's when he puts both hands up and he thinks he's getting into it. Oh. [laughs] His Italian roots. When he, "Ah." That's a good one. That, that's a good one. That guy right there. Yeah. That's, that's a good one.
• 0:56
  Um, I mean, there's so many. I don't know if this is my favorite one, but, uh- [laughs] His- my favorite questions start with, "I'm curious," right? I'm curious. I'm curious. I have to ask. I have to ask is a good one.
• 1:08
  I have to- Yeah... you know who says I have to ask a lot? Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO. He do- See, uh, now we know. May- MC might just be ripping him. Now we know.
• 1:18
  MC's just listening to a little Diary of a- Diary of a CEO It sounds different when you say it with a British accent. That is true. [laughs] It really does. That is very true.
• 1:25
  Oh, so exciting for today's guest, Zach Doran, President of the Ohio Auto Dealer Association. He's become a really good friend over the last year- Yeah...
• 1:32
  from when we first met him, um, and got to spend a little time with him, and then we obviously saw first hand all of the things that Ohio Auto Dealers are doing under his leadership to make their community service be front and center so people understand how good a dealer and the dealer body is for the community in general.
• 1:50
  I can't wait to find out where the passion for it comes, because you can see it and you can feel it, so. Yeah. Yeah. And we're gonna see if we can rile him up a little bit. He's a little t- little even keel.
• 1:59
  [laughs] We'll see if we can stir him up a little bit. We hope you enjoy this conversation we have with Zach Doran. [upbeat music] Zach, it's good to be with you again. Thanks for joining us today on Auto Collabs. Sure.
• 2:12
  Thanks for having me. We had a, I'll call it, a rip-roaring time at Concert For A Cause- [laughs]... in Ohio. We had all the drama. We had the set-up. We had bands practicing rehearsing.
• 2:23
  They were setting up the food and the signs. We had great charity. We ended with a thunder and lightning storm that sent everybody scattering in a grand finale of an event.
• 2:31
  Oh, [laughs] it felt like a huge success overall. What was the purview from your team and you? 'Cause y'all put so much work into making that happen. No, thank you. Uh, I would say a huge success.
• 2:42
  Um, you know, we raised over $100,000 for two incredible charities, had, uh, a whole bunch of dealers, and, uh, managers and employees at, uh, the event. The industry really stepped up.
• 2:54
  Vendors and sponsors were all there, and you know, 4,000 plus people on the lawn, uh, all supporting the event and getting to see, you know, dealers coming together to support their community.
• 3:06
  So, you know, the boxes we were looking to check, uh, we really, I, I feel like, did a good job doing that, and I think our members were, uh, proud of the event. So, success. I felt like that. That's awesome.
• 3:16
  We ran into some, we ran into some Ohio dealers, uh, the week after the event at the NAMD- That's right... conference in Miami.
• 3:23
  And some of them were there, some of them weren't there, and boy, did we shame the ones that weren't there. [laughs] I know you would never do that, but we can do those things, and boy, did we ever.
• 3:32
  So just so you know, we got...
• 3:34
  The whipping boys are out there c- cracking the whip, making sure everyone makes it there next year because, boy, ev- I feel like every dealer that was there had a sense of pride about them.
• 3:43
  And like, we got to see the, the camaraderie between dealers who are, you know, usually probably super competitive with one another. And, uh, the jokes and the ribbing was just second to none. [laughs] Yeah. What...
• 3:55
  And so, and, and remind me. It, it's particularly the... 'Cause you're, you're really in the Ohio Auto Dealers, but that was really put on by the Columbus Auto Dealers- Mm-hmm...
• 4:04
  which has a smaller, kinda like, like more localized i- impact. Mm-hmm. Is, uh, you know, w- is that kind of, like, feeling and vibe replicated throughout Ohio?
• 4:14
  Is Columbus, like, that's a unique, uni- unique vibe that, that dives in? What's the kinda, what's the relationship there? Good question. Yeah, so, um, so, so I'm the president of the Ohio Auto Dealers Association.
