Latest / Auto Collabs / What Happens When Amazon’s Convenience Meets the Dealership with Carlos Mojica

Transcript

What Happens When Amazon’s Convenience Meets the Dealership with Carlos Mojica · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  When you think about Amazon, I believe you're thinking about convenience. The expectation is if I order it, it's going to be fulfilled. The difference is, is that this is dealer-driven.
• 0:10
  Amazon can't do anything with autos without our inventory. [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs. Today, we are joined by Carlos Mojica.
• 0:25
  Carlos is the senior manager of retail development at the LaFontaine Automotive Group, and helped them grow from 10 stores to 43. Just this summer, the group announced it was joining the Amazon Autos program.
• 0:36
  And so we had Carlos on to talk about his journey and why the Amazon Autos partnership makes sense right now. Let's get into the conversation. [upbeat music] Hey, Carlos, thanks for joining us today.
• 0:50
  It's really good to be with you. Thank you so much for having me here. I appreciate the opportunity. All right. Let's, let's talk about this.
• 0:57
  Uh, you know, you began your retail auto career, and I know this from, from some information that you gave to us, in 2003, which is a really special year to me.
• 1:05
  It's the year I got into business for myself, so I can remember very distinctly what 2003 was. But, uh, I think the... I'm sure the reasons you and I got into the business are probably very different.
• 1:15
  Can you tell us why you got into the business? Like, why... what was your first step into the business and why did you, did you choose auto? Yeah.
• 1:22
  Well, funny enough, I really believe, uh, the automotive industry, especially retail, is about relationships. And I got into it based on a relationship with, uh, a friend of mine who was a sales manager at the store.
• 1:36
  And I was in, uh, retail sporting goods at the time. And I was not making a whole lot of money and working a lot of hours, but I loved selling items.
• 1:45
  And I was very passionate about vehicles, so I just knocked on his door one day at the dealership, and here I am. What did you say when you knocked on the door? [laughs] "Are you hiring a salesperson?"
• 1:58
  He's like, "Here, give. Let me give you a hand." Right? "Are you hiring?" "Let me put your, your hand right on my pulse." Yeah. Right? Right. [laughs] I can fog a mirror. Yeah. Here, hold that up. You know?
• 2:06
  Right, I'm hired. [laughs] That's, that's amazing. I- is there anything... C- coming into it, Carlos, do, do you feel any...
• 2:11
  Were there any things you learned in retail sporting goods that transferred over to retail auto? Actually, it gave me the confidence thinking I can sell cars, actually, to be honest with you.
• 2:22
  Because in my, in the sporting goods that we were selling, we were selling action sports. So there was a lot of skis, snowboards, mountain bikes, uh, hockey equipment, golf equipment.
• 2:32
  And just, you know, creating a relationship with these guests as they walk in, understand what their needs are.
• 2:38
  Um, just talking to them as a human, understanding what problems they're trying to solve, and just having a conversation. And me showing I was passionate about those products, you know, induced a sale.
• 2:49
  So, and I was passionate about cars. And I'm like, "Man, I could do this. And I think I can get paid more than what I'm getting paid now." Yeah. That was, that's a pretty good instinct right there.
• 2:58
  I mean, since you've, since you started, and you started with Suburban, correct? Yes. And, and you're still there. It's, th- since '03, that group has grown, uh, massively. I mean, like many, many times over.
• 3:09
  I think it's gone from, like... How many stores when you started? Uh, so when I first started, we were, I think, just shy of 30.
• 3:18
  And then, you know, as my career went through with them until 2009, we were ending up at 33. And- Wow... at that moment in time, I first started selling cars, uh, at the Ford store in Waterford.
• 3:32
  And then in 2005, uh, Dave Fisher Jr. asked me to become the internet sales manager for his group. Uh, there was another individual to do that. And my job was to train sales teams
• 3:42
  how to handle internet inquiries, because I did that at the Waterford store. And well, it was intriguing enough. I was like, "Oh, cool. We have an inquiry. I get to call the customer.
• 3:52
  And they have questions, and they can come in and buy a car. Yeah, I want those opportunities. Yeah, I'll do that." And then, you know, that's how I made my money.
• 4:01
  And when I went into the stores, uh, at the locations, it was teams of these, you know, handling these inquiries. And it was my job to teach them techniques, give them some motivation.
• 4:11
  But most importantly, make sure that we were selling, um, the opportunity that we had. Yeah. And now what, what number... It's, like, what is the group? 20, 20. It's in the 20s in the AutoNews Top 150 now, right? Yeah.
