Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / The Problem Solver: How Kelly Alston Rose to Market President at Mills Automotive Group

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The Problem Solver: How Kelly Alston Rose to Market President at Mills Automotive Group · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast,
0:08
where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from
0:11
their successes and be inspired by how they've overcome
0:14
adversity. My name is Anthony Codaspodi and
0:16
today's guest is Kelly Allston, market President at Mills
0:21
Automotive Group. Founded in 2004 and
0:24
headquartered in Pineville, LA, Mills Automotive Group is known
0:29
for its wide selection of new and used vehicles, along with
0:32
professional service and maintenance support.
0:35
They carry multiple brands and have dealerships in seven
0:38
states. You can browse their inventory
0:40
online at millsautogroup.com. Their mission is to treat every
0:45
customer's need with the utmost care and continue providing help
0:49
beyond the date of purchase. Kelly has LED teams in his role
0:53
since February 2024 and brings vast experience in automotive
0:57
sales and warranty processes. Prior to becoming market
1:01
president, he served as a variable Operations Director and
1:05
general Manager at other dealerships.
1:07
Along the way, the group has been recognized for its
1:10
unwavering dedication to customer service.
1:13
Mills Automotive Group has expanded its footprint while
1:16
also collaborating with major manufacturers, recently
1:20
partnering with Fisker to introduce electric vehicles.
1:24
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benefitsagency.com. All right, back to our guest
1:58
today, Market President at Mills Auto Group, Kelly Allston.
2:02
I appreciate you making the time to Share your story today.
2:04
Thanks for having me. All right, Kelly, so every
2:08
inspiring story has a beginning. I'm curious to hear what sparked
2:11
your journey in the car industry and what moments along the way
2:16
made you realize that this was your calling.
2:19
So it's a funny story. I, I, I got into this business
2:22
by accident. I, I was in college getting my
2:29
degree in finance and my ultimate goal was to graduate,
2:35
get into banking, end up back in New York on Wall Street as an
2:39
investment banker. And I went to a job fair and I
2:43
was just looking for something as a resume enhancement to kind
2:48
of put me head and shoulders above everyone else that was
2:53
just graduated with a college degree with no experience and
2:56
ran across this this one display.
3:04
It was a car dealership and I always liked cars.
3:07
My dad was really into cars. He was in the car business as
3:11
well. So I I just had a conversation.
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And so I ended up having a conversation with the guy he
3:17
sent, he invited me to his office and I was intrigued by
3:23
it. And I decided that, you know, I
3:25
wanted to apply for the job and when it interviewed with the
3:29
general manager and he, he originally told me that he
3:36
wouldn't hire me because I could only work part time.
3:40
So I, I made a deal with them and I told him if I could sell
3:45
just as many or more than his average salesperson, then he
3:51
could keep me. And if I didn't, then you know
3:53
what, I will walk away, no questions asked.
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And he took me up on that offer. So first month outsold, most of
4:02
the salespeople continued to do well.
4:05
And I actually I went in to resign because I had gotten a
4:11
job with a bank when I graduated and the vice president of
4:17
company, and this was a pretty good sized automotive group,
4:21
they had 20 stores. And the vice president of the
4:25
company came down and had a conversation with me, basically
4:31
telling me that, you know, he felt like I had what it took to
4:35
go very far in his business. And he asked me to give it one
4:39
year to see where it took me and I agreed and the rest is
4:48
history. So couple things I want to
4:51
unpack there. First of all, I think it's
4:53
really interesting that you went to him with sort of a counter
4:56
offer. Hey, let me work part time.
4:58
If I can hit some numbers, you keep me.
5:00
I'm going to guess, you know, car guys, they're sales guys,
5:04
right? He, he probably kind of liked
5:06
that, that confidence that you were sort of bringing to the
5:09
table. He's like, all right, I'm going
5:11
to give this young kid a shot. Yep, absolutely.
5:13
That was my first sale I had to sell me.
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Now, what was it that you think made you so successful right out
5:22
of the gate with sales? Had you had some training?
5:25
Did you have a a background in sales?
5:27
No, I think I'm a, I'm a problem solver by by nature and I think
5:38
the fact that I'm a good listener.
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So, you know, I would just ask good questions and, you know,
5:44
people would basically tell me what it was going to take for
5:47
them to to to buy a car. And, you know, I just I listened
5:52
and then and then I applied those things throughout the
5:55
process to convince them to to do it.
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And I also think because I was a college student, I was very
6:01
unassuming and they didn't look at me like they did maybe a
6:07
typical salesperson, you know, just trying to get a Commission.
6:12
You know, I told everybody I was a college student and you know
6:14
what I'm doing this will experience and I think that
6:17
brought down the the the guard and allowed me to to gain trust
6:23
quickly and which allowed me ultimately to sell sell
6:26
vehicles. I like that.
6:28
Hey, I'm a college kid. I'm doing this for the
6:30
experience, right? That bring down brings down
6:33
their guard because they know, right?
6:35
The car guy, he's got a Commission to make.
6:36
He's going to try to push something that is going to be
6:39
good for him. So you've sort of erased that
6:41
right out of the gate. Now talk to me more about the
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part where you're a problem solver, you're a good listener.
6:48
Like for people listening now who are like, hey, I want to be
6:51
better at sales. I want to learn from Kelly and
6:55
the the techniques that he's used.
6:57
What? What can you kind of teach us
6:58
there? You know, I guess if for some
7:01
reason it, it's come naturally to me, even when I was in
7:04
school, I was especially in math, I was able to see the
7:11
numbers different, they just look different to me.
7:13
And I, I could always come up with a, a better method of
7:18
getting the answer than what the teacher taught.
7:22
I don't know if it's just something intuitive about just
7:24
figuring out a better and more efficient way to do it.
