Latest / Auto Collabs / Air Traffic Control with Colby Joyner

Transcript

Air Traffic Control with Colby Joyner · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  Colby Joiner. I just had to say his name like that 'cause I didn't know how else to start this podcast. [laughs] [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs. [laughs] No, Colby joined us. He did.
• 0:17
  [laughs] Womp, womp. Oh, we haven't started an episode off with a bad joke yet. That was too bad. It was s- [laughs] I can see the look in Kyle's eyes, like, "Start over." All right, Kyle.
• 0:27
  Well, why don't, how would you have started this episode? We'll give you a shot. Well, I'll tell you this. The first time that I met Colby was actually at a digital dealer, and I met him in person.
• 0:38
  And he, at that point, was working for Alex Flores, uh, which if you know Alex Flores, he, he, um, h- is full of energy. And I'm watching- That's an understatement... I'm watching Colby just manage that, that energy.
• 0:53
  Channel it. Ch- channel, and just, like, manage the heck out of it and make sure, like, he's in the right place- [laughs]... at the right time, and he is, uh, like, just with expert skill and care.
• 1:03
  And, and not just that, but he was so intentional to just come up to me and be like, "I know you have a podcast," and I appreciate that, and I, I know I have a lot to learn about managing podcasts, 'cause they had started a podcast at that point.
• 1:19
  And there's never been a point where I've ever felt like Colby's like, "I got it down," you know? Yeah. [laughs] "Everybody else doesn't know what's up."
• 1:28
  And he's done so much in automotive, and for him to just have this humility, and like, I'm gonna approach things with, "Hey, that's an expert in the field. Let's follow that." Yeah.
• 1:38
  Um, and, and, and I see that through and through in him. All right. That was a better intro than ours. He, he, that was much more thoughtful.
• 1:45
  [laughs] What I will hopefully try and add to that, uh, just my own impression of Colby as I've gotten to know him, um, he's a strategic thinker. He knows how to draw parallels really quickly. But- Without a doubt...
• 1:56
  but it's not on- only, like, "Hey, I'm willing to learn," he then goes and puts in the learning. Uh, to the degree that you're like, "Did you..." Like, like, like The Matrix, he's like, "I know kung fu."
• 2:06
  Like, it- [laughs] He just learns it so deeply because he- [laughs]... he's willing to get his hands dirty.
• 2:12
  And so I'm excited for us to be able to hang out with him and learn what he's got to say here on the Auto Collabs podcast. [upbeat music] All right.
• 2:27
  We are hanging out with, uh, my good friend, Colby Joiner. Colby, uh, is with Connect AI, and, uh, a good friend of a lot in the automotive industry. So Colby, thanks for joining us today, man. Thank you, man.
• 2:40
  I'm freaking stoked. There you go. Uh, yeah, Colby is definitely a, an, a SOTU friend, and is, is all around, uh, kind of everything that, that we're doing.
• 2:51
  We were actually just talking that, that he's tired of our voices most days because he starts his day off listening to our other podcast. [laughs] No, never tired.
• 3:00
  No, but Colby, I, I wanna get a little- Never tired of the voice... yeah. [laughs] I wanna get a little bit into, uh, just where you're at, what you're doing, uh, because a lot of people know you.
• 3:10
  Uh, you were with, uh, Alex Flores for a long time, kinda in and out and back in, uh, with, with his ventures, kind of with, uh, the, the, the stores there in Austin and San Antonio, and then his new stores.
• 3:22
  And, uh, just recently, uh, you've, you've transitioned, uh, back to the industry partner side, uh, with Connect. Um,
• 3:31
  so I guess kinda, uh, walk us through what it looked like for you to move from, uh, that dealer side, and what the intention was in moving, uh, to the industry partner side again and, and, and what you were hoping to accomplish both, both there and with the industry.
• 3:46
  Man, so, um, yeah, so my main purpose of moving from the dealer side to in, in, being an industry partner really was to be able to f- uh, attempt at, to effect change at a larger scale, right?
• 4:00
  So I know that if, if, you know, you're at a store, Kyle, you understand that being at a, you know, at a store. But, you know, when you're at a store you can effect change within the store.
• 4:10
  Um, but so much of your time is, is, is in that store. You know, you're spending, you know, you're bell to bell.
• 4:15
  You're 12 hours a day, and, you know, you don't have a lot of time to, you know, take a breath and have a conversation outside of what's going on in that store.
• 4:22
  So, you know, the, the change into that industry partnership and, and going on this side was really to attempt at, the best that I can, to try to be an asset to help the industry as a whole.
• 4:35
  Um, not, you know, trying to offer whatever I can, you know? Uh, that was my main largest goal, is to be able to collaborate and adapt and, and, and move in the direction I think that we need to go as an industry.
