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#5Liner Feat. David Kain of Kain Automotive Inc.

#5Liner Feat. David Kain of Kain Automotive Inc.

Car Guy Coffee Apr 24, 2023 43 min
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About this episode

David Kain of Kain Automotive Inc. joins the Car Guy Coffee Podcast to share his insights on the automotive industry and the importance of community and mentorship. He discusses his journey from a local dealer to a global influencer, emphasizing the need for genuine customer relationships and the role of digital marketing in modern sales. Kain reflects on his experiences, including lessons learned from early failures and the significance of helping others succeed in the industry. The conversation is filled with energy, humor, and valuable advice for both newcomers and seasoned professionals.

Topics: digital marketing customer relationships mentorship sales strategies community impact personal growth overcoming challenges automotive industry insights
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Hello, and welcome to the Car Guy Coffee Podcast. This five line of
brew has been brought to you by our friends and partners at been f m x S Solutions, Shop, Smart Autos, M one Data and Analytics, three to one, Ignition and Fixed Ops Digital. If you want to team
up with the podcast, or you just want more of the brew, go to carguy coffee dot com. Let's brew. What's happening, car What's going
on? It's lou Remire's the Car Guy, and it's Fredlin Arts the Subprime
Hero and we are brewing solutions with the best once again on the Car Guy Coffee Podcast. So thankful that you are here. Man, do us a
favor because we only have so much time, and man, is it a grind. Our guest is inside of an airport getting ready to get focus in
brewing solutions. I'm gonna tell you something. This gentleman here has been bringing
information to the industry for a while now. He's been helping the industry get
better. He's helping dealers from all over the world really learn different processes in
business, how to help your community, how to get more digital. Man,
I'm excited. He is somebody that I consider a local superstar that's become
a global superstar and to have him on the show, and we ran it just saying we ran into him like a couple of times that an idea as we're passing by like escalator, right. But he always took the time to
smile at us and took the time to let us know that he saw us right. And I appreciate that. David. You know, you're amazing,
so exciting to see him his energy, you could feel it, you know, we didn't want to. I mean seriously, he is that special to
us and we're excited. Another Kentucky homegrown bluegrass state guy right up the right
down the Bluegrass Parkway. Our guy, mister, the one, the only
David Kay there is man. You welcome to the show. David. Oh
guys, it's hey listen. That's all I need you all introducing me everywhere
I go. Seriously. Uh, My mom and dad they too, obviously
have you all do that so I can put that tape on my refrigerator and say, anytime you're wondering how I'm doing, Uh, just watch this video of lou and Frederick doing the introduction. They'd be so proud. Oh.
Absolutely, Well, it's well, it's well deserved, you know, and that legacy and that family is uneniable. You guys have been doing things for
the state. Now, like I said, you're really pushing boundaries and you're
going further route and you're letting that king known, that king legacy be known across the world. And no, really, it's it's a blessing to have
you on the show. I appreciate that you putting the time in the do
so. I know you're across the country, um in Seattle right now,
You're you're you're hiding somewhere where you can be as quiet as possible, where it is as quite as possible. You're not going to be as quite as
possible. We're gonna have too much fun today. But that being said,
appreciate you for taking the time. I know you're traveling and we you know,
we're making sure that we can find time to make this happen, and you did, and it means a lot to Lou and I so honor to have you on the show. So thank you. You're sure welcome, guys,
And also I want to share with you what it means because you you all can appreciate this when you're local, your local people don't know much of you. In fact, they're kind of like, oh Lou and Fred,
who are these guys? But outside of your home state, people know you.
I hear about you all the time and it's it's a thrill and very similarly to me. You know, people will come up to me at the
NADA and they're like, oh, hey, listen, I watched you know, a broadcaster. I got to go to one of your workshops. But
if it was if it was at our hometown, people will be going, oh man, that's Lou, Fred and Dave. But of day they didn't
even pay attention in school. How are they doing stuff? Like how do
you know that? How do you feel? I think from his own experiences,
you know, And that's what's so awesome, you know, if it's so true. But you know that's the thing, like it's it's where that's
the reason why we do what we do. We're reaching out further. You
know, we know that our towns are covered by great legacy. You you
know, you're led by your family doing great, great things in your community.
