Latest / CBT Live / Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Since 2014, Conversica AI, Q4 Mindset (09.30.26)

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Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Since 2014, Conversica AI, Q4 Mindset (09.30.26) · CBT Live

0:00
SPEAKER_03: Your dealership could be missing revenue opportunities that AI can help uncover.
0:06
SPEAKER_02: And the right mindset could help finish Q4 strong.
0:09
SPEAKER_02: All that and more coming up next on CBT News.
0:22
SPEAKER_03: Hey everyone, welcome into another edition of CBT Live, right here at the CBT Automotive Network.
0:27
SPEAKER_03: Today is Wednesday, September 30th.
0:29
SPEAKER_03: Cannot believe I just said that.
0:31
SPEAKER_03: I don't know where the year went.
0:32
SPEAKER_03: I'm Jim Fitzpatrick.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: And I'm Fritz Fitzpatrick.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for joining us, everyone.
0:36
SPEAKER_02: We've got a great show for you today.
0:38
SPEAKER_02: Coming up, we'll be joined by Mike Gilson, CEO of Conversica, to walk us through how AI is helping dealers.
0:45
SPEAKER_02: And then we'll welcome Dave Anderson, CEO of Learn to Lead, to talk about the Q4 mindset.
0:51
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
0:52
SPEAKER_02: Looking forward to both of those great conversations.
0:53
SPEAKER_03: And two good guys, that's for sure.
0:55
SPEAKER_02: They are.
0:55
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
0:56
SPEAKER_03: Conversica is doing some really cool things.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: They are.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: And speaking of Conversica, I would like to thank them for sponsoring the show today.
1:02
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:03
SPEAKER_03: That's very timely, isn't it?
1:04
SPEAKER_02: Tonight by Conversica is an AI native revenue activation engine for automotive retail.
1:09
SPEAKER_03: I think we're going to be talking about that.
1:11
SPEAKER_02: Right.
1:11
SPEAKER_02: It connects dealership data, assembles customer and vehicle context, and applies AI reasoning to identify and activate special sales, specific sales and service revenue opportunities across the dealership.
1:23
SPEAKER_02: And we can't wait to talk more about that.
1:25
SPEAKER_03: What is this AI everybody's talking about?
1:27
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
1:27
SPEAKER_03: I think it's going to stick around.
1:28
SPEAKER_03: By the way, don't we have to change it to SI?
1:32
SPEAKER_03: President Trump said we're changing it to SI.
1:39
SPEAKER_03: It's great.
1:40
SPEAKER_03: I don't know about it.
1:41
SPEAKER_03: He likes his name things.
1:42
SPEAKER_03: He does.
1:42
SPEAKER_03: Right.
1:43
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:43
SPEAKER_03: Like the Gulf of America and the the Lake America.
1:47
SPEAKER_03: Lake Yeah, from Lake Ontario.
1:49
SPEAKER_02: Anyway, enough of that.
1:50
SPEAKER_03: Enough of that.
1:52
SPEAKER_02: We need some humor in the show this morning.
1:56
SPEAKER_03: Do we?
1:57
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: And you typically like to show a funny video or something, so I may as well do that.
2:02
SPEAKER_03: You guys know that I love all of the talent that's out there and the creativeness among the auto community on social media.
2:11
SPEAKER_03: And uh so I take take a look at what the production department put together in a in a series of clips that I think you'll get a little bit out of it.
2:18
SPEAKER_03: I'm doing this by the way to inspire those in the industry to get in front of the camera and drive more traffic into your dealership and show, pull the curtain back and show how fun it is at your dealerships to buy a car.
2:30
SPEAKER_03: And that's exactly what social media is all about.
2:32
SPEAKER_03: Oh, and by the way, it doesn't cost a nickel to do this.
2:36
SPEAKER_03: We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in this industry on trying to get customers into the showroom.
2:41
SPEAKER_03: And one of the most effective ways now is to do do funny videos.
2:46
SPEAKER_03: Do videos.
2:46
SPEAKER_03: Let people know what your dealership and what your personality at your dealership is all about.
2:51
SPEAKER_03: And I'm telling you, I've spoken to so many people in the industry where this is working for them in a very, very big way, many that we featured on CBT News.
2:58
SPEAKER_03: But take a look at these.
2:59
SPEAKER_03: These are these are pretty funny.
3:01
SPEAKER_01: These are my ladies.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: This is Jill.
3:05
SPEAKER_01: This is my lady Amy, little Susie, Brianna.
3:09
SPEAKER_01: You know why we call her Brianna, right?
3:12
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a long story.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: Janequa, Helga, Biscitty, Jeannie.
3:18
SPEAKER_01: I dream of uh Teresa.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: This is Teresa right here.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: Where are you going?
3:35
SPEAKER_00: You didn't buy a car.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: I have to talk to my husband first.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: I thought you were the decision maker.
3:41
SPEAKER_02: You know what?
3:41
SPEAKER_02: You're not.
3:42
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's turn around and buy a car today.
3:45
SPEAKER_03: Come on.
3:45
SPEAKER_03: You gotta admit, they're kind of funny.
3:47
SPEAKER_03: They're cute, right?
3:48
SPEAKER_03: And it really shows, I think, the consumers out there, the car shoppers, that you know what, these people, yes, we demonize them, and everybody knows that it's fun to beat up on car salespeople, and I was one, so I can say this.
4:00
SPEAKER_03: And in some cases, we have earned that re reputation.
4:02
SPEAKER_03: However, this is a new breed of salespeople out there, and it looks like it's a lot of fun to buy a car at those dealerships.
4:09
SPEAKER_03: It does, it does.
4:09
SPEAKER_03: And the the people, as I said, the people that we have spoken to um have reported back that man, they they don't even have to take a fresh up.
4:16
SPEAKER_03: I know.
4:16
SPEAKER_03: You know, because they're getting the phone's ringing and they're saying, hey, just saw your video, funny as heck, I love it.
4:21
SPEAKER_03: I'm interested in a Ford, I'm interested in a GMC, whatever the whatever the case might be.
4:25
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
4:25
SPEAKER_02: Like you said, it's a great way to humanize the dealership and see that it's they're a lot of fun.
4:29
SPEAKER_02: It might be fun buying a car then.
4:31
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
4:31
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's right.
4:32
SPEAKER_03: It's not your typical plaid wearing sport coat, you know, uh, with a sucking on a cigar or whatever, and right with a bunch of jewelry on or whatever.
4:41
SPEAKER_03: So uh it's fun.
4:42
SPEAKER_03: It's a whole new breed of salespeople.
4:44
SPEAKER_02: It is, it is a new day in the car business for sure.
4:47
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
4:48
SPEAKER_02: We have a few stories to cover before we get to our great interviews today.
4:51
SPEAKER_02: So we'll start with the new development in the connected vehicle security bill that we've been following.
4:56
SPEAKER_02: Senator Bernie Moreno says lawmakers are working on a solution that would keep Mercedes-Benz from being unintentionally caught up in the proposed restrictions.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: The bill approved by the Senate Commerce Committee in July would ban companies with more than 15% ownership by Chinese entities from selling vehicles in the U.S.
5:14
SPEAKER_02: Mercedes-Benz has nearly 20% passive ownership from Chinese entities.
5:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that was a concern for sure.
5:21
SPEAKER_02: Yes, and what he said was he said what we're not going to do, obviously, is ban Mercedes-Benz vehicles in America.
5:27
SPEAKER_02: He went on to say there's concern that can they get to 15% without debilitating their company.
5:34
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
5:34
SPEAKER_02: I think they can.
5:36
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
5:37
SPEAKER_03: You think they can?