7:28
But I think that the problem solving part and listening part
7:34
is I usually work backwards. I work from the result backwards
7:38
and it, it allows me to come up with creative ways to get to
7:47
that result. Even in conversations, you know,
7:51
I, I even share with, with my team, you know, I go into a
7:55
conversation with what do I want it to result in?
8:00
And then I work backwards based on the, the person, the
8:04
situation, you know, my relationship and that garners
8:10
the way I deliver the message because at the end of the day, I
8:14
want to achieve a, a certain result.
8:16
So I work backwards from that. And I think that's that's I
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apply the same principle when I'm solving any type of problem.
8:24
Let's talk about it more specifically in a sales
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perspective. Can you maybe kind of role play
8:29
for us, an example of you've got a client that comes in potential
8:32
customer looking to buy a car, you know, you know that you want
8:35
to help them kind of find the vehicle that's best for them.
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How do you work backwards and sort of structure your
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conversation around that? Well, for me in sales history is
8:46
is usually a best teacher. So usually I start off by asking
8:49
questions about the last purchase, right?
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What was it about your what is it about your current car that
8:54
you like the most? What is it about your current
8:58
car that you like the least? What is the one thing that you
9:01
that you wish you had in your current car?
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You know what's changed in your life since your last purchase,
9:07
right? So typically people are
9:09
creatures of habit. So the same way they bought
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their last car is typically the same way they're going to buy
9:15
this one plus or minus, you know, something changing in
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their life where let's say for instance, they need something
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bigger because now they have a family or you know what, they
9:25
want something a little bit nicer because they got a job
9:28
promotion and different things like that.
9:30
So just, you know, asking the right questions, but starting
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from a point of, you know, what, how did they, what did they do
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the last time they were in this situation and they were looking
9:41
to, to purchase a vehicle? Because typically it's going to
9:44
be, you know, 90% of the same things this time around.
9:50
So they asked you to stay. You got that bank job that you
9:54
were hoping for, right? The the job at that dealership,
9:57
help with your resume, help to get you your foot in the door at
10:00
that bank. They're like, hold on, Kelly, we
10:03
see something in you, we want you to stay.
10:05
What was it about that environment that made you want
10:10
to stick with it a little bit longer?
10:12
So it's two things. One, and it was funny.
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So my general manager was also at this in this conversation.
10:18
They actually took me to lunch and I remember I was still on
10:23
the the edge and the VP asked the general manager to show me
10:29
his paycheck. And when I saw the kind of money
10:34
that he made, I'm like, OK. And actually, I, I, I made kind
10:38
of a smart remark to him. I was joking, but I was a joke.
10:41
And I told him, I said, look, I know I'm smarter than you, so I
10:45
know what I can do. So I'm, I'm in, but also it was
10:52
a merit based environment and I saw that you really could
11:00
control your own destiny if you were a performer, You know, it
11:06
wasn't, it was just about politics.
11:08
It wasn't about who who liked you and who who didn't.
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It was if you could perform and you could deliver results, you
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would get bigger, bigger opportunities.
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So I've always been a person that would bet on myself.
11:22
So that that really intrigued me about, about the business.
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Kelly, you've obviously achieved a a level of success that a lot
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of other folks would aspire to. What do you feel like were the
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key decisions or actions along the way that helped you secure
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the role that you've got now? Being patient, being patient,
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one of the things that is a stigma in this business is
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turnover. And some of it is, you know,
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people being asked to leave, but a lot of it is people searching
12:05
for opportunities and, you know, trying to, you know, move up
12:11
through the ranks. So maybe, you know, going over
12:13
here because maybe the grass looks greener over here.
12:17
I've only worked two places in 26 years.
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Wow. So and I've had plenty of
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opportunities to leave both of the places numerous times.
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And I think being patient, believing in the process, trust
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in the process, in entrusting the people that that I work with
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and I work for. You know, Mills has become a a
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pretty sizable collection of dealerships.
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What is it about this company that you feel is allowed it to
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be so successful? I'll tell you the the owner of
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the company and I've known him for a very long time, even prior
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to him starting his dealership group.
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We actually worked at the same company starting out.
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I came to work for him when he bought his second dealership and
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he's just a genuine guy that is very trustworthy and he gives,
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he gives back. He's a very generous person and
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I think when you when you have those principles and you know,
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he's a, he's a Christian guy and you know I am as well.
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And I just believe when you give, you get in return.
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And one thing that is not short, this company's never been short
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on is giving, giving its resources and giving people
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opportunities to to improve themselves.
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I think when you do that and you do things in the right mindset
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with the right intentions, I just think it comes back to you
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and that's why we've been able to grow so much.
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How does your faith influence your leadership style, Kelly?
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Oh, it's, it's, it's, it's huge, you know, servant leadership,
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you know, I, I serve my people. They do not serve me.
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I serve them. And you know that that's, that's
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a principle straight out of the Bible, right?
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So that's, that's how we operate.
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We, we turn, we turn the pyramid upside down.
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You know, I believe that the person at the top is most of the
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time the least important person because they are the furthest
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away from where really the action happens, right?
15:07
I used to tell my when I was running a dealership, I used to
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reiterate to my team that I was the most out of control person
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in the whole store. I relied on everybody else doing
15:18
their job for my success. So I had the least amount of
15:22
control of anybody in the store and I and I, that's how I
15:27
operated. So I made sure that everybody
15:32
that was responsible for generating the results had
15:34
everything they that they needed and I supported them in that
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way. Can you maybe think of a
15:40
specific example of the time where you kind of, you know,
15:44
went out of your way to make sure that an employee had what
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they needed? That, I don't know.
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Maybe that kind of thing wouldn't have happened in a
15:53
different type of work environment where somebody
15:56
wasn't driven by servant leadership.
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Perfect example. I got a great example.
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So I had a young man that I hired.