• 4:49
  And I wanted to be a part of that, and I wanted to offer whatever I can, you know, uh, to be able to do that.
• 4:54
  And only, the best way to do that is on this side as an industry partner, um, you know, to try to facilitate it throughout the, the whole industry. Yeah, so- Let me a- Yeah, go...
• 5:04
  let me ask you a question first, because, you know, you all know each other a little bit better. I mean, we've, we've gotten to know each other a little bit over this last year.
• 5:10
  But I don't know the answer to this question. How did you get into the auto industry? Um- 'Cause I think it'd be helpful for you to just- Yeah...
• 5:17
  talk about that quickly, and then I think for, for our listeners, giving them the context of the experience you're coming from, like the level that you had your hands in the dirt inside the dealership, is really important because it's easy, I think, for people to, um, just assume that an industry partner, like, "Oh, I just wanna bring you my angle on things."
• 5:36
  And the, so I wanna broaden that out a little bit because I know you're, you're kind of like, have a really deep understanding.
• 5:41
  So how did you get into the industry, and then what areas of the, the stores, you know, have you e- uh, experienced in?
• 5:48
  So, uh, you know, I started selling cars when I was 18, and I did it for about nine months, and that's about as long as that three solid paychecks held meBecause I was so bad at selling cars.
• 6:03
  [laughs] I was, I, I worked at a Chrysler store, uh, that no longer exists, but it was a Chrysler-only store in South Austin. And, um, you know, at that time Chrysler really didn't have anything.
• 6:14
  It was right when the 300 came out. They had the Crossfire, but then other than that you're selling, you know- Oof... a Sebring or a van.
• 6:21
  [laughs] And s- the, the demographic, the age demographic that was coming in- Wait, wait, wait.
• 6:26
  Before we keep going, can we just stop and recognize that the Crossfire was a car that, like, Chrysler and Chrysler dealers- Yeah. The, the little, the little-... had to figure out how to sell into a market.
• 6:37
  [laughs] The, the little Chrysler-branded Mercedes. Right. Yeah. It was... It was actually one of my favorite cars to repair wheels on when I had my wheel, wheel refinishing business. Really? It was so- Yeah...
• 6:47
  it was so easy. And they were all damaged. But I, I, I couldn't even t- [laughs] They were all damaged... I couldn't even- Every one of them. [laughs] I couldn't even test drive it 'cause it was so small.
• 6:54
  You'd see a Crossfire in the lot, you're like, "That one's got wheel damage. I don't even need to look." [laughs] That's hilarious. I couldn't even test drive them 'cause they were so small.
• 7:00
  I'd have to, like, to say, "Hey, here's the keys. Go drive it," 'cause I couldn't even get into the car it was so small. [laughs] It was horrible.
• 7:06
  Um, but yeah, no, I mean, but the, the age demographic that was coming in and purchasing the vehicles at a, a Chrysler-only store, um, they would look at me like, "What is this kid trying to sell me something?
• 7:18
  Trying to negotiate and tell me that this is the best payment, and this is the best term," and it just, it didn't go well, right? It didn't go well at all. So I was like, okay, yeah.
• 7:26
  So my only plan B was to join the military, so I joined, joined the military. Went in the military and did all that. Got out of the military, uh, was a medic for- Which branch? Air Force.
• 7:36
  I was an air traffic controller in the Air Force. Wow. And so, um, got out of the military, became a medic. Um, quickly got hurt, blew my back out as a medic.
• 7:47
  And then, um, and people typically make fun of me, and it's, it's okay. But I end up becoming a, a massage therapist. Interesting.
• 7:54
  So I became a massage therapist, and I did that for several years and- All these things actually track, but keep going. [laughs] Yeah.
• 8:00
  No, I, I actually utilize, so it's, it's a learning experience across the board, right?
• 8:04
  But became a massage therapist, and, uh, became an instructor and advanced neuromuscular therapist and started working on sports players and stuff.
• 8:12
  But still at that point, you know, with a family, you know, I had kids and everything, and I wasn't making any money. You know? I was not ma- I... There's no way I could make 100 grand.
• 8:21
  There's no way that I could make anything that was sustainable. And so I told my wife one day, I said, "Hey, I'm, I'm gonna go sell cars." So I just started selling cars. Hm.
• 8:30
  And then that's kind of, it led, led me to here. What cha- what, what changed between the starting to sell cars the second time? Um, in the- I mean, aside from a whole life of experience- Yeah. [laughs]...
• 8:40
  as an air traffic controller- I mean, really it was-... a medic- Right... and a massage therapist and an instructor.