You know, here with the dealerships that we've worked for with it's been nothing but great legacy. There being passed out, so you feel like they're
in good hands, so it's time to go out and try to share it with the world. And you know, you do a great job with that
and we appreciate that. Like you're literally on the other side of the country
right now. What's crazy is that you're on the other side of the country
exactly where my son is right now. He's inside getting ready to fly over
to Japan and you just so happened to be out inside of that airport.
But wow, put a crazy connection just on that. But you are here.
You're here, and this is incredible for all of us just because we honor the presence that you have inside of automotive, We honor the gifts that you continue to pour out. And the reason why we want to brew with
the best that are like you is because you've seen what it's like to grind out hard work, getting it done with a smile, with grace, and with great honor towards many And that's the kind of beans that we like to grew with. You know, on Car Guy Coffee, you are one that
energizes us. If you think we got a lot of energy, will consider
that we have people like you that we look to that say wow, look at what they're doing. Now we can actually continue down a path that we're
going through. And now we can also sit down, have a couple of
coffee conversation and a good talk with a great mind inside of auto pluses at the place where coffee is amazing. Yeah, you know, the absolutely love
it. It's a caffeinated conversation. Right now we're getting ready to have So
let's forget focused, blu let's let's let's get party rocket. So we promise
you that we would tell you what it's like to do these dance moves and to get yourself moving on forgiving, focusing and flying. But we want to
make sure that it does. It hits the heart, it hits the head,
and it makes your body actually move. And what we do is we
wipe off the weight of unforgiveness because there's no use of keeping it and it only slows us down. Use our free hands to focus on where it is
that we're going, what it is that we want to accomplish, and who it is that we can help. And then we stretch out in faith until
we see ourselves flying. And then once we're flying and we're taking and towards
where it is that we've been focused. We keep growing and keep growing us,
right, we'll help us out. We're gonna forgive focus on here we
go history David Kine inside of the cafe on three one two three forgives focus and keep growing us. We love it. Thank you for doing it with
us. Man, now you crew, you are official. That is the
secret hand shake. So that is what we do ring. So now he
knows the moves. You've got some good moves. That was nice. I
like that. We appreciate it. First question of the day, you know,
and we have this five liner and the very first question is the same one we ask everyone. It's their why, it's their drive, it's their
purpose. What is it every single day that makes you wake up and say,
you know what, I'm gonna go out with purpose and do something that makes a change. What is that? Hey? Dealers, Car Guy,
Coffee Podcasts, and Certified Solutionaries are honored to be a part of Team vinc Solutions. They have been brewing to help you at more vehicles, manage merchandise,
and advertise those vehicles. Has made them one of the most sought after
dealable the market. They are one CGC of group and when you visit them
at vinq dot com, you will see a old hill of beans worth the reasons why team vinc let's brew. I think what my drive is when I
see the young people in our industry that are considering this as this approach to their career, and they're not quite sure that the automotive industry is exactly what they want to do. What I want to do is to tap into that
inner strength that they've got that a lot of people have told them, you know, you didn't get educated properly, you don't have all the skills from a technical standpoint. But what I've been able to do each of every day
is to help them to recognize you don't need to have the degrees, and we welcome them. We'd love to have those advanced degrees and the regular university
diploma up on the wall. We also will accept anybody from any kind of
technical background. But what I want them to understand is if they're just nice
to guess, and they take good care of their skills and they really focus on what the needs are for the customer, they're going to do really really remarkable in this field. And I've often said that the car businesses like the
Statue of Live. We will take your tired, your poor, your heddled
masses, and we will help them to be very, very successful in this world. And I like to quote my dad who says, we don't sell
cars. We literally help people see the world. We put the world on
wheels. We let parents take their new babies home from the hospital. We
help people to go ahead and get to a job so that they can advance their lives. And you help people see the ocean, the Grand Canyon,
all those things that really allows someone to do more than just get in the car and drive. But we do more than that. And I and that
inspires me and it's what gets me up every day. Wow. Yeah,
I'm marked by that. And I gotta I gotta compleep writing this down.
But we put the world on wheels just jumps on me. And it is
so you know, like yes, because there is a great honor in what we do. There's a great liberation. There's a true freedom that we help
grant. There's a grand empowerment that is given is what it is that we
do in this career. And people need to know that. People need to
honor that and be proud to come be part of it. That's part of
the culture that we're doing in man. I mean I'm still like, wow,
what a what a quote? What a Oh that's an honorable thing.