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He was from Cuba and this guy just had an amazing personality
16:12
and so much energy. And I remember when I
16:14
interviewed him, I really did not understand 50% what he said,
16:19
but it was just a pure enthusiasm, you know, just
16:24
something about him. I'm, I'm like, I've got to give
16:27
this guy a shot. I've got to give him my
16:29
opportunity. And sure enough, you know, he
16:33
comes in and customers love him. They can't understand half of
16:38
what he's saying, but they just understand.
16:40
They just love his enthusiasm. And after he was with me about
16:46
three years, I, I went and hired a English as a second language
16:54
tutor for him out of my own pocket.
16:57
And I had them come in twice a week for an hour to work with
17:06
him on his English because I saw that he could be more than a
17:12
salesperson. But he had to improve this.
17:17
And as hard as he worked for me, I wanted to give back for him to
17:21
him. I didn't even try and run it
17:23
through the company didn't want to go.
17:25
I said, you know what, this is something that I'm going to do
17:27
for him. So that that's a perfect
17:29
example. That's such a cool story.
17:33
So you've been with Mills since 2016, about 8 or 9 years.
17:38
Just in the past year you've moved up I've.
17:40
Been with 2006, 2000. Six, 2006, Thanks for the
17:44
correction. So 18 years, yeah, OK.
17:49
Just in the past year you've moved up to market president.
17:53
What what is that role? What does a market president?
17:56
Do so, we have 34 stores in our group and we went through a
18:04
transition about a year ago where we decided to split the
18:11
group in half so that we can have better coverage and
18:15
oversight. So my previous role is variable
18:18
operations director. I was pretty much just in charge
18:21
of the sales side of the operation for all of our stores.
18:26
So moving to the market president role now I'm in charge
18:31
of every aspect of it. So not just the sales, but
18:35
service accounting, every single aspect of the of the business.
18:41
But I'm doing it for 18 of our stores in our southern region.
18:45
So I cover everything in North Carolina, South Carolina, and
18:48
Louisiana. And so then you've got a
18:51
counterpart who's doing the same kind of role for the other 16
18:55
stores. OK.
18:57
And that transition just happened about a year ago.
18:59
What a year ago, What was kind of the inspiration for making
19:05
that change, and how do you feel like it's been going over the
19:08
last 12 months? Well, the inspiration was to get
19:11
the stores more support because we were spread way too thin
19:17
trying to cover all of the stores.
19:20
And I think it it's, I think it's going well.
19:23
The stores have definitely benefited from the additional
19:26
support and the focus. I've been able to travel less.
19:31
So that's been a personal, personal benefit for me as well.
19:34
So it it's worked out well. So you mentioned that the owner
19:40
that you work for, that you work with, you guys knew each other
19:44
from a previous job and you came to work with him when he just
19:49
had, was it 2 dealerships? Yep, 2 dealerships.
19:51
So from 2 dealerships to 34, that's significant growth.
19:57
I mean, the cost of opening up a dealership is not small.
20:01
I'm kind of curious to hear about growth strategy.
20:06
Like what did you guys do to sort of pour gasoline on the
20:11
fire and really light this thing up?
20:14
Well, you know, it's, it's funny when you talk about growth
20:19
strategy, there's never been like a number of dealerships
20:23
that he's wanted to purchase or we want it as a group.
20:29
We just looked at it on a case by case basis.
20:32
So if it was the right, you know, the right store in the
20:36
right market, the right brand, then we just say yes to it.
20:42
So no, no real like we want to go out and have all these
20:46
stores. It's just, you know, when and it
20:50
goes back to that faith piece, right, opportunities will find
20:54
you. You don't, you don't have to
20:56
chase and we've never chased anything.
21:01
Literally just about every last one of these opportunities have
21:05
found us, whether it's a manufacturer bringing it to us
21:08
or a owner wanting to, you know, sell their business and wanted
21:16
to sell it to a certain type of person to make sure their
21:20
employees are are continue to take be taken care of.
21:23
So that's, that's how they've come.
21:28
They, we haven't chased them, they've chased us.
21:31
So I want to dig into that a little bit because there's some
21:34
people who are listening that may hear that advice and be
21:37
like, oh, all I have to do is sit here on my couch and watch
21:41
Netflix and the opportunities are going to find me.
21:45
And I don't think that's what your message is.
21:49
Now you know, when you're a performer, when you perform,
21:55
when your reputation and your work speaks for itself, then
22:00
people want to partner with you, they want to be a part of what
22:05
you're doing. So like a lot of the, a lot of
22:08
the dealerships that we've we've gotten has have been from the
22:12
manufacturers come in and say, hey, here's this opportunity,
22:17
you know, are you interested? So and that only comes from from
22:22
doing a good job and performing. That makes a lot more sense.
22:26
So these opportunities found you because you guys were executing
22:31
every day at a really high level, correct?
22:34
Yep. I'm, I'm kind of curious as you
22:37
think about sort of a, a consistent strategy that you
22:41
guys might use at, you know, each dealership level that
22:45
allows you to be so successful in hitting numbers in each
22:49
location. You know, does that come down to
22:53
you guys have got, you know, a really good marketing strategy?
22:56
You you're running the best kinds of ads you've got, you
23:00
know, the most effective salespeople, you're representing
23:02
the best brands. Like what?
23:04
What's kind of the most important piece of all of that?
23:09
Recruiting good people, people are everything in this business
23:16
because it's, it's, you know, I call it the people, but it's not
23:19
the car business. It's it's the people business.
23:24
And you know, you can have the best brand in the greatest
23:27
location with the best marketing strategy.
23:30
But if when those customers show up, they don't find a group of
23:34
people that they trust and want to do business with, you're not
23:40
going to sell anything. So it's all people.
23:43
And we, we, we put a heavy focus on recruiting the right people.
23:51
You know, we hire more for mindset than skill set.
23:55
We can teach you a skill set. We can't teach a mindset.
24:00
So that's what we really focus on.
24:02
And what is that mindset that you're looking for?