5:40
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
5:43
SPEAKER_03: He's right down the block here in Atlanta.
5:45
SPEAKER_02: Right.
5:45
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it doesn't seem like that much.
5:46
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
5:48
SPEAKER_02: Anyway, um, so consumer confidence has dropped.
5:52
SPEAKER_02: The confidence board's consumer confidence index fell 6.7 points in September to 81.9.
5:58
SPEAKER_02: That's the lowest level since 2014, and that is well below what was expected.
6:04
SPEAKER_03: So Yeah, that's unfortunate.
6:05
SPEAKER_03: Not so much.
6:06
SPEAKER_03: But but not a surprise with all that's going on right now in the economy.
6:10
SPEAKER_02: Right.
6:10
SPEAKER_03: But but but but go ahead and finish.
6:12
SPEAKER_02: It's not all bad.
6:13
SPEAKER_03: It's not all bad.
6:14
SPEAKER_02: It's not all bad.
6:14
SPEAKER_02: We've done some encouraging numbers.
6:18
SPEAKER_03: What is that, Bridget?
6:19
SPEAKER_02: Private employers added 90,000 jobs in September, according to ADP, and that was better than expected.
6:25
SPEAKER_03: So that means that's damn it by stance.
6:28
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: And the Fed's preferred measure of inflation came in a little better than expected in August.
6:34
SPEAKER_02: There you go.
6:35
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
6:35
SPEAKER_02: And here's another interesting number.
6:37
SPEAKER_02: Below forecast.
6:38
SPEAKER_02: Consumer spending jumped nine-tenths of a percentage.
6:41
SPEAKER_02: So we have a little bit of an interesting mix right now.
6:44
SPEAKER_02: With the confidence down, but the spending is up.
6:47
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
6:47
SPEAKER_03: Isn't that something?
6:49
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
6:49
SPEAKER_03: And if you're a car dealer out there, um, it's okay that you know we don't hit 17.5 million new vehicles in the industry uh because since COVID, we've learned to make a little bit more money per car and not be chasing the OEM's number of oh, we gotta hit 17.5 million and you know, go on from there.
7:06
SPEAKER_03: I think dealers in the industry have said, well, wait a minute, time out a minute.
7:09
SPEAKER_03: Instead of us race to the bottom with margin compression, the dealers that I talked to are saying, you know what, we're having a we're having a pretty good go of it right now, you know, in in spite of everything.
7:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're hearing a lot of good things.
7:20
SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, no question about it.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: And this is some this is exciting news.
7:23
SPEAKER_02: Uh there's a big pretty big dealership acquisition out of Minnesota.
7:27
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
7:27
SPEAKER_02: Walzer Automotive Group has completed the largest acquisition in the company's history.
7:32
SPEAKER_03: A great company.
7:32
SPEAKER_02: The deal adds three dealerships and nearly 300 employees to the Walzer organization.
7:37
SPEAKER_02: Great organization.
7:38
SPEAKER_02: The three stores were previously owned by the Grossman family, another longtime Twin Cities dealership family.
7:44
SPEAKER_02: So these stores are essentially passing from one longtime Minnesota automotive family to another.
7:50
SPEAKER_03: That's great.
7:50
SPEAKER_03: Walzer is an outstanding company.
7:52
SPEAKER_03: They are.
7:52
SPEAKER_03: Uh Andrew Walzer runs that organization, and um uh they are one price, by the way.
7:58
SPEAKER_03: They're one price, they pay their salespeople on a salary basis with a unit bonus.
8:02
SPEAKER_03: Uh very impressed with that company.
8:04
SPEAKER_03: They they do an awesome job.
8:06
SPEAKER_03: Their employees love them, they don't have a high turnover uh like we suffer from in the industry.
8:11
SPEAKER_03: And I can't say enough about them.
8:12
SPEAKER_03: Great, great company.
8:13
SPEAKER_02: We've talked to a few of the folks over there at Walzer here on CBT News a few times.
8:16
SPEAKER_02: So do a great job.
8:19
SPEAKER_03: They should be maybe maybe we should make them dealer of the week on one of these weeks.
8:23
SPEAKER_02: Let's do it.
8:25
SPEAKER_03: Let's do it.
8:27
SPEAKER_02: All right, joining us now to talk more about Ignite is Mike Gilson, CEO of Conversica.
8:32
SPEAKER_02: Mike, welcome to the show.
8:34
SPEAKER_03: Hi, Jim.
8:34
SPEAKER_03: Hi, Bridget.
8:35
SPEAKER_03: Good to see you again.
8:36
SPEAKER_03: Good to see you.
8:37
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
8:37
SPEAKER_03: Last time we saw you, we were on stage with you in DC for the FTC uh pricing transparency summit that we had.
8:46
SPEAKER_03: So thank you for joining us there.
8:48
SPEAKER_03: And uh hope you've been well.
8:50
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, absolutely.
8:51
SPEAKER_04: I forgot to tell you the last time I saw you, my middle name is Fitzpatrick, so there might be some connection.
8:56
SPEAKER_04: There you go.
8:56
SPEAKER_02: Well, you have the hair.
8:59
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
8:59
SPEAKER_02: Yes, the good hair gene is in the Fitzpatrick family.
9:04
SPEAKER_02: So there definitely is some kind of connection.
9:06
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
9:06
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
9:07
SPEAKER_03: My uh my son John uh is in the industry known for his hair.
9:13
SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
9:13
SPEAKER_03: John's got some great hair too.
9:15
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
9:15
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
9:17
SPEAKER_02: So dealers have more data than ever.
9:20
SPEAKER_02: So why is is it so hard to turn all of that data into a real revenue opportunity?
9:27
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's that's a big one.
9:29
SPEAKER_04: Uh I think this industry has really suffered from some very archaic, complicated systems of record for some time.
9:36
SPEAKER_04: The biggest one being the DMS system, right?
9:39
SPEAKER_04: So these systems contain a lot of information across your sales transactions, your service transactions, across your uh historical customer base, and oftentimes, you know, in a large group, you might own dozens of different DMS systems, CRM systems.
9:55
SPEAKER_04: You're you know, engaging with your customers via email or text or web chat or now AI voice and trying to tie all that context together is is very difficult to do.
10:07
SPEAKER_04: And you know, I think we're we're all living in this new AI world now.
10:10
SPEAKER_04: We're trying to make sense of you know how do you leverage this technology.
10:13
SPEAKER_04: I know I talk to dealers all over the country every day and trying to understand how they can leverage their data, what data do they need, why can't they just use ChatGPT to do this, things like that.
10:24
SPEAKER_04: These are questions that come up all the time.
10:27
SPEAKER_04: And really what I think it comes down to, you kind of hit on it a little bit earlier, but this concept of revenue opportunities, right?
10:34
SPEAKER_04: So kind of the nuts and bolts of what makes a dealership tick.
10:38
SPEAKER_04: Revenue opportunities stem from everything from payment swaps to upcoming lease maturities to declined services to open recalls.
10:46
SPEAKER_04: Um, there's just so many different ways dealerships can engage with their customers to make money and drive revenue, but it's so difficult to identify where you should be focusing your time.
10:58
SPEAKER_04: How do you kind of pull together the data and the context to kind of surface those opportunities and help you activate them in real time?
11:05
SPEAKER_04: So that's really what uh what I'll be talking about today is how do you how can you leverage an AI system to help you do that at scale?
11:11
SPEAKER_03: Sure.
11:11
SPEAKER_03: So, Mike, let's drill down on that a little bit.
11:13
SPEAKER_03: Once you have all of that data connected, what are some of the revenue opportunities that Ignite can uh surface that a dealer might otherwise miss?
