Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris Contreras on July 27, 2010 at 11:00am

I got involved in 2001 because I decided that college was no longer for me. Two of my friends worked for a family run multi-franchise group of stores, so I thought I'd give it a shot. 5 years later I'm the internet sales manager, then the new car manager. Now, as my GM puts it, I am going to learn more in these interesting economic times than I will ever learn in a sales career. 9 years after I got in this business I am still learning daily. My goal is to maintain that tricky balance between volume growth and still holding on to the gross. I am most proud of the fact that we run a good store. Our profits are up this year, our CSI is VERY strong and my salespeople are all having banner years without compromising the dealership integrity.

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Permalink Reply by Edward Molina on July 27, 2010 at 11:10am

Edward Molina, Assistant General Manager, Manheim Fort Lauderdale

I was Baptized into the business back in 1991 when I took a Driver position with Anglo American Auto Auctions Lauderdale Miami. I held numerous positions with the Auction and relocated to Manheims Baltimore Washington Facility in 1998. Came back to south Florida in 2000 with Manheims Palm Beach and now have made a full circle as I am back with Manheim Fort Lauderdale since 2006.

I Joined Dealer Elite so that i can keep a feel on the pulse of my customers. We tend to focus on the negatives experiences and it is great to hear about the success stories from my customers point of view.

I am most Proud of My oldest Daughter Kayla Molina who will be starting College this semester up in Gainsville.

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Permalink Reply by William Zahrte on July 28, 2010 at 4:53am

My name is William Zahrte and I started in the auto industry in 1964. This makes me one-hundred and six years old. Not really . . . it just seems as though my life has been in this industry forever. I have worked in all the major positions in a dealership and I am still trying to figure out the car-business today. My background includes 14 years with the Half-A-Car company (their first employee) that was the driving force putting 24 month leasing into play that was termed "Trade-Cycle" technology. After the Reynolds purchase in 2000 I went on my own with people placement, training, sales education and BDC Development.

In 2006 I was recruited to "Save the Day" for a major marketing firm in South Florida. Which was a great ride until the slow-down a few years ago and they closed their doors. At this time I wasn't sure if I could have another challenge within, but OLD car guys never quit.

In 2009 I opened Customer Sources a company guiding dealers to higher gross profits finding Unique business opportunities. Customer Sources has three major components; The Edifice Group, pay for performance marketing; Guest Concepts, customer payment management process and our latest development, NextDoor Marketing. We have been able develop and trade-mark as well as copyright customer marketing techniques for special finance companies. Yes there still is “Special Financing” outthere. We have just inked a contract with a major special finance firm that can and will handle credit scores in the 450 to 650 area. Yes this is real and we are working on development of customer awareness of such a program as we dedicate ourselves to putting America back to work and assisting real people with special needs in the car buying world.

To find out more about our efforts visit our Web-site www.customersources.com
Thanks for reading about our company. You can always reach me at my email bill@customersources.com

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Permalink Reply by Skip Shakely on July 29, 2010 at 6:22pm

Like a lot of guys in 1973 I got in it by accident. I needed a job, fresh out of the Marine Corps, just back from Vietnam. I ran into a guy my family bought a few cars from. He lived in a great house, made great money, dressed well. He looked and acted successful. I wanted that. I asked him to train me. he said no! I'll introduce you and recommend you though. I got the job. No salary, no draw, sell a car get paid. Did get a demo though.
I followed that guy everywhere and listened, and wrote down everything he did and said. Copied him and made more than my buddy who became a lawyer around the same time. I didn't have thousands in student loans though, just a credit card bill for a few suits. The rest is history...I joined DealerElite to learn. Just like all of the books, tapes and training program...To learn, study and perfect my skills. i have held just about every position in the front end of a dealership, new cars and used, sales and F&I. Right now I head up the Training Dept and Internet Depts (3 dealerships) and Business development dept. if you have ever watched Pulp Fiction I am Harvey Keitel "The Fixer". My future goals are to continue being successful in the car business in whatever it is that I do. Spend the next 5 yrs changing the minds of the people in the business and hopefully leave it a better place. Retire still young enough to see parts of the world that I haven't seen. Kinda long ....but you asked!

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Permalink Reply by Fred G. Slabine on September 21, 2010 at 8:13am

Hello and thanks for reading my introduction . . . . I just wanted to say hi and give you a brief introduction to who I am and what I do. But first I would like to hear from you as well and help your business grow. If I had someone who was interested in your service, what would you like me to say?