24:07
Determine and driven and, and we have what we call our five
24:11
pillars, which are our core values of the, of the, of the
24:15
group and his character, integrity, teamwork, work ethic
24:21
and performance. Those are our five pillars and
24:24
that's what we look for in every single team member that we bring
24:28
on. And you know, we also look for
24:30
the intangibles, the things that you can't teach.
24:32
I can't teach someone drive. I can't teach someone desire,
24:36
right. If you come with that and you
24:39
come with those other five things, I can teach you the
24:42
skill set, but I can't teach you the right mindset.
24:46
So for people listening who think, Oh yeah, Kelly, that
24:50
makes a lot of sense, I want to do that in my business, but I
24:55
don't know how to identify somebody who has that kind of
24:58
mindset from an interview environment.
25:01
Like after they've been there for a few months, you've seen
25:05
how they operate, you see how they perform, you see how they
25:07
fit in with everybody, you got a better sense.
25:09
But how do you guys kind of flush that out in in the early
25:13
stages before bringing them on board?
25:15
Well, you know, one of the things like I have a very
25:18
regimented interviewing process that I seem to be able to get
25:24
all the information that kind of brings up those things.
25:27
So one I tell when I saw the interview, first question I
25:31
asked is tell me your story. I want to know your story,
25:35
right? Not your resume.
25:38
I want to know your story. And it's funny, most people ask,
25:41
well, how far do you, how much do you want to know?
25:44
I said, I tell them I want to know everything.
25:46
And you know, one of the things that I look for is have you
25:52
faced adversity? Have you overcome adversity,
25:57
right? And what, what's been the steps?
26:02
What's been your decision making?
26:04
How did you end up where you are today?
26:08
And usually a person's journey and when they tell you what
26:12
they've been through and also seeing how open they are with
26:19
you tells me a lot about a person.
26:24
And then, you know, I, I build on the questions and I've got a
26:27
series of questions that I ask that really allows me to get to
26:33
know a person as a person, not just question them about their
26:37
experience and resume. It's typically, I mean, probably
26:42
15 minutes of the interview may be about the, the technical part
26:46
of things or their background. You know, the other hour and 15
26:50
minutes that I may spend with them is about them as a person.
26:56
That ratio really says a lot about what it is that you're
26:59
looking for. I mean, it backs up exactly what
27:01
you've already told us. You're looking for mindset, not
27:04
skill set. You can train the skills you
27:06
want, the person that fits the mold.
27:09
So and one of the things you said is, you know, you're
27:12
looking for somebody that you know, have you faced adversity?
27:15
Have you overcome that adversity?
27:17
What did that look like? I'm kind of curious to hear from
27:20
your path, you know, looking back at some of your earlier
27:23
roles, general sales manager, general manager, is there maybe
27:29
one specific experience that you can think about and a
27:33
corresponding lesson from it that you still remember to this
27:37
day that influences how you run the Business Today?
27:42
Well, I'll tell you. And I moved up very fast at a
27:48
very young age and I probably had a lot of roles that maybe I
27:57
wasn't, my maturity level wasn't ready for the position, but my
28:05
skill set was. And it was a particular instance
28:09
when I remember they they hired A gentleman to come in at a
28:16
position above me and I felt like I should have had the job
28:23
and I did not handle it the right way.
28:28
I made it my personal mission to show how less competent that guy
28:36
was than I was. And I was successful in doing
28:41
that. And they ended up moving the guy
28:43
out of the position, but they moved somebody else in the
28:47
position and didn't give it to me.
28:49
And I remember a conversation, same VP, and this is 3-4 years
28:58
later. And he sat down with me and he
29:01
shared with me. He said, you know, he was the
29:05
wrong guy. And you made sure we knew that,
29:08
but you also showed that you're not ready for that leadership
29:12
position either. And he pointed out exactly how I
29:16
should have handled that. And that, you know what, he knew
29:22
that from a skill set standpoint, I was 100% ready for
29:26
that job. I can do the job hands down.
29:30
But he knew I was not ready from a maturity standpoint.
29:35
And I mean, he told me he's like, you know what, you got to
29:40
serve in order to to be served. And, you know, I had to take a
29:48
step back and I took a different approach.
29:50
And you know what, I made the new guy.
29:52
I made him look good. I made him as successful as he
29:56
could be. And you know, I ended up getting
30:02
the job the next time around. So, but that was a very valuable
30:06
lesson. So if you had that situation to
30:09
do all over again, and maybe using the advice that you were
30:13
given on how you should have handled it from that VP, what
30:17
would you have done differently? What would have been the right
30:20
way? I would have supported them, I
30:22
would have trained them, I would have helped them instead of
30:25
expose them. I exposed all his weaknesses and
30:29
I should have never done that. Mills has positioned itself as a
30:37
consumer focused dealer with in house financing and maintenance.
30:43
Can you maybe share an example of how you've integrated those
30:46
services to create a seamless customer experience?
30:51
Well, you know, most dealerships operate this way, but we just,
30:57
we focus on retention. We want the customers to come
31:03
back. We don't want them to just buy
31:04
one car. We want them to buy several cars
31:07
from us. So you know, we focus on the
31:09
areas where customers typically leave, right.
31:19
So sales, sales the first car service sells everyone after
31:25
that. So you know, regardless of how
31:29
good of a sales experience someone has had, if the service
31:33
experience throughout throughout their ownership cycle is not
31:40
equally as good, typically they won't come back to the
31:43
dealership and buy a car. So we really focus in on that
31:47
aspect of it. Let's talk about the warranty
31:51
process. You've got a background in
31:55
focusing on this for lay people like myself, what's an
32:00
underappreciated aspect of warranties that can
32:04
significantly influence a dealerships success and how are
32:08
you using that to kind of benefit benefit mills?
32:12
Well, you know, typically the thing that customers hate is
32:18
paying for a car and paying to get it fixed as well.