But that's that's it's something special. So understand that every situation we have,
whether they have the best credit, the worst credit, whether they're a shopper that's trying to get the best deal and they have like the booklet of all the stuff, right, we've seen all the stories. Help everyone like they're
your brother, help everyone like they're your sister, like they're your mother.
If you have to go that deep with it, I mean like it's yourself because when you do that and you treat everyone that say, maybe you don't close every deal, but you do help everyone. You do live, you
get and you will at the end of the day having no be back so you never have to catch another up after for so many years. It's so
true because of just small things. It's the little differences that we make that
makes us from a salesperson to exactly what you say. We help them,
We help them, We help them get the world on wheels. Right,
Yeah, we let them they can go anywhere they want. They bring their
child home in their cars. They you know, I and I. You
made that visual when you said that. I thought about when I brought my
home, my son home, right. I remember getting in the vehicle even
and putting my wife was on our way to the hospital. I left the
pack sitting in the outside and I ran over it. Just those things,
you know. I remember that so much. But it was all with that
car, right. It's it's a memory so much. It's so many things
these cars do for us, you know, and they are and there.
But the biggest thing is most people have this hurt when they go into a dealership. A lot of times they have this guard up because they're so scared
that we're going to do them so wrong. So it's our job to get
them to put that guard down and let them know it's going to be okay.
We're there to really help. Absolutely, we're excited to help them because
there are family, you know, we want to make you part of everything.
So I love that man, great great tradition. Thank you. I
appreciate that. I'll pass that on to my dad. And I'll say this.
As you are coming up the parkway, you have to do is to turn right, go in and you'll meet my ninety two year old dad who's started our family business in nineteen fifty two. And I've got eight brothers and
sisters. We were all raised in and around the dealership, and I'll share
this that. Please, if you're a beginning salesperson, put the pictures of
your kids on your desk, on the credenza, because my dad used to put all nine of us and he didn't have one group picture, he had individual frames and he wanted to demonstrate that those were all the mouths he was trying to feed, and that's why he couldn't That's why he couldn't take any less on the deal. You know you're loving the show so far. We
just wanted to quickly remind you about all partners at Fixed Ops Digital and how they're automotives premier service marketing and technology company. They're not only crowd sponsors of
this show, but can be your dedicated point of contact for all your online service marketing meets service of dealerships do out the US in Canada. The mission
is to create a better online experience for your service customers while using data intelligence to drive more fixed operations revenue. If you want to take your service marketing
effortence to the next level. Go ahead and reach out to our friends at
fixed ops Digital, at fixed ops digital dot com. Back to the show,
but facts, you know, and just and it shows like it gets people real feel things like I get what you're saying. Now, this isn't
just a sales bridge, right, you know you're really being real, you know. But at the end of the day, it's about the service.
And I know there's a reason why your store started from probably like a small store to just this gigantic store. And it's beautiful. If you have ever
had the pleasure to drive on for sales and really get off the parkway or you're right there at the end of it, right there where the parkway meets it, their store stands out so beautifully. It's in a great location.
It's just it's it's like an icon in my opinion. You know, it's
right, you got that, and you go to a mile up the road pretty much you got the big castle on the left right, so you got two castles, a modern day castle of automotive and then you have the castle which is beautiful, um, beautiful location, beautiful spot, but no great tradition there. And I've heard nothing but great things about your guys Auto Group.
There so wonderful stuff. Thank you, we we appreciate it. And
that that was the last task I had was designing that building before I left the dealership to go to Ford Direct. And uh then you know, moved
from Kentucky to Detroit, and I you know, people say I never looked back. I looked back all the time. I have such an appreciation for
our home state. I love living here. I love the nature of the
people that we interact with um and and I've found that truly in every state across the Union, and luckily in other countries that I've been able to go work in, people are people. And what we have to do is to
get into the the orientation that they're not trying to take advantage of us.
