Latest / Auto Collabs / Buy Center In a Tent with Eric Hall

Transcript

Buy Center In a Tent with Eric Hall · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  All right, so both of you know I'm in Texas now. Uh, it's been a bit of a culture shock [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs. Especially coming from Canada, where a large dealership,
• 0:19
  y- you know, you can pass it in about a blink of an eye. You're r- driving past it and it's like, "Oh, there it was." Large in air quotes. Yes.
• 0:25
  There have been several occasions driving down the freeway in the Dallas Metroplex that I'm like, "Oh, there's a Chevy store" that just keeps going, and going, and going, and going. It's the same Chevy store still, kids.
• 0:37
  Same Chevy store, and you feel like you've passed through municipalities, but you're still- [laughs] Like, this thing, it could be the size of the town that I grew up in. Lo and behold, it is where our guest today works.
• 0:49
  Of course, I'm excited to dig into, uh, his conversation and learn a little bit more about what he's got going on over there. None other than the man Eric Hall.
• 0:58
  Uh, you guys ha- have gotten to know him quite well over the past, what, few months here? Yeah, it was... It's one of those kinda pandemic introductions, I think, through Clubhouse for me. And- Yeah, me too...
• 1:08
  a- and, and one of the things that is, is really what I love about Eric is he has an extremely selfless personality. You know, uh, we'll probably find this out, but, uh, I, I'm, I'm...
• 1:20
  I know a little bit of the story of how he became, uh, the NADA class president for- Wow... his recent NADA graduation. And, uh, I hope we can dig into that, into the interview a little bit.
• 1:31
  As well as one of the things that he did, uh, through, through like 2021 and early 2022 was do, uh, Facebook Lives dedicated to serving salespeople in our industry. Wait, what do you mean? Yeah.
• 1:45
  So, so he and Dusty Suther- Sutherland just held weekly Facebook Lives that were dedicated to creating a space for salespeople to learn and understand how to build their brand. And, uh, like selflessly. Wow.
• 1:58
  I didn't know that. Not, not in a way that was, "Oh, no, you, you need to come and work for Classic," or, "This is how we do it." It was just like, "Here's some opportunities."
• 2:06
  They brought on guests, they brought on hosts, and it was, uh, it, it was just like a selfless effort to say, "Hey, look, I'm here for the industry, not just for something self-serving."
• 2:16
  And I think that that's the heart of him and the team at Classic. So, I mean, let's just get into the interview because, uh, I wanna hear the story behind the story. I didn't know that.
• 2:32
  [upbeat music] All right, we are hanging out with Eric Hall, the internet director of, well, h- the highly debated- [laughs]... whether or not it is the largest Chevy dealership in the country.
• 2:46
  Uh, yeah, some people, they're number one. Other people, they're number five. We could let Eric, uh, talk about that. But Classic Chevrolet. And, uh, excited to have you. Thanks for joining us today, man.
• 2:57
  Man, it's truly an honor. I appreciate you guys, uh, giving me the opportunity, so. Eric is, uh, Eric is definitely one of those, you know, longtime listeners, first-time caller type, type thing in the ASOTU world.
• 3:08
  But, uh, I'm really excited to, to have him, and he's gonna be a part of, uh, ASOTU Con i- in September and, and be a part of, uh, the session schedule and the content there. And, uh, I just love, um...
• 3:21
  Eric, one of the things that I love about you is you're just always willing to just be there to help, right? Y- you, there's no pride. There's no, you know, I...
• 3:29
  You've done some stuff on Facebook to even just, like, draw together a community to tell some stories, and to give some feedback, and to support salespeople. So, I really appreciate that about you.
• 3:40
  Um, I'm gonna give one more bio thing. He was a recent class president of, uh, at GM school at NADA, so- I didn't even... Wait. Hold on, hold on. [laughs] Hold on, hold on. I didn't realize they have class president.
• 3:52
  They do. Were you elected? Yes. I, I, I was. I was elected. I didn't know anything about it until I got there and, you know, I, I, I tell everybody that was in my class, it was kind of
• 4:05
  selfish on my part, um, because I wanted to take as much into the class as I possibly could or get as much out as I possibly could.