32:22
So, you know, we look at selling service contracts not as just a
32:29
profit center, but also a way of keeping the consumer happy and
32:36
put them in a position where they are not, you know, burdened
32:41
with huge unexpected cost at at the absolute wrong time, right?
32:47
Nothing happens at the right time.
32:49
It always happens at the wrong time.
32:51
So, you know, we really focus on providing that service to the
32:54
consumer and really explaining it to them in the right way so
33:00
that they make a good decision and decide to purchase, you
33:03
know, a service contract so that they have more, more economical
33:08
control over their, you know, car ownership experience.
33:17
How do you present that to a customer in a way that, right,
33:21
doesn't feel like you're trying to upsell them?
33:24
You know, hey, you want fries with that?
33:26
You want a biggie Size it like how does that that delivery kind
33:29
of come across? You know, we just, we, we, we
33:33
lay it out and just, we tell the consumer everything that's
33:37
available for them from a product standpoint, whether it's
33:42
insurance, whether it's coverage for their tires and tire and
33:45
wheel. And we explain what it is, what
33:49
are the benefits of of having it, how much it costs.
33:52
And we let them make the decision.
33:55
So it's not a pressure situation.
33:57
It's almost like you're a a teacher, you're you're educating
34:00
them, you're just sharing information.
34:01
Very, very low pressure. You know what, We give you the
34:04
opportunity to purchase it, not really trying to sell you
34:06
anything. I want to talk about electrical
34:10
vehicles. You guys recently partnered with
34:13
Fisker. Tell me about that partnership
34:16
and how how it unfolded and how it's going so far.
34:19
Well, Fisker, you know, Fisker's had some issues.
34:22
So Fisker is no longer, they're no longer a manufacturer.
34:28
They they've filed bankruptcy and they've gone on, but we've,
34:31
we've actually partnered with a different EV company called
34:34
Venfast, OK. And Venfast is a Vietnamese
34:40
company. They've just come to the United
34:41
States. They're actually going to be
34:43
building a factory in North Carolina in the next few years.
34:47
And that's gone real well. They have a very nice car, great
34:51
price point for consumers, and it's a it's a great option for
34:58
someone wanting to enter into the EV space.
35:02
This isn't a brand that I'm familiar with.
35:03
Can you tell me more about it? Yeah, it's, it's, I mean, it's
35:06
just been in the United States about a year.
35:09
OK. Like I said, it's a they're
35:11
based out of Vietnam complete startup.
35:17
But from what I understand, they are well funded, well heeled and
35:24
they've got a good product and a great design.
35:26
And we've we've been selling them now for about four months
35:31
and it's a great car. I mean they had a great lease
35:35
for consumers, 349 a month. And I mean, it's a very nice
35:40
car. SUV, leather interior, very,
35:42
very nice car. Hey, I'm looking at the website
35:44
here now. Yeah, they're slick looking.
35:48
What are maybe the advantages of and this for folks who who
35:54
haven't heard of it before, you can find their website Vin VIN
35:59
fast auto dot US. What are some of the advantages
36:03
of this particular line of electrical vehicles over maybe
36:07
some of the other options out there?
36:10
One is the the price point. The best way to purchase an EV
36:16
is to lease it because you get the government subsidies with
36:20
the lease and everything like that.
36:24
And they found a niche at that price point.
36:27
But you don't sacrifice anything.
36:29
I mean, these cars have leather interior, all the features that
36:33
you would find in a luxury vehicle and it's at a great
36:38
price point. And why?
36:42
Specifically, is a lease a better way to go with these
36:44
cars? Well, couple of things. 1 is the
36:49
cost. EVs are naturally more expensive
36:54
because it's a lot more R&D in it.
36:56
It's a huge. Batteries are.
36:59
Expensive, yeah, huge investment by the manufacturers.
37:02
So the price point is, is is pretty high.
37:07
So leasing is the most affordable way to do it as well
37:12
as there there's a lot of volatility from a we sell value
37:20
with EVs. I mean, it, it's, it's almost
37:23
like watching a stock, stock market, they go up, they go down
37:27
and leasing it will insulate you from the risk of what it may or
37:35
may not be worth 3 years from now because there's just still a
37:39
lot of unknowns, especially with the new administration, you
37:42
know, you know, quite possibly taking the focus away from EVs.
37:48
We just don't know what that's going to do to the market.
37:52
So I advise most people to lease them because at that point, you
37:56
know, at the end of your lease, if it's not worth anywhere close
38:00
to what you, what they say is worth, you can, you know, drop
38:03
it off and walk away. So all the risk is deferred, you
38:07
know, to the lender. You're not assuming any of that
38:10
risk. Makes a lot of sense.
38:12
We're recording this interview on January 22nd, 2025, right?
38:16
As Kelly mentioned, new administration has come in, not
38:19
sure what that's going to do to sort of the landscape of E BS.
38:24
So certainly some questions to be answered there over time.
38:29
Kelly, you guys have got operations across 7 states, you
38:34
know hundreds of employees. I'm curious, how do you
38:39
systematize and ensure consistent training, culture,
38:45
service across all these different locations?
38:49
It's, it's very difficult. It's a, it's a challenge.
38:55
You know, 1 is using technology to bring all of these people in
39:05
all of these different places together so that everyone's
39:08
getting the same message at the same time.
39:12
So, you know, we use a lot of technology.
39:16
You know, I have Zoom meetings once, twice a week with my teams
39:22
so that, you know, I can deliver a consistent message across the
39:28
entire route and really charge them with letting it trickle
39:33
down and then holding them accountable to it at every
39:37
level. I'm also curious, I would assume
39:43
and tell me if I'm wrong on this, Kelly.
39:46
You know, with so many different locations across 7 different
39:49
states, I would think that sometimes the market demand the,
39:56
I don't know, just sort of the flavour of the local community.
40:00
Kind of dictates that the store be run a little bit differently.
40:04
You know, I see you nodding your head.