That if we really will will look for the good and people, we're gonna be okay, regardless of religion or politics. Most of the time, we
got good people on the other side. Yeah, and that we are good
people on our side, and yes, honor that and not have to apologize for not being what it is that customers think we are level with the absolutely here to help them, and then honor your process is right, honor your your commitment to the customer right, and make sure that you have a great experience yourself. The best person to have fun with is somebody that's having fun
already. Absolutely, yes, you learned a lot of times. If you're
going to teach somebody how to have a good time buying a car, you have to know how to do it, especially since you're the one putting on service for them. And so you can keep that in the family, right,
You can keep that doesn't have to leave the family. But you are
are committed to taking what it is that you have and spilling it out, pouring it out into the rest of the industry. So I ask you this,
as somebody that can get you can so many people who can get comfortable being great right where it is that they are and never share things with anybody else. And that's part of the culture that I see breaking now. We're
starting to share more. And because we're sharing more, we're all growing more.
We all are being able to tie our roots together that help us to reach to light in a better way. What is it that made you make
the transition into one family to many families, into sharing your gift and your knowledge with the whole industry that made you break out of the bottle, you know, I think to give you total dimension to that. When the Internet
first cropped onto the scene, we were in a position to where our dealership was approached by our local newspaper, the Herald Leader, and they said, hey, would you like to have a website? And I was like,
can we be first? What's you know? What's a website? Uh?
Sus So as we can be first, I wanted to do the website and candid lead. That was in ninety six ninety seven, and and I just
got a bug for the digital world and we got to the point I got on boards dealer council and we decided that this is going to be a solution for selling cars big time. And the reason why I created Came Automotive our
company is we were selling leads, which was wonderful and dealerships were given us uh the income, but so many of them didn't know what they were doing with the leads. And candidly the reason why I left left Forward Direct,
which was a peach positions, wonderful company, great leadership and stuff tied in really well with Ford, but I just felt like we were kind of taking advantage of dealers to where we were just selling them stuff. They didn't know
how to sell cars with us. So literally, it's been my daily routine
to help people communicate effectively with guests and make them feel smart about the purchase decision, make them feel comfortable with the approach that we're going to take.
Regardless of whether their credit is this challenge, or they don't have the down payment, or you know, they have to buy a car other than the one they were looking for, I want them to feel good about it.
And so I felt like that was a missing and gredient in the business.
So in two thousand and three, I left the comforts of a big company and I went out on my own. And for the last nineteen years,
for whatever reason, I've just had luck on my side, and people have succeeded with the ideas that we learned. And I'm a rolling stone that gathers
a lot of moss everywhere I go. I learned something new. I moderate
these twenty groups, and I sit there with twenty of these really remarkable people three three times a year, so I've got three g and so nine millions a year. I'm sitting there and picking up stuff and I just feel like
it's important to be able to pay it forward. And that's what I do
in my job, and that's what I try to do each and every day with sessions like this, and you do it with class and ice. I
love it such honor. And that's what a solutionary does, folks. That's
how a solutionary answers that. Oh yeah, no doubt about it. He
is finding a way to make sure that he is matching up with people that are sharing their light and taking from the table too. Right, It's so
important that we don't sit at the table and only drop off what we brought to the table. Right, It's so important that we pick up what everybody
else is cooked good. That's what I love potlucks for. Right. I
never really knew what a potluck put until a certain stage of my Kentucky life, and once that became something that I understood, like, wow, that's really great. I mean I saw people bring a little something or a dish
year to there and other family meals, but they called it a pot Look at work, and all these people brought something that they loved and made and we all enjoyed it together. That happens in the industry now, and there's
more opportunity for us to do that. There's more opportunity for us to share,
to consume the good that everybody else is cooking. And you are also
unlocking it in other people. And that's what we want to make sure other
people commit to doing two. It's unlocking the doors that people don't even know
they have the key too, because a lot of times they have the key themselves. They just have to unilife. And and yes, oh man,
and you're doing that. That's a solutionary, man, that's all day,
you know. And we got Brian Toole who says, I love it.
He says, David Kane has been a solutionary before it was cool to be one. That's right, you know, And he's right, we didn't make
it cool to be one. But hey, with that being said, they've
been out, but you, seriously, you have been I think there's been a solutionaries all day. That's what inspires us. We see people that are
doing things that are amazing, which makes us believe that it's possible for us to do the same thing. Not only is it possible, but it's impactful.