• 8:44
  Aside from all that life experience, like, what was different in your mind that made you successful at it the second time around? Um, w- when I was 18 I didn't have, I didn't understand consequences.
• 8:55
  And so if I didn't try hard, I didn't understand that I wasn't gonna get paid. Gotcha. And s- and so going into it at an older age- Life will do that to you, right? [laughs] Yeah, at an older age- Life, family...
• 9:05
  I had no- Right... no, yeah, no, no way that I could fail. I had to figure it out and, and, and get it done, so- So-... I just focused...
• 9:13
  give us, like, the, give us the two minute from when you went back to start selling cars to when you decided to join Connect. Give it, what happened in that gap? So sold cars.
• 9:24
  I o- I was only on the floor selling cars for nine or 10 months, and then, uh, ended up meeting Alex and went to, uh, was an internet manager over at Capital, like, within nine or 10 months of me starting to sell cars.
• 9:40
  Left him, came back to my original store as an internet director, and then left that store, went back to Alex as a marketing director. And then, uh, left there, was an industry partner for a little bit.
• 9:55
  Came back into automotive as a marketing director and then ended up, you know, internet director, BDC director, uh, going into platform director and sales manager and,
• 10:05
  you know, uh, head gen- head- Just whatever, whatever was needed at the moment... head janitor. Right? [laughs] Yeah, yeah. W- Yeah... whatever was needed. I was, I was trying to be the, the facilitator, right? Yeah.
• 10:14
  That's, that's what I wanted to do, was just help in any way. So you spent, so it sounds like a, a majority of your time on the dealer side was spent on the, like, internet manager, BDC- Mm-hmm...
• 10:26
  marketing, you know- Mm-hmm... uh, uh, kind of, kind of arena.
• 10:30
  Where, where did you see the largest opportunity for growth both the, you know, and I'm guessing it has something to do with what you're doing now, but, uh, where did you see the largest opportunity for growth in, like, that, that form of this, this business?
• 10:46
  You know, it's, it's, th- that form of this business is taking over, you know, 90% of all of, all the transactions.
• 10:51
  But, you know, w- where, where were the breakdowns, where were the opportunities, where were the things that were good about it that you kinda perceived from your position? I just saw opportunity, right?
• 11:02
  That's the biggest thing, is, uh, looking at software. I mean, I don't have any formal education background, right? I graduated from college. I did a l- or, um, graduated from high school, did a little bit of college.
• 11:14
  Never graduated college, you know, but I, I've always kinda just had this, uh, street smart kind of I can figure things out. And I just saw that as the biggest opportunity to affect a change or to be a part of a change.
• 11:28
  Um, you know, if you look at, like, the sales tower or finance or, you know, even just on the sales floor, it's, you know, it's an alpha male type game, or it was, you know, before.
• 11:39
  And I saw that the biggest opportunity was inside the BDC, looking at the digital, looking at leads, how to engage with them, um, using a little bit of that compassion and understanding that I learned from being a massage therapist.
• 11:53
  And, you know, being able to be hy- you know, hyper-focused and, and task-driven from the military, but then also the, you know, I, I'm like the, the, the Sour Patch Kid. You know, I'm sweet and sour at the same time.
• 12:05
  You know, so I could do both. I could understand the, the humanity in it, but I also understood the, the-...
• 12:11
  the process as more than a big trip This guy's like, he's like, he's like, "Over here we got our task list, and if you don't get, if you don't do it, the mission fails.
• 12:18
  Also, air traffic control, you move here, you move there, you go there, and this pulls a lever, and don't fly in this zone, and blah blah blah.
• 12:25
  And over here, just make sure you practice some empathy when you're doing all of that- Mm-hmm... because humans like massage therapists," right? [laughs] Yeah. He's like, "Whoosh. Put it all in one." Right?
• 12:34
  [laughs] Yeah.
• 12:35
  And that's, but, and, but that's where I could see the biggest opportunity for change is that those, the department, you know, the internet department, the BDC department, it was always kind of put in the back room.
• 12:46
  You know, it was always blamed for failures and never applauded for success. Mm. And so I saw an ability to go back in there and say, "Hey, let's make some changes. Let's adapt a little bit.
• 12:56
  Let's utilize some newer software, newer processes, newer, you know, um, ways to communicate with the customers. Let's change the way that we're talking to the customers." You know?
• 13:08
  It, and so that's really why I went down that path.
• 13:11
  And I've been super fortunate that the people that were, you know, that hired me at the stores or that were, you know, mentors to me at the stores, were able to see that I was, that was my spot to shine.
• 13:21
  And, you know, don't, don't put me in finance. Don't- Yeah... you know, I, I wasn't the best sales manager, you know? I, I could do one-on-ones great, I could have counseling sessions, I could do some good training.