40:06
What are some of those differences and how do you
40:09
accommodate for them? There's there's certain nuances
40:12
in certain markets for sure. And you know, you got to keep
40:20
your core principles what they are, but allow for the little
40:24
small niches in these certain communities.
40:27
Give you a perfect example. We've got dealerships in New
40:31
Orleans. You know, we got to get those
40:34
stores Mardi Gras off. They got to be off for Mardi
40:37
Gras. The markets, everybody's working
40:42
that market, everybody's off for Mardi Gras.
40:44
So when you have certain things like that and then, you know,
40:49
everywhere does have a, you know, different flavor a little
40:52
bit. And you just got to, you got to
40:54
allow some creativity in those markets, but keep, keep the core
41:00
of what you have in place from your principles and and don't
41:04
deviate from any of that stuff. You mentioned relying on tech as
41:09
a way to help communicate sort of the mission, the values
41:14
across such a, you know, a wide geography.
41:20
You know, you guys have been around for a while.
41:22
There's, you know, there's a lot of tradition within mills.
41:27
So I'm kind of curious to hear maybe a particular example of a
41:31
time where we're able to introduce an innovation, maybe
41:37
it's tech related or a new service that kind of shows that
41:43
balance of tradition with new. Yeah, I was tell you this, even
41:52
though we're a young company, we have remained pretty steadfast
42:02
in the basics of things now. Yeah, we've introduced new
42:06
technology and different things like that.
42:10
But we we haven't really deviated much from our core, our
42:14
core business and how we've done business.
42:19
You know, we do introduce new technology and things.
42:23
And when we do that, we bring, you know, we, we bring the team
42:26
together to our headquarters in North Carolina and, and, and
42:30
roll it out. And then, you know, we, we go
42:32
into the stores to make sure it's being implemented.
42:37
You know, a lot of times that's when I'm travelling and we're
42:39
implementing new things because you got to have boots on the
42:43
ground. You have to see it in the
42:44
environment and it's a lot of work, but we get it done.
42:53
Let's talk about COVID for a minute.
42:56
COVID put the auto industry on quite a roller coaster.
43:01
What was it like for you guys and how did you?
43:05
Navigate that. It was a very interesting time.
43:17
I think we did a very good job. One of the things that we did
43:22
probably that I'm most proud of is when everyone took the
43:26
opportunity to lay people off and cut their workforce because
43:34
of all the different programs that were available and
43:37
everything else that was going on.
43:39
We did not lay off one person. Not one person across the entire
43:44
organization. Not one.
43:45
We did not lay off one person. The only thing we did, and I
43:49
remember the conversation was, you know, we weren't going to
43:54
lay anyone off, but if someone did not fit our culture, it was
44:00
time to part ways with them and replace them because we just had
44:09
a belief that, you know what, we were going to be OK and we would
44:15
figure it out and the business would be fine.
44:19
And we did not lay off one person during COVID.
44:23
Now it is, you know, we can kind of look in the rear view mirror,
44:27
right? There was a big drop off, right?
44:29
And then things came back like a rocket ship.
44:33
And so, you know, it probably from a business perspective
44:37
looks like a pretty smart move to have not let people off.
44:41
But you didn't know that in that in those early days, weeks,
44:44
months, you didn't know if and when it was going to come back.
44:48
There was so much uncertainty at the time.
44:51
So I don't know, I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell me
44:53
if I'm right or wrong. I get the sense that that
44:56
decision not to lay anybody off was less about what made good
45:02
business sense and was more about how do we take care of our
45:06
people and how do we make sure that they can keep a roof over
45:10
their head, that they can put food on their table, that they
45:13
can take care of their families. Absolutely.
45:15
And it it was actually the second time that we made this
45:18
decision. So the first time back in 2008,
45:25
we only had two dealerships. One was the store I was running,
45:29
which was a Chrysler store. And if you remember, back in
45:32
2008, Chrysler filed bankruptcy. Yeah.
45:35
Right. And I remember the night that
45:39
they filed bankruptcy, myself and owner, we were sitting in my
45:44
office and literally we just stare at each other probably for
45:47
10 minutes. Neither one of us knew what to
45:49
say. And I remember, you know, you
45:55
know, we, we, we prayed and he's like, let's meet back 8:00 in
45:58
the morning and we'll figure it out.
46:00
And came back at 8:00 that morning.
46:02
And, you know, he shared with me, he said, look, we're not
46:05
going, we're not going to lay a single person off.
46:09
You know what, we're going to cut everything before we cut
46:12
people and we're going to figure it out.
46:15
And throughout that whole bankruptcy process with
46:19
Chrysler, we didn't lose not one person.
46:22
So we have been there before in a situation where things didn't
46:26
look like it was going to be OK. And so we had something to
46:32
reference and we came out of that, I mean, so strong because
46:38
our people, they recognized the sacrifice of keeping everybody.
46:46
And so they worked twice as hard.
46:48
So we believed that that was going to happen again and it.
46:54
Did and remind us what How did the Chrysler bankruptcy play
46:57
out? Well, Chrysler sold to Fiat, a
47:02
Italian company and you know, they invested in it and
47:06
government put a bunch of money behind it and you know, business
47:12
came back very strong. And you know, Chrysler ended up,
47:16
you know, working itself out and and becoming a great brand again
47:20
with mainly Jeep and Ram. And, you know, we were very
47:25
successful as the Chrysler deal. So as I hear these two examples,
47:30
the, the Chrysler bankruptcy and the COVID experience, you know,
47:35
if we're to draw sort of the, the thread between them, the
47:38
common lesson to be learned, I mean, for your business, it sort
47:42
of backs up what you were saying before.
47:44
You're not in the car business, you're in the people business.
47:47
You guys always approached it from how do we take care of our
47:50
people 1st and the rest of it's going to kind of figure itself
47:53
out. And I remember mentor of mine
47:59
share with me, you know, he told me, he said, he said, Kelly, if
48:03
you always focus and be in your concern about what your people
48:09
make, you'll never have to worry about what you make.
