Latest / Auto Collabs / Breaking the Barrier of Trust w/ Damon Lester

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Breaking the Barrier of Trust w/ Damon Lester · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  We're sitting in a suite in the Live Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs If you look over my right shoulder and go about, oh, yay,
• 0:19
  two to three miles in that direction is the birthplace and hometown of one of my favorite people, the one and only Damon Lester, who grew up in West Philadelphia. Naturally. Of course he did.
• 0:29
  And when you hear, if you are any grown adult and you hear the words West Philadelphia- And you have to say it with that cadence. Not West Philadelphia, it's West Philadelphia. West Philadelphia.
• 0:39
  Because- Do they have that in Canada? Uh, West Philadelphia? No. Do you know what West Philadelphia implies? Like- Yeah... Will Smith, like- Okay. Okay, okay. Yeah. The Roots, like all that. Yeah. Yeah.
• 0:50
  His son changed his name to be like- [laughs] Yeah. Do you not know this? Who, Damon's son? We ju- No. Oh. No, my son. Oh. We just introduced my son on Hulu to The Fresh Prince, and he's so taken by it. Thanks.
• 1:03
  [laughs] Am I talking to your mic? Microphone Michael. He's so, he's so taken by it that he's changed his contact in my phone to say The Fresh Prince Jr. Really? Yes. So we do know West Philadelphia. Born and raised.
• 1:16
  [laughs] Oh, everybody can do it now. Come on now.
• 1:17
  Hey, look, if you ever get stuck at a party and someone shoves a mic in your face, whatever beat's going down, whatever song's playing, just recite the West Philadelphia, born and raised.
• 1:24
  We're gonna get Damon to do that on stage, uh, sometime soon. If you don't know Damon Lester, he came into the auto industry by way of being an accountant. Naturally.
• 1:35
  The, it's, when, you know, West Philadelphia has a good history and pedigree of, of high-level accountants- [laughs]... and Damon is just one of them. Came in to be an accountant with NAMAD, or as their, their CPA.
• 1:46
  And then before you know it, he's the president of NAMAD. And now he's an actual dealer. It's unbelievable. And
• 1:53
  when, when I think, well, you know, the word troublemaker has been around the automotive state of the union, the community. Couple times. When I think of a troublemaker,
• 2:03
  so out and out trouble, because even just in the last couple months when I'm on the phone with him, Zoom call, or we're just texting or a call,
• 2:15
  there's always a question that comes out of his mouth that could literally silence a whole room. Stops you right in your tracks. Right?
• 2:23
  It stops you right in your tracks, or it could silence a whole room of dealers, industry partners, OEMs, anything like that, because he's thinking about the impact of every decision across the industry and how it pertains to dealers and customers.
• 2:41
  And that type of thought process is troublemaking. It is innovative. It is pushing the boundaries. Um, it, man, [laughs] he comes hard. He does. He doesn't mess around.
• 2:53
  He balances this interesting place where he's still the president of NAMAD and he represents hundreds of dealers. He spends time on Capitol Hill. He understands the political side. Right.
• 3:03
  He understands the, the, the dirt and the grind side, 'cause he is a dealer now. And, you know, he fell in love with the industry and decided like, "I, I wanna be a dealer."
• 3:12
  And when you talk to him, and I know this is gonna come out in the interview, his vision for what automotive could and should be is far beyond so many that we've seen and we've talked to.
• 3:20
  So we're excited if you haven't met him before, you get to jam with our boy from West Philadelphia. Born and raised. And raised. Damon Lester.
• 3:29
  [upbeat music] All right, we are hanging out with my man, Damon Lester today, the president of NAMAD and owner of, uh, recent owner, w- just over a year, of Nissan of Bowie.
• 3:50
  And, uh, I got, I got my shorter sidekick, [laughs] Michael Cerrillo hanging out here. If you, if you can't see him, he might look as tall as me on video, but he's really not. So, uh, that's okay.