• 4:23
  Yep. S- yep. Yep, they are. And, and now I'm with LaFontaine, right? And in LaFontaine, uh, I joined in 2009. Uh, I took that base position that I was doing with the Suburban Collection, um, and we've amplified it.
• 4:39
  Now it's more about, you know, driving and retaining traffic for the automotive group. So, uh, individual car- Where was LaFontaine when you started? What- Uh, I'm sorry?
• 4:47
  How, how many stores was LaFontaine when you started? Uh, we had 10 at the moment, at the time. Oh, my gosh. Yes. And now we have- No, that's-... 43. So- What? [laughs]... it's been an evolution. Yeah. Did you- Wow...
• 4:58
  when you start, uh, do you remember when you first hit the Top 150 list? Yes. Yeah. When was that? Uh, I wanna say, and don't quote me on this, but I'd wanna say it's, like, 2017, 2016-ish. Did you guys, like, celebrate?
• 5:13
  Did you have a little party? Yeah. I mean, it was more of a high five and, "Let's get back to work." Yeah. You know, kind of the old style. Well, you gotta get to 20. Yeah. Yeah.
• 5:21
  But it, it, it's cool to, to get the recognition. But I, I gotta tell you, I'm really proud of, you know, the leadership team, the ownership, and most importantly, my teammates.
• 5:30
  Because, you know, without them, we would never be where we're at right now today. Yeah. That's true. Hear, hear. Yeah. Hear, hear. I, I have a curious question. Um- Please...
• 5:39
  the differences and/or similarities between internet then and internet now. Hmm. Wow. I mean, 'cause we, we tend to get hyper fixated on the net new. But, like, I'm curious, is anything still kind of the same? Wow.
• 5:54
  Um, the inquiry is still the same. The need is still the same, right? The problem is still there, I believe. How we communicate is much different. Mm-hmm. Right?
• 6:04
  Um, the general technique i- is a little bit different based on the technologies that we have now. I believe, like, guests that are inquiring on these opportunities, they want information to process.
• 6:17
  They wanna validate information that they're curious about, right?
• 6:20
  They wanna know if it's affordable, and they wanna know, are you a dealer that's gonna really connect with me and understand what my problem is and solve that for me and assist me?
• 6:30
  Or are you just gonna be, you know, q- quote unquote, "stereotype," right? Hmm. So I believe, like, video is huge with, with our guests. It shows them a closer look at the vehicle.
• 6:40
  'Cause, you know, when they're inquiring with us, we can't be naive. They are gonna be inquiring with, you know, three or four other vehicles. So how do we win that conversation?
• 6:48
  And I believe it's a connection and the communication that we provide. Hmm. So, so, Mit, they're...
• 6:54
  We're in a day and age where the marketing ecosystem specifically and how we're generating traffic, how we're gen- generating leads, and then obviously that transitions to how we're handling them.
• 7:05
  But in the last 24 months, I feel like the whole ground that we had been standing on for so many years has started shifting, and part of that's because of AI, but also part of that is because of some new players that have significant retail reach and influence, like Amazon, have come into the picture.
• 7:21
  And you have decided to lean very heavily into some of these new things, especially a new partnership with Amazon that was announced.
• 7:28
  Can you explain your thinking behind, like, why you would adopt such a new thing and how you think it contributes to what you're trying to accomplish? Well, let's just start with Amazon in, in general, right?
• 7:39
  Who doesn't use Amazon? If I take a look at our, you know- I just used it before we started this podcast. [laughs] Exactly. My wife texted me a link. Yeah. "Can you order this?" 'Cause I have the Prime on my phone.
• 7:49
  [laughs] And if you think about instant alignment with your guests, they're using the same service, right? Hmm. So there's a power there. There's an expectation there, I believe.
• 7:59
  You know, when you think about Amazon, I believe you're thinking about convenience. Mm-hmm. I think you're thinking about, you know, the expectations. If I order it, it's going to be fulfilled. Mm-hmm.
• 8:09
  And it- I know when it's going to arrive, and they're very transparent about that delivery of that item, right? So I, when we found out we had this opportunity, [clears throat]
• 8:20
  I felt our group can definitely align with this. You know, our, our number one focus is our guest experience with our guests, right? Mm-hmm. And how we take care of them.
• 8:30
  And I, I think we align completely with Amazon overall, uh, based on those premises.
• 8:36
  And you know, the f- the thing about it is, I think we can learn a lot more from Amazon as well, you know, even having this partnership. So that's what I'm really excited about as well.