• 13:31
  But when it came down to that other stuff, like I wasn't the best at that. But where I was shining was that.
• 13:36
  So everybody, and, you know, they would l- allow me to go in those directions that I needed to go, um, to be successful, not only for myself, but for them. Man.
• 13:47
  Let's- The air trac- the air traffic controller thing is still stuck in my head. Dude, that's like- Because that's a super high pressure job, right? Mm-hmm. Air traffic control.
• 13:56
  Like, people wash out of that because it's like a lot of people just can't cut all the moving pieces and the pressure, like the high stakes of it all. Mm-hmm.
• 14:06
  And so I just understand so much more about your personality and how I've seen you operate. [laughs] That I know you were an air traffic controller- You are not kidding... in the Air Forces.
• 14:14
  All of a sudden I'm like, "Ah, that's how he, that's how he kept the demeanor, kept it moving forward," right? Understood the pieces. I just, man, I love that part of the story.
• 14:24
  Which is one of the reasons automotive is so great. Because there are a zillion stories- Mm-hmm...
• 14:32
  like this where you see someone as a high operator within the industry, and you realize you can map it back to all these other things that they've done, all this other experience they've brought into the world.
• 14:42
  And there's a home for it inside this industry. Like countless people. It's, it's interesting, it's interesting because I said it to my dad this weekend, but I put it on a little Instagram reel today.
• 14:54
  And it was, "A situational change, uh, creates resiliency." So the more- Truth...
• 15:00
  you know, as I had to change and my situation just completely flipped multiple times, it's constant change, I was able to become more resilient to that change and be able to be mo- far more adaptable to any scenario.
• 15:13
  And I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, it's just I know that about myself now versus where- Truth... I was 15 years ago. It's just the truth. You know? Yeah.
• 15:21
  That's, that's some self-awareness because, you know, uh, recognizing that those opportunities give you a greater capacity to serve in whatever role you're in currently is really...
• 15:33
  And I even, I, you know, I don't know if you even drew some of those straight lines. I'm like, you know, [laughs]
• 15:39
  a li- a licensed massage therapist, uh, you know, an air traffic controller, and, and an, uh, you know, and an ex-military walk into a bar and come out as one person. Like, what's the story after that?
• 15:51
  It's that they're- Right... in car sales, right? [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. [laughs] Naturally. Like, that's, that's, that's the story. It's like- They walked into a building. What building did they walk into?
• 15:59
  You're like, "Good dealership." Yeah. [laughs] 'Cause they work there. Obviously. Because that's- 'Cause they work there now.
• 16:03
  [laughs] It's interesting because that's, you think about it, the volume of people that, that we work with and the type of different people.
• 16:11
  You know, I, I used to say, when I was selling cars, I would say, "I've met people that do things that I don't think half the people in the world even recognize are a job."
• 16:21
  Like, it's, it's, people don't even know that that's a thing that people do. They just, it's a part of the ecosystem that somehow gets skipped as like, you know, growing up, I wanna bes. You know? Mm-hmm.
• 16:33
  That, that, that person's job just isn't even in the vernacular of whatever we do. And sometimes to connect with those... Ah, see what I did there? Mm.
• 16:42
  Sometimes to connect with those types of people, you have to be, you have to have some level of background that allows you to recognize the different experiences with different people.
• 16:54
  L- like, you learn the as- that, that aspect of touching different ecosystems a- across different, you know, silos of business.
• 17:03
  And I think that that's unique for you, is you bring a se- even more level of empathy to customer communication
• 17:11
  that maybe some people that either grew up in the business or have only done one role or something like that maybe may not have because of these, these opportunities you've had to see people in different ways.
• 17:23
  Um, and, and that's, I, I think that's super valuable, and it probably is more of the story of automotive than not.
• 17:30
  You know, you think about, ah, man, now I'm just, my bra- my, my wheels are turning about how so many people in automotive have done so many different roles, especially, like, growing up in high school and college.
• 17:42
  Because it, that's actually the, the proving ground for your efficiency in automotive. Mm-hmm. So yeah, that's- True... that, that's a really cool thing. So now- Well, I think-... fast-forward to... Oh, yeah, go ahead.
• 17:55
  Well, I was gonna say, I think that that's why automotive has such an opportunity to have s- exponential growth, is because the more that you communicate back and forth to people in the industry, the more that you get deeper than surface level, "I'm this, I'm this," you know, "I'm the GSM," or, "I'm a sales manager," or, "I'm a finance manager."
• 18:15
  If you go below that, right, and you get to know people and actually become friendly with them and understand who they are, um, you're able to learn a lot more about-Life and everything outside of automotive, which makes you better in automotive.