• 4:12
  So, um, you know, before we started class, I, I got everybody kind of together, um, just kind of as a late night meet and greet before we had class.
• 4:22
  And, um, I was trying to get everybody's phone number 'cause I wanted to make sure that I could continue to keep, uh, communications going.
• 4:30
  And like I said, I did it kinda selfishly, and, um, didn't know anything about the, uh, president, uh, opportunity until the election time came. So yeah. [laughs] It was, uh, pretty cool.
• 4:42
  He was just- So he'd been president before he actually was. That's all he was doing. Well, that's, that's exactly- [laughs] I mean, that's like good leadership principle, right?
• 4:48
  You give the responsibility to someone who's already doing it. Yep. Right? But either way- For sure... I was wondering if you had a campaign on, like, you know, like, better snacks in the waiting room and all that.
• 4:58
  But- [laughs] I, I promised, I promised everybody a $500 bump on their trade value as we went through class. [laughs] Very nice. Perfect. [laughs] They're like, "We all got demos, man." No. [laughs] Oh, yeah.
• 5:15
  Sorry, I ha- I had to stop it there. I had no idea that was a part of Dealer Academy. No, that's so good. That's so good. So, uh, Eric, I, I...
• 5:21
  We wanna hear just, you know, for the, for everyone that's listening, and for you, and myself, and Paul, just kinda like where was your start in auto? Was it sales? Was it service? Was it internet?
• 5:32
  What, you know, kinda have you... Where have you been, and how did you get into the industry, and where have you been since then? Yeah, I got into the business about, uh, 20 years ago, just after, uh, 9/11.
• 5:42
  Um, I worked in advertising prior to that. And, uh, that's how I ended up in the car business. So, um, been here at Classic for 17 years.
• 5:51
  Started out selling cars, um, and got into the internet business, uh, was promoted into finance, um, at the other dealership that I was at. Uh, went through all their... They had some-...
• 6:04
  changes, uh, like most dealerships do, and all I wanted to do was get back into sales.
• 6:10
  I had met the internet director here at this store, um, while I was at that other store, and asked her if I could come to work, and I've been here ever since.
• 6:20
  So, uh, I've been director here at Classic for about nine, actually I guess it'll been 10 years now, and, um, pretty much developed the BDC.
• 6:30
  I knew where my holes were as a salesperson and how I can use our BDC to kind of, uh, fill those holes, and so that's how we've done it. How did you- Wow... why did you pick auto, right?
• 6:42
  You said you were doing, you were in advertising. Like, why automotive? So, actually one of, uh, one of my clients when I was in marketing was, uh, one of the Chevy dealers over here. Um, they were doing so well.
• 6:57
  My grandfather was in the, uh, car business up in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He was telling me how great things were. Um, of course these guys here were killing it. And, uh, so that's just kind of where I ended up.
• 7:10
  It was one of those things, like everybody else in the car business, it was gonna hold me over until I could find something else to do. [laughs] And, you know, 20 years later- Has it-... here I am.
• 7:20
  [laughs] You tripped one day- There was... I don't know if there's been a-...
• 7:22
  on a sidewalk, fell into a dealership, it was crazy, and then you were like, "There's another job that I want out there, but for some reason- Yeah... the doors were locked."
• 7:30
  [laughs] And on your way, right, on your way out, you decided to stay. [laughs] This is, this is it. Yeah. It was the craziest thing. So I was- Wow...
• 7:39
  salesman of the month first month in the business, and I'm like, "Man, this is, this is a lot of fun." It's the same thing, but totally different every day. Yeah.
• 7:49
  Isn't that interesting how, like, it is an industry where you don't come and just, uh, you're like, "Yep, know what, I know what Wednesday's gonna look like," you know? [laughs] That's just not a thing, right? Yeah.
• 8:00
  I mean- True... every single day presents a new challenge- 100%... or a new, a new conversation or anything like that. I'm sure you've been, uh, a part of some interesting ones over the years.
