Latest / CBT Live / How Good Dealers Fall Out of Compliance, Tom Wood U, Valuations (10.05.26)

Transcript

How Good Dealers Fall Out of Compliance, Tom Wood U, Valuations (10.05.26) · CBT Live

0:00
SPEAKER_07: One compliance mistake can cost your dealership millions and fines, but that's just half the story.
0:05
SPEAKER_07: What else could it cost you?
0:07
SPEAKER_05: And governmenting your own fixed ops team could make all the difference.
0:11
SPEAKER_05: How one dealership created their own university to prepare their teams for success.
0:16
SPEAKER_05: All that more coming up on CBT Live.
0:32
SPEAKER_07: Today is Monday, October 5th.
0:34
SPEAKER_07: I'm Bridget Fitzpatrick, joined by Jim Fitzpatrick.
0:36
SPEAKER_07: Thank you so much for joining us today.
0:40
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
0:40
SPEAKER_07: Happy Monday.
0:41
SPEAKER_05: Happy Monday.
0:42
SPEAKER_05: It was a great weekend.
0:43
SPEAKER_07: It was a great weekend.
0:45
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, it was relaxing.
0:46
SPEAKER_05: Good uh sports weekend.
0:48
SPEAKER_05: Falcons uh won.
0:50
SPEAKER_05: And uh so that means uh they're coming back to Atlanta to play uh LA.
0:55
SPEAKER_05: You mean the Did I say the Falcons?
0:57
SPEAKER_05: I mean the Braves.
0:57
SPEAKER_05: I'm sorry, the Braves.
0:59
SPEAKER_05: The Falcons, that's right.
1:00
SPEAKER_05: The Falcons play actually tonight, right?
1:02
SPEAKER_05: Against the Saints.
1:03
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:04
SPEAKER_05: See how I was so relaxed in the weekend.
1:05
SPEAKER_07: It's been so relaxed, like, it's hard to get back into the whatever.
1:09
SPEAKER_07: It's hard to get back into the Atlanta.
1:11
SPEAKER_07: Just say Atlanta, and then you're covering both.
1:13
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
1:13
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
1:13
SPEAKER_05: We've got great sports teams here in Atlanta.
1:15
SPEAKER_05: We do.
1:16
SPEAKER_05: It's a really cool team.
1:17
SPEAKER_05: And great sport venues, you know, between Mercedes-Benz and the new uh Brave Stadium.
1:23
SPEAKER_05: I say new, but it's been around a few years, but it's uh it's incredible.
1:26
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, and if any of you ever join us or uh come into the studio, you've got to check those out.
1:30
SPEAKER_07: Or if you're coming to one of the games, be sure to come by the studio.
1:34
SPEAKER_07: Let us know.
1:34
SPEAKER_07: Right?
1:35
SPEAKER_07: Right.
1:36
SPEAKER_07: All right, guys, coming up, Vince Malcunion, founder of Auto AI Radar, and Sam Weaver, vice president of and partner of Chevy Chase Automotive, and also the chairman of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association will join us to talk about FTC pricing transparency.
1:52
SPEAKER_07: And then we'll also be joined later by Bill DeMarie, group director of fixed operations at Tom Wood Group.
2:00
SPEAKER_07: Two great interviews coming up.
2:02
SPEAKER_07: I'm very excited about both of those conversations.
2:03
SPEAKER_05: Yes, for sure.
2:04
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, the uh this FTC thing, man, it's not going away.
2:07
SPEAKER_05: It is not and that's why we I we love when these guys come in.
2:10
SPEAKER_05: And uh Sam is um, you know, just uh he's been around the auto industry a long time and uh very well, very well respected.
2:17
SPEAKER_05: He's very passionate about this very topic, and uh it's not going away.
2:22
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, that's right.
2:23
SPEAKER_05: He that's right, he joined us on the FTC Summit, yeah, on the panel.
2:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, he was awesome.
2:28
SPEAKER_05: And uh so yeah, I'm looking forward to that discussion.
2:29
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, that'd be great.
2:30
SPEAKER_07: That'd be great.
2:31
SPEAKER_07: So we do have a little bit of news to cover before we get to those great interviews.
2:35
SPEAKER_07: Um so we aired today an interview with Dave Canton, which was great.
2:38
SPEAKER_07: He is talking about how valuations are at record levels.
2:41
SPEAKER_07: Um buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines have built up capital and now they're looking for strong businesses in the right markets with the right OEM partners.
2:50
SPEAKER_07: He also said a big message to dealers is the importance of getting the best price includes a proper valuation, environmental reviews, due diligence, tax planning, and estate planning, all of that.
3:01
SPEAKER_07: And then he also warned that selling directly to neighbor, a neighbor or another familiar buyer may feel easy, but it could leave a lot of money on the table.
3:09
SPEAKER_07: So that's right.
3:10
SPEAKER_07: Um he's got a lot of really um important information he shares in that interview.
3:16
SPEAKER_05: That one last thing there that he talked that you just mentioned about the fact that dealers sometimes think that, oh no, I'm gonna retire and I already know the dealer that I'm gonna sell to.
3:24
SPEAKER_05: You know, I play golf with them, or I'm, you know, I go to the rotary club or we or the you know the state associations, and we already have it set up that he's gonna buy the dealership from me.
3:33
SPEAKER_05: Sounds good, right?
3:35
SPEAKER_05: Sounds easy.
3:36
SPEAKER_05: And uh he's gonna take good care of my people, and that all of that is all great.
3:40
SPEAKER_05: However, if you never take that dealership to the market, you don't really know the true value of that store, even though you've come up with this nice little comfortable number or this price that your friend down the street is going to buy your dealership.
3:55
SPEAKER_05: Right.
3:55
SPEAKER_05: So uh we talked a little bit about that, where you know there's been many cases where somebody says, Oh, I think I'm gonna send sell to the local dealer, and lo and behold, they find out, whoa, wait a minute, we took it to the market and it's worth a heck of a lot more than what I originally was going to sell the dealership to my buddies.
4:12
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it does.
4:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and it's okay to go back to that original buyer that you know, your friend, and say, hey, the you know the dealership's got X number of dollars in value, I will sell it to you, but it's got to be for the fair market value.
4:24
SPEAKER_07: Makes a lot of sense.
4:25
SPEAKER_05: It does.
4:25
SPEAKER_07: Dave also goes on to share his outlook um on franchises such as Nissan, Audi, Volkswagen, yes, he does, and Mercedes-Benz as well.
4:33
SPEAKER_05: He's got some very good viewpoints on that.
4:35
SPEAKER_05: We did like a little kind of a um rapid fire on him.
4:39
SPEAKER_05: I just kept hitting him with different franchise uh brands.
4:42
SPEAKER_05: And so, what do you think about this?