• 8:47
  What is, can you- I have a concern, though. Can I... I gotta get this off my chest. Oh. Sure. I, I, t- [laughs] I could always pick up your setups, Mit.
• 8:54
  [laughs] My, my issue is my wife and I sit down- [laughs] I knew it was coming... four times a week, and we're both like, "You know what? We, we gotta not buy so much on Amazon."
• 9:05
  [laughs] Marry that to the fact that I am such a lay down when it comes to buying cars, and this just seems like a perfect [laughs] storm for the Cirillo household. Like- Hmm...
• 9:19
  uh, like to, to know that I can streamline delivery, somebody's gonna have to lock my phone down, I think is the issue. That this is the bone I have to pick with myself. This has nothing to do with anybody.
• 9:27
  But I'm like, LaFontaine's gonna see Michael Cirillo's [laughs] name in their system several times. [laughs] I can't wait. [laughs] So- Well, number one, I, I appreciate the, the self-counseling.
• 9:40
  You know, that, that's good. [laughs] I think that's very healthy. That happens live on our podcast. [laughs] It doesn't work 'cause on the tail... That's my problem is like on the tail end- Yeah...
• 9:46
  of these conversations, we feel so revolved and we cheers each other and then the next day there's 47 boxes at my door when I get home from work. No! Oh, that's different. That's different.
• 9:55
  Um, Carlos, can you get into some of the mechanics of what you're actually doing on the platform- Sure...
• 9:59
  and how you're leveraging some of the things that are available and, you know, like what you've replaced as you've leaned into Amazon. Mm. Obviously the budget had to come from somewhere.
• 10:06
  So if you could give us- Yeah, so-... a little purview into that... the, the marketplace itself, um, is really great. I mean, they've... With them, they have, you know, a big brain out there.
• 10:17
  They, they think of everything, and they're very process-driven. They're very, uh, intentional with what their goals are. Um, so number one, it's been very easy to work with them. Uh, number two, uh, [clears throat]
• 10:29
  they provide an end-to-end user experience for the, for the shopper. Meaning, I syndicate my inventory on the marketplace. They provide through A to Z Sync, uh, the facilitation of that guest in the transaction form.
• 10:45
  The guest feels great about that because, you know, it's Amazon. They- Mm-hmm... they transact on that, on that marketplace all the time. Mm-hmm.
• 10:53
  So now w- what I really love about this, these aren't leads, these aren't inquiries. These are deals. Mm-hmm. These are customers saying, "I agree to the vehicle. I agree to the financing.
• 11:07
  I agree to the product in which it's gonna protect my investment." And now we have the opportunity to serve that guest based on that premise. We hold the vehicle for 24 hours.
• 11:17
  We organize and we communicate, uh, what the ex- expectations are to the guest, and we arrange delivery.
• 11:24
  And what's really cool about this is that when the guest shows up to pick up their vehicle, I'm gonna assume it's based on their inspection that they wanna move forward with this.
• 11:35
  There's no pressure to the guest to move forward, right? With Amazon right now, with a regular, you know, item, you press purchase, you're a buyer. Yeah. It gets delivered. Yeah. Right?
• 11:46
  So you're getting the best of both worlds here- Mm... in, in my opinion. So can you, you talk about what you've replaced, like what, what you're doing and how that's deploying, what, how you're measuring the traffic.
• 11:57
  Like, talk us through, because I think one of the things that every, every practitioner is always curious about, like- Mm-hmm... the questions of like, okay, you're doing that What traffic sources did you replace?
• 12:09
  What's happening when you get these, these things in? What are they doing to the customer experience? What are the reviews you're getting afterwards? So if you could just kind of like walk us through as if- Sure...
• 12:18
  you were talking to yourself before you made the decision. Yeah. I- in, in this particular case, we aren't replacing anything. This is a true add. Uh, we feel- Great...
• 12:27
  so strongly about that, that, you know, we're, we're allying ourselves with the largest consumer marketplace available. So why not go all in and understand it? And the Amazon team's been amazing, you know.
• 12:40
  They've been right there ever since we've done it. It- we have a team, um, I personally manage that a- you know, allows the onboarding, uh, of such a platform at the stores to make things easier for our stores.
• 12:55
  So that for us, we're a little, you know... We're very grateful to have a team like that to make it, things a le- a little bit easier in the transition. Why do you think, why do you think there's so much pushback?
• 13:06
  Like, 'cause, 'cause, you know, I mean, the Amazon team would say this as well. And, you know, we were at the NADA show- Mm-hmm... and we got to spend a little time with them last year.