• 8:10
  So, you know, I, we, the, the, I know Classic as just a massive Chevy dealership. Has it kind of always been that way or has there been, you know, a shift over the 17 years that, that you've seen?
• 8:23
  Has there been an intentionality? Where, what, what's been the story since you've been at Classic? Yeah.
• 8:29
  So, you know, Classic was always, prior to me coming up here, Classic was always kind of that mysterious dealership. You know, they were always doing real well.
• 8:39
  Um, but it was always, you know, known as, unless you're a manager or had been a manager somewhere, you'd never get hired there. Mm. And, um, so, you know, it was... I had done finance.
• 8:52
  Uh, like I said, I had known, uh, Donna, the, the previous, uh, internet director that hired me. Um, and I was done with finance. You know, finance is a great for, for some people, and, uh, it was not for me.
• 9:07
  [laughs] So- Sure... I wanted just to get back into sales, and so that's kind of that direction. But, um, you know, we were number one. We're the only GM dealership that has held the number one, uh, volume for,
• 9:22
  uh, nine years consecutive. Um, so in that aspect of it, we've always been, you know, a, you know, the entire 17 years I've been here, we've been a top five, top 10 store.
• 9:34
  Um- When, when is- So- The big question is when is- Yeah... when is the decade? When do you hit 10 years? You said nine years. Yeah. So, uh, [laughs] that's, that's a really good question.
• 9:46
  That's one thing that, uh, our owner always, uh, reminds us of. [laughs] "Hey, you missed, you missed that one year." And, uh, you know, we're working to get back up there. Um,
• 9:57
  and- Oh, so you- That's- Wait, wait, wait, so- Oh. So you didn't, it was nine years, then you missed a year? D'oh. Yeah. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah.
• 10:05
  We've been, we've been a top, I wanna say we've been a top five store for the last four years. So we missed it after that, uh, that ninth year- Got it... we missed, uh, number 10. And, uh, so we've been
• 10:23
  fighting, fighting those, uh, top ones there, uh, since. And like, yeah, we're, we're, we're, we're making our way back up. Nice. Did- didn't mean to bring that up. I thought I was seeing Jack Nicholson.
• 10:33
  [laughs] No, it's... [laughs] That's... Oh, no, that's quite all right. That's quite all right. He's like, "We walk in every day and over the intercom he goes, 'Remember year number 10.'" [laughs] Yeah. Right.
• 10:42
  Remember, remember number nine. That's car- Remember number nine. That's car business 101 right there. [laughs] Yeah. That's so good. That's so good. So- You can always, you can always sell one more, so. Yeah.
• 10:55
  You know, w- [laughs] Right... it's interesting because a lot of people in automotive, it's like there's always kind of this target to get to the top or, like, how do we grow?
• 11:03
  But there's a different set of s- uh, uh, of intentionality that it takes to stay at the top, right? Like, falling off that 10 year and getting back. And
• 11:13
  w- what are the things that, that, especially right now, that the store or your department are kind of fighting and struggling with to stay at the top, right? Because you can't just, you can't coast. There's no coasting.
• 11:27
  What are you... W- what are the challenges right now that you're, that you're facing that, like, are needing you to meet to stay at the top? You know, right now we're like everybody else.
• 11:39
  The biggest thing is, is inventory on the new car side, right?
• 11:43
  You know, and there's a lot of dealers out there that are, you know, number one in volume and, you know, do well in service or well in parts, but aren't, you know, top of their game.
• 11:55
  You know, we project ourselves to be the best at everything that we do. Um, you know, we're the number one GM parts dealer, uh, in the country. We're a number one fleet.
• 12:07
  Technically, we are the number one fleet, uh, dealer in the country, as a GM fleet dealer in the country, which-Technically, I guess, puts us as the number one volume dealer, or GM volume dealer in the country.
• 12:22
  Retail sales and retail punches is, is a little bit different, and that's where we're sitting at the number, uh, five spot year to date. But, um, you know, inventory right now is huge. It's...