4:43
SPEAKER_05: What do you think about this?
4:43
SPEAKER_05: And so he's he's great.
4:45
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so be sure to check that out at cbtnews.com if you have not already.
4:49
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
4:49
SPEAKER_07: Okay, in other news, Rivian reported a big jump in third quarter deliveries, handing over 19,000 vehicles.
4:56
SPEAKER_07: Why is this interesting?
4:57
SPEAKER_07: That's up 46% from a year ago and ahead of Wall Street expectations.
5:03
SPEAKER_07: So and then and the and the also Tesla delivered more than 486,000 vehicles globally, but they are down two percent from a year ago.
5:12
SPEAKER_05: So Rubian's up 46 and Tesla is down two percent in the third quarter.
5:16
SPEAKER_05: Interesting, interesting.
5:18
SPEAKER_05: Ribian's uh it's a nice car, it really is.
5:20
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
5:22
SPEAKER_05: I wonder if that the whole Tesla thing where they don't really change their models, you know, year by year.
5:27
SPEAKER_07: Looks like I I never think I've seen much of a change in the models.
5:31
SPEAKER_05: No, that's kind of what they're all about is not you know, you pull up next to one at a light or whatever, and you just you see in a parking lot.
5:38
SPEAKER_05: You don't know if it's a a 10-year-old Tesla or the thing is brand new, you know?
5:42
SPEAKER_07: And same with Rubyan, I guess.
5:44
SPEAKER_05: Ruby's in the same thing.
5:45
SPEAKER_05: Well, I just don't re I don't really feel like we're showing it right now.
5:49
SPEAKER_07: They're a little newer, but they've always looked the same to me.
5:51
SPEAKER_07: But they're very cool looking, though.
5:53
SPEAKER_05: You're right.
5:53
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I like it.
5:54
SPEAKER_05: Interesting.
5:55
SPEAKER_07: Okay, so now for Ford's third quarter results, total sales fell 6.6%, largely because of the planned phase out of the escape and the Lincoln Corsair.
6:06
SPEAKER_07: Uh trucks and SCVs continue to drive the business.
6:08
SPEAKER_07: The F-Series sales rose in September, Super Duty production reached its best quarter in 19 years, and the Maverick hybrid sales jumped nearly 60%.
6:19
SPEAKER_05: So there we go.
6:20
SPEAKER_05: Weren't there some I think there were some issues that Ford had with the vendors and suppliers to the F Ford 150, which prohibited them from selling as many as they wanted to.
6:31
SPEAKER_05: They did fall into that.
6:32
SPEAKER_05: I mean, the Ford F-150 is such a you know, such an incredible, it's an icon.
6:36
SPEAKER_05: I mean, they they can sell so many of them.
6:38
SPEAKER_05: I think it's the number one selling vehicle nationwide, you know.
6:43
SPEAKER_07: All right, well, we've got some great interviews to get to, but before we do, I would like to mention that we will be out at the used car week this November 16th through the 19th in San Diego.
6:54
SPEAKER_07: We will be covering all of the we do here at CBT News from the show floor.
6:59
SPEAKER_07: We'll be doing our live shows and getting a lot of great interviews while we're there.
7:02
SPEAKER_07: So um, if you're gonna be out there, be sure to stop by and say hello.
7:06
SPEAKER_07: It's a great week.
7:07
SPEAKER_05: It really is.
7:08
SPEAKER_05: I've as I've said it before, when it comes to used cars, whether you're shipping them, you're buying them, you're selling them, you're reconditioning them, you're financing them, whatever it is that you're doing in the area of used cars, you can find a solution for at Used Car Week.
7:22
SPEAKER_05: Um the Cherokee Media Group does just an excellent job, first class all the way from the venue to uh right down to the food, I might add.
7:31
SPEAKER_05: But uh but it but it really is an incredible week.
7:33
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
7:34
SPEAKER_05: Great breakout sessions, phenomenal speakers.
7:37
SPEAKER_05: As Bridget said, we'll be out there conducting interviews.
7:40
SPEAKER_05: Uh if you're out there, we'd love to uh catch up with you.
7:42
SPEAKER_05: And uh who knows, maybe you'll be on the next episode of uh CBT News, right?
7:46
SPEAKER_05: Or live right from the show.
7:48
SPEAKER_05: So looking forward to that.
7:49
SPEAKER_07: All right, everyone.
7:50
SPEAKER_07: Dealer compliance isn't getting any easier.
7:53
SPEAKER_07: We first spoke with Vince Malcumion, founder of Auto AI Radar, about how technology can help dealers identify compliance issues.
8:02
SPEAKER_07: Now he's bringing a dealer's perspective into the conversation.
8:05
SPEAKER_07: Vince is joined live by Sam Weaver, Vice President and partner of Chevy Chase Automotive and chairman of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association.
8:13
SPEAKER_07: Thank you so much for joining us on the show, gentlemen.
8:16
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
8:17
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having us.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
8:19
SPEAKER_07: Yes.
8:20
SPEAKER_05: See now, if I knew they were going to wear ties, I would have worn a tie.
8:23
SPEAKER_05: I'm always wearing a tie.
8:24
SPEAKER_07: You both look very nice.
8:26
SPEAKER_01: Well, Jim, I I don't think we can match the level of your fashion and style, to be honest.
8:31
SPEAKER_01: I'm always giving a teacher suits.
8:34
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's that's really over the top there, isn't it?
8:38
SPEAKER_05: People usually uh, you know, why are you still wearing a tie?
8:40
SPEAKER_05: And I'm like, cuz I I wear ties.
8:42
SPEAKER_05: But yeah, and then Bridget said, All right, if you're gonna be on with me and we're gonna do the show, you can't wear a tie every day.
8:47
SPEAKER_07: Uh yeah, I still like a nice tie as well.
8:50
SPEAKER_05: They look very nice.
8:50
SPEAKER_05: I think everybody looks nice.
8:52
SPEAKER_05: Everybody looks nice today.
8:53
SPEAKER_05: They look very corporate.
8:54
SPEAKER_07: Vince, we'll start with you for those that may have missed our last conversation.
8:58
SPEAKER_07: Talk to us about auto AI and radar.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you for having me, Bridget.
9:05
SPEAKER_01: Radar does simply compliance for you.
9:08
SPEAKER_01: And we just launched our mobile app that does that compliance in your pocket.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: So whether it's your VDPs, your meta ads, thousands and thousands of listings, your agency or your uh compliance team, they're not going to go and manually check every single VDP for you for FTC compliance.
9:29
SPEAKER_01: Well, radar is trained on a huge knowledge base, not only on federal level, but also state level, to make sure that uh you have that peace of mind when it comes to compliance.
9:41
SPEAKER_01: It checks for laws like state rebates, uh, false advertising, um mandatory fees, everything that you could find on your VDPs.