11:22
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
11:23
SPEAKER_04: So we really play across the entire sales and service lifecycle.
11:26
SPEAKER_04: We we think that AI really needs to support these dealership teams to really help them understand where opportunities might be buried, you know, why they're buried, but also more importantly, the context and the reasoning that can help support that.
11:39
SPEAKER_04: So, you know, on the sales side, we we focus on upcoming loan expirations, upcoming lease maturities, uh, you know, payment swap opportunities, uh, being able to kind of qualify and engage, you know, internet leads, which are a huge component of driving traffic to these dealerships on the sales side.
11:56
SPEAKER_04: And then on the on the service side, you know, everything from your first service appointment to customers that have lab service to open recalls to decline services to trade-ins and positive equity customers, um, that we really play across the entire life cycle.
12:11
SPEAKER_04: And I think it's from my perspective, it's very important that any AI system can do that.
12:17
SPEAKER_04: So, you know, first off, the system needs to be able to speak the language of the industry, the domain, understand, you know, customer and vehicle life cycles, understand the nuances of you know, inventory management and how that moves in a specific market.
12:31
SPEAKER_04: Um, that's really what the these AI systems should should really be focused on.
12:35
SPEAKER_04: Um, so we really help you kind of surface those opportunities.
12:38
SPEAKER_04: So we we help you find them, we help you build the context around every single customer in vehicle.
12:43
SPEAKER_04: So, where are they at in their life cycle?
12:45
SPEAKER_04: Do they just purchase?
12:46
SPEAKER_04: Are they midway through?
12:47
SPEAKER_04: Are they coming up against an upcoming lease maturity?
12:50
SPEAKER_04: So we kind of do that across machine scale.
12:52
SPEAKER_04: So if you have 100,000 customers in your database, every single one of them, we should be able to pinpoint exactly where they're at in their life cycle.
13:00
SPEAKER_04: So we can really help you kind of figure out what's the right offer for that specific customer, how can you engage them with contextualized messaging, meaning, do you actually know their service history and their sales history with your dealership?
13:11
SPEAKER_04: So they feel known when you're talking to them, either through an AI agent or to help your team have that conversation more intelligently.
13:18
SPEAKER_04: That's what Ignite is purpose-built to do is really help you solve that fundamental problem of helping you find those opportunities, act on them in real time, and do it at machine scale.
13:27
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
13:27
SPEAKER_02: So when it's finding these, a dealer might know um that a customer's lease is ending, but what does Ignite look at specifically around that signal to determine whether there's actually an opportunity?
13:40
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
13:40
SPEAKER_04: So that's a great question, right?
13:42
SPEAKER_04: So being able to kind of identify an opportunity is just kind of a starting point, right?
13:46
SPEAKER_04: So what happens next is how do you assemble context around that specific opportunity, around that specific customer and vehicle?
13:53
SPEAKER_04: So what it's gonna do is look at its service history, it's gonna look at that sales history with your dealership.
13:58
SPEAKER_04: So are they part of a household?
14:00
SPEAKER_04: Does their wife or husband also have a car that's service or being sold at your dealership?
14:04
SPEAKER_04: Do they have children of a certain age that also might be good opportunities for additional upselling?
14:09
SPEAKER_04: It's gonna understand kind of the financing history.
14:11
SPEAKER_04: So it's a cash lease, uh, the financing history with that dealership.
14:15
SPEAKER_04: What does that look like?
14:16
SPEAKER_04: So, what are the field dynamics that can help you kind of get context around, okay, what are they paying per month if it's a lease deal or a finance deal?
14:24
SPEAKER_04: So it can help you crack the right next offer or that suggested action, depending on that specific customer.
14:29
SPEAKER_04: So it's gonna assemble their entire sales and service history, it's gonna assemble all the previous conversations that you've had with that customer.
14:35
SPEAKER_04: So if you've engaged with them via email or call logs or web chat, it's gonna pull all that together to give you kind of one unified view of that customer, and then it's gonna help you take action on that.
14:46
SPEAKER_04: So it's gonna reason across all of that data and really kind of tell you, okay, we think the right offer for Mike or for Bridget should be X based on what we know, all that information that might extend back several years, and really kind of simplify it, distill it down, and help you take action on that customer in that specific moment.
15:04
SPEAKER_04: And it does that for every single customer in your dealership or group.
15:08
SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's that's incredible.
15:10
SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's pretty cool.
15:11
SPEAKER_03: The future is here for sure.
15:12
SPEAKER_03: How does AI look at things like repair cost, vehicle uh uh value, mileage, equity, and replacement uh inventory to figure out whether that customer should be looking at a repair or a different vehicle?
15:26
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
15:27
SPEAKER_04: So that's a really important uh nuance in this industry, right?
15:30
SPEAKER_04: So oftentimes, especially if you own an expensive car, the longer you hold onto that car, those repair costs are gonna keep going up and up and up.
15:38
SPEAKER_04: So it will, you will reach a point in that life cycle where you are gonna be forced to kind of make that comparison.
15:44
SPEAKER_04: So that's a perfect use case for these AI tools.
15:47
SPEAKER_04: So can you do that at scale in real time across thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of customers?
15:54
SPEAKER_04: Doing the actual deal math of replacing a vehicle or doing that repair order, understanding what might roll up to that repair order or that mileage or at that point in time, but also what could a trade-in look like for the dealership?
16:05
SPEAKER_04: So how much equity might be in the car, but then also what is a new offer might look like?
16:11
SPEAKER_04: So, you know, if you're gonna contemplate buying a new car, what does that translate into in terms of your monthly payment or how much cash you might have to outlay, or if you're gonna lease, what does that look like?
16:20
SPEAKER_04: So again, that kind of ties back to that might be a payment swap opportunity, that might be an opportunity for a new lease, might be an opportunity to finance a new vehicle purchase.
16:28
SPEAKER_04: Again, that that kind of that deal math and those those trade comparisons uh should be running through these AI systems.
16:36
SPEAKER_04: Very cool.
16:36
SPEAKER_02: So one of the interesting pieces here is being able to ask Ignite a question.
16:41
SPEAKER_02: If I'm a GM and I ask, where are my biggest revenue opportunities right now?
16:46
SPEAKER_02: What happens then?
16:48
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
16:48
SPEAKER_04: So many of us are now accustomed to using these LLMs, these chat GPTs, Cloud, it's part of daily workflows for many of us now, right?
16:56
SPEAKER_04: So looking at you, Bridget, right?
16:58
SPEAKER_04: So she lives on.
17:00
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, this is the new user experience that all of us, myself included, have become accustomed to.
17:05
SPEAKER_04: I think the big disconnect right now in automotive is actually being able to do that across all of your dealership data.
17:11
SPEAKER_04: So I've talked to a lot of dealers just about this specific problem.
17:14
SPEAKER_04: Kind of the status quo is kind of copying and pasting this data, you know, it might be exports from your DMS, it might be exports from your CREM or email logs and trying to run it through manually through a GPT or cloud.
17:26
SPEAKER_04: And I think this is really where the biggest opportunity is, which is that is in that is not gonna cut it, right?
17:33
SPEAKER_04: So what you need is a kind of a machine-scale system that could kind of build this, what I call the context engine.
17:39
SPEAKER_04: So all this context that I referenced earlier, how do you get it all into one place so the dealership doesn't have to worry about all that database infrastructure, or if you're gonna do data warehousing or a data platform, we want to take all that complexity away.
17:53
SPEAKER_04: In really, in some ways, the software that we're building, that's what it's designed to do, is to really just simplify how you can build that context layer so then you can have that reasoning engine that sits on top.