• 18:33
  Mm-hmm. And that's the interesting thing about automotive is, it's we're this hodgepodge of people, you know, that come from so many different various backgrounds.
• 18:42
  And the more that you communicate, the better that we all are. So that's why, honestly, that's why one of the biggest reasons that I'm, I'm a SoDo fan is because that whole conversation is built about, "Hey, who are you?
• 18:53
  What are you about? What are you, you know, what are you doing? How are you trying to affect change?"
• 18:56
  And it creates those conversations that need to be had so that, you know, I, I think I've said it literally on, like, every podcast, every video thing I've ever been on, but the thing I believe more than anything is a rising tide raises all boats.
• 19:09
  So the more that we're able to communicate- Truth... we, we build that tide up and we start really impacting a lot of things. Truth. It's good.
• 19:19
  So fast-forward now, you are, uh, you're, you've moved from the dealership world into a company called Konekt AI- Mm-hmm... that was actually, it was actually birthed out of a dealership group. Um, is that right?
• 19:33
  Correct. Yep. So- Yep. It- What, what was the reason, I guess, be- So it's Konekt. Why don't- Yeah... why don't you just spell it for anyone who's just listening. It's with a K. Yeah. So, so Konekt is K-O-N-E-C-T.
• 19:44
  There you go..ai..ai. Just wanted to make that clear for someone who's not watching and can't see it. Go ahead. I'm sorry. So that was birthed out of, out of a dealer group.
• 19:52
  What was the reason why, maybe before you came on, that the dealer group that, that birthed this technology saw a, a, a need or an opportunity within automotive to create something that was this type of connection communication platform?
• 20:05
  Yeah.
• 20:06
  So, uh, the, the dealer group that, that still is, you know, our parent company in this whole thing, um, they have a whole strategic innovation arm, right, where they have, uh, you know, full of retail establishments and, you know, 40 stores, uh, almost.
• 20:21
  And then they have this strategic arm, which is, you know, Konekt and several other different subsidiaries.
• 20:27
  And those subsidiaries are all based off of items and areas in automotive that, that they deemed as we were kinda missing, right? Mm-hmm.
• 20:35
  There's ways that we can impact change outside, 'cause, uh, you know, Konekt and the other subsidiaries aren't just for the dealer group. Right. They are for automotive in general.
• 20:45
  So it's how do we make a change in, in automotive? How do we help automotive in general get better communication or get better at the retail experience or, you know, get better at, you know, uh, acquisitions?
• 20:56
  You know, you name it.
• 20:58
  So I know a little bit about the platform, but I'd love for you to n- you don't need to do a full demo or anything right now, but I'd like you to explain maybe a little bit more to, to the listener exactly what Konekt is.
• 21:08
  Mm-hmm.
• 21:08
  Because, uh, you know, when I, when, when we say a communication platform, we've got CRMs and we've got call sor- we've got call systems, and we've got, you know, texting platforms, and we've got b- a bunch of different ways that we are attempting to communicate from employee or dealer to customer across the industry.
• 21:28
  And, you know, what, what you're saying is there was this, there was a, there was a gap in that, that foundation and that Konekt is attempting to solve both for their dealers and for the industry.
• 21:39
  What's that gap and, and how are you seeking to kinda fill that for, for dealers? So I would say it's less than a gap. It's less of a gap and more of a r- reimagination using technology. Hmm. Okay. Right?
• 21:54
  And so, you know, we're still a communications platform, so it's not like we just invented this new way of doing something.
• 22:00
  You know, uh, artificial intelligence, you know, you look at Google and, and so many other different, huge, massive companies are using AI for customer service or whatever models that they build.
• 22:09
  But, um, we saw it as a way to kind of reimagine the, the middle ground between where a customer's wanting to initially start communicating with the store, and then when the store actually takes it over, right? Mm-hmm.
• 22:23
  Because there's, there's so, there has been traditionally a lot of just dropped balls at that point, you know, because it's fully reliant on the human ability to follow a process.
• 22:35
  And that's on a per store, per team in the store basis.
• 22:40
  And so if we can be able to make sure that that customer experience coming into the store with the brand messaging, with the dealer messaging, and everything is aligned as they come into the store, um, and we have that initial conversation for the dealer to make sure that the customer feels comfortable talking, that the, the walls are kinda coming down, they're okay with this kinda back and forth, then we're handing over this, this warmer lead, right?
• 23:06
  We're handing a warmer opportunity. I'm really trying to get out of that calling things lead mindset. [laughs] But we're- I like it.
• 23:14
  We're, we're handing over this warmer opportunity to the store, not to overtake the store. We're not replacing... There's, there's not a single person in a dealership that we replace. Hmm. So that's not the goal.