9:53
SPEAKER_01: Radar checks that for you 24-7 uh every single day.
9:57
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, wow.
9:58
SPEAKER_05: Um, Sam, let me talk to you about this as well.
10:01
SPEAKER_05: I know this is something that's very uh near and dear to your heart.
10:05
SPEAKER_05: Uh you joined us, as we mentioned in the opening at the conference that we had in Washington, DC for fair uh uh pricing and compliance and transparency.
10:15
SPEAKER_05: Uh, this has been a very hot topic, and uh and and you you really wanted to take this uh you know head on, this issue, and help dealers with it.
10:24
SPEAKER_05: In fact, talk to us about that.
10:25
SPEAKER_05: You mean right down to the point that you have invested in Vince's company and become really an advisor to auto AI.
10:32
SPEAKER_05: Talk to us about that.
10:34
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
10:35
SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, I'm a dealer first, so this is an issue that I I think every dealer should uh should be concerned with.
10:45
SPEAKER_03: And kind of going back to uh some of us will remember, you know, the O'Hare Club for men, I'm not only uh an owner, I'm a client.
10:54
SPEAKER_03: And so the same thing with auto AI.
10:56
SPEAKER_03: I'm an investor, but I'm also a client, uh, and also representing all of the dealers in the state of Maryland.
11:04
SPEAKER_03: And so uh I I do have concerns for the entire dealer body, not just not just my dealership.
11:11
SPEAKER_03: Right.
11:12
SPEAKER_03: And uh and I saw that uh there was a huge need um to really take uh take some of the burden off of the dealer so they can concentrate on operating their business, not worrying about what regulators might find within their dealership.
11:29
SPEAKER_03: And you know, the days of of the regulators looking at uh whatever newspaper and yellow pages, those days are gone.
11:37
SPEAKER_03: It's much more complex now.
11:39
SPEAKER_03: And so in order to stay in tune with it, it requires a complex system that makes it simple for the dealer.
11:46
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, boy, there's no question about it.
11:48
SPEAKER_05: And does it also help you grow hair, or no, not so much?
11:55
SPEAKER_05: It really is a great program.
11:56
SPEAKER_05: There's no question.
11:57
SPEAKER_07: So, Sam, from your perspective, where are dealers most vulnerable today?
12:02
SPEAKER_03: I think uh dealers don't know what they don't know.
12:05
SPEAKER_03: Again, the complexity, you know, you you've got uh all the VDPs, the third parties, and really what i is scary is you have um your employee social media that the employee may not have any bad intent, but they may not be compliant um as far as the FTC is concerned, trying to to uh earn an income.
12:30
SPEAKER_03: And and we have to recognize that this business is commission-based, and um that uh people will do what they need to do to create a sale.
12:40
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, boy, that there's no question.
12:42
SPEAKER_05: Dealers are it's almost it's almost like a it's not a it's like it's a not a question of if but when will they get fined.
12:49
SPEAKER_05: I mean, there's so many dealers that are still out there just doing business the way that they've done business, and they don't seem to be as concerned about this as I think they should be, and I know it's as as as you think they should be as well.
13:02
SPEAKER_05: And uh it's really eye-opening, there's no question about it.
13:05
SPEAKER_05: Um that's all I asked.
13:07
SPEAKER_01: May I add Jim quickly to that uh regarding social media?
13:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, one of the great uh compliance monitoring tools we have is tracking your social media tags.
13:20
SPEAKER_01: So, meaning to Sam's point, when a salesperson posts an uh ad or a special and tags your dealership, well, radar can even pick that up and make sure to notify the dealer principal or the GM and say, hey, this salesperson just posted a$399 lead special without disclosing the monthly payments or the down payment, which is a big no-no.
13:47
SPEAKER_01: So um I I uh no other platform or tool does this because they are looking at the VDPs only, but we go beyond that for that specific reason, because we recognize that salespeople are using social media heavily these days, which is great, yeah, but they are forgetting about compliance, right?
14:08
SPEAKER_01: And we are making sure that they're covered too.
14:12
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, there's no question.
14:13
SPEAKER_05: If you don't have something that's covering social media like this, then you're in trouble.
14:18
SPEAKER_05: You know, even if there's other programs out there, which I'm not really sure I know of one, but uh but social media is where it's at, and that to your point, if you've got 10, 15, 25 salespeople out there and they've all have a social media channel to some degree, and they're quoting payments or talking about leases or whatever the case might be without the proper disclosure dealers, you are in trouble.
14:39
SPEAKER_05: There's no question.
14:40
SPEAKER_05: Um, so let me ask you, and and and again, this this probably what what prompted you, Vince, to take radar to the next level with a mobile app.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: So we heard what dealers had to say, and the feedback was always well, we don't want another dashboard.
14:58
SPEAKER_01: We have so many logins, we have so many dashboards, and they're right.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, our goal was not to create another headache for them, our goal was to take the headache away from them.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: So now we created this mobile app that they can use whenever they're traveling, whenever their GM is not at the desk, they will receive the most important notifications on their phone any time of the day.
15:24
SPEAKER_01: So by missing one notification, it can cost you more than fifty thousand dollars per VDP, and you don't want that to ever happen.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: Uh so yeah, we're bringing that, as we say, compliance in your pocket, and it's available both on Apple App Store and Google Play.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: And you can add your team members as well and make sure you're covered uh 24-7.
15:48
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's fantastic.
15:49
SPEAKER_07: It is really.
15:50
SPEAKER_07: So, Sam, again, from the dealer's perspective, if the advertising agency handles compliance, why would why do they need this?
16:00
SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, you can outsource your marketing and and your advertising, but um you can't outsource your responsibility.
16:08
SPEAKER_03: And in the end, the dealer is responsible ultimately for what goes out uh to the consumer and whether it can be perceived as uh deception or not.
16:21
SPEAKER_03: Um and so this tool allows a dealer to be notified if something goes out there because you know, in the end, I think every dealer would much rather have uh something like this catch an issue before a regulator or a consumer.
16:39
SPEAKER_03: And and that's the goal is to let the dealers be able to work on the things that are important to the dealership, and this is a tool that helps them uh be compliant in a world where compliance is a number one issue.
16:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, that's for sure.
16:58
SPEAKER_07: So uh also what do you say to the dealer that might say, I've never had a problem, so why would why would I do this?
17:08
SPEAKER_03: That's a good question.
17:09
SPEAKER_03: The absence of a problem doesn't mean the absence of exposure.
17:13
SPEAKER_03: And again, with the complexity, a dealer just may not know when something pops up because if they've never had a problem, that was yesterday.
17:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's not today, and it's not tomorrow.
17:24
SPEAKER_03: So this just uh helps them continue the I've never had a problem uh issue.
17:31
SPEAKER_05: Right, right.