18:03
SPEAKER_04: So that's really what it's designed to do.
18:05
SPEAKER_04: So once you have it all in one place, you have that context engine, you have your LLM, you have all that kind of built in natively.
18:12
SPEAKER_04: Now you can basically interface with that data in natural language and talk to it.
18:17
SPEAKER_04: So if you want to find revenue opportunities, if you want to find upcoming payment swap opportunities, or show me everyone with an upcoming lease maturity, or show me everyone that might uh fit a specific type of payment swap at this moment, or who might be right for a trade-in based on their deal math or their service history, all that can be done in natural language.
18:37
SPEAKER_04: And one of the one of the things that I found uh you know very fun over these last kind of six months is doing this for real dealership groups.
18:44
SPEAKER_04: So walking in to a GM who might not be technically sophisticated or might not be used to working in this way, and then having them type in something into the system, much like they're talking to their best employee or executive and seeing kind of the insights that get generated that they can then take action on, that's a very rewarding part of my job right now.
19:02
SPEAKER_04: And I love showing the industry the power of that.
19:04
SPEAKER_03: I bet that I bet they love seeing it.
19:06
SPEAKER_03: Once you identify that opportunity, the next question is what to do with it, right?
19:10
SPEAKER_03: How do you go from here's the opportunity to here's the customer, here's why we should contact them now, and here's what we should say or offer to that customer.
19:20
SPEAKER_03: Talk to us about that.
19:22
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
19:22
SPEAKER_04: So again, the big the big part of this is context.
19:26
SPEAKER_04: So um when you have these opportunities kind of teed up, you now have to take action on them.
19:31
SPEAKER_04: So generally that comes in the form of an email campaign, a texting campaign, or your BDCs or your sales reps might call on these customers to try to get them into the dealership.
19:40
SPEAKER_04: But understanding each customer's context, their history with your dealership, again, the vehicle lifecycle, the customer lifecycle, their transaction history, and being able to adapt that conversation based on that context is really the name of the game.
19:55
SPEAKER_04: So if you have, say, 1,000 opportunities that you're gonna go and chase today, you can conceivably have 1,000 different conversations depending on each customer's context, their vehicle, where they're at in that life cycle, and then you can engage with them in an intelligent way.
20:11
SPEAKER_04: And then they start responding to you, maybe they want more information about a car or a lease or a financing offer, that system should be able to leverage that context and have an intelligent real-way, two-way dialogue without any human intervention.
20:24
SPEAKER_04: That's really where we're at now.
20:26
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, very cool.
20:27
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
20:27
SPEAKER_02: So if we fast forward a few years, what does a truly intelligent dealership look like and what changes for the people running it?
20:36
SPEAKER_04: I think really the the key word here is speed, right?
20:40
SPEAKER_04: So, how quickly can you engage with these customer bases to really activate these opportunities and take action on them?
20:46
SPEAKER_04: And I think the really the biggest benefit, I think, of this technology will be the customer experience.
20:52
SPEAKER_04: So we all live in a world now where we expect results, we expect to have what we want very quickly.
20:58
SPEAKER_04: Um the tolerance for you know working through an old dealership website or a marketplace.
21:04
SPEAKER_04: I think the consumer trends are changing dramatically now.
21:08
SPEAKER_04: And I think this is in large part spurred by this new technology.
21:11
SPEAKER_04: So dealerships, the intelligent dealership of the future will really be focused on delivering a best in-class customer experience.
21:19
SPEAKER_04: So whether someone wants to buy a new car, whether they want to finance that car, whether they want to lease it, they want to do it quickly, right?
21:25
SPEAKER_04: And I think that's how dealerships are gonna kind of compete in in the future, which is can you act faster?
21:31
SPEAKER_04: Can you act more intelligently than the same Toyota dealer or the same uh GM dealer in your specific market?
21:38
SPEAKER_04: Customers really care about the speed and the personalization that's required for the modern customer experience.
21:43
SPEAKER_04: And so I think the intelligent dealership of the future is really gonna deliver best in class customer experiences.
21:49
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
21:49
SPEAKER_03: It really is amazing.
21:50
SPEAKER_03: It's really changed the way the auto industry will operate, you know, on a day to day basis, without a doubt.
21:56
SPEAKER_03: And for dealers that are listening to us, you better get on board quick because otherwise.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: We do have a question from one of our viewers, if you don't mind.
22:09
SPEAKER_03: Can you track service customers likely uh hood to likely hood to defect?
22:15
unknown: Yeah.
22:17
SPEAKER_04: That's a very common uh use case.
22:19
SPEAKER_04: I call that service defection.
22:20
SPEAKER_04: So if someone buys a car at your dealership and then you know 18 months later they decide to service their car somewhere somewhere else, that's a huge loss for their dealership.
22:29
SPEAKER_04: So absolutely.
22:31
SPEAKER_04: So we track the life cycle of every customer, every vehicle.
22:34
SPEAKER_04: We understand, you know, who's who's churned from your dealership, who might be at a point where they might be exploring something else so you can intervene at the right time.
22:42
SPEAKER_04: That's a that's a huge pain point for for this world.
22:45
SPEAKER_04: Wow, that is absolutely incredible.
22:48
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
22:48
SPEAKER_02: Mike Fitzpatrick Gilson, thank you so much for joining us.
22:53
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's always great talking.
22:54
SPEAKER_03: He'll be known as Fitz from now on with us.
22:57
SPEAKER_03: So see see you, Fitz.
22:58
SPEAKER_03: Thanks so much, though.
22:59
SPEAKER_03: This is great.
22:59
SPEAKER_03: Really appreciate it.
23:01
SPEAKER_03: All right, take care.
23:02
SPEAKER_02: That's pretty cool.
23:03
SPEAKER_03: Very cool.
23:04
SPEAKER_03: That is Fitzday.
23:05
SPEAKER_03: For dealers and for dealers that are listening to that, yeah.
23:08
SPEAKER_03: The whole you've got to call these guys and get a full demonstration of your store.
23:13
SPEAKER_03: That that that was unbelievable.
23:15
SPEAKER_02: I know.
23:15
SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's gonna get to the point where I I said it earlier, robots are building the car, and it's gonna get to the point where uh you know robots are selling the car still and running the dealerships.
23:25
SPEAKER_03: But we're a long way off from that.
23:26
SPEAKER_03: Today, right now, uh people are running dealerships.
23:30
SPEAKER_02: People are, and people will continue to.
23:32
SPEAKER_03: And in those in that group of individuals running dealerships are leaders and managers.
23:38
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
23:39
SPEAKER_03: And we are leaning on them in a very, very big way.
23:42
SPEAKER_03: So uh I'm looking forward to our next guest.
23:46
SPEAKER_02: Me too, and tomorrow starts the final quarter of the year, and for dealers, that means the pressure is on to finish strong.
23:53
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
23:54
SPEAKER_03: But but Q4 isn't just about the numbers, it's about how leaders and teams respond.
24:00
SPEAKER_03: Join us live to talk about mindset in the final months of the year is the one and only Dave Anderson, CEO of Learn to Lead.
24:08
SPEAKER_03: Dave, thank you so much for joining us on the show today.
24:10
SPEAKER_05: Hey, great to be back with you all.
24:12
SPEAKER_05: Thanks for having me.
24:13
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
24:14
SPEAKER_03: So, what you right now every dealer is trying to figure out what's the best way that we can finish Q4, get the most out of our team, get the most out of our dealership.
24:24
SPEAKER_03: Uh, leaders are, I'm sure they're probably reaching out to you and saying, hey, show us the way here.