• 12:32
  And it's going across the board, not only for vehicle-wise. We're facing it in parts- Mm-hmm... um, you know, in service, you know, loan cars, that, that, that same thing.
• 12:43
  You know, we're running about 9,500 ROs a month through, through our service center. And when you've got that kind of volume, you don't get 100 calls- Hold on. 9,500? Are you open seven days a week? Uh, no, sir. Uh-uh.
• 12:57
  Basically five days a week. We do, uh, light maintenance on Saturday from 8:00 to 1:00. Wait, you're only 8:00 to 1:00 on Saturday, too? [laughs] Yes, sir. Golly. [laughs] We've got a, uh... You know, it...
• 13:13
  Obviously, being in the Dallas Metro, we're in a huge metro area where you've got stores that are open Monday through Saturday, you know, 7:00 to 9:00, 7:00 to 10:00. Um, we're open Monday through Friday.
• 13:25
  Uh, service is 7:00 to 6:00. Sales is 8:00 to 7:00. And then Saturday, 8:00 to 6:00 on sales, 8:00 to 1:00 on service, or, uh, for service stuff. Wow. That is- Okay... like a lesson in efficiency right there. 9,500.
• 13:39
  Now, there's staff that comes along with that, right? But- Big time. Big time... but you have to be executing things at, like, a top level.
• 13:47
  I don't care how much staff or how many people or how much space you have to do all that, there's an efficiency matrix that goes into operating at that level f- at, at a whole dealership.
• 13:59
  And I, I'm sure, is that, like- Yeah... is it just constantly working as a leadership and management team to find those efficiencies in your day? Constantly. And that's, that's probably the biggest thing for us is, is
• 14:14
  making sure the team is not only performing, you know, at their top level, but doing it in a way that everybody's cohesive, everybody's happy.
• 14:27
  You know, of course, we're just like every other dealer, you're gonna have those moments and, and, you know, issues between people and personnel.
• 14:36
  Um, but that's really what we do as a leadership team is, is try to lift our team, uh, constantly.
• 14:43
  Um, you know, pick up the, the deficiencies where they are and, uh, you know, kinda clear the field for our crew, basically.
• 14:52
  What would you say is, like, over the last 12 months, obviously coming out of the pandemic, it's kind of this unknown territory where, you know, we throttled back to a, a certain point.
• 15:01
  Now you being in Texas, you didn't have to throttle back as m- much as, you know, some people in other states did. Um, you know, you c- you've rolled a little bit more like normal.
• 15:10
  Um, but obviously the inventory situation and all the other dynamics that are going on in the markets, what is the one thing in the last 12 months that you've, you know, either you're proudest of, that you put in place to, to make your, your, your operation smoother, or something you're most excited about that you're implementing right now?
• 15:30
  So the biggest thing for us, and Kyle kind of knows, is that we take a lot of pride in our, uh, buying center tent. Um, we, you know, like everybody else, acquisition became kind of that, the number one priority for us.
• 15:44
  Um, and, you know, our, our GM
• 15:48
  guy's just a, a phenomenal guy, done an amazing job of kind of showing me that, you know, sometimes you gotta think outside the box when that box is, is not functioning and, um, you know, came up with the idea that said, "Hey, let's, uh, let's rent a tent, put it out by the, uh, service drive and a couple of, uh, banners that say we buy cars.
• 16:09
  We gotta figure out something." And, um, you know, we started off with kind of a, uh, smaller setup, um, which eventually led in us into buying an 80 foot by 30 foot, uh, um, giant drive-through tent.
• 16:24
  We're g- we're gonna... I, I... You know, no one, not enough people know about this thing- [laughs]... because he... Let me... When he says 80 foot by 30 foot giant tent, like, normally people set up a buy center, right?
• 16:35
  And they're like, "Y'all, we did a buy center." And they're like, it's like this back office that they finally figured out how to clear out- Right...
• 16:42
  all the cleaning stuff, and they shove two people back there with some computer screens, and they're like, "We're buying cars from the public." Buy. [laughs] No. This, they only did it because it's Texas, right?