17:32
SPEAKER_05: And also, Sam, um it's also one of those situations where if the FTC does come in and you know catches a dealer and says, hey, you're you're not compliant, not only on this one price, but on these 47 different listings that you've got out there or um uh social media sites that your salespeople are doing or what have you, and you have no mechanisms in place um to have uh to be able to monitor that, that also doesn't bode well with the FTC because you're telling them you really didn't care about this whole thing.
18:03
SPEAKER_05: But at least if you've got something out there and say, hey, we've with this is what we've I mean, we we monitor this all the time and we're doing it through this mechanism of the this this this platform, um obviously if you if you do have radar, then you're not gonna have these problems.
18:19
SPEAKER_05: But if you if a dealer is just out there and has no defense at all and has no platform that's helping them to uh monitor this, they're they're really gonna be in trouble, right?
18:30
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
18:31
SPEAKER_03: And um uh radar, it it'll timestamp and and then you also can have a file that that shows that you took corrective action when you were notified.
18:43
SPEAKER_03: Um and that's really important.
18:45
SPEAKER_03: If I I I believe with any regulator, if you can demonstrate that you're doing your due diligence and doing the best that you can to be compliant, that uh I'm not gonna say that they're absolutely gonna leave you alone, but they're they're gonna look for bigger fish in the sea.
19:01
SPEAKER_03: That's right, that's right.
19:02
SPEAKER_05: You know, everybody has seen the uh the the young guy that what's his name, Tommy, that uh that uh you know buys cars for individuals.
19:09
SPEAKER_05: He's kind of blown up here over the last six months because of the articles in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and such about this this guy that that but we've had him on CBT News, where he, you know, he is he's not a broker, but he he advises people on how to buy a car.
19:23
SPEAKER_05: In fact, he he does all of the negotiations.
19:26
SPEAKER_05: And uh if you watch, you know, because he records them all, if you watch those, uh you can the takeaway is that there's a lot of dealers that are not compliant because he'll say, Well, look, I'm online right now, I see that you've got this Toyota XYZ or what have you, and they're like, Yeah, but that doesn't include the add-ons.
19:43
SPEAKER_05: That doesn't include the dealer fee, that doesn't include the and on every one, this guy Tommy will say, Well, that's not compliant with the FTC.
19:50
SPEAKER_05: And it's almost like the salespeople or managers didn't even hear him.
19:53
SPEAKER_05: And um it it's it's it's just incredible as to how many he comes across in these conversations.
19:59
SPEAKER_05: And of course, he's only one guy calling you know these dealerships, so you can imagine how many dealers are still out there that are that are not you know not compliant.
20:09
unknown: Yeah.
20:09
SPEAKER_03: And I'd also like to point out as as uh easy as it is for us to be compliant now with tools like we have, yeah, it's also very easy for the FTC to use the same type of tools to identify dealers who aren't compliant.
20:24
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
20:24
SPEAKER_03: And uh I I wouldn't be surprised if there's not another round of letters that are coming out.
20:30
SPEAKER_03: And who knows, that it's probably going to uh filter its way into fixed ops possibly and F and I products.
20:38
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
20:38
SPEAKER_03: Um I I think it's opened a door for a dealer to be concerned.
20:43
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no doubt, and I agree with you.
20:45
SPEAKER_05: I think it will uh go into fixed ops and and uh and F and I and any anywhere else.
20:50
SPEAKER_05: I mean the dealer is just it's an easy target for the FTC, and uh, and and obviously they get a ton of complaints from consumers about you know the car buying and car shopping experience.
21:02
SPEAKER_05: So of course it makes headlines and they think that they're gonna be you know the the superstars at the FTC and helping consumers and and they are helping consumers on this topic, but but dealers that are listening to us have this conversation, go do an audit today on your website and see if you're compliant.
21:19
SPEAKER_05: You'll be amazed as to what you find.
21:21
SPEAKER_05: Or maybe shop your dealership from your friend's cell phone and see what kind of numbers that you're given and uh and see if those include the dealer fees or if those include the things that have been added to the cars, uh, especially for those hard-to-get vehicles where you don't want to tell the customer that on that Rapture, you know, that Ford uh F 150 or what have you, we're gonna charge you$20,000,$30,000 more, and that's not advertised, you know, in on your website.
21:48
SPEAKER_05: There's all of these things that are happening.
21:50
SPEAKER_05: And um the the it's so, so easy today for the FTC to catch dealers doing this.
21:57
SPEAKER_05: So get the coverage.
21:58
SPEAKER_05: That's why we love having you guys.
22:00
SPEAKER_05: In here from radar because we're big believers in this system.
22:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh Vince, last time we spoke, I think it was a the your your amount was like$299 to get this program for dealers.
22:12
SPEAKER_05: And um it that you all know dealers,$299.
22:16
SPEAKER_05: Come on.
22:16
SPEAKER_05: I mean that that's that's that's a no-brainer, right?
22:19
SPEAKER_05: Talk to me about that, Vince.
22:21
SPEAKER_01: Uh yes, Jim, and to your point, we do offer free compliance scan as well, so they don't even have to go mystery shop, they can just go to radar.autoai.inc and have their first free compliance scan.
22:34
SPEAKER_01: We've done it actually after your show for uh around 100 dealers.
22:39
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
22:40
SPEAKER_01: So uh we are very excited to have them uh try our product because um uh uh you know for 299 a month that's ten dollars a day, but you get peace of mind and you avoid a fifty thousand dollar fine per VDP.
22:57
SPEAKER_01: Think about that, per VDP that can add up to a huge number.
23:02
SPEAKER_01: Um and uh you know to to your and Sam's point regarding the uh uh tracking the history, yes, we absolutely do that.
23:12
SPEAKER_01: We have your data, obviously you own your data, but we have timestamps to show that the dealership is actively using the tool.
23:21
SPEAKER_01: And we also have a co-pilot in our product which is included in the 299, which is a no-brainer that you can upload your creatives now and have radar check that for you before even having that on your website or on your uh meta ads.
23:39
SPEAKER_01: And also our co-pilot is trained to educate your team.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: We are not replacing compliance lawyers per se, but we are giving your team all the tools.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: Your email some dealerships have in-house marketing department.
23:54
SPEAKER_01: Well, they can instead of uploading a sensitive information to Chat GPT, which a lot of d dealers do actually, and it's it's uh not really uh a good idea, you can have your own closed system that's your own data, nobody's sharing it, nobody's selling it, yeah, and have your team train with radar to make sure that they know what they're doing as well.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: And and it's a great package for our starter plan,$2.99 a month.
24:24
SPEAKER_01: And if you want to also track your competitors, as I told you in our previous show, we also give you that option, uh, which is a unique feature.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: Um that's$5.99 a month, but it gives you the ability to see what's going on in your markets and whether your uh neighboring dealerships are compliant or not.