• 4:25
  Right. We manage the operations of the Columbus Auto Dealers. Ah, okay. Um, you know, Columbus Auto Dealers is a metro dealer association with about 90 rooftops, uh, across the, the city. Um, and
• 4:39
  you know, a number of large groups, and then a number of, uh, independent, uh, large metro stores as well.
• 4:46
  Um, I would say that the member dealership in Columbus, like a lot of metros, is, is on average, like, larger than, you know, the average store across the state of Ohio. Right.
• 4:57
  Um, you know, from a volume, an employee count perspective and those kinds of things.
• 5:01
  But, um, you know, there's a lot of pride in Columbus, Ohio, and, um, you know, I think our, our dealers turned out for the event, and we're very happy with how it all came off.
• 5:11
  So, um, we got the green light for year three, so that's exciting. That's what I was wondering- Nice... because you had, you had a, a bit of a... I mean, you know, we even talked about this.
• 5:22
  Like, dealers are always like, "Let's do it bigger. Let's do it bigger."
• 5:24
  And so, like, last year, year one, this current year, it was, like, twice as big, and you were already pushing back prech- pre- uh, pressure for, like, "Let's make it even bigger this year."
• 5:35
  We were like, "Let's fill out this venue first." You know what I mean? So you're already getting the, the go ahead and the approval. Like, year three is already in the works a week later? [laughs] Yeah.
• 5:44
  Yeah, year three's in the works.
• 5:45
  Um, you know, it's, it's, uh, wonderful to work for people that are as entrepreneurial as car dealers and who always can see the growth, and who, you know, whose, whose best answer to any problem is just sell your way out of it, right?
• 5:59
  [laughs] I mean, just s- just sell more. Right. [laughs] Go bigger. Um, so that's makes it fun.
• 6:05
  And- Um, we've had a little bit of that with, with some of our dealers, but, um, you know, I think they feel really good about, uh, a venue that is very full right now. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
• 6:16
  And I think they feel really good about the way that we, um, throw the, the VIP party, and the access- Mm-hmm... that the sponsors have, and vendors and all that, and to try to keep that all intact.
• 6:28
  And so, um, I anticipate that, that we'll be back in the same venue, but we're working on that right now as we- Nice. What do you, what do you think, and this is...
• 6:37
  I'm sure this is super early, but I feel like I have to ask. So you had three amazing country acts, which was super great, uh, three very talented groups. It was the national tour stop for two of those three.
• 6:49
  Um, is, is country the staple music, or is, like... What, what was it year one, actually? I don't even know that. Uh, year one was Tyler Hubbard. So, uh- Okay...
• 6:59
  he's now a solo act, but he gained most of his fame early on as being one half of Florida Georgia Line. Right. Yes. Right. Um- So you got a theme going. Yeah, a little bit.
• 7:08
  You know, when we started this, we talked about, uh, Country for a Cause, and we changed it- Hmm... to Concert for a Cause because we didn't necessarily want to be pigeonholed into one genre.
• 7:19
  Um, so we kind of left the door open there, but we have sort of gravitated towards, um, country. I mean, it seemed like it hit. There were- It was a good country audience. [laughs] I'm telling you.
• 7:28
  I didn't know, I didn't know, uh, Columbus had that level of, uh, country fervor, so- All in... I, I want to go back because y- you know, you kind of quickly said, like, working with, working for the, the auto dealers.
• 7:39
  Um, where, where did you get your start kind of, like, being in this side of the business and, and working for the auto dealer, running the a- the Ohio Auto Dealers Association?
• 7:50
  Where did that come from, and how did you get here? Yeah. So, uh, I was very fortunate. Um, my, so my dad was involved. Um, it's kind of unusual in the trade association world for a, a son to succeed a father. Wow.
• 8:04
  Maybe unless you represent people who think that that is the most normal thing or normal succession plan that could ever happen. That's right. [laughs] Right? They're very accustomed to that.