48:13
And that's, that's been a core principle of mine.
48:18
You know what, as long as I, if my people are successful, I have
48:21
no choice but to be successful. So I focus my energy around them
48:27
and not me. I'm going to be My success is
48:29
going to be a byproduct of theirs anyway.
48:32
Like that message, you know, Kelly, growth often comes from
48:36
our biggest challenges. I would like to hear from you a
48:40
serious challenge that you had to overcome.
48:43
Maybe it's business, maybe it's personal combination of the two.
48:48
What was that? What were some practical steps
48:51
that helped you overcome the challenge?
48:54
And ultimately, what did you learn from that experience?
48:58
You know, probably the biggest challenge that I've had to
49:00
overcome was so I lost my dad at the, at that time, the height of
49:09
my career and my, my dad was my best friend.
49:16
You know, I talked to him 2-3 times a day.
49:20
He gave amazing advice. He could always point me in the
49:26
right direction. He just had a knack for it.
49:28
And you know, my career is, is taking off.
49:32
I'm being recognized and, you know, store setting records,
49:37
everything's going well. And and then one day, you know,
49:42
the compass, my, my compass, the thing that keeps me straight is
49:47
gone. And I remember I felt like a
49:57
about to give an analogy, like a kid that lost his parents in the
50:03
grocery store. And you don't know what's going
50:08
to happen. You can't find your, you know
50:09
what I mean? So I just it, it was a, it was a
50:13
different time for me. And, you know, I had to really
50:20
rely on one of my faith. But two, all the lessons leading
50:26
up to that point. And, and I remember sitting in
50:30
my office one day, this was like a few weeks after and you know,
50:36
almost hearing his voice in my, in my ear saying, look, I
50:39
prepared you for this. You, you, you're ready to, to
50:44
run this race by yourself. And you know, that was a very,
50:50
very, very challenging time running the business got a young
50:53
family. And you know, the one person I
50:57
could always count on was no longer there.
50:59
So, but it taught me a lot about myself.
51:02
It taught me, taught me how resilient I was.
51:08
It also taught me that that as a parent, you are constantly
51:18
preparing your children for you not being around and you need to
51:23
focus on that. You need to equip them with
51:27
everything they need to be functional and thrive without
51:33
you. How old were you when your
51:38
father passed? 3535.
51:41
So obviously not a little kid, but I like that you use that
51:45
analogy because that's what it felt like, right?
51:47
He was, he was such a key part of your life.
51:49
He was your compass. He's the person you could go to
51:52
for advice, for help. And suddenly he's gone.
51:56
And that, that piece, that that directional component of you has
52:03
disappeared. Very disorienting, very
52:07
emotional. Yeah.
52:11
And tell me how you were able to lean on your faith to help you
52:18
through this difficult time. Well, you know what, I just, I
52:24
always believe everything happens for a reason.
52:26
And, you know, I believe, you know, God doesn't make any
52:32
mistakes. And I begin to kind of replay
52:39
like the last couple of years and all the things that I, I was
52:46
able to do for and with my dad during that time because he had
52:53
about a two year illness and, you know, even flying home and,
53:02
you know, staying in the hospital with him.
53:05
And, you know, some of the most memorable conversations I have
53:09
with my dad probably occurred two, 3:00 in the morning sitting
53:13
in the hospital room. And you know, although those,
53:19
you know, at the time, I looked at it as an inconvenience, you
53:24
know, with him being in the hospital and everything like
53:26
that, you know, I wouldn't trade those days for anything.
53:31
They were extremely valuable. I hold on to them today.
53:38
And you know, so think things, things work out.
53:45
When, when, when you look at something that isn't ideal,
53:51
right? But then you can look back and
53:55
see that, you know what, it was all orchestrated because when,
53:59
when, how else would I be fully engaged?
54:05
And we would have that time with no distractions other than in
54:10
that hospital at two, 3:00 in the morning to have some of the
54:14
conversations that we had that really prepared me for life
54:20
without them. You know, I like what you said,
54:24
Kelly, about. You know, as a parent, your
54:28
biggest job is to help prepare the kids for the time when
54:31
you're not there. If and how old are your kids
54:36
now? 23 and 21.
54:39
So if if I asked you to give the single most important piece of
54:46
advice or lesson learned to impart upon your kids for that
54:52
eventuality, because we can go through a huge long list of
54:55
things, right? The number one most important
54:57
thing. What would that be?
55:00
Let them make decisions so you can understand how they think,
55:04
how they make decisions, and then begin to guide them in
55:09
their decision making process. That was one of the things my
55:13
dad did for me. He never told me what to do.
55:16
He would ask me questions, he would give me pros and cons, and
55:23
then he would let me make a decision.
55:25
And if it was the wrong decision, then we would recap it
55:29
later. It was the right decision.
55:31
You know what he would tell me? You know what?
55:33
You, you did it the right way. And that's one thing I've tried
55:37
to do with my kids is is to let them make decisions, you know,
55:40
guide them kind of be the be the, the, the box around them,
55:46
but let them play around in that box and see how they make
55:49
decisions and, and try and give them guidance on the right way
55:52
to assess things and make decisions.
55:56
You can ask them questions that kind of, you know, point their
55:58
thinking in the right directions to at least be considering the
56:02
right options. Kelly, if you were to recommend
56:09
one resource, a book, a course, a podcast that would help
56:16
someone grow either their business or as a person, what
56:21
would that be? The Craig Groshell leadership
56:25
podcast is phenomenal. What would somebody get from
56:31
that? Oh, you get so much.
56:35
So Craig Rochelle, he's the pastor, I think the largest
56:42
church in the country, Life Church.
56:46
And he does a leadership podcast and it covers every topic.
56:54
He does it. I think it's twice a month.
56:56
He puts it out every other Thursday or something like that.
56:59
But he, he covers every leadership topic there is.