24:45
SPEAKER_05: Wow, that's that is fantastic.
24:46
SPEAKER_05: And uh that's why we love having you in here because this is we really think we're doing a huge service for dealers that are listening.
24:52
SPEAKER_05: It's good to hear that you've given 100 demonstrations or what have you from your last per uh time on.
24:58
SPEAKER_05: Um, but it needs to be, you know, 10,000.
25:01
SPEAKER_05: There's dealers out there that are still not paying attention to this.
25:05
SPEAKER_05: So uh thank you both gentlemen for coming on.
25:07
SPEAKER_05: Uh Sam and Vince, really appreciate it uh for dealers out there listening to us have this conversation.
25:13
SPEAKER_05: If you didn't pay attention the first time and you didn't make the call, I should say make the call this time.
25:18
SPEAKER_05: Go on to his website and check out your own dealership.
25:22
SPEAKER_05: You'll be amazed as to what you see.
25:24
SPEAKER_05: It's uh for 299 bucks a month.
25:27
SPEAKER_05: This is what we call a no-brainer in the industry.
25:29
SPEAKER_05: So, gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us on the show.
25:31
SPEAKER_05: Very much appreciated.
25:32
SPEAKER_05: Now I know our dealers are getting a lot out of it.
25:34
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
25:35
SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much.
25:37
SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
25:39
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's uh radar is is definitely something the dealers need to pay attention to.
25:46
SPEAKER_05: It's amazing.
25:47
SPEAKER_05: Very affordable.
25:48
SPEAKER_05: I watched this guy, Tommy.
25:49
SPEAKER_05: I know everybody else does too.
25:50
SPEAKER_05: They don't like the guy.
25:51
SPEAKER_05: I've seen him too.
25:52
SPEAKER_05: They don't like him because he's you know, he's helping people buy cars, and a lot of dealers feel like, well, you know, he's taking our business or there's no real need for him out there.
26:00
SPEAKER_05: We take good care of our customers.
26:01
SPEAKER_05: But regardless of any of that, yeah, I'm not coming down on any one of those sides there.
26:05
SPEAKER_05: There's validity on both sides.
26:06
SPEAKER_05: But but at the end of the day, when you listen to the conversations he's having with real dealers in real time, they are not compliant with the FTC.
26:15
SPEAKER_05: That's kind of what I was listening for, you know?
26:17
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, I've heard conversations that I I thought, and I'm I'm not naive, but I do think so positively and highly of the automotive industry.
26:27
SPEAKER_07: Um but when I hear some of those conversations, I'm like, oh come on.
26:30
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you know, what are you doing?
26:31
SPEAKER_05: We're better than these, right?
26:33
SPEAKER_07: Right, right.
26:33
SPEAKER_05: I just yeah, I agree.
26:34
SPEAKER_05: I agree.
26:35
SPEAKER_07: It's not a good look as they say.
26:38
SPEAKER_05: No.
26:38
SPEAKER_05: No.
26:38
SPEAKER_07: Um before we get to our next interview, I would like to thank our sponsor, Force Marketing.
26:43
SPEAKER_07: Turn your data into more dealership opportunities with automotive marketing technology built for the entire customer life cycle.
26:50
SPEAKER_07: Reach in market shoppers, reconnect with website visitors, acquire inventory, and keep customers coming back to the service drive.
26:57
SPEAKER_07: Learn more at forcemktg.com.
27:00
SPEAKER_07: Thank you, Force Marketing.
27:01
SPEAKER_05: Thank you, Force Marketing.
27:02
SPEAKER_05: And by the way, um I happen to know the people over at Force Marketing, they do an incredible job.
27:07
SPEAKER_05: Very good people.
27:08
SPEAKER_05: No, but the re the reality is I think they're up to 16 or 17 um different uh brands now that they are on on the co-op program with and uh for for dealerships.
27:20
SPEAKER_05: Um so and and they do both fixed ops marketing and you know, the and variable marketing.
27:25
SPEAKER_05: So it's a it's they got a great program.
27:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
27:28
SPEAKER_05: And the and the leader of that company is is uh just a great guy.
27:31
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
27:32
SPEAKER_05: I don't know where he gets it from.
27:33
SPEAKER_06: It's pretty cool.
27:35
SPEAKER_05: Tom Wood Group is building its own talent pipeline, investing in training and developing the next generation of automotive service professionals.
27:44
SPEAKER_07: That's right.
27:44
SPEAKER_07: And joining us live is Bill Demarie, group director of fixed operations at Tom Wood Group, with an update on Tom Wood University, including a new standalone facility that's expected to be complete this month.
27:57
SPEAKER_07: Bill, thank you so much for joining us on the show.
28:00
SPEAKER_05: Yes, thanks for having me.
28:01
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
28:02
SPEAKER_05: I want to go to TWU.
28:03
SPEAKER_05: I want to graduate from TWU.
28:05
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
28:06
SPEAKER_05: This should be t-shirts.
28:07
SPEAKER_05: Maybe you need uh your own uh stadium, you know, TWU University Stadium.
28:11
SPEAKER_05: There you go.
28:12
SPEAKER_05: There you go.
28:12
SPEAKER_07: I like it.
28:15
SPEAKER_07: So, Bill, before we jump into things today, um, how is business at the Tom Wood group?
28:20
SPEAKER_02: You know, business is fantastic.
28:22
SPEAKER_02: Uh, we we've just had a kind of a great focus, I think, over the last three or four years of you know, how do we continue growing our uh particular franchises?
28:32
SPEAKER_02: How do we grow our group internally?
28:34
SPEAKER_02: How do we continue, you know, reaching a hand out to the community and and you know, growing something really special.
28:40
SPEAKER_02: And so all of that has come together with our new focus on service advisor handbooks, what what does a good job look like?
28:48
SPEAKER_02: We have service manager handbooks now, what does a good job look like?
28:51
SPEAKER_02: And now that we have all of this kind of combined together, um now we have a coaching session that just continue on and on and has helped us continue to grow our group.
29:00
SPEAKER_05: That that is so good.
29:01
SPEAKER_05: That really is.
29:02
SPEAKER_05: So, Bill, as you know, every dealer out there is in need of good people for both sales and service, but you guys have been very proactive on this topic.
29:10
SPEAKER_05: It's you know been a little over a year since the start of Tom Wood University.
29:15
SPEAKER_05: Talk to us about that and and how it's progressed in that time.
29:19
SPEAKER_02: The university has really uh grown leaps and bounds.
29:22
SPEAKER_02: We've graduated our first uh students uh last year.
29:26
SPEAKER_02: We now have 33 uh students in the program this year.
29:30
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
29:31
SPEAKER_02: And we have a waiting list.