• 16:53
  You can't, like, shove people in a back thing. [laughs] It's like a circus tent size. I got a funny story about that.
• 16:59
  [laughs] I'll, I'll tell you, I'll tell you a funny story about the tent that, that, uh, he, he may or may not have known. So we were renting this tent, uh, originally.
• 17:09
  We had to then consolidate our 80 foot by 30 foot and, and had to basically go down to a 20 by 20 because the people that we were renting it from had pre-rented it out for the Texas State Fair.
• 17:22
  So that's how big this- [laughs] Uh, our tent literally was at the State Fair of Texas last year. [laughs] So that's why we ended up having to buy it. But you got it back now. Oh, you ended up buying one.
• 17:32
  Buying it from them. Yeah, we bought it from them. Yeah, we ended up buying it from them because the, the rental fees that we were paying for it, uh, quickly exceeded the cost of it. [laughs] Right. Right. Yeah.
• 17:42
  So, so it's 112... 106 degrees out right now in Texas, as we're, as we're talking about, with a real feel of about 112, and there's this 30 by 80 tent outside. What's going on in the tent right now?
• 17:55
  So right now, um, you know, we, we've, uh, kind of winterized it a little bit and, and weatherized it, I should say. Um, and in doing so, you know, we've been buying everything. We've bought Bentleys, uh, Rolls Royces.
• 18:10
  We've kind of become literally the regional buying center. We have dealerships literally that are across the street from us that send their people to get buy bids from us. No way. No way.
• 18:20
  Craziest, craziest thing.Out of a tent I can, I can tell you stories that would, like, blow your mind. Why would they do that? But, uh- Tell me why they would do that... perception is reality, right?
• 18:32
  I mean, we've got even some of our sales people that think, you know, we've, we've teamed up with, uh, the guys from, uh, gimmethevin.com. So we've got one- Yeah...
• 18:41
  of their host sailors that comes out, uh, every Saturday.
• 18:45
  Um, and we've got some sales guys that tell their customers, "Only bring your cars in to get appraised on Saturdays," because they think that the, the bids are, are better through the tent.
• 18:56
  And, um, that perception has kinda become a reality thing. And, and like I said, we, we buy more, [smacks lips] uh, high-line vehicles than we ever have, have taken in a trade. Um- And, and, and classic vehicles.
• 19:10
  Like, things you don't even know are on the road anymore... classic vehicles. It's like, it's like bring a trailer. So- Yeah... ironically, you said that. That- [laughs]... that's where I was going.
• 19:20
  We bought a, uh, we bought a, uh, travel trailer from people, and it kinda sits on the backside of our tent now, so when it's 112, we have air conditioning. It's the greatest thing in the world.
• 19:31
  But we literally have our mobile office out there now. So you have an air-conditioned tent? [laughs] Yeah, yeah. We've, uh, we, we moved, um, the computers and everything into this travel trailer that sits just,
• 19:42
  you know, we, we kinda opened up one of the sides of the tent, backed the, uh, travel trailer right up to it, and we kinda work through there now.
• 19:51
  You are single-handedly removing excuses left and right from everyone who says, "I don't have the space. I don't have the ability to do it. There's somebody else in my area doing a buy center."
• 20:05
  You're like, "We put up a tent, and our competitors are sending their customers to us." [laughs] If, if you, if you build it, they will come, and they have. This is- Yes...
• 20:14
  this is, like, the proof case of why brick-and-mortar stores still are, like, a big piece of what we're d- because this is another place that you can find space. It, look, nobody has inventory.
• 20:28
  So it's like, what are you gonna do with the empty spaces? Put a big tent out there, put some signs on the thing- [laughs]... and buy some cars, right? [laughs] Wow. Yep. Wow. It's the craziest thing.
• 20:39
  And we get, I mean, we get customers do this thing. We've been doing it since April of last year. Um, and we weren't really keeping a true number up until about July or August of last year.
• 20:53
  So I think we've got true records of about a year, and we've bought over 1,700 cars- [laughs]... in that last year. Um, so you know, it's, it's, it's paid for itself and, and, and then some. Couple times.