• 8:14
  However, um, that really wasn't ever the plan. Um, I, uh, my dad hired me on as the low man on the totem pole to help with some things as the association got very busy during the bankruptcy times. Hmm.
• 8:27
  You know, and, and there were a lot of things that were just going sideways, and dealers were getting termination letters and losing stores and struggling to make payroll and getting out of trust with their floor plans and all kinds of problems that were happening during that- What a time...
• 8:43
  economic downturn. So as the association, we were pretty busy, as you can imagine, and there were some things that were, um, you know, certainly lower level things that weren't getting handled.
• 8:52
  And I was kind of looking for just something to build a resume, quite frankly, because it was tough to find a job at that point.
• 8:58
  So I was fortunate to get some, an opportunity, and, uh, kind of jumped on and tried to handle some of those.
• 9:05
  And, and a couple things went well, and I got a little more opportunity, and that kind of got me out around the state with our services company.
• 9:12
  Uh, and I got to meet a lot of our trustees and our dealers and interact with them sort of one-on-one, and I got exposure to,
• 9:19
  you know, going to places like Washington, DC, and ATAE meetings and all those kinds of things. And- That's cool... um, so when it came time for...
• 9:27
  He decided to hang it up and retire, uh, our, our board and executive committee that was assembled to handle replacing him, um, had me in the mix on the search.
• 9:38
  And, uh, I, I guess I did well enough to earn the job, uh- [laughs]... more than a decade ago, but I'm very appreciative to those people, especially for getting me in.
• 9:46
  I, I have to, I have to say this just right now because you're... I, I will, I'm, I'm gonna give you, uh, uh, just two, uh, really interesting things.
• 9:55
  Like, you know, i- initially you and I met through, through a virtual, virtual means like this, a Zoom call, and you're, you're kind of a reserved, like, okay, just measured, like, "This is what's going on.
• 10:07
  This is what we do." You're very clear and humble about what's going on. Dude, when you got up on that stage, I was like, "This man's meant for stages." Yeah. What happened? You, like, came out.
• 10:17
  I was gonna bring that up early on. [laughs] Not that we brought you on here to glaze you, but- I-... but legit. Dude. You stepped up on that stage. Kyle and I were like- "What?" [laughs]...
• 10:25
  "This guy came from" "This guy was meant for this," you know? "I was waiting for you to grab a guitar." [laughs] Yeah. You're like, "This is the same boring guy we've been talking to for the last hour."
• 10:32
  [laughs] No, you were just saving it all up. Yeah. [laughs] Wow. You're like, "And I haven't talked to anybody in a week," after that. [laughs] Like, yeah.
• 10:38
  [laughs] No, but, like, that, that just came very natural for you.
• 10:42
  In that moment we were like, "Oh, my gosh," like, "Look at this," like the MC skills, the, like, getting people, like, directing their attention toward the charities. And- Yeah...
• 10:50
  I mean, the passion was so obvious in that moment. Is that something you've done a lot of, or is it just a fish in water scenario? Thanks. Um, I, I don't know. First off, I appreciate the compliments.
• 11:01
  Um, I don't know that it's something that I've ever had any kind of formal training on or anything like that. Um, but I feel like, you know, you have to rise to an occasion on some things.
• 11:13
  And, um, you know, if you're gonna represent dealers, um, and you're gonna hit the target of the event, I mean, the target of the event is to, is to support the charities and, and make the dealers look great doing it and recognize how incredible they are in the community, and I don't think you can do that without some energy.
• 11:34
  So I suppose if you saw, you know, added energy from me, I, I guess- Yeah... that's maybe what worked. That all comes together. I guess I did, and we have it on film to prove it all. We have it on film. I think [laughs]
• 11:45
  my bet- [laughs]... is that as, you know, especially because it's a board, there's trustees, and as you are going through that process of like, "Is this the right person to lead this?"
• 11:54
  That, that that same kind of care and passion came in. And when w- uh, and, and I'm not saying that you're measured, you know, like, just kind of like even, even keeled through calls is, is, uh, is bad.