29:32
SPEAKER_02: Uh next year it's looking like 50 to 60 students will come through the program.
29:37
SPEAKER_02: We've we've kind of advanced it and we're and we're doing this purposely.
29:40
SPEAKER_02: We started with the auto technician side, and now we've moved into service advisor uh uh training as well.
29:48
SPEAKER_02: So we're gonna take junior, senior high school and teach them our service advisor way, the handbook, and exactly how to become a service advisor in our industry.
29:58
SPEAKER_02: Um so we're really excited about that.
30:00
SPEAKER_02: I submitted the uh program to the state of Indiana.
30:03
SPEAKER_02: Uh we we have gotten certification on it.
30:06
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
30:06
SPEAKER_02: And thumbs up approval, uh, it's a business class, business major, um, that we're we're now able to take high school kids.
30:13
SPEAKER_02: Uh hopefully next semester we'll have our first uh three to four students that'll come in through that program.
30:18
SPEAKER_02: That is fantastic.
30:19
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
30:20
SPEAKER_05: Does does everybody get offered a job at the end of this?
30:22
SPEAKER_05: I mean, you're in need of all these great people, right?
30:25
SPEAKER_02: Yes, um, that's a great question.
30:28
SPEAKER_02: I feel like you know, we're making the industry better.
30:31
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I think the worst, the best case scenario really would be if I had 60 graduates that I could not place them all in Tom Wood, but I could certainly place talent in our industry, you know, around wherever they want to go, they might want to move away.
30:45
SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna have this book of talent that is already trained and they know, you know, our core values and how to do things the right way and and follow.
30:54
SPEAKER_02: So we'll take the best of the best, and and uh, you know, we'll certainly have uh leftovers, I believe.
30:59
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's great.
31:00
SPEAKER_07: And for others outside of the high school um part of this, when you're bringing someone into the program, what are you looking for?
31:06
SPEAKER_07: Automotive experience, technical skills, personality?
31:09
SPEAKER_07: What what are you looking for?
31:11
SPEAKER_02: We're looking for personality.
31:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh we we literally go into the high schools and we do personality profile tests.
31:17
SPEAKER_02: We interview every single uh student that we bring on, and we're looking for the ones that really, you know, are driven, uh, driven, you know, our industry.
31:26
SPEAKER_02: And this uh the pictures you're seeing was an open house with parents, grandparents.
31:32
SPEAKER_02: Um, and uh it was a wonderful evening to kind of show them behind the scenes what it's like in the auto dealer world.
31:40
SPEAKER_02: And I was quite blown away from the questions of the families and the parents uh of how excited they are uh that their students get an opportunity to come through a program like this for the local dealer group uh that we've been around since you know 1957.
31:57
SPEAKER_02: And we've just we've got 1,171 employees, and and we're hoping to continue to grow that.
32:02
SPEAKER_05: That is absolutely fantastic.
32:03
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
32:04
SPEAKER_05: I've talked to you before about your service advisor handbook.
32:07
SPEAKER_05: You've added the handbook for service managers.
32:10
SPEAKER_05: Talk to us about that and why creating that second piece was important.
32:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it's important to um, you know, I always say you can't hold somebody accountable if you don't show them what a good job looks like.
32:21
SPEAKER_02: And we started with the service advisors, and we we saw so much greatness, I would say, that come out of that.
32:28
SPEAKER_02: So as we're looking for new advisors, I you know, I think I made a comment recently.
32:34
SPEAKER_02: I was in a store, and there was a young gentleman applying for a job while I was there, and I heard him mention my name on the side.
32:42
SPEAKER_02: He said, That's that's Bill Demery.
32:44
SPEAKER_02: And I turned around and smiled and acted like I knew him.
32:47
SPEAKER_02: And um, he's like, Yeah, you you have this handbook that I want.
32:51
SPEAKER_02: And I laughed at him and said, You have to work for us to get that handbook.
32:54
SPEAKER_02: We also hired him, uh, he's doing a tremendous job.
32:58
SPEAKER_02: Because in the book, it talks about what is the expectation, what does a good job look like?
33:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and then we can coach it, then we can hold accountability.
33:08
SPEAKER_02: So we transitioned to the service manager handbook because quite frankly, we're developing our own service managers.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: We have development plans, typically 12 months long, of somebody wanting to get in that seat.
33:21
SPEAKER_02: So now they get the book, they know what the job looks like.
33:25
SPEAKER_02: We send them to NCM training, they go to Service Manager 1, 2, 3, they go to How to Be a Great Boss Workshop, which is an EOS uh platform, and they have this book and they and they I call field trips.
33:36
SPEAKER_02: They go around our stores and and physically and visually see what a good job looks like.
33:41
SPEAKER_02: So it helps them prepare for the role uh when we have an opening.
33:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that that is fantastic.
33:46
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and I would imagine that uh the these students uh are looking at the their future, you know, with with incredible um uh positivity and and a great outlook.
33:57
SPEAKER_05: I mean, they're there you your stores are beautiful.
34:00
SPEAKER_05: They see themselves, I would imagine, working within the automotive community and the automotive industry.
34:05
SPEAKER_05: And uh and and I think that's a very positive thing, right?
34:08
SPEAKER_02: I mean that you're it it truly is, and and you know, all greatness and kudos go to Jeff Wood.
34:16
SPEAKER_02: He he allows us to get to do what we get to do, and and you know, without his support, he could tell me, Bill, get back to work in the fix obsolete.
34:24
SPEAKER_02: Um but he he understands the importance of the future of our organization and the facilities that he gives us uh to be able to you know bring these students in, and and certainly the facility he gave me to renovate uh to put a ton of money in to uh to open up.
34:40
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna open in about two weeks uh the brand new school.
34:43
SPEAKER_02: Um thanks to Nissan uh corporation, they donated my first vehicle uh to the to our school, and so we're real excited.
34:51
SPEAKER_05: That that is fantastic.
34:53
SPEAKER_05: How's the Nissan franchise doing for you?
34:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's you know what it's it's actually doing better.
34:58
SPEAKER_02: Um I went to the NADA breakout uh of Nissan and I heard a lot of positivity there.
35:03
SPEAKER_02: I've seen it moved in the store right after NADA uh to really get a good feel for what was going on uh there.
35:09
SPEAKER_02: We're seeing some new brands come out that that we like.
35:12
SPEAKER_02: Service business is picking up, and it's and uh it's actually one of my training grounds for a lot of the university students.
35:18
SPEAKER_02: Uh we put a lot of processes in that store.
35:20
SPEAKER_05: That is fantastic.
35:21
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
35:22
SPEAKER_07: So I heard that you've got a new book in the works.
35:25
SPEAKER_07: What can you tell us about that?
35:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, I do.
35:29
SPEAKER_02: Um, I've been really excited.