You can make a change, and it takes a lot of us to make a big change in this industry and in the world. So we're doing
our best to do so you're doing your best, but we keep uplifting each other. And that's what's special about this frequency that we're all on right now.
And I love being around these people because it really amplifies There's something about that. There's something about mentorship, finding the right people to be there for
you or people that you can be there for right you win both sides of the coin. I know I have, and I take honor each way.
My question for you is who have been mentors to you? Who have been
people along your path that have helped you make decisions in your life? Hey
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at shop Smart Autos or Dealers dot com at shop Smart Autos for Dealers dot com. Because first getting into doing a lot of big presentations. One of
the great guys who's a kind of a mentor of mine is a guy named Todd Smith, and Todd creative a company called Active Engage, and he's no longer in that. He's got a company called three sixty Converge, and he's
remarkable, and he gave me my first book called The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, and he goes, You've got some really good raw ability, but we need to hone your presentations. We need to help you with your approach.
And it made all the difference in the world to me, so really really important in my development as someone who can go out and stam on a big stage and do really really well. Additionally, you know, some of
the people in the Ford world have been remarkable to me over the years.
I remember one of our early zone managers, a guy named half Fader, and how it took me under his wing, took really great care of me with my knowledge and my unproven abilities, and helped me out to get really better and he stays in touch with me even at this advanced age to where he wants to look after me and make sure I'm still doing okay. So
you know, those are a couple of big ones, and I'd be remiss to say that it was nice to have a dad who I worked literally twenty feet from every day for twenty years, who took really great care of me and used to be the boost in my career. Man, that's fantastic.
I love how you laid on it that way. You know, there's there's
a there's a Kevin Jones that you met while you're walking into Allegiance Stadium and he just remember Kevin, and he says, I can attest. I met
David coming out of the Uber walking into Allegian Stadium the first night of Nada.
Walked up to him basically as a perfect stranger aside from knowing what he looked like through social media, walked right up to him, shook his hand, and he graciously had a conversation with me. That is so David Kaine,
Like, when I think of you, that's exactly picture right, that exactly that happened. Because you are that person, you will honor you,
and you also very humble, very very humble, you know, and I thank you well and I'll share this. He gave me one hundred dollars poker
chip and I don't know what I'm gonna do with that, but if we can never figure out how how that's worth something, and now I realize, now I realize what it was for. It was for today for Kevin,
and i'd reconnect. So thank you very much, Kevin. Wow. Yeah,
that's amazing. Well, car guys, car gals, if you're enjoying
what it is that we're brewing right now, now, make sure that you do share this back around. If you're just tuning in, there's plenty for
you to go back and listen to. But there are still two more lines
on this five liner, So do us a favor and make sure that you do honor the incredible voice of the automotive industry, in the automotive industry that's in the cafe with us right now, Ruined Solutions. There are two more
questions that we do have for you, David. And there's sometimes so much
of us only celebrating the big wins, and we don't count the big wins as the biggest hits on the channel. Sometimes the hardest slug in the gut
is what taught you the most of them. So inside of that, help
us understand inside of your career up to now, what has been the hardest lesson you've had to learn growing in the automotive industry. Well, well,
there's so many of them. I'll remember one time in particular, I was
a very overconfident salesperson and I was so okay apable in my opinion, at the closing deals, which I'm not a big fan of that term closer, but you know it's it's so resonant in our industry. I'd much rather be
a helper. We always teach the phraseology always be helping instead of always be
closing. But anyway, back back to the story. I was sitting there
and in my mind I had presented the vehicle we'd taken the test drive.
Everything was going good, and I was sitting there as I presented the numbers, and in my mind, I was doing the what we've all been trained to do, let them talk last, don't don't you break it. And
in my mind I was like, and they're gonna say, we'll take it.
I literally had said. In my mind, I was that confident in
that cocky I said that the next words out of their mouth is going to be I'm gonna take it. And I imagine I was going to go to
my friends on the kind of floor and say I predicted what they were going to say, and you know what, they said, We're not gonna take it. We're gonna have to go think about it. And I was like,
oh my god, I'm so ashamed of myself. And it was the
greatest lesson because, uh, you know, I realize I'm not invincible, I'm not overpowering. I can't cause these people to do what I want them
to do. And I had to work a lot harder to close the deal.