24:30
SPEAKER_03: You know, so so what are you advising leaders to focus on in these final months as we go into 2027?
24:36
SPEAKER_05: It's a frantic time.
24:38
SPEAKER_05: This is our busiest time of the year.
24:39
SPEAKER_05: I'll I'll be traveling every week between now and uh the middle of December.
24:43
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
24:43
SPEAKER_05: And what I'm telling people everywhere I go is listen, it's been nine long months.
24:48
SPEAKER_05: People are coming out of a long, hot summer, they're tired, they need a second wind.
24:53
SPEAKER_05: And part of a leader's job is to create a narrower focus going into this fourth quarter.
24:58
SPEAKER_05: I ask leaders, what's your vision for the fourth quarter?
25:01
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and I get a blank look.
25:03
SPEAKER_05: And it's like this is an opportune time to bring the team together, unify them, focus them on a fourth quarter vision.
25:11
SPEAKER_05: You can break it down in the monthly forecasts if you like, give them renewed purpose, a second wind, new energy, turn their job into a campaign.
25:20
SPEAKER_05: Uh, people don't want a job, they want a cause.
25:22
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
25:23
SPEAKER_05: You know, people quit jobs, they die for causes.
25:26
SPEAKER_05: I always prefer my people have a cause than a job.
25:29
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
25:29
SPEAKER_05: And so this is an opportune time.
25:31
SPEAKER_05: There are, Jim, there are there are a couple times during the year where this works really well.
25:35
SPEAKER_05: And where you you recast a vision, you relaunch a vision, and you rally everybody behind it.
25:40
SPEAKER_05: Here's your role, here's what's in it for you if we get there.
25:43
SPEAKER_05: You can theme it, you can name it, fourth quarter, ramp up, whatever you want to call it.
25:47
SPEAKER_05: You come up with your two or three biggest goals that you're trying to accomplish, you know, between now and the end of the year.
25:53
SPEAKER_05: You track it, you communicate it, you live it, breathe it, walk it, talk it, and you make it fun.
25:58
SPEAKER_05: And, you know, leaders are supposed to see farther and see more and see sooner than their people.
26:04
SPEAKER_05: And you just can't limp into the fourth quarter tired from the summer and Labor Day and all this, and and you know, and have people with a wide focus.
26:13
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
26:14
SPEAKER_05: I don't know anybody that accomplishes a lot with a wide focus.
26:18
SPEAKER_05: Let's get that focus narrow and rally them around a vision.
26:21
SPEAKER_05: And and this is this is what they need to do.
26:23
SPEAKER_05: Now, the vision's the easy part, then they got to come up with a strategy and the tactics.
26:27
SPEAKER_05: But it all starts with getting something inspiring out there that brings the team together, gives them that second wind, energizes them, and gives them a purpose worth fighting for every single day.
26:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no, no, no doubt about it.
26:39
SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
26:39
SPEAKER_02: So, Dave, I know all of this is important, but how much of finishing strong is actually about mindset, and how much is about having the right systems and accountability in place?
26:49
SPEAKER_05: Well, it's that's a great question, Bridget.
26:51
SPEAKER_05: And honestly, you know, great performance begins before it begins.
26:54
SPEAKER_05: So if they're just starting to talk about this now, they're already late.
26:57
SPEAKER_05: They're already late.
26:58
SPEAKER_05: I mean, they're they're way they're way behind.
27:01
SPEAKER_05: And so having the right mindset, and I think a big part of having the right mindset is having a narrow focus.
27:08
SPEAKER_05: Knowing what is most essential every day, what to say yes to, what to say no to.
27:12
SPEAKER_05: I mean, so yeah, and I've got to have this sense of urgency.
27:15
SPEAKER_05: I mean, if you can't, if you can't find urgency in the fourth quarter, you're probably, I'm not gonna say borderline hopeless, you're probably hopeless.
27:22
SPEAKER_05: I don't think there's much anybody can do for you if you can't find a little heart, a little drive, a little energy, a little second wind, you know, this fourth quarter.
27:30
SPEAKER_05: But mindset is big.
27:32
SPEAKER_05: But right now, there's a lot of noise.
27:35
SPEAKER_05: There's always a lot of distractions of the fourth quarter.
27:37
SPEAKER_05: You've got football, you've got elections coming up, you've got new models coming out.
27:41
SPEAKER_05: So the mindset right now is really focusing on mastering the moment in front of my face.
27:46
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
27:46
SPEAKER_05: Okay, I've really got to give more to what I have.
27:49
SPEAKER_05: I've got to focus more on what I can do, what I do have, what I can control, and not get caught up with all the noise and distractions, you know, that the end of the year brings.
27:57
SPEAKER_05: The holidays, you know, the kids are back in school.
28:00
SPEAKER_05: All that all this stuff is going on.
28:02
SPEAKER_05: And so having that narrow focus right now is maybe more than any, uh, more important than any other time during the year.
28:09
SPEAKER_05: And then accountability, there are a lot of bad habits that developed over the summer.
28:14
SPEAKER_05: And now these guys are going to be cleaning up the mess because they didn't tighten it up, you know, back in June and July.
28:21
SPEAKER_05: And there's usually a 90-day lag usually between letting somebody get off track and really having the results start to manifest.
28:29
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
28:29
SPEAKER_05: Sometimes there's a 90-day lag between getting somebody on track and really seeing that result get up to a uh, you know, a measurable place.
28:36
SPEAKER_05: And so, whatever bad habits that they started to develop June, July, or August, they might have thought they got away from them.
28:43
SPEAKER_05: It's going to be a real problem now.
28:44
SPEAKER_05: So this is time to really double down.
28:47
SPEAKER_05: And but you can't have accountability without clarity.
28:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
28:51
SPEAKER_05: That's why you've got to redefine what we are about this fourth quarter.
28:56
SPEAKER_05: What does that mean to each of you?
28:57
SPEAKER_05: What do I need as a as an outcome from each of you?
29:00
SPEAKER_05: And then here's what it looks like in your daily routine.
29:03
SPEAKER_05: Because there are so many managers, leaders that are trying to hold people accountable when they haven't been clear enough about what they expect in the first place, day in and day out.
29:13
SPEAKER_05: And this is a great time to redefine expectations, by the way, guys.
29:17
SPEAKER_05: Fourth quarter, you're redefining.
29:20
SPEAKER_05: Here are non-negotiables.
29:21
SPEAKER_05: We got a little off track in these areas.
29:23
SPEAKER_05: Let's get back to these processes, living these values, executing these daily activities, and producing these outcomes.
29:31
SPEAKER_05: And it's, you know, clarity leaks.
29:34
SPEAKER_05: It's it happens.
29:35
SPEAKER_05: It's like water that seeps out of the bottom of a bucket.
29:38
SPEAKER_05: And if we're not continually putting it in, it goes away.
29:41
SPEAKER_05: So there are, I get huge, it's like some people are going to miss this opportunity to redefine clarity, reignite their team, fire them up, clean up the messes that came up during the summer, and really finish strong.
29:54
SPEAKER_05: But let me say this, since Bridget brings up accountability, I think there's two major wrong assumptions leaders make when it comes to clarity.
30:02
SPEAKER_05: Number one, we assume it's clear enough because we've told them ten times, right?
30:07
SPEAKER_05: It's like, I've told them ten times, I've told them twenty times, they know what to do.
30:11
SPEAKER_05: So we we assume we've talked about it enough that it's clear enough.
30:14
SPEAKER_05: Number two, the second wrong assumption is since it's clear enough, they're actually doing it.