35:30
SPEAKER_02: Um, I authored a book about 25 years ago, and it was how to become a service advisor because I came right out of you know trade school, high school, and and learned the role.
35:40
SPEAKER_02: So I took that book, and that is actually our service advisor handbook.
35:44
SPEAKER_02: All 18 chapters from 20 years ago are still relevant today.
35:47
SPEAKER_02: Isn't that amazing?
35:49
SPEAKER_02: So I've taken now all of that.
35:51
SPEAKER_02: Uh I've been kind of prodded and poked and pushed to uh write a leadership book.
35:56
SPEAKER_02: So I have finished it.
35:58
SPEAKER_02: Um, it is at a couple publishers right now being looked at.
36:01
SPEAKER_02: And it's called From Gravel Roads to Fix Ops.
36:04
SPEAKER_02: And uh I'm a just a small town country kid that you know grew into a career job like I have.
36:10
SPEAKER_02: I I really say I get to go to work every day.
36:13
SPEAKER_02: I absolutely love being in the fixed ops uh lane, and uh that's really what my book is about is how do you just work hard, grind away, you know, stay focused and uh earn everything that you get.
36:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
36:26
SPEAKER_05: I just saw Jim Farley in an interview on CNBC and also on uh MS Now, I believe it was.
36:32
SPEAKER_05: And uh he was mentioning uh that the industry, we need about two million skilled workers out there, and uh everybody's so focused on you know getting their kids into college and what have you.
36:43
SPEAKER_05: But but as we know, college isn't for everybody, right?
36:46
SPEAKER_05: And uh there's so many people out there, and he mentioned that they were sitting pretty well at Ford.
36:52
SPEAKER_05: However, um they have about 60% of the vehicles out there for small businesses, so the plumbers and contractors and what have you.
37:00
SPEAKER_05: And and uh he was he was saying how that is really those are the industries that really need some of these skilled workers as well, in addition to the automotive industry and dealers, right?
37:10
SPEAKER_05: This is a real issue.
37:12
SPEAKER_02: I'm so glad skilled trades are back, and yeah, and it's really exciting.
37:16
SPEAKER_02: You know, I came through the career centers in high school, I came through those programs, and uh they've just disappeared over the years, and it's great to see them back.
37:24
SPEAKER_02: It really is.
37:25
SPEAKER_05: That's right, that's right.
37:26
SPEAKER_05: Um, if I can have a little departure here, what what are outside of the talent, what are some of the greatest challenges for you overseeing these fixed ops departments for a very progressive dealer out there like Jeff's got and built uh for the stores?
37:41
SPEAKER_05: Uh, what are some of your biggest challenges as we close out the year?
37:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think um, you know, our challenges, you know, the Gen Z are are different.
37:50
SPEAKER_02: They're they're not they're not like me.
37:51
SPEAKER_02: They're not like you know the the way we we work.
37:54
SPEAKER_02: It's work-life balance.
37:56
SPEAKER_02: It's getting away from how do we transition away from flat rate technicians and how do we get into something different?
38:02
SPEAKER_02: We're testing some new pay structures currently.
38:04
SPEAKER_02: Uh, we're hoping to roll out our brand new Honda store in January with this whole new non-flat rate productive paid uh plan.
38:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh four tens, work-life balance, and and I think that's really the key to the future uh for us in the automotive.
38:18
SPEAKER_05: Wow, four tens.
38:19
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, that makes sense.
38:20
SPEAKER_05: Not bad.
38:21
SPEAKER_05: You're you're you're gonna get a lot of traction on that, that's for sure.
38:24
SPEAKER_05: Oh my god.
38:25
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna I'm going back to retail and going to work at Tom Wood.
38:28
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, three days a week off.
38:29
SPEAKER_05: Are you getting?
38:30
SPEAKER_05: That's fantastic.
38:32
SPEAKER_05: That is fantastic.
38:33
SPEAKER_05: Well, we so appreciate you coming in and joining us on the show today.
38:37
SPEAKER_05: Means a lot to us.
38:38
SPEAKER_05: I know our viewers will get a lot out of it.
38:40
SPEAKER_05: There are other dealers out there, although not uh that many, that have actually created a university like you have there at Tom Wood.
38:47
SPEAKER_05: And uh so kudos to you for for you know for for taking taking that on.
38:52
SPEAKER_05: That uh that that is a huge endeavor, but it sounds like it's paying off.
38:56
SPEAKER_02: So it is it's so rewarding.
38:58
SPEAKER_02: Uh dual state uh credited, we're getting dual core credits, uh state funding.
39:03
SPEAKER_02: We're teaming up with uh Indiana Wesley University for the next level.
39:07
SPEAKER_02: Uh we're we're building a bachelor's degree in automotive technologies.
39:10
SPEAKER_02: Wow, it's great.
39:11
SPEAKER_02: That's great.
39:12
SPEAKER_02: That's fantastic.
39:13
SPEAKER_05: That is really, really great.
39:14
SPEAKER_05: Fantastic.
39:15
SPEAKER_05: We do have a comment.
39:16
SPEAKER_05: Uh, how do you measure Tom Wood University's success beyond graduation numbers?
39:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think uh graduation numbers obviously is the biggest, but uh retention.
39:27
SPEAKER_02: Uh retention is going to be everything with these students, and and I watch every single one of them, and we're following them through their skill.
39:34
SPEAKER_02: We're making sure the progression is continuing.
39:37
SPEAKER_02: And if we can hold on to 50% of that we hire, I mean, look at the win, the value of a technician,$20,000.
39:45
SPEAKER_02: You know, uh we're running 50, 60 techs through this, so uh it'll be very valuable.
39:50
SPEAKER_05: That is great.
39:50
SPEAKER_05: That's great.
39:50
SPEAKER_05: And you're growing your own.
39:51
SPEAKER_05: You're not, you know, when you hire somebody as a tech or a uh service advisor or service manager, what have you, you don't know the bad habits that they might be bringing with them to the organization.
40:04
SPEAKER_05: In this case, you're creating these people from start, and and I think that's a huge advantage.
40:10
SPEAKER_02: There's a big advantage, and it's also giving them in high school a chance to say, hey, what if?
40:15
SPEAKER_02: What if I'm like this?
40:16
SPEAKER_02: And and who in high school has ever somebody come and say, hey, you want to be a service advisor?
40:20
SPEAKER_02: Well, what if now they can spend a couple years learning the position, learning the trade, and saying this is something I really want to do.
40:27
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
40:27
SPEAKER_05: If we just get them to all do walk arounds 100% of the time, then you could then you could retire, Bill.
40:33
SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
40:34
SPEAKER_05: If they could just do the walk around.
40:37
SPEAKER_05: I'm kidding.
40:38
SPEAKER_05: I'm sure they will.
40:39
SPEAKER_05: Uh Bill, thank you so much for joining us on the show.