• 12:07
  It, it's actually what's so true about it, is that every word is very passionate, right?
• 12:11
  It's like I believe in something, and I'm guessing that the, those board members saw that as well, and that's why you're contributing in this way to the community.
• 12:20
  What's your vision for- You know, the dealer associations.
• 12:24
  'Cause you've shared with us it's not just about Ohio, but it's also about, like, showing other dealer associations what's possible and how to communicate and what to do in the communities. But what,
• 12:35
  w- what are you pursuing, and what are you pursuing with your dealers that may look altogether different than kind of like the, uh, I- I'll call it like the, the historical knowledge of what an auto dealers association may or may not be?
• 12:49
  Um, yeah, that's a good question. I guess I haven't thought a lot about that necessarily. I...
• 12:54
  What I would say is, um, I think that the dealers have expectations as it relates to us providing some of the basic services that they expect, right? So legal, legislative representation, all of that kind of thing.
• 13:07
  Um, you know, I know that our best advocates, our best lobbyists, you know, are the dealers, right? But if they're not engaged, then it's gonna be hard for them to help us. Mm-hmm. And so
• 13:22
  I suppose that some of the things that you've seen us do that are creative, you know, like we'll host a golf outing, but a lot of associations host a golf outing. We'll also host...
• 13:31
  You know, we've, we've hosted a, a wake surfing day with our dealers, you know, where we bring them all in and we go out on boats and we go wake surfing. I mean, that's a little different, right? Mm-hmm. For sure.
• 13:40
  We've done some out of the box stuff. Country- uh, Concert for a Cause is a little out of the box. Um- [laughs]... I think I'm after engagement. I'm after, you know, creativity. I think, um, there's a, a newer...
• 13:54
  You know, there's a newer generation of dealers that are coming on. We were probably one of the first associations to start actively recruiting younger dealers to go with us to Washington, DC and- Mm...
• 14:05
  and get them exposure on kind of like what are the issues we're working on, like what are we doing. Because- Yeah... I think if you wait, you know, maybe bigger picture, maybe this is the answer to your question.
• 14:16
  If you're waiting on trying to engage dealers at the point that they need you, they're generally gonna call you for the first time with their hair on fire. [laughs] Right. They've got some sort of- Yeah...
• 14:27
  problem that they expect you to solve, and if you don't solve it, then it's like, all right, well, you failed them, and then the relationship starts on these really bizarre terms, right?
• 14:39
  It's like, I have to solve your problem in order for us to, like, begin a relationship.
• 14:43
  Whereas, if maybe you're active and creative and pro- proactive with them and trying to get them involved when there's not a fire to put out,
• 14:55
  we can get them involved on our terms and, and create dialogue, two-way dialogue, um, that gives a little better perspective and, and maybe changes the dynamic in which, um, they're, they're speaking to us and we're speaking to them, and, and the candor and the professionalism that exists with our members.
• 15:14
  I, I think- And so a lot of that really helps... I, I don't think you realize what you just said, actually. [laughs] Like, you just gave a, a really practical universal business truth for business-client relationship
• 15:29
  at, like, any level. Mm-hmm. So walk with me here, right? Imagine a car dealership, which a ton of people listening to this podcast are running,
• 15:38
  realizes, like, yeah, if the first time they interact with someone is when their car just got totaled or when they have a service issue, then we're meeting on terms where we have to solve your problem, right?
• 15:49
  But if, like, we're ingratiated to the community, involved in the community, meeting with customers where they're at, even in, in between sales and service intervals, in the key moments of life or inviting them into areas or, or, or events that make sense for us to, like, be ingratiated to them as a relationship prior to a time of need, it totally changes the business-client relationship.
• 16:13
  And you're in that same boat. You just literally laid that out as a thesis, I think, for any business relationship. So, like,
• 16:23
  I'm just thinking about all of the touch points that are necessary to not start on a what did you do for me, w- what- Yeah... have you done for me- That's a-... you know, side of things. That's a great tie-in.