• 4:03
  [laughs] Damon- I'm up to at least your belly button. Yeah, right. [laughs] Damon, welcome, man. Thanks for coming. Oh, thank you, Kyle. Pleasure, Michael. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
• 4:12
  Uh, yeah, Damon, so, uh, you know, I, I first found out about who you are back when, uh, Paul had you on at Digital Dealer, and it was the very first time that I think the general public had found out that you had bought into a dealership.
• 4:28
  So your history, right, is, is kinda coming from being a CPA with NAMAD and then growing into the president role of that. So, um, uh, you've been in automotive for how long now? 21 years now. Yeah. Awesome. 21 years.
• 4:44
  Yeah. That's awesome. And your story kinda led to this, you know, wanting to, uh, be at the dealership level.
• 4:50
  So what was kinda like the trajectory that led you to want to be, you know, hands in the dirt in a dealership and, and, uh, and come, come out from, from the NAMAD side and, and move into the dealer world?
• 5:04
  Well, first, I, I, I, I think I do have a very unique background in comparison to others in this industry or my peers in the association realm.
• 5:13
  You know, I, being 20 years within the association, I had to do a self-assessment, right? And, and look at where, where do I wanna do my next 20 or my next 30?
• 5:23
  And at that point in time, I had to look myself in the mirror and say, "You know what? I've d- I think I've done a pretty good job with NAMAD, and NAMAD's been good to me.
• 5:33
  I think I've been a con- contributor to this industry, not just in the diversity side, but also within globally this industry and, um, at all levels."
• 5:41
  And I wanted to see if, if it was possible for me to look at being an entrepreneur, um- Mm... similar to the my, my, my fellow NAMAD members and, who, who we also advocate for.
• 5:54
  So it w- it's definitely an interesting journey. Um, it took me quite a bit of time to get my first store and, and, and so I went through an ADA academy.
• 6:02
  I, I've done everything that I think from a standpoint ofIf you look at tiers or tracks, I've done all of those tiers and tracks and, and just getting my first opportunity and, and thankfully and prayerfully that, uh, Nissan and, and the previous owner of Nissan of Bowie, um, allowed me to, uh, to acquire the store.
• 6:22
  Can I key in on something here? You said, "Where do I wanna spend the next 20, 30?"
• 6:28
  Um, this is a stark contrast, I feel like, and narrative of what we tend to hear very vocally online, which is, like, save your dealership and things are, y- you know, uh, uh, im- brace for impact, right?
• 6:41
  But you, with your experience as a CPA and the, the work that you've done in nonprofits and setting up and tax advice and all of the things you've done over the years, right, both at home and abroad, this tells me
• 6:55
  there's hope. This tells me you, you've seen something 'cause you're, you're not just the kind of guy that's gonna be like, "You know what? I want to own a dealership."
• 7:02
  So what were some of the things you were looking at that said, "Hey," signal to self, "there is a 20, 30-year trajectory here"? Oh, just knowing this industry, it's, it's, it's the best... I've said this a couple times.
• 7:14
  It is the best-kept industry, um, out there, and it's just a variety of opportunities, whether it's at the OEM level, manufacturing, at the retail level.
• 7:25
  There's, it encompasses everything that's American within this, in the, in the auto industry. And so I, I look at this as it's not going away. It's evolving. It has evolved.
• 7:37
  If you look at history, particularly when I started, um, it's evolved. It's evolved from the standpoint of dealer body from 30,000 plus to, to 18,000 now or 17,000 now. And, and so there's an opportunity of growth.
• 7:55
  There's an opportunity here where you can make a difference in your community.
• 8:01
  I am a giver at heart, and so this, and being on the entrepreneurial side, kind of also, also fits my personality and, and lets me be me at a different level, um, versus being an association president, also an advocate for the industry and advocate for increasing minority dealer body.
• 8:18
  So it, it, it has helped me grow as a individual. Um, but the auto industry's not going away. Cars are still out here on the road, and it, although it's gonna look different, we just need to be able to adapt and change.
• 8:30
  And not too many people really wanting to do that now, um, as, as change is hard. Yeah. And so I, I see a huge uptick in it. Y- you keep saying this word, uh, you know, becoming an entrepreneur. And- [laughs]
• 8:48
  I, I, like, I don't th- I don't know if you recognize how key that is, in my opinion, because, you know, when you think about going into owning a dealership, especially for you, it wasn't blue sky.