40:41
SPEAKER_05: Very much appreciate it.
40:42
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and we would love maybe next time that you're on, uh, because I know my producer is going to be wanting to do this, but uh, we can bring on a couple of the students with you.
40:50
SPEAKER_02: That'll be great.
40:51
SPEAKER_02: I would love that.
40:52
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
40:52
SPEAKER_05: All right, great, great.
40:53
SPEAKER_05: We're gonna do just that then.
40:54
SPEAKER_05: Bill, thank you so much for joining us.
40:56
SPEAKER_05: Really appreciate it.
40:56
SPEAKER_05: Thanks for having me.
40:57
SPEAKER_05: All right, thanks.
40:59
SPEAKER_07: So, Dave Rogers is one of our LinkedIn viewers, and he says Bill is the best.
41:03
SPEAKER_05: Bill is the best, he is the best.
41:04
SPEAKER_05: And I agree.
41:04
SPEAKER_05: And he's taking on a lot of people.
41:05
SPEAKER_05: I agree with Dave.
41:06
SPEAKER_05: Bill, Bill's the best.
41:07
SPEAKER_05: And um uh, yeah, that's so cool that they're you know finding these innovative ways to find you know the these skilled workers.
41:14
SPEAKER_05: And uh, as I said, Jim Farley was just on the news like in the last couple of days, maybe this morning, even saying, hey, that you know, we need two million uh tradesmen out there and skilled workers.
41:25
SPEAKER_07: And also, like you said, college is not for everyone.
41:27
SPEAKER_07: No, it's not, especially if you really don't know what you want to do yet.
41:30
SPEAKER_07: That's right.
41:31
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
41:32
SPEAKER_07: And you're going into college and you're taking four years and spending a lot of money, and then you can get out and you're like, I still don't know what I want to do.
41:38
SPEAKER_05: And I might add that when you talk to a successful technician, um, you know, six figures is easy nowadays.
41:44
SPEAKER_05: They're they're making very good money.
41:46
SPEAKER_05: This is not a you know, and and I would say that you know, it it's more and more where um their toolbox is really a laptop because the cars are so high, you know, technology and advanced that uh uh that's a whole nother opportunity out there, you know.
42:03
SPEAKER_05: And soon the cars will be driving themselves into the service department because of autonomy.
42:08
SPEAKER_05: So it's pretty cool.
42:09
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
42:10
SPEAKER_05: And fixing themselves.
42:12
SPEAKER_05: But uh yeah, so um, you know me with funny videos, right?
42:16
SPEAKER_07: You like funny videos, I do like funny videos, especially about the auto industry.
42:19
SPEAKER_05: I don't know if our audience likes them.
42:21
SPEAKER_05: I hope they do, but I like them.
42:23
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, so no, that this this is this is pretty funny.
42:27
SPEAKER_05: I can't I I don't know who sent this to somebody sent this in.
42:30
SPEAKER_05: And by the way, I might add if you guys come across funny car dealership videos or something about the auto industry, maybe it's a salesperson in a dealership, or maybe it's somebody, a vendor, or what have you, send them in to us because I I love showing them.
42:42
SPEAKER_05: So I I get a kick out of this one.
42:44
SPEAKER_05: This this to me is pretty funny.
42:46
SPEAKER_05: So let's roll that, guys.
43:01
SPEAKER_04: Nice to meet you, Mary.
43:03
SPEAKER_04: Nice to meet you, J Martin.
43:04
SPEAKER_04: Nice to meet you.
43:06
SPEAKER_04: Come on, come on, creator.
43:16
SPEAKER_05: The creators on the different franchise are hot and column, right?
43:23
SPEAKER_07: Look at that.
43:27
SPEAKER_04: That is awesome.
43:28
SPEAKER_04: That's a little portion.
43:31
SPEAKER_04: That's great.
43:39
SPEAKER_04: I'm in a month.
43:40
SPEAKER_04: That is too funny.
43:43
SPEAKER_05: Those guys are funny, is that money?
43:46
SPEAKER_07: I must get them.
43:49
SPEAKER_05: Anyway, yeah.
43:50
SPEAKER_05: That's great.
43:51
SPEAKER_05: We get it.
43:51
SPEAKER_05: That is awesome.
43:52
SPEAKER_07: That is that was really funny.
43:55
SPEAKER_05: And the Toyota, the Lexus, the Porsche.
43:57
SPEAKER_05: That's a bunch on some of the other ones.
43:59
SPEAKER_05: But hopefully I didn't we didn't offend anybody with that, right?
44:02
SPEAKER_05: Those uh with the franchises.
44:04
SPEAKER_06: No, it's funny.
44:04
SPEAKER_05: No.
44:05
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
44:05
SPEAKER_05: Right.
44:06
SPEAKER_05: Nissan, Audi, we still love you.
44:08
SPEAKER_05: You guys are for you'll you'll figure it out.
44:11
SPEAKER_07: All right, everybody.
44:12
SPEAKER_07: Be sure to head over to cbtnews.com for more great conversations like we had today.
44:17
SPEAKER_07: And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get more information, like you said, like you've seen here, like you're seeing here on your screen.
44:25
SPEAKER_07: Who is Joe LaHam?
44:26
SPEAKER_07: Uh-huh.
44:26
SPEAKER_07: There he is.
44:27
SPEAKER_05: And you know why we put him on there?
44:28
SPEAKER_05: Because he's he speaks out so much for the industry that whenever we show his face, the numbers jump way, way up.
44:34
SPEAKER_05: So thank you, Joey.
44:35
SPEAKER_07: Okay, also.
44:35
SPEAKER_07: Speaking of numbers jumping up, be sure to like, follow, and subscribe on your favorite social media channels.
44:41
SPEAKER_07: Yes.
44:42
SPEAKER_05: I'm sorry to interrupt you.
44:43
SPEAKER_07: That's quite all right.
44:44
SPEAKER_07: That's quite all right.
44:45
SPEAKER_05: That'll cost me a little bit.
44:46
SPEAKER_05: I'll finish what I'm saying when you're done interrupting me.
44:50
SPEAKER_05: Well, thank you so much for watching today.
44:52
SPEAKER_05: Uh, it's it's Monday, and if you can conquer Mondays, man, the rest of the week takes care of itself.
44:58
SPEAKER_05: So we'll see you right back here tomorrow at noon Eastern.
45:01
SPEAKER_05: Uh obviously nine o'clock on the West Coast.
45:04
SPEAKER_05: But uh, we are so happy to have you here with us.
45:07
SPEAKER_05: So thank you so much.
45:08
SPEAKER_05: And uh looking forward to tomorrow's show, which is gonna be another big show.
45:12
SPEAKER_05: We got a surprise for you tomorrow.
45:14
SPEAKER_05: So tune in.