• 23:25
  The goal is to not replace a BDC rep. Is that a major hesitancy? Like, do people think that? Is that, like, a stigma? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
• 23:31
  People think that, you know, okay, well, you know, if I have you, then okay, who do I need to let go of? Well, no, it's, no, it's not that. It's, it's the added piece.
• 23:39
  I said something the other day of, you know, the, the fuel additives, you know, you, you pull up to the- Yeah... you know, empty your tank- Yeah, yeah...
• 23:44
  and you toss that little eight ounce fuel additive in there, now you get a couple extra miles per gallon. Yeah. That, we're the fuel additive.
• 23:51
  We're that little fuel additive that tosses in the tank because it's gonna get you that much more efficient on everything that's coming to you. Got it. So what results are you...
• 24:00
  I'm, uh, I'm, I'm really curious because I, you know, everybody's trying to implement more communication.
• 24:06
  You know, so what results are you seeing at, at, you know, when, when you go in and, and when you start working with a, a, a dealership or dealer group, um, in, in the way that these opportunities, uh, are being handled and, and being nurtured into that sales process?
• 24:24
  So, I, if we're l- talking about, like, KPIs that I could share with you, I mean, we're, we're talking about a 30%, uh, efficiency increase, right?
• 24:33
  Proficiency increase in the stores.So more time being spent, um, by your, uh, BDRs or your sales staff of, in, uh, of having proper communication and engagement with opportunities instead of just spending time making phone calls or sending emails with no responses.
• 24:50
  So now more of their time is spent actually communicating with somebody that is wanting to communicate.
• 24:56
  Secondarily is w- the way that we track an engagement with a customer is only based on positive intent and positive sentiment, right?
• 25:07
  We're not sitting there saying, "Hey, somebody, somebody messaged us twice, so hey, they engaged with us and so we're, we're gonna give you that, you know, we're gonna count that for us."
• 25:15
  No, we're only counting the people that are positively engaging with our AI and handing it over to you. And we're seeing a 65% positive engagement, and 65% engagement going towards the dealer.
• 25:28
  Well, I, uh, that first key I think is just, uh, is j- in general good to key on for, key in on for anything in the dealership is that, you know,
• 25:38
  technology has the potential to decrease efficiency because of multiple entry or- Mm-hmm... anything that, like, now I'm logging into another thing. But these, these ways to increase efficiency, right?
• 25:51
  We heard over the pandemic that average cars sold per, per person went from, uh, that 12 range up to that 16 range, which means sales people are being more leveraged to spend more time with guests, which means- Mm-hmm...
• 26:04
  that they are less leveraged to spend time communicating. You know, we've- Mm-hmm...
• 26:08
  we've got, um, you know, a, a tightened, uh, a, a tightened job market where it's hard to find people, uh, because unemployment is so low.
• 26:16
  And so just finding all of these little inefficiencies frees you up to do something else at the dealership.
• 26:23
  And I think that this is, actually we- Paul and I were talking about this morning, how, you know, things like education and delivery and the, the things where, like, very, very close one-on-one interpersonal connection at a dealership are gonna be so much more important as we go for the n- next three or four years.
• 26:41
  Mm-hmm.
• 26:41
  That if we can free ourselves up, no matter what the technology, Connect or, or another technology in a different part of the de- dealership, if we can free ourselves up to, to be more efficient in those areas and have more face time or interpersonal connection with customers when they need it the most, I, I think that that's a win no matter what technology that you're looking to implement in a dealership.
• 27:05
  Yeah. Yeah, it's- We're, so we're, we're talking about automating technol- or automating the process, but not automating the human and the relationship build, right?
• 27:14
  And so the more that we can automate a process, because a process is typically automated, right? You can't say, "Oh, I have a process," but then it doesn't fire correctly every time.
• 27:25
  Well, no, you don't have a process, you have an idea.
• 27:27
  And so if you were able to automate portions of that process and make the process automated, then you, like you said, Kyle, you free up the human being to be a human being and engage in a relationship style sales.
• 27:40
  And so our job is to create that lift of engagement, that lift of opportunities coming into the store, and being able to actually speak with a salesperson one-on-one, and that's where you're gonna get that, that higher brand and/or dealer loyalty when you get that situated.
• 27:57
  The people side of the business, you know, as we're hearing, you know, like you, you just mentioned, Kyle, like, we talk about this element of what is going to be the, the requirement or the, the need, the human interaction need over the next, you know, three, four, five years.
• 28:15
  It's not about pulling people out of the stores. It's actually about refocusing them, uh, to make those connections. Because an education connection is actually a really strong one because someone came to you confused-
• 28:26
  Yep... and you cleared it up for them, right? Mm-hmm. So you do all kinds of things. You show them that you're smart. You build a lot of trust, right? You become their, their person. Yeah, right?