• 9:02
  It was a dealership that's been there for a hot minute, right? Yeah. Like, going into your every day
• 9:10
  thinking of yourself as a consistent entrepreneur and not just, like, a business owner, which are two approaches that are wildly different in my opinion. Um,
• 9:22
  uh, maybe talk a little bit about that, how that, like, fra- how that being framed up in your mind as being an entrepreneur when you're in the dealership every day, especially with, like, you've had this backstory of NAMAD, right?
• 9:36
  And knowing the dealership world and knowing what the, the legacy of the, the franchise retail automotive side and, and even seeing the shifts in, like, the move to digital.
• 9:47
  But that you're, you're approaching now with an entrepreneur's mindset in your business, and I'm guessing you do that consistently in NAMAD as well.
• 9:56
  What does the approach of a, an, an entrepreneur from business mindset look like differently from maybe just being a business owner? I, I would say for NAMAD, um, my role as president, I'm responsible for fundraising.
• 10:10
  I'm responsible for day-to-day operations. I'm responsible for everything kinda sorta like an entrepreneur would be for his or her day-to-day business. The difference is that, you know, I don't own it.
• 10:23
  Um, and, and- Hmm... if I look at, you know, Michael, you mentioned the next 20, 30, 40 years, you know, I don't have anything to pass NAMAD... I can't pass NAMAD on to, to my, my kids or my family.
• 10:36
  And so those are, like, some of those things you gotta look yourself in the mirror and say, "Hey, do I wanna roll and be comfortable? Do I wanna roll and be taking a chance and- [laughs]...
• 10:45
  and being able to affect change similar to how I've been able to ch- affect change on the association side?" But at the same time, NAMAD will continually go whether I'm in this chair or not.
• 10:58
  Um, but I need to make sure I have a seat at my own table, and being able to, to, to feed others off of that table. And also see how can I grow and, and it's been a challenge. It is a challenge.
• 11:12
  Um, it's definitely a mindset shift, um, fro- in comparison being the association head to, uh, an actually active owner.
• 11:21
  It is definitely different, Kyle, because, man, uh, day-to-day NAMAD is one paradigm, but day-to-day at a car dealership is a whole nother level of- [laughs]... stuff.
• 11:33
  And so it all both surround people, both surround about, both deal with relationships and, and trying to make sure people are, are comfortable and okay, particularly your staff.
• 11:45
  I went from a staff of three at NAMAD to a staff of 70. So it's, it's definitely different in being able to rely and trust your managers. It's, it's, uh, it has been...
• 11:56
  My first, my first 60, 90 days were probably tough for me to adjust and adapt to it. But ultimately, you know, I, I'm, I'm growing and I'm learning.
• 12:05
  I learn from my people and, and I, and I'm able to make all of the things that I've learned from all of my great dealers, particularly our board, who I've been able to be around with-Through NAMAD throughout the years, all of this sponge stuff that I've had in my brain that I can kinda, like, spill out now.
• 12:23
  And so that's the cool thing is 'cause people are like, "Hey, you haven't been in the industry," but yeah, I have. I just haven't been on that side, so. Kyle- It's, it's cool...
• 12:30
  just so you know, just so you know, before you popped on, I was like, "Hey, man. Damon, what, what's it like, man, stepping into the store?"
• 12:37
  And we've been talking a lot about entrepreneurship, and he used the synonym for rollercoaster, which is it's been interesting.
• 12:46
  [laughs] 'Cause, like, every entrepreneur, to describe the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship, "It's in- it's been interesting."
• 12:53
  Yeah, it's either interesting or there's, there's this, like, word form that, that you m- there's this, like, audio form that you make with the word great. It's like, "It's been great."
• 13:03
  [laughs] Right where you- Just pop that out... it just kinda does a little loop right there.
• 13:07
  [laughs] Hey, I would tell you that my name may have some weight somewhere in this industry, but boy, during this transition on acqui- acquiring this store, it was like mud 'cause it did not matter.