• 16:33
  I think that was- Yeah. Thank you. I, I, I don't know if I, uh, intended to give a thesis- You didn't even know it... on business or anything.
• 16:38
  I, I'll take all the credit you want to give me, I suppose, but- But it's true, though. Well, thanks. I, I want to read something, and, uh, you're gonna know what, probably where this is from right away.
• 16:46
  And then I want, I want to talk about something very special that we, from our perspective, that we see that Ohio does. Uh, here, here it is.
• 16:52
  "There are many reasons why the franchise dealer network is the best system for consumers, the state and local communities.
• 16:59
  Uh, consumers benefit when independently owned dealerships compete with each other for sales, service, and parts business. The back cover of this publication dives deeper into what makes the franchise system so great.
• 17:09
  That being said, this publication's dedicated to showcasing the wonderful things franchise dealers do in their local communities.
• 17:16
  Neighborhood franchise dealerships make big cities, small towns, and everywhere in between a better place to live, work, and to raise a family. Sincerely, Zach Doran." What's that from?
• 17:29
  So that's the inside cover of our Member Spotlight that highlights...
• 17:33
  It's a print publication that we put out quarterly that highlights all the charitable and civic and philanthropic things that our members do across the state.
• 17:42
  Uh- We, we took a look at this just recently in the last day or two. Uh, it's 32 pages. The first...
• 17:48
  I love the first page where that's the inside cover, but the, the, the, the other s- part of the cover inside says, "We want to feature you in the next edition of the OADA Member Spotlight.
• 17:58
  Let us know what your dealership's doing." You know, you provide an email address, and there's some pictures there of some friends of we- of ours in the picture.
• 18:04
  And then you just click through, and there's a, there's just...
• 18:09
  I, we have to actually get this to our head writer, Chris, because he's always looking for these stories, and you've just aggregated, like, 50 of them in one place.
• 18:15
  [laughs] But, I mean, we're talking about donating to the YMCA, giving, uh......
• 18:20
  giving trees on Arbor Day, hosting a pet adoption event, uh, supporting a kids' design contest, donating sev- 57,000 to youth in need, inspire the next generation, and this is several Ford dealerships and technician training, uh, hosting a pinewood derby.
• 18:36
  I love those. It's been a long time. Community blood drives, uh, school after parties, giving to school fundraising auctions, and just on and on and on.
• 18:45
  I'm only 20 pages through a 32-page document, and you can just keep flipping through this and flipping through this.
• 18:51
  I haven't seen a n- a more well-organized presentation to this, and there's probably stuff going on that aren't in here. This circulates to your dealers only? So there's a few audiences. Okay.
• 19:03
  Um, the dealers all get a copy every quarter. Um, then it also goes to every elected official in the state every quarter- Oh, yeah... in a hard copy.
• 19:13
  There's a cover letter that goes with it, and they're basically separated into two categories. The first category is that if they have a constituent dealer that is featured in the publication, we flag that for them.
• 19:26
  And then if they don't, then it's more of a, "Hey, just look at what all of our dealers across the state are doing." Um, and then this is the print publication. What happens first on the front end is that
• 19:37
  on a social media platform, which most elected officials have a Facebook page- Mm-hmm... uh, we'll highlight the dealer, and then we'll also, every time we highlight the dealer...
• 19:48
  So each one of those stories goes into a, a Facebook post, and that's the easiest platform to reach all the elected officials. But- Mm-hmm...
• 19:56
  we'll tag all of, all of those elected officials, each, each one of their constituent, um, legislators- Gotcha... on each of the posts so that they, like, have to see each time. They have to. At least- Yeah...
• 20:08
  they get a notification. Right. Right? Right. Got to know. And some of them, actually, it's funny 'cause a couple of them will actually, like, remove themselves from the post 'cause they're like, "Hey, I didn't do this.
• 20:17
  I'm not... There's no reason for me to be tagged in this," or whatever. [laughs] But I'm always like, "Well, if you removed yourself, I know you saw it," so that's where- Yeah. Thank you.