• 13:14
  Um, and it was, it was very like a, a f- it felt like they were in a frenemies situation [laughs] right, right in the middle. And this big beautiful booth.
• 13:24
  And, you know, on one hand, there's a ton of curiosity, a ton of people coming by the booth. And we're watching these conversations happen in real time.
• 13:31
  Meanwhile, uh, we're also hearing the name Amazon spoken from some stages in a way that seemed like it was a threat. So, um- Mm... why do you think there is that perception?
• 13:43
  And, like, you obviously decided to partner, and it's showing you great success. But why do you think some, some people view it that way? Well, I'm gonna flip this question to you, Paul. Oh.
• 13:53
  If you- I ask the questions around here. [laughs] Uh, I understand. I understand. But this plays into it, right? We will, uh... Yeah.
• 13:59
  So with Amazon, with such a large marketplace like that, who do you think the number one competitor would be? To Amazon selling cars? Mm-hmm. Carvana. Carvana. Yeah. And used cars anyway. Right.
• 14:13
  So I feel like there's this stigma about Amazon, like, "Oh, is this gonna be Carvana coming into the industry?" Right? Right. And the difference is, is that this is dealer driven.
• 14:25
  Amazon can't do anything with autos without our inventory. Right. You think, uh, uh, yeah. If you play that tape through the end, you start thinking of the, like, how would, especially with used cars, like how...
• 14:34
  Are they going to start warehousing, reconditioning, acquiring, right? No. No. I mean, could they? They could do whatever they want. Sure. Right. But why would they? Exactly. Why tie up all the capital?
• 14:47
  Why deal with all of that? They're, they're certainly not experts in the industry, right? What I love about Amazon, they're, they're out about stinkers.
• 14:55
  They, if you look at their entire platform, it is nothing but seller marketplaces. Right. Okay? Yeah. They rely on other sellers to, um, provide the products and then transact on the marketplace. Right.
• 15:09
  We- all we are is the auto portion of it, as dealers. And it's really up to us to deliver the experience. And what I love about this is that I'm really excited to see our Amazon shoppers localized to our dealerships.
• 15:24
  Okay? They, you know, we might have not won every localized shopper in our area of responsibility, but now I certainly have visibility to them. Mm. At least an avenue in which they feel comfortable transacting on. Right.
• 15:38
  So I believe that's another reason why I'm on it as well. That makes a lot of sense. You know- I mean, you think about it too. Like, anything new, any new concept is gonna get scrutinized. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
• 15:49
  I think- There's fear. There's the unknown. Yeah, the unknown. Yeah. I think this is the brilliant position of Amazon, in my perspective. Which is advocacy with the dealer body.
• 15:59
  It, you know, I mean, that just, it, it shows awareness about communities and jobs and distribution models. And, like, just there's, there's so much baked into that awareness.
• 16:13
  And, and so if it, if they are getting scrutinized, I think maybe, well, it's early on. But it's maybe just a lack of understanding of the model and how it contrasts against a Carvana. Right? Agreed.
• 16:24
  So I, I think that's a brilliant maneuver. I think one of the, one of the things that always comes up, and I think this is, you know, this is a question that has been talked about whenever a third party is discussed,
• 16:37
  is how does the dealer's brand... Two things, like, well, how does the dealer's brand come through, right, and not h- be homogenized with everybody else on the platform? But also, is there brand disparity?
• 16:48
  Because Amazon obviously carries, uh, like you said, like, people have, uh, a very distinct perception of the brand and what it means to them. And then how does that transfer into your stores?
• 16:59
  And, like, what's that brand handoff I'll call it, what does that brand handoff look like? Well,
• 17:05
  I, I believe just from the transactions that we've had and just the interactions with the g- the guests that we've served, um, again, when our guests showed up, [clears throat]
• 17:17
  number one, they were excited that the vehicle was there, right? Yeah. Because I believe the shopper was fooled, you know, or had bad experiences in the past of- Oh, that's interesting... "Yeah, it's here."
• 17:28
  And then all of a sudden it's not there, right? That is so interesting. They were just, like, kind of like, they were kind of ex- just surprised, maybe even a little bit excited.
• 17:36
  Like, "I did this thing on Amazon, and this is actually a real life vehicle. And here I am in it." Yeah. And it- "Is this happening?" Right... that makes, that, that actually makes sense. Right? It, it's happening.
• 17:45
  Right. And so we were excited too because, you know, as the guest came in, obviously it was our first transaction. So all the managers were excited. All the salespeople were excited.