30:20
SPEAKER_05: Well, I think I think we need to reverse, we need to invert those two uh assumptions.
30:26
SPEAKER_05: This will make you a better leader.
30:28
SPEAKER_05: Here's the correct assumption.
30:29
SPEAKER_05: It's still not clear enough, so keep talking about it.
30:32
SPEAKER_05: And even if it were clear enough, they're still not doing it.
30:35
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
30:36
SPEAKER_03: So stay on top of it.
30:37
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
30:38
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no question.
30:39
SPEAKER_03: And this, Dave, this isn't a meet this isn't a one uh in the beginning of the court, this isn't a meeting that you have and you're done with it.
30:45
SPEAKER_03: Okay, I just shared all of this with my team.
30:48
SPEAKER_03: This has got to be a almost a daily diet, part of your daily diet, right?
30:53
SPEAKER_03: In terms of uh meeting with your team and holding them accountable.
30:57
SPEAKER_03: Talk to us about that, because I think many managers out there say, yeah, let's have that rah-rah session and let's get after it and let's ha hold them accountable, and then maybe not again for another 30 days.
31:07
SPEAKER_03: It it it doesn't work that way, right?
31:09
SPEAKER_03: This has got to be a part of the part of the DNA.
31:13
SPEAKER_05: You can get clarity clear in a memo.
31:15
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
31:16
SPEAKER_05: In a meeting.
31:17
SPEAKER_05: Keeping it clear, hundreds of repetitions.
31:20
SPEAKER_05: Right.
31:20
SPEAKER_05: Hundreds of repetitions.
31:22
SPEAKER_05: And about the time we're sick of saying it, and is the time they're starting to see they, hey, this is real, this is not going away, this is really important.
31:31
SPEAKER_05: And so people try to microwave clarity, yeah, just like they try to microwave mastery.
31:36
SPEAKER_05: They talk about it at a training meeting one time and they think they got it.
31:39
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
31:39
SPEAKER_05: No, it needs to become part of the daily conversation.
31:42
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
31:42
SPEAKER_05: Daily conversations.
31:44
SPEAKER_05: Because talking about noise, let's say you have that meeting and you get everybody on the same page about what's expected.
31:52
SPEAKER_05: They walk out of that meeting.
31:53
SPEAKER_05: Do you know how much noise your message is competing with?
31:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's right.
31:58
SPEAKER_05: I mean, from social media, their personal life, their peers, different departments, their customers.
32:04
SPEAKER_05: Our message has a lot of competition.
32:08
SPEAKER_05: And we forget that sometimes, and we think, well, they know what to do.
32:11
SPEAKER_05: They maybe did when they walked out of the meeting, but I mean, there's a lot that it that that clarity is contending with.
32:17
SPEAKER_05: And so most managers don't have the discipline.
32:20
SPEAKER_05: They don't see the big picture enough to talk about the things that matter most every day.
32:24
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
32:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
32:25
SPEAKER_05: They tick a box.
32:26
SPEAKER_05: We we had the meeting, we passed out the memo.
32:29
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
32:29
SPEAKER_05: Everybody knows.
32:30
SPEAKER_05: And no, that's just the beginning.
32:31
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
32:32
SPEAKER_05: And just understanding that reality would make you such a better leader.
32:35
SPEAKER_03: No, no question.
32:36
SPEAKER_03: And the team is always looking in the eyes of that leader to see how committed they are to what they just shared and what they just said, and and how committed they are to the accountability and to this new way for the last quarter, right?
32:50
SPEAKER_05: Oh, a hundred percent.
32:51
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it's like I I hear what you're saying, let me watch what you're doing.
32:55
SPEAKER_05: I mean, people would rather see a sermon than hear one, right?
32:58
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's right.
32:59
SPEAKER_05: And so there, I mean, there are a lot of leaders, they talk right and then they walk left.
33:02
SPEAKER_05: And it's like they leave their people behind.
33:04
SPEAKER_05: It's like, wait a minute, your words and deeds aren't consistent.
33:07
SPEAKER_05: So when they see that, yes, we have conversations that follow through with our message, they start to see there's alignment, yeah, and that it is real and that it is compelling, and I need to become part of it.
33:18
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
33:18
SPEAKER_05: And this is just such a great time to do it.
33:21
SPEAKER_05: You know, but you're gonna have people that, you know, they're gonna go from September 30th into October 1st, the first week of, and it's gonna be the same old, same old.
33:29
SPEAKER_05: They do it to do it, they do it to get through it, they do it so they can say they did it, and they're gonna miss this.
33:34
SPEAKER_05: And this is just one of our best leadership opportunities of the year, and I don't want to see it slip away from people.
33:40
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
33:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
33:41
SPEAKER_03: You need to come up with a book with all of those one-liners because I love them.
33:44
SPEAKER_02: We use them all the time.
33:46
SPEAKER_02: We have Dave Anderson.
33:50
SPEAKER_02: I love it because you get right to the point.
33:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
33:53
SPEAKER_02: We there's several options we'll talk about later that we use all the time.
33:56
SPEAKER_02: Dave, Dave Anderson has one.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
33:59
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
34:00
SPEAKER_02: So let's talk about the manager or the leader that might be a little bit burned out, feeling the pressure themselves at the end of the year.
34:05
SPEAKER_02: How do they manage their own energy without letting it affect the team?
34:10
SPEAKER_05: You know, managing mental energy and physical energy probably doesn't get talked about enough.
34:15
SPEAKER_05: Uh I've been talking a lot about mental energy.
34:18
SPEAKER_05: It's interesting you bring this up.
34:20
SPEAKER_05: There's not an unlimited supply.
34:22
SPEAKER_05: So managing it is essential.
34:24
SPEAKER_05: Just like you don't have an unlimited supply of physical energy.
34:26
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
34:27
SPEAKER_05: You don't have an unlimited supply of mental energy either.
34:30
SPEAKER_05: And you're right, they're tired, they get worn down.
34:32
SPEAKER_05: Here's the problem.
34:32
SPEAKER_05: When we lack mental energy, it affects our ability to process information, solve problems, make decisions, be creative, focus on the task at hand.
34:42
SPEAKER_05: That's a problem in any position.
34:44
SPEAKER_05: But especially when you're in leadership, a lot of these guys and ladies, they give mental energy to minor things.
34:51
SPEAKER_05: They're doing other people's work for them, they're making other people's decisions for them.
34:56
SPEAKER_05: They haven't mastered the art of delegation, they spend their days a mile wide and an inch deep, and their mental energy is going in all these directions, and they have none left for the decisions only they can make and the tasks only they can do.
35:09
SPEAKER_05: And they're the only ones going to be held accountable for that.
35:11
SPEAKER_05: So managing that mental energy, blocking time.
35:14
SPEAKER_05: I talk about blocked time.
35:16
SPEAKER_05: Start with 20 minutes and then have a plan for that blocked time.
35:19
SPEAKER_05: Do not disturb.
35:20
SPEAKER_05: Guys, there's things only I can do that I got to do really well.
35:23
SPEAKER_05: So from 8 to 8.20, from 8 to 8.30, I'm not going to be available.
35:28
SPEAKER_05: I have 100% confidence you can run the department without me for 20 minutes.
35:32
SPEAKER_05: For 30 minutes.
35:33
SPEAKER_05: So you set up the guidelines and you make yourself a little less available to do the things only you can do.
35:38
SPEAKER_05: And that's where you and then you have a plan for that 20 minutes.
35:41
SPEAKER_05: And then you bring it up to 30.
35:42
SPEAKER_05: When I was running the six stores, I had two hours from 8 to 10, you couldn't get me.