I eventually did clothing, but boy, it was such a oh tough lesson to have to go through. Hold a humble pie, ruh, put
that yeah pie creamer in your coffee, you know. But those you know.
But once again, that's not a failure. That's a lesson. And
what's so people about that is that you took it and you and you kept going with it, and you did your best to make sure that it happened.
You were a solutionary at the end of the day. I mean,
he was so right, you were been a solutionary since before it was cool to be sary, right, you know, And I can honor that, you know, I love I love what you're talking about and what you what you bring up here, and how you um, how you react to certain things is how you know you're gonna do better in the future. When you
can sit there and say, hey, you know what, I give up.
I don't know what I did, I did, I messed up.
I'm you know, I'm horrible. Or you could say, hey, listen,
I learned something. Wow, I need to do better than that.
I need to act. I need to humble myself, you know. I
think we need to do that every once in a while, all of us, you know, as there's a moment. I think that's why I've been
married for so long as I allow. My wife humbles me so much,
and I appreciate that, right She's like, but Greg, listen, and I love her and honor for that. It's good to be humble, yeah,
And that's the benefit of having the great mentors. As long as you
have those good relationships inside of your life where you can be real with each other, it's easy to be humbled on It's easy to make sure that you stay in that state, because if you do stay inside of that discipline of being humble, you can accomplish so much because you're not getting slowed down by your own egos, by your own abilities. Because if you're humble, you
let people help you, right, and if you let people help you, you can accomplish way more. In the communication that we want to get to
our customers at the end of the day, sales pros and managers, that we are there to help them accomplish what is their mission to get accomplished.
The only reason why we matter in their life is because they have a problem.
And it's not the car itself, it's the transportation problem. And we're
going to solve that problem. And as we solve that problem, we connected
to an awesome automobile. That's the best that can be done right now,
and all the other good stuff that comes with it. But now we have
a relationship, and the relationship is what keeps us building heritage and legacy inside of our communities and with our businesses. And that's incredible that you take those
lessons like that, like being told no, sir, I know you did all your steps, but nope, right take that and then say, okay, well how do I get better now? And I'm glad that I'm not
as good as I thought I was, because we can get ourselves in trouble with that. We've all been there, We've all got too much of ourselves.
The customer was very quick to be like, yeah, I don't even I don't really cannot talk to somebody else, and you're like, whoa who You learn a lot there, thankful for that. But with that, after
we get those big hard lessons, then we great new solutionaries. MXS Solutions,
our newest partner, newest sponsor, and newest solution for your digital presence is excited to be teamed up with the car Back Quality Podcast. What does
that mean for you? That means that now you can reach out to Fred,
you can reach out to Lou and find out what it takes to take your digital presence to the next level. With our incredible friends at MXS Solutions,
let's rewards. You know, as we grow and we learn, we
have moments of that were shine, you know, and there's been times that you that you've been able to help somebody or maybe put legacy into people and show them a path of a great life of a way to be different, to be that solutionary that we want them to be when it deals with their customers. Right, So, I know you've had a lot of opportunities twenty
years at the dealership doing this. Now killing it and just having fun out.
They're changing the game up and showing people what is going on with social media. And I'm a big advocate of it. I'm a big advocate of
digital. I'm a big advocate of all those things. You know. It's
it's something special about being able to use that tool. There was a post
recently that I I commented on and I went a little a little longer than I normally would with somebody. But because I don't, I don't really post
much. You know when I when I comment, I'm gonna let it be,
you know, Okay, you're right, I'm that guy, right, I don't. I don't want to get an arguments. But you know,
he asked me about, Hey, if you were to hire people, would you make it would you force them to do social media? So I wouldn't
force them to. I would just tell them that's your essential duty and if
you don't do that, you can't work here because that's just what we do.
That's like telling me. That's like telling me that somebody who wants to
sell cars won't catch ups or won't take phone calls or won't do That's just what you have to do. It's like if you're if you're a if you're
a cook and you just you don't cook, then you don't have a job.
You know. It's so it's there's no differ me than that. That
is profestal level. We have to we have to use social media. We
have to be able to market ourselves out there, but communicate most importantly on social media and let people know. You talked about those pictures and I love
that you talked about your father had the pictures of everybody in their individual frame.