57:05
And you know, there's a lot of biblical principles in them as
57:10
well. So I've actually used it with my
57:15
team, you know, once a month I like to do a, a, a leadership
57:22
thing on our call. And I've used, it's been 2 years
57:26
now. Two years ago, I decided that I
57:29
was going to use his podcast as the mechanism for my leadership
57:34
training, and my leaders love it.
57:39
And So what you'll hear an episode and you're like, oh,
57:42
this is spot on. I'm going to ask my leadership
57:45
team to listen to this and then we can all sort of discuss it
57:49
kind of like a book club together.
57:50
Is that sort of how you use it? We will find the link for that
57:56
podcast that Kelly mentioned and put it in the show notes for
57:59
folks in case they can't find it on their own.
58:02
Kelly, curious to hear maybe a fun or interesting fact about
58:06
you that most people wouldn't know?
58:08
Oh, let's see, fun or interesting fact that most
58:11
people don't know? I'll tell you this is
58:16
interesting. So I'm in sales and I'm in front
58:20
of people all the time, but I am a introvert.
58:26
I'm an introvert. I would, I would much rather be
58:30
by myself than be around a bunch of people.
58:33
But my life is people. So that's a pretty interesting
58:40
thing about me that it that my preference is I am an introvert.
58:46
That's fascinating, right? Because you think of the most
58:49
successful salespeople, you always think of a a big
58:52
personality, somebody who's gregarious, who just naturally
58:56
has the gift of gab and, you know, enjoys just sort of
58:59
chatting with people. When you first got started in
59:03
sales, did you recognize that you were an introvert and this
59:06
was something that you had to overcome, or how did you think
59:10
through that? For sure.
59:12
What you know, for me, the most awkward thing was going out and
59:15
meeting a a customer because it was a stranger.
59:19
I didn't like it. I mean, it was just, it was
59:21
awkward for me, but you know, I'm a competitive person so I
59:28
had to figure it out. So for me, process being very
59:33
process oriented and process driven allowed me to overcome
59:40
that awkwardness and that being an introvert.
59:43
So I became very regimented in my approach and I really had my
59:48
own sales process that I perfected that allowed me to get
59:54
through the process, get all the information I needed, establish
59:59
good rapport. I mean literally my first 10
1:00:02
minutes with every customer was the same.
1:00:05
Tell us about it, because I mean, there's a lot of people
1:00:07
listening who are like, yeah, I'm an introvert too.
1:00:10
I'm in a sales role or I'd like to be in a sales role.
1:00:14
It just feels so uncomfortable to me.
1:00:15
What? What advice can you give from
1:00:18
you know what what you've learned, what you've tried?
1:00:20
Come up, Come up with a process. Come up with almost a script,
1:00:25
right? So my first 10 minutes were
1:00:27
scripted. So I went out and introduced
1:00:29
myself to the customer, shook their hand.
1:00:32
You know, I would not let the customer's hand go until they
1:00:35
gave me their name. Then I would use their name.
1:00:37
I would ask him specific questions.
1:00:39
But one of the things that I was my ice breaker every single time
1:00:44
was so I was from New York. I was in North Carolina at the
1:00:48
time. So one of the things that I
1:00:50
always start the conversation off with was, you know what?
1:00:54
You don't sound like you're from here.
1:00:56
Where are you from? And you know, they would tell
1:01:00
me, well, no, I'm from here. And then my follow up would be,
1:01:03
you know, well, that's odd. Most people I meet are not from
1:01:07
here. Tell me what what kept you here
1:01:09
or if they weren't from here, my next question is what brought
1:01:12
you here? And it would open up the
1:01:15
conversation and then we could get on common ground and then it
1:01:19
would allow me to ask the other questions that were more related
1:01:22
to their vehicle. But it just it, it was an easy
1:01:25
icebreaker that, you know, one thing I learned, and I was a
1:01:29
psychology minor in school too, is everybody likes to talk about
1:01:33
themselves. So if I can get people to open
1:01:35
up and start talking about themselves, that they'll never
1:01:37
stop talking and I'll find out everything I need to know.
1:01:39
I. Like that?
1:01:42
Kelly, I've got just one more question for you.
1:01:44
But before I ask you, I want to do 2 things.
1:01:46
Everybody listening today, I know that you love today's
1:01:49
content because Kelly's been an amazing guest with lots of great
1:01:52
advice. Please hit the follow button on
1:01:55
your favorite podcast app so you can get more of these great
1:01:58
stories. I also am going to let you know
1:02:01
the best way to continue to follow Kelly's story or to get
1:02:05
in touch with him. That's his LinkedIn page.
1:02:07
We're going to include that link in the show notes.
1:02:09
But if you want to search for it now, his first name is Kelly
1:02:12
Kelly, last name Alston. Alston.
1:02:16
Combine that with Mills Auto Group and you'll find him.
1:02:19
So last question for you, Kelly. As we look to the future, what
1:02:25
exciting changes do you see coming in your industry and how
1:02:32
can others prepare themselves to be part of that?
1:02:36
Well, I think probably some of the most exciting changes, I
1:02:40
think we'll see a shift in, well, it's already shifting how
1:02:45
business is being done. It's going to continue to
1:02:48
evolve, especially with the, the new generation of of the
1:02:52
workforce coming on that is very different than my generation,
1:02:56
right. They have things that are are
1:02:59
they're the things that are important to them are very
1:03:02
different than what was important to my generation.
1:03:05
Making money was primary. Now it's about time and being
1:03:10
included and I think that's going to create an evolution in
1:03:13
the business that's going to make it very different than what
1:03:17
it is today. Kelly, I want to be the first
1:03:21
one to thank you for sharing both your time and your story
1:03:23
with us today. I really appreciate it.
1:03:25
Thank you. Appreciate your time.
1:03:27
Folks, that's a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories
1:03:30
podcast. Thanks for learning with us
1:03:32
today.