35:47
SPEAKER_05: I had a code if there was an emergency, Dave Anderson Code 100.
35:51
SPEAKER_05: We had one emergency in all those years.
35:54
SPEAKER_05: And so that's where I got my people work done.
35:56
SPEAKER_05: I had one-on-one schedule.
35:58
SPEAKER_05: I did my planning, my strategies.
36:00
SPEAKER_05: I had tough conversations with people that otherwise might have that can might have got kicked down the road.
36:05
SPEAKER_05: You've got to block time.
36:07
SPEAKER_05: You can't be everything to everybody all the time.
36:10
SPEAKER_05: You're a leader, not a nanny.
36:12
SPEAKER_05: Okay, people don't need a nanny there to daub up every snipple and and make every decision for them.
36:17
SPEAKER_05: I mean, i i i if you're if your people can't do without you for 30 minutes, that's not a reflection of them.
36:23
SPEAKER_05: That's a reflection of you.
36:24
SPEAKER_05: You better step up because your job is to make them less dependent on you, not more.
36:29
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
36:29
SPEAKER_05: Blocking time.
36:30
SPEAKER_05: So you have this mental energy to give to your best tasks and then bring it up to 45 minutes, bring it up to an hour.
36:36
SPEAKER_05: Getting good sleep helps mental energy.
36:39
SPEAKER_05: The longest chapter in my last book was on getting great sleep, and most managers pay no attention to it.
36:44
SPEAKER_05: They they brag, oh, I can get by on four hours of sleep at night.
36:47
SPEAKER_05: I'll die when I'll sleep when I'm dead.
36:49
SPEAKER_05: Well, you'll be dead sooner than you probably like if that's your philosophy.
36:52
SPEAKER_05: Because there's some new research that shows that chronically underslept people, it not only takes out life from your ears, it takes out ears from your life.
37:00
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
37:01
SPEAKER_05: So, you know, just managing that well.
37:04
SPEAKER_05: Um, I would never listen to the news on the way to work in the morning.
37:08
SPEAKER_05: You know how much mental energy that abuses?
37:10
SPEAKER_05: It's the worst.
37:10
SPEAKER_05: It's the worst.
37:11
SPEAKER_05: It's the worst social media.
37:13
SPEAKER_05: Come on, how much mental energy that takes away from things that matter, man, away from people who matter.
37:19
SPEAKER_05: I know.
37:19
SPEAKER_05: So we we have to have a proper allocation of our mental energy because we don't have an unlimited store.
37:25
SPEAKER_05: And I think we need to talk more about this.
37:27
SPEAKER_05: It's not, it's not infinite.
37:29
SPEAKER_05: It has to be managed well.
37:31
SPEAKER_05: And so, yeah, there's a couple ideas for how they could do it.
37:33
SPEAKER_05: And hire the right people, for goodness sakes.
37:35
SPEAKER_05: I don't know anything that drains more mental energy than five-car Fred.
37:39
SPEAKER_05: There it is.
37:42
SPEAKER_05: And he drains it at home, too.
37:44
SPEAKER_05: You're how many conversations around the dinner table is five-car Fred room for a lot of us guys in the in the car business?
37:50
SPEAKER_05: It's right.
37:50
SPEAKER_05: It's unbelievable.
37:51
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
37:52
SPEAKER_03: That's true.
37:52
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
37:53
SPEAKER_03: And as you have told us a long time ago, and we live by this, if you don't get rid of the dead wood, you are the dead wood.
37:59
SPEAKER_03: That is one we use.
38:00
SPEAKER_03: So I and this this is my last question because I know I've probably used up all of my time with you, and I appreciate all the time you've given us.
38:06
SPEAKER_03: But uh, this is also a time to take a look at your team, right?
38:10
SPEAKER_03: And to see who's gonna make the team going into 2027 and and look at it as clear as you possibly can with no emotions tied to it.
38:20
SPEAKER_03: This is we're in business.
38:21
SPEAKER_03: This isn't, we're not having a picnic.
38:23
SPEAKER_03: This this is a place of business that we come into every day, and I know that's something you're passionate about.
38:28
SPEAKER_03: And if you can't motivate that team to rise to the occasion in this last quarter, maybe you gotta make that tough decision, right?
38:36
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no one's gonna draw the line in the sand and all of a sudden turn their life around between December 31st and January 1st.
38:42
SPEAKER_05: I mean, this is not gonna happen.
38:43
SPEAKER_05: And we don't we don't want to drag last year's baggage into a new year.
38:48
SPEAKER_05: Here's an exercise that I've talked about for many years.
38:52
SPEAKER_05: It's based on zero-based thinking.
38:54
SPEAKER_05: This is a great time of the year to do it.
38:56
SPEAKER_05: Write down every one of your direct reports, go through them one at a time and ask this question.
39:00
SPEAKER_05: Knowing what I now know about Fred, if he applied for the job today, would I hire him?
39:04
SPEAKER_05: Right.
39:05
SPEAKER_05: Right.
39:05
SPEAKER_05: And then if the answer is yes, terrific.
39:07
SPEAKER_05: Go to the next name.
39:08
SPEAKER_05: If the answer is no, or are you kidding me, or some version of that, you have three options.
39:12
SPEAKER_05: You train them, you transfer them, or you terminate them, and you look at it in that order.
39:17
SPEAKER_05: Have I done my job?
39:18
SPEAKER_05: You know, if not, I've got to back up a minute, and I've got to give them the training and the tools they need.
39:22
SPEAKER_05: Are they a good person?
39:24
SPEAKER_05: They're just a wrong fit.
39:25
SPEAKER_05: That's the second T.
39:26
SPEAKER_05: Sometimes we've got to stop trying to fix the person, fix the casting error.
39:30
SPEAKER_05: But if neither of those are options, there's not a fourth T.
39:33
SPEAKER_05: Tolerate is not an option.
39:34
SPEAKER_05: And a lot of these guys, they pick the fourth T, they've ruined my three T's with a corrupt fourth T, and they continue to revisit that misery again and again.
39:43
SPEAKER_05: Do the zero-based thinking exercise on your team.
39:46
SPEAKER_05: It takes the emotion out.
39:48
SPEAKER_05: Jim, when you're saying Bridget, knowing what I now know about them, you're talking about their attitude, their character, their coachability, their production.
39:56
SPEAKER_05: That's that's a great lens to look through right now this time of the year.
40:00
SPEAKER_03: There's no question about it.
40:01
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
40:01
SPEAKER_03: And this is why you are the leader in leadership training.
40:05
SPEAKER_03: Uh we we love when you're on.
40:07
SPEAKER_03: Your show does phenomenal with us here on the CBT Automotive Network.
40:11
SPEAKER_03: So we appreciate all that you bring to CBT in your in your series.
40:15
SPEAKER_03: I I can't tell you how many emails and text messages I get to go, that guy Dave Anderson's awesome.
40:20
SPEAKER_03: Uh of course, we already knew that, but uh, so thank you so much.
40:23
SPEAKER_03: Lessons in leadership.
40:24
SPEAKER_03: If you guys haven't watched that already, for those of you that uh are tuning in, maybe for the first time, check them out right on our homepage.
40:30
SPEAKER_03: In fact, there's a great show on today, right on our homepage with Dave Anderson.
40:34
SPEAKER_03: So uh so check it out.
40:36
SPEAKER_03: But Dave, thank you again so much for all that you do for our network.
40:39
SPEAKER_03: I know that our our viewers get so much out of it.
40:41
SPEAKER_03: So thanks so much.
40:42
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
40:43
SPEAKER_05: Thank you both for the opportunity.
40:44
SPEAKER_05: It's always a pleasure.