I’ve been in the automotive industry for more than 35 years I founded ATD because I wanted to give back to the industry that has treated me so well. I enjoy assisting our dealerships accelerate their sales and profits, while also giving our trainees the knowledge, skills, and mindset necessary to make a great living selling vehicles and serving customers well.

Briefly, ATD provides recruitment and sales training services for automotive dealerships, as well as for marine, RV, and motorcycle dealerships. We train both new hires and seasoned veterans, because we know that even experienced salespeople need a boost from time to time. Like most training companies, we teach the key steps to a sale, but we also focus on other crucial topics like building trusting relationships, actively listening, maintaining a positive mental attitude, smiling and making others smile, and engaging in continuous learning. If you want to learn more about our philosophy and services, please check out our website at www.automotivetraining.us.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail or call me. I would like to hear from you.
Thanks in advance for your interest. I look forward to chatting with you soon.

Best regards,

Fred G. Slabine

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Permalink Reply by David Simpson on September 22, 2010 at 10:10am

When I was 18 I had ruined my chances to play college football with a car accident that nearly took my right arm off below the elbow. Since I didn't want to go to college if I couldn't have the full experience I decided to go to work till I figured out what I wanted to do so I started working with my brother's best friend who owned 3 pawn shops.

Learning the pawn business, where everything is a negotiation, taught me to speak in a different language; persuasion. My boss became my mentor and I really flourished.

There is an aspect of the pawn business that is very unsavory. Seeing people in their worst possible circumstances doing what they feel are drastic measures; pawning wedding rings, heirlooms, kids bikes...it got tiring. I began to look for a way to get out of the pawn business but it was all I knew and I had started so relatively young that I was a novelty. People called my from across the nation to come work for them, consult for them or develop new locations.

People would always tell me that I should sell cars and that offended me. I thought they were telling me that I was slick and fast-talking. That made car sales very unappealing and it didn't seem like an option even as badly as I wanted to do something other than the pawn business.

In my last effort to break out of my rut I went to work selling cancer and heart attack insurance door to door...yeah, it's as horrible as you are now imagining. I set the company record for sales in 1 day and of the money I made in the 8 months I did this I made half of it in that one day.

By now I had 2 babies and my wife and I were staying with my mom till we "got on our feet". I officially had achieved a PHD; poor, hungry and desperate. I had a dream one night and woke up, drove 30 minutes across Dallas and took a job at Baillargeon Ford in Richardson, TX selling new cars and trucks.

10 years later I had sat in every seat in a dealership and left retail to start my own consulting company. In 2004 I shut down my company to go to work for a good friend whose one-man-show agency had landed a big dealer group and he and I grew his company very well over the next 5 years with my main role being trainer. I have trained sales, sales management and F&I in some of the largest groups in the nation and it has been an amazing experience. There is a side of my personality that is a nurturer and I have always found great satisfaction in watching sales people, young and old, grow and develop.

I left that company last April to start over for myself and formed Landmark Dealer Products.

Marc Labadie, a dealer in MI, a good friend and client referred my to dealerELITE. I enjoy the banter with people who have the automotive business in common, hearing what is working, what's not working and how the industry differs market to market.

I had a perspective client call me yesterday and tell me that he could not find one person to say anything negative about me and that the one word that kept popping up was "integrity". That makes me proud.

My goals are to continue to help dealers adapt to changing trends in the market while teaching sales people (defined as everyone from receptionist to GSM) to be masters of their craft so that they can be transparent and sell proudly with passion and authenticity.

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Permalink Reply by Tina Collins on September 27, 2010 at 5:01pm

In 2001 I thought I would take a big leap and try something new. I went to school for early childhood education and worked in a daycare/kindergarten class room for many years . One day I was browsing the local paper and saw an opening for a Sales Person. I said what the heck, went for an interview and met with some very funny and talented people. Not thinking that I would last more then a year with my background here I am 9 years later. I went from Sales person to Internet Sales Manager running websites and helping people buy cars. I stayed with one dealer group for 6 years and now with the second for 3 now.

I joined DE because I wanted to learn new things and want to be involved in seeing what other people are thinking of the Automotive industry now.

I have many future goals that I am working towards and starting to achieve them.

I am most proud of the training I recieved in this business and all the people who helped me get where I am today.

Thanks.
Tina

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Permalink Reply by Joe Brunner on September 28, 2010 at 2:39pm

I got into the car business on a whim. I drove buy a Toyota dealership and just happened to be wearing a suit. One month later, I had made almost 11k. I worked my way up and eventually became a corporate trainer for the entire automotive group. I am now after 18 years in the industry, going out on my own. I joined dealerELITE.net to network, educate, and learn from the best. My future goals and the thing I am the most proud of are the same... HELPING OTHERS!

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