• 20:24
  [laughs] Thank you for confirming. Thank you. Yeah. [laughs] So no, but we're trying to... You know, we're just trying to fill that void because our dealers do these great things in the community.
• 20:32
  And when we started off doing this, um, we had to go, we had to go in and basically follow, like, every dealer across the state, and then if they would share anything, like, we would go dig it up. We would pull it.
• 20:45
  We would re-share the content and then put it in the print publication. Mm-hmm. Um, but we've... You know, we're on, whatever, volume 22 or something of this now. Yeah, 21 it says.
• 20:56
  We had to stop it at quarterly- Yes, yeah... because we had enough content to go more than that, but- Wild... we had to slow it down. It's, it's a heavy lift, yeah. It's amazing.
• 21:03
  Yeah, budgeting perspective and timing perspective and things. And so, um, but we'll do it that way, and then the print publication is the sort of the aggregation of all of those stories together each quarter.
• 21:17
  And now, you know, we were, we were digging up, like, 75% of it ourselves. Now, it's kind of flipped, and our dealers will actually- It's getting sent... send this to us- Oh, that's good...
• 21:25
  'cause they wanna be featured in the magazine, especially if they see, you know, their friends or their neighbors or their competing dealers or whatever.
• 21:31
  I mean, nobody likes- Yeah, 'cause we're all in a competition "Hey, wait a minute. We do stuff, too." "Hey, look over here." Exactly. Exactly. [laughs] Dealers aren't competitive at all. Yeah. Not at all.
• 21:37
  Not competitive in the least, right? [laughs] That's nice way. But, um, but that makes it nice, too, and it's, it's good, and it makes it a little easier on us to put it together, and- Mm-hmm...
• 21:45
  we're no less proud to put the publication together, whether we find the info or whether they send it to us, so. That's right. Um, it's all good either way. It's amazing. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, Zach, man, I've...
• 21:55
  We have absolutely enjoyed our time hanging out with you, not just on this podcast, but in, in getting to know you through the Concert for a Cause stuff and everything you're doing with the Ohio Auto Dealers Association.
• 22:06
  And kudos to you. We're gonna keep sta- sharing the stories, and thanks for giving us a nice little quarterly way to highlight a ton of dealers. Uh, that's a, that's a, that's a, a ground ball for us in, in our world.
• 22:16
  So, uh, appreciate you joining us here on Auto Collapse today. Hey, thanks for having me, guys. Great speaking with you. [upbeat music] I think we gotta rise out of him a little bit.
• 22:27
  But also, it's not every day that you hear the dealer association is the thing that has the second generation in it. It's so auto dealer of them. That's an amazing part of the story. It's so cool.
• 22:38
  And then- It's, it doesn't happen much. But he said, yeah. He's like, "Our, our dealers were really comfortable with it. It felt like a natural transition." Yeah. And he's really- Facts... taken the mantle.
• 22:46
  I mean, just d- doing what he's doing to consider the dealer- Mm-hmm... the community, the politician, right? A- all of these people that, and a, a dealers association has to kinda, like, commit their communication to.
• 23:00
  Yep. Um, it's, it's been really cool to fir- the... You know, we got to see it firsthand, uh, at the Concert for a Cause, but also with this magazine, this publication that they put out.
• 23:10
  Uh, I, I'm just super impressed with what they're doing up there in Ohio. And I got a little Ohio in me. You know, my mom went to Ohio State. I know you do. It, that was a little bit of a homecoming. Yeah, it's good.
• 23:18
  A, a little bit of a homecoming for you. It's amazing. My favorite band's from Ohio. So- Yeah, see... we'll, we'll take that, too. We'll take it. From Columbus, actually. It was, it was great to be there. Yeah.
• 23:25
  Uh, well, look, on behalf of myself, Kyle Mountsier, and the not present Michael Cirillo shaking the hand, as always- Ah... thank you for joining us today on Auto Collapse. [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collapse.
• 23:43
  Welcome to Auto Collapse. [laughs] Why are we recording? Are we rolling yet? Not yet.