• 28:34
  Their guy or their gal when it comes time for them to have a question. Um, it sounds like, it sounds like what you're doing is really aligned with your kind of heart for people in general, right? Mm-hmm.
• 28:46
  To move them from one place to the next place to the next place, right? Air traffic control, one place to the next place to the next place. Mm-hmm. Massage therapist, like, on the pro level, right?
• 28:55
  Moving them from some level of pain or immobility to be able to go and walk. So I see the thread that's going through, right- Without a doubt...
• 29:04
  exactly, exactly how you've y- you know, it's totally aligned with your personality. Um, gonna ask you this final question.
• 29:11
  So the industry is in, in a time when I think there's just, people are juggling a lot of things, and, and we don't know where exactly everything is gonna fall when it comes down, or trying to best to place our hand under the ball when it falls.
• 29:24
  What, what would one line of advice be that you would give to auto dealers, granted you have a lot of experience from inside the dealership and a lot of perspective from outside the dealership?
• 29:33
  If you could tell them to focus on one thing for the next 12 months, right? We're not talking three, four, five years. Where do you see the most opportunity for a dealer if they focus?
• 29:43
  Uh, reduce and streamline everything. That would be my biggest thing. Reduce... We- You can't have, you know, unless you're my wife, who happy anniversary to my wife today. Ah. Congrats.
• 29:55
  But un- unless, and, and it's my daughter's sixth birthday at the same time, so happy birthday, happy anniversary to the d- Did you buy the dog on the anniversary? Was the dog an anniversary gift?
• 30:05
  No, she bought the dog- Just happened to be born on the anniversary... randomly. Yeah. Yeah. [laughs] I guess you have the charm yourself.
• 30:09
  She called me, she called me and said, "Hey, we bought a Shih Tzu," and I said, "Oh, we did? That's nice." [laughs] Said, "Holy..." Yeah. [laughs] Um, no, but
• 30:18
  y- you can't, uh, you can't focus on 13 things at once and try to make sure all thir- thir- all 13 things work correct.
• 30:27
  So the more that you're able to reduce and have a very good, um, aligned plan on how you operate as a store, how you operate as a culture, how you operate internally, and the, the perception of the external, right?
• 30:41
  So how they-Handle their c- customers out- outbound. Um, the more that you're able to streamline that and get it just airtight,
• 30:50
  the more that in the varying situations that are to come, you at least know how you handle them.
• 30:57
  I think one of the biggest issues is that people don't know how to handle the situations when they arise, because now they feel like they have to add the 14th thing to make sure that- Wow... they cover that. Yeah.
• 31:07
  And then you keep stacking, and stacking, and stacking. Yeah. And then you- It's tempting not... and then you lose sight. You, you kind of, you don't have the ability to track it all.
• 31:15
  A- What's the main thing again, right? You just have all these things, and it's hard to tell the main things.
• 31:19
  Which, which- So what, what I, what I hear you saying is in these complex times, you're like, "Dealers, anything you can do to take away, to get simpler." Mm-hmm. Sure. Yeah. That's, that's a goal.
• 31:32
  And so in, in, in that turn, like with Connect, Kyle was saying it earlier and I was gonna say it, but with Connect there's not a purpose or reason for the dealer to have to log in to anything.
• 31:46
  There's not- Yeah, yeah, yeah... a browser window you have to have open. You don't have to go in and check anything.
• 31:51
  We have the report, you know, we're, we're building this really, really cool report which I'll share more later. But it's, it's a different way of looking at reporting.
• 32:00
  But we have a report that just gets sent over to the dealer and the people that we need to send it over. Other than that, everything will go into the CRM.
• 32:08
  Every ounce of communication that you need to know about what we did and what we said, the dealer will know, the BDR will know, whoever's assigned to it will know.
• 32:16
  It's all placed in there easily for them because that's their wheelhouse. They're comfortable sitting in the CRM. So I'll, I'll send it over to them and let them look at it in there.
• 32:23
  They don't have to have another window open that's gonna slow down their, you know, 15-year-old PC. Right? Right. They just need to have- [laughs]... the CRM- Ah, shots fired. [laughs] That was good.
• 32:36
  Sitting right in front of the dot matrix printer. Right, right. [laughs] So that's, but, but it's, I wanna make it simple. It's simple. You don't have to log in. You don't have to... There's no reason for it. I don't...
• 32:47
  I wanna eliminate that concern of, "Oh, I gotta check this, then I gotta check this, and I gotta check this." Just streamline it. Just make it easy. We do our job on our end, and it gives you more opportunities on yours.