Social media is that powerful too. People know who you are or they
come into buy you. They are looking at your social media and they're gonna
do it more and more and more. Wouldn't you want them to know who
you are or you want to be a stranger to them. I'm gonna tell
you, if you're a stranger, they're gonna probably look somewhere else because they're gonna want to feel comfortable who they're buying from. They want to know that
this person is a good human being and that they deserve my business in a way right if they earn it. So that being said, that's what I
believe the future is. So that I know, you get into that a
lot. You have a lot of rewards that you've been able to go through.
What has been the greatest reward for you in automotive so far? I
think I think going back, and this is really kind of funny because this year is the last year and a half two years have been the years of digital retelling. And I remember back in the year two thousand, August of
two thousand, I was thirty nine year old dealer from Kentucky and I'm standing on the stage at the world headquarters the Ford Motor Company, and we're introducing this fledgling company called Ford Direct to the world. And Fred, you and
lu can appreciate this more than anybody on this call. I'm sitting there.
First off, I just didn't want to fall off the stage. I didn't
want to get any kind of stage fried or anything. And I thought,
what is this car dealer from Kentucky doing in front of everybody in the world announcing this new company? And I remember before I got up there, Randy
Ortiz, who is another great mentor of mine. He was in charge of
what they called the Erconnect for Ford Motor Company created four direct from scratch from an idea of a dealer in Florida named Leo Hillock. And I just happened
to be a catalyst. I fell in love with it. I knew it
so well. I went back and forth from Lexington to Detroit every week for
five months, and we created this company and I'm launching it in Grandy Ortiz.
I said, Brandy, I'm afraid they're going to throw out a question that I won't know. And he goes, well, first off, you've
been with this program so long. You know all the answers, and if
you don't know it, they're not going to be able to judge you anyway because they don't know the answer. So he goes go out there with confidence
and present it and guys, to this day, I mean it literally was.
I can show you the video. It was modern day digital retelling.
In the year two thousand. We were so far ahead of the game that
the consumers weren't ready for dealers weren't ready for it. But boy, there
were thirty some Ford dealers in that audience that had created this company from scratch, and there were ore co founders, and I'm still proud of what we as dealers, as human beings, were able to put together. And it
really created this awesome environment for the motor world at that time. And we've
spent twenty years trying to catch up to the idea that Leo had all those years ago. So it made me really proud to be able to stand up
there with my fellow dealers and introduce something revolutionary to the whole world. Wow,
that is huge, you know, and I you no doubt, and that's just that's just beautiful, and you're right, that was so future thinking, you know, and that's automotive took a while. I think the last
handful of years, we've jumped light years ahead and where we were just as a whole as an industry, right, And that's you know, And I think that it's great that dealers are starting to open their eyes in their pocketbooks to make it happen, because it's important to invest in your business because if you don't eventually, if you don't get into this digital marketing, into this digital retail, you're going to disappear. I mean, because you're gonna lose
a lot of business, and those smaller scores are going to become even smaller, and then they're just gonna be bought out. And I don't like to
seeing it. I love seeing the local stores stay there and I love seeing,
you know, people be able to thrive in their communities and help their communities because I do believe that what we do is essential. I do believe
that something that we that we provide is something that the communities need. And
then the philanthropy that most of the owners that I know, they do so much for the so much and stuff that they don't even talk about nor advertise in a lot of cases because it's just they just want to do it.
So that just shows you, in my in my mind, how how amazing that these these dealers really are in the world. That car guys are not
considered or car gals are not considered the most they're like, you know, they say lawyers and you know, all that type of stuff, right, but you know, at the end of the day, some of the greatest people you could ever meet. You know, you know that firsthand. Look
at your father, you know, he was a family man raised, you know, an amazing family, a large family, and did it and and provided and made something really amazing, a huge legacy that's passed through you that you're passing on to so many others right now, and and it's through us, you know, and it's it's great. We appreciate you so much.
Man, Oh boy, guess I can't tell you what a thrill it was for me to get on here. And I'll tell you why. I was
thinking. You know, I turned sixty one this year. When you hit
sixty, and you guys are so young, I could be your father.
And uh so it's so funny. I feel like I've still got a little
bit of cool in me when I get to be on the show like this.