• 13:19
  [laughs] So I, I definitely got a feeling, I definitely got a feeling of what, what dealers go through, um, from transitioning vendors and banks and things, and, and I had to, like, humble myself and say, "Hey, you know me though, right?"
• 13:36
  And, and then I'm like, "Nah, they don't know me as a entrepreneur. They just know me as, you know, this guy that speaks all the time." They're like, "But you're CIT though, Damon." Right.
• 13:46
  [laughs] "Just over here, [laughs] just letting you know." [laughs] That's amazing. That's amazing. Yeah, so that was like, you know, you definitely gotta come in here humble.
• 13:56
  And a lot of people, I think, come in, don't come in with the humility or the gratitude of, of appreciating this opportunity, right?
• 14:06
  This is a finite number of people that really are blessed to have this opportunity, and so I, you know, I, I take heed to it, and I'm thankful of being in the store and, and working with my folks every day, and working with NAMAD too, and so it's, it's been a balancing act with two jobs, but, um, I've been handling it pretty well.
• 14:24
  Yeah, you know, when you look at, for me, the number 17,000 can be a really big or a really small number.
• 14:32
  And when you look at, you know, 17,000 franchise retail dealers plus or minus, um, and, and especially recognizing that a large swath of those are owned by a l- you know, larger conglomerates with the, all of the consolidation that's happening, you ta- you're really talking, you know, somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 to 13,000 probably single rooftop owners in the entire US that you're now, your name is a part of at this point.
• 15:01
  And, uh, and I'd love to, to kinda get to, uh, you know, uh, uh, in the day that we recorded this, we've got, uh, you, you, an article came out in Auto News speaking to just how many of those owners, operators are in the minority, right?
• 15:20
  Whether it be African American or, uh, American Asian or, or, you know, there's a, there's a Hispanic, a few different, um, nationalities and, and cultures represented in that article.
• 15:32
  But, you know, at this point, I think we're talking about just over, just under thir- 1,400. Is that right? Yeah. Minority owners in the US in, in, in the spectrum of that 17,000.
• 15:45
  Yeah, so the 1,300-plus rooftops- Okay... are, are out of 18,000 rooftops. And so within the minority dealer body, there's also a finite, even a more of a finite number of individual owners.
• 16:02
  Average minority dealer owns two stores, 2.5, three stores. Okay. And just to be a part of that is, is huge, right? And, and it does, it means something. It has some value to it.
• 16:16
  Uh, but it also is sad to say that there, you have to put that word only in front, right? There's not a, that's not a, an, a parody number that we say, "Oh, there's 17,000," and then there's 16,000 of this.
• 16:29
  And so, you know, we have to, as a industry, continue to do a better job with increasing, um, working at increasing the dealer portfolio.
• 16:37
  But when you look at from African American dealers, it's, uh, 280, 290, I believe, um, in 2021. You know, I'm part of that number. Wow. Right? Yep. And I, I broke it. I think I'm, like, 267, 268,
• 16:56
  um, from when I, when I got my store last year, which means something, right? There's a, that number, that number means something to me,
• 17:05
  um, and, and, and I think it means something to Nissan as there was, there was a net five or six of us African American dealers that came in under Nissan, and of which three or four of us were our first stores. Wow.
• 17:20
  This, we've never had our store. And so, you know, the article didn't speak to that, 'cause I did talk about it extensively, that, you know, they took a chance on four or five new people
• 17:33
  that are, are, are, are hitting home runs because they took a chance. And- Mm-hmm...
• 17:38
  um, you know, I'll, I'm forever g- grateful and g- indebted to Nissan, um, as a, as a, as a sponsor and supporter of the association for all these years and the relationships I've garnered on that side.
• 17:50
  Then just to look at how we've been able to evolve our store at Bowie and, and being able to, um, to gain the momentum that we are doing at, at the store.
• 17:59
  And, and so it's a trust factor and I, and I, I give kudos to that 'cause I think it's so many, it's so easy for people to go to the least point of resistance, and that's, "If you got a store, we're gonna give you 12 more."