• 32:59
  Well, Colby, um- Awesome... I'm excited to see where this all goes. I'm excited to hang out with you a little at ASOTU CON in person. Absolutely. Um, and- My first time to Philly, too, so I'm excited about that.
• 33:09
  Oh, my goodness. That just makes me so happy. The man's gonna get a cheese steak, you know? Uh, yeah, you are. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you are. Totally gonna get a cheese steak. Yeah, you are.
• 33:17
  Well, thank you so much for giving us some of your time today. I can't wait to see what the next, uh, what the next iteration is going to be for you and for Connect.
• 33:25
  [upbeat music] Man, it's a pleasure being able to just hang out with you two. I love it.
• 33:30
  [upbeat music] What we figured out is that basically you could have an air traffic controller, a, a, a former Air Force, uh, en- en- enrollee, and a licensed massage therapist walk into a bar and come together- [laughs]...
• 33:46
  and figure out how to run a new business. Sounds about right. And Colby just did the whole thing all at the same time. [laughs] Oh, my gosh. It's quite impressive.
• 33:53
  No, because I, I think that this happens a lot in automotive, especially people that kind of try and find their way in a few things. Mm-hmm.
• 34:00
  And we see that those people are much more, uh, acclimated to the types of changes and shifts in consumer and customer and, and partner dynamics that are necessary to be able to approach problems and topics in automotive.
• 34:13
  So people that have these wide ranges of experience actually come into automotive and, and learn how to focus all of that energy. And I think that he's done that through a few different mediums.
• 34:24
  And, and I love where he's taking this conversation of like, "Hey, we just have to be...
• 34:28
  We have to free up our people to, to be able to serve customers more, to take away some of the tasks that, that maybe they're doing or, or not doing well and, and freeing them up to do other things."
• 34:39
  Well, that's the focus on the right solution, right? It, it's easy to get in the weeds on, you know, whatever your product provides or whatever, like, lane you're running in to say, "This is the most important thing."
• 34:48
  I love how he's always looking over the horizon, sort of like, "No, we're just doing this so that you can do that," right? And you can do that doesn't mean close more sales.
• 34:57
  Yes, everybody wants to close more sales, but understanding that giving the customer the better experience is something that closes more sales and helps the industry as a whole, and, and, and. It makes sense, though.
• 35:08
  Air traffic control, isn't that, that's, like, the rated as the most stressful- Oh, yeah... job that you- Yes... that an individual could possibly have.
• 35:15
  So as I'm listening to the two of you, on the back of that, that conversation, it makes sense to me that he knows how to focus energy.
• 35:22
  Because, I mean, anybody could s- oversimplify air traffic control and say, "Help planes take off and land." [laughs] Yeah. How hard could it be? Yeah.
• 35:31
  But you were saying about seeing ahead of the horizon, it makes sense to me because, you know, all he can control is what's on his radar.
• 35:38
  But he doesn't, that doesn't mean he doesn't know there's other airplanes in the air about to- Oh, yeah... so it's like ma- There's so much compla- And staying calm. Yeah. Right? Yeah.
• 35:47
  Like, you have to keep your composure. Which he is super calm. Oh, it made so much sense. I'm like, "You are an air traffic controller. This might be easier for you-" Yeah, it- "... the way he handles situation." Yeah.
• 35:57
  But we've seen him handle just some, like, all kinds of stuff, and all kinds of energy flowing, and emotion flowing, and details flowing. He just kind of, "Hmm, okay." Right?
• 36:06
  I ju- I just picture that air traffic controller. I hear him in my head. "Um, okay, we gotta go to heading 117." [laughs] And he drops the mic- I wanna see-... and is like, "They're gonna die."
• 36:15
  [laughs] They're gonna die. Yeah. [laughs] I wanna see an air traffic controller, like, plan out a dealership. You know? Like, how do you get to the service bay?
• 36:21
  They're gonna have to, like, cars will have to enter a pattern. Approach it. [laughs] Dri- Yeah, drive around. Approach angle. [laughs] Oh, man. Oh, man. Well, all that to say, it put a lot of pieces together.
• 36:32
  And these are definitely the stories that we love because we know we need such a, a texture of people in automotive.
• 36:37
  And people coming to automotive with those backgrounds, and there's a lot of people that didn't start off saying, "I wanna be a car dealer. I wanna be in, in the automotive industry." Colby is one of the best.
• 36:47
  Um, it was good to spend some time. On behalf of Kyle Mounts here, Michael Cirillo, myself, thanks for listening to the Auto Collabs Podcast.
• 36:53
  [upbeat music] 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.
• 37:06
  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.
• 37:13
  [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collabs. Welcome to Auto Collabs. [laughs] Are we recording?
• 37:30
  Are we rolling yet? Not yet.