So thank you all for giving me that gift today. Well, you
definitely have a lot of trust in the league. Just looks good on you,
my friend, It looks really Do you know what else would look good on him? One of these shirts, but maybe one of us, you
real kind, I got one to show him. We got one of these
coming for you, because to us, you are superhero in the industry and you're making big things happen that we want to make sure other people know about and if they're hearing it from us, it's one thing, right if they're but they've been hearing it for a while, and you've been around for a while, and we want to make sure that we do always find a way to highlight the people that have been sowing seeds throughout their career and you're doing that, and we're we want to be part of the ultimately big buffet of what good comes from the fruit that we've sown a long time ago, and
people like you bring the good beans. You bring the good stuff that gets
bagged up and keeps us all enthusiastic about doing our stuff. But check that
out subject in the Superman colors is what you need to be rocking with.
Also, get you a forgive focus in fly shirt and everybody else listening or watching can go to carguy coffee dot com get you some of that and get you a mug and a cup of coffee or something good to drink. To
get a hold of you, well, obviously they can got our website, can automotive dot com. They can text me or call me on my self
number it's listed right there on the website, or they can join you guys and me in Lexington Workshops. Yeah. Yeah, we're actually going to do
a bourbon distillery tour that I'd like you all to come with us if you're able to, and we're gonna do an afternoon that the Keenland horse Races, which I think helps showcase some of the great things about Kentucky. I believe
that not only I actually was just telling that to one of my Houston friends.
I was telling him how Keeneland is one of the most beautiful race tracks you'll ever ago. It's still so traditional you almost feel like you step back
in time when you said on that track, I've been to Churchhill and Churchill's beautiful. It's got tradition and I'm not taking away. I'm I love Churchhill.
Keenland is special or something. It is. Yeah, bring your bring
your fancy hat. We want you to look good when you go to Keeneland.
Yeah. You have done so great here on the show today. You're
getting us motivated and pumped up. Get showing deals. You're just showing all
the car guy moves and we love that. Look what a solution every does.
Thank you so much for grooming with us and having a cup of coffee and a conversation real quick though, since we still have some more time, I want to kind of sizzle this up a little bit, get that a roma going. What more are they are people going to be able to get
and take advantage of going to an event like this? Well, the great
thing is, yeah, the great thing is We're going to have about twenty five presentations from industry experts all over the country. Will have presentations by Google,
Facebook, all of the leading marketing and digital sales companies. Will have
a vendor showcase to where people can go around and have an intimate relationship with the people that are providing the solutions. We're going to have a couple of
dealer panels, so some of the movers and shakers in the industry will be there. Additionally, we're going to be in a position We're going to have
a vendor shark tank to where six vendors get to compete. We'll have the
top three will present live at the event, and they're going to introduce new technologies. I've already seen the new technologies. These are world beating, cool
solutions that I think people will enjoy. And the Presidio Group is actually going
to help us fund the venture with the best, best solution that's presented.
So Stefan Ferry from the Presidio Group will be there and they fully intend to invest in the company that wins. And then we're going to have a best
Idea session where a dealer participant gets to present their best idea and walk away with fifteen hundred bucks plus a trophy. So a lot of good stuff going
on, with a lot of that is so out right. Now you have
a beautiful I mean, the sponsor list is beautiful. You got a great
group of people gonna show up. Like he said, there's gonna be tons
of dealers, tons of vendors, tons of people. They're not to sell,
but to make solutions, to sit down and be able to give you real time advice and how to go back and make your store better, how to how to get your people motivated, how to bring them more leads, how to do all the right things, how to show them, how to generate their own I mean, there's so many ways can do these things.
It's about a team, it's about growth, it's about the future of automotive, and it's a lot of digital going down. So let's get digitals.
Yes, heck yeah, Well car guys and cargoles. Thank you so much
for brewing solutions with us today with the incredible, the One, the Only David. Yes, the Car Guys and I'm Fred len Art's the Subprime Hero
and you've been brewing solutions on the Car Guy Coffee podcast. Before we leave,
we are going to get one more forgive focus and fly with our friend David as we finish on the show and you share it around everybody. Thank
you so much for joining us. Let's row on three one two three,
begin Focus by keep growing. Thank you so much and enjoyed Seattle. Have
fun. Change the world, my friend, change the world. Let's keep
growing. Thanks guys, go bye,

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