• 18:11
  Yeah. And then you're our, you're, you're, you hear the, you hear the term you're our guy. And so it kinda starts to, to happen like that.But to take a chance, it's hard for someone to get their first one.
• 18:23
  And, and Kyle, whether you're minority or non, whether you're a large dealership group, everyone started off with one. When you really break down on it, you always start...
• 18:34
  Most of our successful dealers, non-minority dealers, they start off with one. Hmm. Um, and then it grows.
• 18:39
  And so, you know, I, I'm, I'm a new bud that's starting to sprout, and there's other guys that are s- gals and ladies that are starting to sprout.
• 18:46
  And, and, and hopefully we'll be able to bring along new buds in the, in the pipeline. One of the things I love that you bring up in the article is, and, and, and being able to contrast that to what you're saying now,
• 18:59
  is, yes, largest net increase in minority-owned dealerships since '06, however, we can do better. But also with the hope of, "But we all started with one. There's an opportunity here."
• 19:12
  And you had noted in the article, uh, I think it said something to the effect of how this is the first time that automakers are really, like, openly to the public stating their intentions that they want to help grow minority-owned dealerships.
• 19:26
  But then you also say later on, "Hey, if you wanna get into this, you can't cherry-pick the opportunity."
• 19:32
  Can you maybe bring us into what you mean by that and what your advice might be for, um, minority, potential minority-owned dealers looking to get into the game? Yeah. I, look, I've, I've tried 15 other times,
• 19:49
  and the excuses of, "You don't have the experience. You don't have the money. There's somebody else that has better, they got better land." What's another one? Um, "Your management team's not right.
• 20:02
  You, you, you, how can you move from one area to be another s- the owner in another store where you don't know anyone," blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. [laughs] So- Woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
• 20:13
  Yeah, I mean, you- Yeah, it was everything under the sun, right? [laughs] You hear, you hear all of that, but it never comes down to, "Can you do it?" Hmm. Right? Can you do it? So we hear, we hear those excuses.
• 20:28
  Obviously non-minorities hear it as well, but we hear those m- uh, those, like, those rational reasonings all the time. Um, money plays a key and, and, and cash rules everything around you, right? And from...
• 20:44
  And, and, and that, that is definitely true. But if given the opportunity, we'll figure it out. And, and we, we try to work towards figuring it out. [laughs] Yeah.
• 20:59
  Well, that's the entrepreneurial spirit that you're talking about. Yeah. The- Mm-hmm... it's not an entrepreneur whoever who said that they got a lot of let- letter of intent
• 21:08
  that said no because they couldn't figure it out. [laughs] Right. Right. Right? So I, I had to figure it out, no different than, you know, my peers had, had to figure it out. So there is definitely, um, a difference.
• 21:23
  And, and you see there's some ebbs and flows with all points, particularly stores that get built ground up, that you never built the store from ground up, or you've never been a luxury dealer before.
• 21:35
  But what about the guy who was a domestic dealer that... There's, the Mercedes guy never became a Mercedes guy because he was a Mercedes guy. Right.
• 21:44
  [laughs] Yeah, it's like you woke up one day and you have five Mercedes stores that were doing- Right... 100 cars each, right? That's just not the story. [laughs] It don't work that way, right?
• 21:53
  So you start off with one, and that one started because the way you treat the customer, your, your, your belief, and, and how you envision your store operating. Um, and so it, it, it doesn't matter.
• 22:09
  The matter's on the person that's leading the, leading the ship. And so I think there has to be some patient capital. There has to be some patient opportunities.
• 22:19
  Um, you know, the store that I have, or I own, is in my neighborhood. I live three miles away. Namad's three miles away. So I have a, I have a footprint here.
• 22:31
  No one at, at the level of locally, but more so nationally, through Namad of course, but, um, I know the people in this area, and I know how people have been historically treated in this area, um, by way of how they've been purchasing cars.
• 22:46
  And so I know I can make a difference- Hmm... by changing that paradigm for what I believe in. And, and it's, it's working. It's changing.
• 22:54
  It's not as fast, of course, as I want, I want to, want it to be, but you know, we're, we're making some footprints and trying to, trying to lead the way.