40:46
SPEAKER_05: Thank you for letting me share with your with your group.
40:48
SPEAKER_05: We go back a long ways and let's keep growing and going.
40:51
SPEAKER_03: I agree.
40:51
SPEAKER_03: I agree.
40:52
SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
40:52
SPEAKER_05: Thank you so much.
40:53
SPEAKER_05: Bye, everybody.
40:53
SPEAKER_05: Take care.
40:54
SPEAKER_03: Take care.
40:55
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
40:55
SPEAKER_03: There's so many great takeaways out of that.
40:58
SPEAKER_03: We do.
40:59
SPEAKER_03: I I didn't want to write it down because I didn't want to be real, but I'm like, I know.
41:02
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I'm gonna go back and watch this though.
41:03
SPEAKER_03: As as I recommend many of the leaders and dealers out there, especially this time of year, because Dave, he always nails it.
41:09
SPEAKER_03: He always brings it in.
41:10
SPEAKER_02: And he's got the series, the 15 commandments about the performance to your organization, and it's really good.
41:15
SPEAKER_02: And today's one of the commandments was was a really good one.
41:18
SPEAKER_02: I watched it, and I it yeah.
41:21
SPEAKER_02: More great stuff from Dave Anderson.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: No question.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: He can't do that.
41:23
SPEAKER_03: Another CBT OG.
41:24
SPEAKER_03: And the thing is, is is you know, it when you see leadership coaches out there and what have you, and a lot of them are corporate, you know, this guy ran very successful dealerships.
41:34
SPEAKER_03: So, you know, for CBT, for the CBT audience, he knows the industry.
41:39
SPEAKER_03: He knows that's why I said five car Fred, right?
41:41
SPEAKER_03: You can't say that in in uh at Xerox or IBM or whatever, it's not gonna mean anything.
41:46
SPEAKER_03: But he knows the industry.
41:47
SPEAKER_03: So take some time, watch these series.
41:49
SPEAKER_03: And by the way, if you're looking to get your you know, your dealership in line for 2027 and you really want to bring your leaders together, whether it be on an outside summit that you have with them, uh, or a retreat, so to speak, or read right there at your dealership.
42:04
SPEAKER_03: In my opinion, there's no better leader, uh leadership trainer uh than Dave Anderson in the industry.
42:10
SPEAKER_03: He's the guy that you want to call.
42:11
SPEAKER_03: So that's all I'm gonna say about it.
42:13
SPEAKER_03: I sound like an ad form, I know, but uh I've been in the industry long enough to know that leaders in the industry, managers, we call them leaders, they are leaders, but in a lot of cases they're managers, GSM sales managers, what have you.
42:26
SPEAKER_03: If you ask most of them, what formal training have you had for your job to be a leader and to manage people, you'll get deer in the headlights.
42:33
SPEAKER_03: Look, right?
42:34
SPEAKER_03: They're usually learning from the sales manager before them who got blown out for lack of productivity.
42:39
SPEAKER_03: So, guys, we gotta stop the craziness.
42:41
SPEAKER_03: We gotta train our managers on how to lead people.
42:43
SPEAKER_02: Very important.
42:44
SPEAKER_03: That that's my sermon.
42:45
SPEAKER_02: That's okay, that's a good one.
42:48
SPEAKER_02: All right, everyone.
42:49
SPEAKER_02: Be sure to head over to cbtnews.com for more great conversations like we had today.
42:54
SPEAKER_02: And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get these great stories delivered to your inbox every day and so much more.
43:02
SPEAKER_02: Be sure to make sure you stay up to date on everything.
43:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
43:05
SPEAKER_03: Automotive.
43:06
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and you get two emails, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, because things are changing throughout the day.
43:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and we've got so many, so much content on our website, 12 different shows to choose from.
43:15
SPEAKER_03: We got over 7,000 interviews with dealers and industry executives over the last 14 years, and they're all on cbtnews.com.
43:24
SPEAKER_03: You can put in almost anybody's name in the industry.
43:26
SPEAKER_03: Anybody that's anybody, they've been on CBT News, and as you can see, all the shows that we're showing there right now, we produce right here in our studios in Atlanta, and uh and it's all free.
43:36
SPEAKER_03: How great is that?
43:37
SPEAKER_02: It's all free.
43:39
SPEAKER_02: So I also want to mention that coming up in November, it will be here before we know it.
43:43
SPEAKER_02: Yes, we will be partnering with Used Car Week and Cherokee Media November 16th through the 19th.
43:48
SPEAKER_02: So be sure to let us know if you'll be there.
43:50
SPEAKER_02: We'll be on the lookout.
43:51
SPEAKER_02: We would love to see you.
43:52
SPEAKER_02: Please stop by and say hi.
43:53
SPEAKER_02: We'll be doing the show live from the event in San Diego.
43:57
SPEAKER_02: So it will be nine o'clock our time when we're doing that.
44:01
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
44:02
SPEAKER_03: And and yeah, and and we're gonna be doing a lot of interviews there.
44:05
SPEAKER_03: The whole time we're there, we'll be talking to everybody that you know uh that's has attended.
44:09
SPEAKER_03: We want to get a f uh uh, you know, your feedback as to what you think about the industry, what you think about 2027 coming up.
44:16
SPEAKER_03: It is a great event.
44:17
SPEAKER_03: I have been to it, first class operation all the way.
44:20
SPEAKER_03: When it comes to used cars, everything that you uh need to know about used cars is right there.
44:25
SPEAKER_03: I don't care if you're if you're shipping them, if you're financing them, if you're acquiring them, if you're going to the auction, if you want to find out great techniques, whatever it is, I can't say enough.
44:34
SPEAKER_02: You can't say enough.
44:34
SPEAKER_02: You can't actually you can.
44:36
SPEAKER_02: There's so many.
44:37
SPEAKER_02: Just kidding.
44:40
SPEAKER_02: I would like to mention the great show that we have coming up tomorrow.
44:43
SPEAKER_02: We have Jim Sabino, fixed ops director at All American Auto Group, so that'd be great.
44:47
SPEAKER_02: And then Todd Smith of Core AI.
44:49
SPEAKER_02: He is an AI expert, and um, I'm sure those two will be great conversations.
44:53
SPEAKER_03: Todd's a genius.
44:54
SPEAKER_02: We will have a guest host tomorrow.
44:55
SPEAKER_02: I will not be here tomorrow, but we have a very special guest host.
44:59
SPEAKER_03: Why is he special?
45:00
SPEAKER_02: Is he Well, should we should it be a surprise?
45:06
SPEAKER_03: Should it be a surprise?
45:07
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, let's keep it a surprise.
45:10
SPEAKER_02: I'll be watching.
45:11
SPEAKER_03: Okay, thanks for joining us, everyone.
45:13
SPEAKER_03: You'll be on assignment in Washington, D.C.
45:15
SPEAKER_02: Yes, I will.
45:16
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
45:16
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
45:17
SPEAKER_02: I am.
45:18
SPEAKER_02: I'll be in D.C.
45:19
SPEAKER_02: So thanks for watching, everyone.
45:20
SPEAKER_02: We'll see you back here tomorrow and have a great afternoon, and we'll before seeing you later.
45:25
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
45:25
SPEAKER_03: You got a great day.
45:27
SPEAKER_00: Breaking down a lot, deal as a no, tell us what they see.
45:30
SPEAKER_00: Inventory margin, digital strategy.
45:32
SPEAKER_00: No room and no noise, just the fact of the emotion.
45:35
SPEAKER_00: We tell I don't know what to clear out, folks.
45:46
SPEAKER_00: Every conversation moves the game.