• 21:06
  And what's the crazy, the craziest thing is the majority, I would say well over 85% of the cars that we buy are front-line-ready stuff. That's exact- Right... that was my next question.
• 21:18
  How many of those are you actually keeping? Well, 'cause probably- Yeah... now people are, like, they're shining those things up, right? It's, like, ready to g- Yeah...
• 21:25
  like, I'm gonna get all the, if I'm gonna go there, I'm gonna also get all the money, right? Yeah. For sure. Spend more.
• 21:31
  And what's, what's crazy is the amount of, the amount of times customers tell us, "Man, I didn't know it was this easy. I didn't know you guys bought cars." Wow.
• 21:40
  Are you talking about, like, how do you talk about that in your marketing? Uh, it's, it's all over our marketing.
• 21:46
  I mean, we've got, uh, great footage of, you know, people coming through the tent, vehicles through the tent.
• 21:52
  I mean, I put up, uh, pretty much every Saturday I'll do either a live or video stream of the cars that we're getting in. Um, you know, we take pictures of the, the customers coming through.
• 22:05
  We've done customer testimonials. So it's, I mean, it's a huge, huge message for, uh, for us on our marketing side. Are you getting any people, like, raising their hand, like, "I'll take that one when it's ready"?
• 22:17
  [laughs] So funny story is we've actually had customers offering to buy it from the people in the tent. [laughs] Oh, like they're trying to cut you out. Yeah. [laughs] That's unbelievable. "Yeah, that's fine.
• 22:33
  We just have a-" Yeah. "... we just have a buyer's fee." "We've got that buyer's fee. It's easy." Just take, take 500 bucks and then, like, just let them g- go on their way.
• 22:40
  [laughs] "A $1,000 in and out- Just need to have a cover charge... and we'll do all the paperwork for you." That's amazing. Yeah, it's crazy. Amazing. Genius. That's genius. Look- Yeah...
• 22:48
  we never know what we're getting into when we go into these conversations, which is why- [laughs]... we like the long form conversation [laughs] a little bit better. Um- For sure.
• 22:57
  Look, a lot of people are watching and listening to these looking for the next, uh, level up or, or the next little thing they can implement in the store.
• 23:03
  I think, um, you just gave a, a real practical way that, that excuses can go to the side, and they can actually, you know, a dealer could actually start down this path.
• 23:12
  Um, what would your one word of advice to be if you get to speak to everyone else in the industry that's, like, in your position, um, or just above, just below?
• 23:20
  What, what would you say their focus should be, um, over the next six months? Wow. Um, to me it's, it's still gonna, at least for us, it's still in that acquisition mode. And, uh, you know, stuff's not really releasing.
• 23:37
  Um, you know, you've got OEMs that say, "Oh, yeah, we're gonna be going into fourth quarter a little bit stronger with production-wise."
• 23:45
  And Toyota, you know, to me, Toyota's probably one of the, uh, best brands when it comes to logistics.
• 23:51
  And when they come out and s- scale their production numbers back again, that tells me that things are, you know, not loosening them up as, as much as other people are saying.
• 24:02
  So the acquisition, um, you know, is, is still gonna be a huge one. Um, and, and keeping, uh, you know, coming in six months, we'll be going into the end of the year, so holiday time. Um,
• 24:16
  keeping your people aware, keeping your people, um, uh, say happy, but, uh, you know, obviously holidays are a rough time for a lot of people, and sometimes we forget about those. Mm.
• 24:29
  So, you know, being, being top of mind with your, with your, uh, teammates and, and just being present for your, for your, uh, people in general. Man, that's so good. It's like-What can you be thinking about now
• 24:45
  as a business to make sure that the holidays for your people, for your community, for everyone around are well taken care of? Because there's some careful planning that goes into that, right?
• 24:56
  There might be some accruing some, some funds to make sure that people are taken care of, or year-end bonuses, or the right Christmas party, or maybe someone struggling in your, in, you know, in and amongst you.