• 23:02
  Well, what I love about that is that, is that you're saying that there are... Because you, you've got this kind of, like, national and local thing happening at the same time of shifting a paradigm, right?
• 23:14
  Whether that be, I think, uh, like, wh- when I talk to you, it's shifting the paradigm locally. It's shifting the paradigm nationally for minority dealers.
• 23:24
  But you're also working very, very hard at shifting the pi- paradigm for dealers period, not just minority dealers. Like, you have a full scope, like, men- uh, uh, mentality and initiative with the dealer network.
• 23:39
  And I think that, you know, I, I'll, I'll say this. Like, a lot of this, uh, a lot of these conversations are in this build-up to Azsodu Con here in just a, uh, a couple months.
• 23:50
  And the idea is that, you know, whether, whether you're working just on, on your dealer or dealer group or caring about the, uh, you know, the, the, the national level dealership network and anything in between, state association, minority dealers, anything like that, the, this intentionality of people first is extremely important, right?
• 24:12
  And I mean, you said it. The first thing you said was it's how you take care of your people, which I think, you know, employees and customers alike, in order to shift the paradigm, right?
• 24:21
  Because it, it needs a paradigm shift.And, a- and, and it's, we, we've seen it with disruptors, with the, with the disruptors that entered in our industry.
• 24:32
  We're seeing it today how digital is directing the way of pricing. The whole platform of how dealers and dealerships have historically operated has changed. Mm-hmm. And it's changed because
• 24:49
  some weren't paying attention. We took ignor- we took for granted the model, and we didn't listen to those who were, who had issues, grievances or, or whatever the case may be of the experience.
• 25:02
  There's a lack of trust between consumer and purchaser within our industry, and we have to be, do a better job as an industry to bring that, or bring that buffer of trust to the consumer.
• 25:19
  And trust comes with transparency. Trust comes with com- with, with communication. But overall, we have to lead with some empathy and some gratitude.
• 25:32
  And those things, I have, we have, we've been able to shift the culture with our store pretty well with it by doing and embracing those two things.
• 25:41
  And I tell our folks at, at the store, "Just put yourself in someone else's shoes. You're a purchaser as well, consumer.
• 25:49
  W- do you want your, whatever, grandmother to feel like this, or your, whoever, your significant other?" And, and once you get people like, "Ah, okay,"
• 25:58
  you start to see, you start to see that change or that shift in, in attitude because if you work in it, you take it for granted. Hmm. I, I'm connecting some dots here, Damon. Oh, boy.
• 26:09
  And the dots I'm connecting are, you live in the neighborhood of your store, three miles out. You've talked about shifting the paradigm. You brought up disruptors.
• 26:19
  I'm starting to think we will never see Damon dressed up like a pickle saying, "My doctor has told me to turn it down so my heart doesn't explode." [laughs] No. No.
• 26:31
  Because then you have to see those people at your PTA meetings, and you- Yeah, man. No. [laughs] This is a bit of an inside joke. Yeah.
• 26:39
  I watched one of Damon's, uh, presentations where he shows some commercials where there's, like, I don't know, like, five or six car dealer commercials where they're all dressed up like pickles- [laughs]...
• 26:49
  saying the exact same thing. Maybe a different setting, hospital bed, "Then my doctor said I gotta turn it down or..." But, but now I'm like, he's never gonna do this because he has to see all these people.
• 27:01
  He li- he operates where he lives. And I, I don't wanna be in the front. I don't, I don't think I, I want to be.
• 27:08
  [laughs] My, my, my people, my, my, my people or my peers at, at the store, you know, they are the ones that, that, that do the day-to-day, uh, on their particular departments.
• 27:20
  And so, you know, I, I don't go out and do the check thing, and here's me and taking a picture with someone, giving out a turkey or some... I don't, I don't do that. [laughs] You know, I...
• 27:31
  It's okay for people that do do it. Um, I, I just believe in if we're going to support, we're gonna support you. Here's the why. I know the why.