• 17:55
  [laughs] I mean, it was like a homecoming for this guest to come in. It's like you just pulled off a magic trick. Like, "No, there's really a rabbit in the hat." Yeah, yeah. Right.
• 18:01
  And so we were exci- And we were like, "Hey, nice to meet you. Here's your vehicle," blah, blah, blah. But we were so excited. Like, "So why did you shop on Amazon?" Blah, blah, blah. [laughs] Right.
• 18:11
  That's all the questions. You know, we were asking these, asking all these questions.
• 18:14
  She's like You know, I, I was looking for a vehicle and, and, you know, I've gone to these different marketplaces and everything else, and the price seemed right.
• 18:23
  And I knew of LaFontaine in, you know, in the area, so why not? So I, I think where our brand comes into play- Wow... is it reinforces what we've been doing inside the marketplace already.
• 18:37
  Like, you know, I have 43 stores across Michigan. We, we spend about $21 million in advertising in a year, right- Geez... across the group. So we have, you know, brand presence.
• 18:48
  And for that to be validated through an Amazon shopper was absolutely magic for us. So we're excited about it. What it does is really highlight the fact that there is no magic bullet. Amazon's not a magic bullet.
• 19:01
  You have to be doing the work. And when you do the work to build a strong brand and have it mean something, and build positive perception in a consumer's mind because you're, you've been, you know, doing the work.
• 19:12
  And then that gets paired up with the brand credibility of Amazon. Those two things are like, oh, like, okay, it makes sense that those two things are working together.
• 19:23
  Then when they show up and the car is there, and they have a good experience- Yeah... and you're having this realization. Yeah. Sounds like a pretty magic moment. Well, yeah. When did that first one happen?
• 19:30
  Uh, that happened in May. Yeah. That happened in May. And what was cool is, like, everything through the transaction was done, like down to the penny, right? Wow.
• 19:42
  So the customer financed through, they purchased the, you know, some protective products, right, and the payment was exactly the same as what they left with. Full transaction.
• 19:55
  That's every-- That is like everything people are trying to say, "If we can just hit this point-" Mm-hmm "... we're in great shape." Yeah. I think that does so much good for the industry. And I think- And, um-...
• 20:05
  you know, the biggest thing is will we see a whole lot of traffic from Amazon? Probably not, and I haven't, you know, to be completely transparent.
• 20:14
  However, I know having the product on Amazon, right, is reinforcing my brand messaging, number one.
• 20:22
  Number two, I've had numerous customers as we interview the guest, and they, maybe they inquire through a different third party, or through our website, or do an online conversation, right?
• 20:34
  We, when we interview the guest, "Yeah, I saw your car on Amazon." That's come up multiple times. Yeah. Right. Interesting. So it's just part of the ecosystem of what we're trying to do with our marketing.
• 20:45
  But let me ask you this as, as we wind down. Maybe a last question for you on this. Uh, a- and it kind of, it, it's adjacent.
• 20:52
  It's a continuation of your sentiments you're sharing right now, which is, is there, i- i- is it kind of like, okay, vehicles are on Amazon and we just leave it there?
• 20:59
  Or is there any aspect of your marketing messaging that now wraps it in and says, "Hey, maybe, maybe you're not ready yet. You can check them out on Amazon." Or, or what does that look like from a logistical perspective?
• 21:11
  Oh, oh my gosh. I'm looking at the two-way opportunity here. Meaning- Yeah...
• 21:15
  I wanna leverage our Amazon presence because if I have a guest, and this is what I teach inside the showroom with our s- uh, team members, is that if the guest isn't clearly ready yet,
• 21:27
  I wanna make a clear distinction to them that we have our inventory on Amazon. Full, transparent pricing. You can transact there whenever you feel like. Mm. Or if you wanna do that in-house at our store, happy to do so.
• 21:39
  I wanna give the customer a selection to choose and meet them where they wanna be met. So I feel like we, if we reinforce it at our store, you know, via social media, you know, uh, any type of marketing that we do, OTT.
• 21:53
  I mean, that brand alignment with Amazon, I believe that's a badge of trust, and I'm leveraging now. Yeah. So, so incredible. I, I love this. Th- thank you for coming on and sharing fresh perspective with us.
• 22:05
  Carlos, thanks so much for joining us on Autocollabs. My pleasure. Thanks so much for having me. Appreciate the conversation. [upbeat music] Welcome to Autocollabs. Welcome to Autocollabs. [laughs] Why are we recording?
• 22:22
  Are we rolling yet? Not yet.