• 25:07
  Like, what are you doing right now to prepare to take care of your people in the next, like, four to six months? [exhales] That is- Yeah... that's astute. Uh, that's...
• 25:18
  I don't, I don't think I've ever thought of, uh, like, I've never asked that question- I haven't...
• 25:22
  and never been like, "Someone's gonna tell me what to do to take care of their people in six months from now" And that is- Yeah. [clears throat] I appreciate that. Sure.
• 25:29
  That was a, that was a bold and, and very well-timed answer. I appreciate it. Thank you. Well, Eric Hall, Classic Chevrolet, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.
• 25:39
  We can't wait to hang out with you at ASOTU CON. [laughs] And I'm- Just gonna put that there... looking, looking forward to it, so it's gonna be a great time. Well, thanks for being here with us today.
• 25:48
  We'll talk to you soon. Thanks, guys. Take care.
• 25:54
  [upbeat music] So it's easy for people to think because their store isn't that big, that the person doesn't have any input, like, they can't speak into their situation 'cause you don't know how it is because you have this big store with all these resources in a major market.
• 26:07
  I think Eric just gave us some really, really practical ways to get excuses out of the vocabulary.
• 26:14
  Especially, I mean, selling that many used cars out of a tent, buying the types of cars that they're buying out of a tent in Texas, like, that they rented from the Texas State Fair- [laughs]...
• 26:24
  and then it became a thing. Like, come on, [laughs] man. It really, it's wild because it... And what's crazy is they didn't start with the massive tent. They started with, "Okay, we need this thing" Let's try it.
• 26:35
  And then it was like, "Let's grow, and let's grow, and let's grow" It, it- Look, Classic Chevy at some point, I don't know when this was, didn't wake up and be like, "Cool, now we're selling thousand cars this month" [laughs] Right?
• 26:48
  Yeah. Right. [laughs] So, uh, now, you know, there's perspective obviously of, that a, that a large group can, or a large dealer can do different things, right, with resources, and people, and time, and money.
• 27:00
  But the practicality of going from, you know, starting in a place saying, "Hey, look, we just need to buy more cars.
• 27:07
  We need to, we need to solve this inventory problem" And then stepping into now where they actually own the tent, right? They didn't do that at the beginning.
• 27:15
  They didn't pop up one day and be like, "Everyone, we're gonna buy a massive tent, and if it doesn't work, you're all fired" [laughs] Right? Yeah. Not e- not even close. They're just willing...
• 27:23
  I think it's just that mentality of being willing to try something. Yeah. "Let's try something. It's okay if it doesn't work" Yep.
• 27:29
  This actually reminded me of, uh, I wanna say it was one of my first times actually seeing Kyle, and he did... This was when you were still in store, and you did a video commercial.
• 27:39
  You were, like, walking through the store. You had a cool narrative, cool camera. Oh, it was the vroom, the vroom commercial rebuttal. The vroom commercial. Yeah. Yeah.
• 27:46
  But your narrative around that whole thing was, "There's nothing they're doing that I can't do as a single point, as a group-" Right... as a whatever.
• 27:55
  And here we have, you know, uh, an example of that where it's like, "Yeah, hey, we can take a proof of concept, try it at a small scale" And, and really just the emphasis on acquisition I think is really, really interesting.
• 28:09
  I'm really fascinated by self-sustaining ecosystems, which it sounds like that's what they're building at Classic. Yeah. So looking forward to you to meet Eric Hall at ASOTU CON. Ask him all the questions in person.
• 28:20
  I wanna see more pictures of the tent, though. Haven't seen nearly enough. So on behalf of Michael Cirillo, Kyle Montcerf, thanks for joining us on Auto Collapse.
• 28:27
  [upbeat music] Sign up for our free and fun-to-read daily email for a free shot of relevant news in automotive, retail, media, and pop culture. You can get it now at asotu.com. That's A-S-O-T-U dot com.
• 28:41
  If you love this podcast, please leave us a review and share it with a friend. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time.
• 28:50
  [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collapse. Welcome to Auto Collapse. [laughs] Why are we recording? [laughs] Are we rolling yet? Not yet