• 27:43
  And, and, and my salesperson or my, my manager will, will either be present to assist. And if I need to come, I do come when I can, but, you know, it's not really about me, right? I, I told my staff the other day that
• 27:59
  who pays them is not me, it's the customer. [laughs] Hmm. I'm just the middleman. Mm-hmm. Yeah. [laughs] You're just the pass-through, right? [laughs] I'm just the pass-through. And, and so
• 28:09
  you need to look at them and beholden to them, not to me- Yeah... because they can go, there's 35 other Nissan stores over in, in my area. They don't have to come to- Wow... to our store. Yep. So
• 28:23
  I look at it from that lens of, of gratitude because we want people to come back, and they come back because they trust you. That's good.
• 28:33
  Well, man, we, uh, I'm, we're gonna wrap this conversation up, but I've got two things.
• 28:37
  One, I'm really excited that you're gonna be at ASOTU CON and, and talking, and probably getting, uh, maybe a little bit more intense than, than anyone would see over a, o- over a podcast, 'cause I know how you roll.
• 28:51
  Uh, but, but also, uh, from what, fr- at least from my perspective, NAMAD is, is the best-kept secret in automotive right now.
• 28:59
  So, you know, for, uh, for minority dealers or even non-dealers that might aspire to that, or, or, or those not in minority, uh, uh, circles, what's, uh, like, what does it look like to connect?
• 29:13
  What's the best way to connect? And, and why would someone connect with, with NAMAD as an organization? So, so NAMAD, our, our website, uh, thanks for the plug, uh, www.namad.org.
• 29:25
  Um, we advocate for dealers, existing dealers. We advocate for, for individuals that aspire to become a dealer.
• 29:33
  We advocate for people who are interested in wanting to become a dealer, learning about this industry in all aspects.
• 29:39
  We also work with every OEM in their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and that's at the retail side, that's at the supplier diversity side, and it's also in, within employment.
• 29:48
  And so, um, we've been able to foster our relationships of trust with our OEM partners and, and have some can- candid dialogue with them. Um, but ultimately, NAMAD is the incubator to give hope
• 30:05
  that you can get an opportunity. There's a platform here that will advocate for you. Now, I've helped a lot of non-minority dealers versus my own peers w- uh, within the dealer group.
• 30:18
  And so I think that's also, like, a, a, a, a kind of a, a welcoming thing that people feel comfortable that it's just not this minority group or minor- me only supporting minority people, that I've helped everybody.
• 30:30
  And, and so it has, it has definitely-Been an incubator to provide access and opportunity to a lot of people, um, and we just- Well, I'll tell you this: there's, that's absolutely true because I'm sitting, Cirillo, not a joke, I'm sitting there with Damon eating a steak at dinner one night, and he looks over at the table at me, and he...
• 30:52
  A- actually, Paul and I are sitting there, right? And he goes, "You guys should own a store." Yep. We're gonna figure that out. I'll take care of that. We're gonna figure that out [laughs] right?
• 31:01
  So maybe one day I'll take you up on that. But oh, man, Damon, thanks for coming on with us. Can't wait to see you at ASOTU CON.
• 31:08
  Appreciate the conversation and, uh, for just the way that you approach and, and advocate for our entire industry. Uh, it's an encouragement and just, uh, thanks, man. My brother. Thank you for the opportunity.
• 31:19
  Good seeing you, Michael, and, um, hey, at ASOTU CON, we're gonna have a good time. [upbeat music] So there were a few things that stood out to me from this conversation with Damon.
• 31:32
  First, actually, I thought this was really interesting, especially in the sea of people who are kind of pushing themselves out front, whether it's through personal branding or, or whatnot.
• 31:42
  He was like, "I'm perfectly okay being behind the scenes." Right? Yeah. Like, "I am, I'm totally okay being an operator and making sure that my people have the ecosystem and the environment that they can thrive in."
• 31:54
  I don't know what your, your take on that, Kyle, and, and Paul, is. Just I, I thought that was really tremendous, that- He lives that... he has so much clarity. Yeah, like just clarity- He lives that...
• 32:02
  this is where I fit. At NAMAD last year, I learned a few things about Damon and him putting on, uh, the, the NAMAD conference.
• 32:08
  Number one: he really knows how to put on an amazing conference, and NAMAD is one of the best-kept secrets in automotive.
• 32:14
  [laughs] Number two: when Little John was at the club on the stage that Damon arranged, that he talks about like they're just buddies, Damon's, like, just hanging out there in the shadows.
• 32:24
  So you have, like, the whole DJ and their crew, and Damon's just back there, standing back from the front, just kinda looking around and just enjoying the fact that everyone's enjoying themselves. Perfect.
• 32:33
  And number three: Damon never stays at the hotel that the event's being held at. Oh. What- Wow. Yeah. Just 'cause he just needs a, needs a different space?
• 32:43
  He's like, "I'll never, I'll never be able to get to sleep because I'll spend so much time. I can't say no-" Ah... and I wanna be." So he really does wanna focus- Mm... on other people doing the thing.
• 32:51
  He takes a ton of pride in that. So I, I can, I can see that, that played out in, like, regular observation in his life. Well, and just in NAMAD, right? You know, th- there's this...
• 33:01
  I'm on a Clubhouse room and he's like, "Yep, I was on the phone with the FTC yesterday." [laughs] The whole thing. You know? And it's like, oh, wow. Oh, man. Just that. You're doing...
• 33:08
  Like, you're putting in the work for the auto industry that it needs, and you're not, like... There's, there's no social media post that's like, "Guess what? I was on with the FTC yesterday." Right. Right?
• 33:20
  But for NAMAD, he's, he, he understands that... And, and I loved this. He was like, "No, I'm advocating not just for minority dealers. I'm, I'm advocating for all dealers." That was- Mm. He's very clear about that.
• 33:31
  And, and then even just, I, I loved the grace that he had about, "Hey, look, I'm in the community. I am a part of the community. I know my community.
• 33:41
  I know the way they've be- they've been treated, and I know the, the way they should be treated. So that allows me to serve them in the dealership by or- orchestrating what we do as a store to be right for the people."
• 33:52
  So he's just, like, he is. He's kind of that, "Hey, I'm just gonna make sure everyone's got what they need."
• 33:59
  Um, and, and that goes, like, from a dealer perspective and his role with NAMAD, and to a consumer and employee perspective in his role in the store. And, and it is, it's...
• 34:09
  [laughs] And also, he's just one of the funniest people I've ever met. Oh. So that's cool. He, he is, like, super sleeper, like, incredibly funny.
• 34:16
  Like, I, I can't remember a call I've been on with him where I didn't end up laughing really hard. And he's just like a 12-year-old when he laughs, right? [laughs] I, I, like, I feel like he's- Yes...
• 34:24
  got, like, bottle rockets in his desk. He's like that kind of, like... He- Yeah. Oh... just kinda comes out like this. [laughs] He does. Face all gets scrunchy. I love it. I love it. Yeah.
• 34:34
  Not to mention, as we were winding down, Kyle brought up Bugatti scooters. The... What did, what was the word you had for it? The ScooGatti. ScooGatti. The ScooGatti.
• 34:44
  And here the three of us find ourselves looking online. We're all [laughs] like a bunch of giddy little kids. We're just like- [laughs] Ooh, a ScooGatti. Yes. It was so fun. We were thinking- Such a great guy...
• 34:53
  like, can we get ScooGattis at ASOTU CON, like, that we can transport back and forth from... That would be really dangerous, but it seems on brand for us. [laughs] That's awesome.
• 35:03
  Well, man, we had so much fun, uh, hanging out with Damon. And, uh, for Paul Jay Daly, Michael Cirillo, and myself, Kyle Mountsier, thank you for hanging out with us on Auto Collabs.
• 35:13
  Make sure and subscribe to the podcast. Share it out. Drop us a comment if you loved what we talked about. Uh, encourage Damon as well. And we will see you next time.
• 35:23
  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.
• 35:36
  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.
• 35:43
  [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collabs. Welcome to Auto Collabs. [laughs] Why are we recording? Are we rolling yet?
• 36:01
  Not yet.