"Drowning in Traffic!" Why Dealers Are Drowning in Traffic They Can't Convert (+ How to Fix It) | Scott Traylor, Vice President at Mia Labs
About this episode
Scott Traylor, Vice President at Mia Labs and former Echo Park powerhouse, joins the show to discuss the intersection of dealership culture and artificial intelligence. Traylor shares his secrets to selling 9,000 units from a single store, emphasizing a people-first culture and unconventional rules like banning Saturday meetings. He then explains his transition to automotive AI, comparing the current AI boom to the early days of dealership websites. Discover how dealers can leverage voice AI to capture missed after-hours traffic, streamline operations, and boost revenue without losing the essential human touch.
Scott Traylor
"Scott Trailer on the CDG podcast. Scott, welcome. What's up, dude? How are you doing? Great to have you here. Thanks for having me. Start us out with a little bit about the business. I think one of the things about you that I find fascinating is that you are really at one of the companies leading the forefront of automotive AI. You work with some of the largest dealers in the country, which we'll talk about that. But what many don't know, and I do, I found this out, is that you were previously at Echo Park. Yeah. That's public knowledge. But you sold your your last two years at Echo Park. You did 9,000 units out of a single point."
A successful car dealership manager who now helps dealerships use artificial intelligence to answer customer phone calls and schedule service appointments.
Vice President at Mia Labs and a veteran automotive retail executive. He previously managed high-volume operations at EchoPark Automotive, where his single-point store achieved an extraordinary volume of 9,000 used vehicles sold in a two-year span.
EchoPark Automotive
"But what many don't know, and I do, I found this out, is that you were previously at Echo Park. Yeah. That's public knowledge. But you sold your your last two years at Echo Park. You did 9,000 units out of a single point."
A large chain of used car dealerships across the US known for selling relatively new used cars with fixed, haggle-free prices.
A major pre-owned vehicle retailer launched in 2014 by Sonic Automotive. EchoPark operates large-scale, high-volume 'hubs' that focus on selling 1-to-4-year-old nearly new vehicles at below-market, no-haggle prices.
single point
"But you sold your your last two years at Echo Park. You did 9,000 units out of a single point. Yeah. So just like explain that to us, I want to understand like what happened here as you were as a retailer."
A term for a single, individual dealership building rather than a massive chain of multiple car dealerships spread across a region.
An industry term referring to a single physical dealership location or rooftop, as opposed to a multi-franchise campus or a dealer group with multiple locations. Achieving high sales volume out of a single point is highly respected in automotive retail.
Berkshire Hathaway Automotive
"Before that, I was I was with Vantal then the Berkshire Hathaway when it was bought out. And one of the stresses of working for a large group is that for me, and this goes a little bit into my faith, but I wanted to impact the culture inside the dealership"
A massive group of car dealerships owned by billionaire Warren Buffett's investment company, representing many different car brands across the country.
One of the largest dealership groups in the United States, formed when Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired the VanTuyl Group in 2015. It operates over 80 dealerships representing dozens of automotive brands.
Sonic Automotive
"When I started talking with Sonic Automotive, they gave me a little bit more latitude to impact the culture in the house is a brand new store and for anybody who's taken over a store, you have what I was speaking to before tethers to the culture that's been there for decades"
One of the biggest car dealership companies in America, owning over a hundred dealerships and the EchoPark used car chain.
A Fortune 500 company and one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sonic operates over 100 franchised dealerships and is the parent company of the EchoPark pre-owned brand.
RO's
"So people are calling that. Yeah, people are calling it two in the morning setting appointments and that appointment converts to RO's. Some of my stores are seeing 2932 somewhere in that range thousand dollars at the high end."
The official paperwork and bill created when you bring your car to a dealership for repairs or maintenance.
An acronym for Repair Orders. An RO is the official contract and invoice generated by a dealership service department that details the customer's concerns, the technician's diagnosis, the parts used, and the labor hours billed.
service advisor
"The real use cases when Mia is on the first ring and service and she gets a triage to calls. And so from all your service advisors that are on the service lane, a lot of them are getting bogged down by the simple stuff. If I go to any any dealership that's high volume, I'm going to see that service advisor with a cell phone working with his desk line working with his computer working and he's possibly got a human being in front of all at the same time."
The person at the dealership service center who greets you when you drive in, takes down your car's issues, and calls you later to explain what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost.
The frontline dealership employee who acts as the primary liaison between the customer and the service technicians. They greet customers, diagnose initial complaints, write up repair orders, recommend maintenance, and communicate progress and pricing.
service lane
"And so from all your service advisors that are on the service lane, a lot of them are getting bogged down by the simple stuff. If I go to any any dealership that's high volume, I'm going to see that service advisor with a cell phone working with his desk line working with his computer working and he's possibly got a human being in front of all at the same time."
The indoor driveway at a dealership where you pull your car in when you arrive for an oil change or repair, where a service worker greets you.
The physical, often covered drive-in area of a dealership where customers park their vehicles upon arrival for maintenance or repairs. It is designed for quick check-ins, initial inspections, and handoffs to service advisors.
key fob
"And they can't stand getting bogged down on a simple conversation like how do I replace my battery and my key fob. And that's what's understandable. That's it is on the really think about like on the human level."
The small plastic remote on your keychain that you use to lock, unlock, and start your car.
A small handheld remote control device that controls a vehicle's keyless entry system, alarm, and often ignition. It contains a small battery and transmitter that communicates with the vehicle's onboard computer.
dealer principles
"Is your competition other voice AI competitors or is it stubborn dealer principles or is it another human that doesn't want to give up these tasks? I'm going to say it's other people in this space that are utilizing technology to try and fill these calls as best I can."
The actual owner or top boss of a car dealership who holds the official license from the car manufacturer to sell their vehicles.
The individual (or individuals) who owns or holds the primary franchise agreement for a car dealership with the automotive manufacturer (OEM). They have ultimate operational and financial responsibility for the dealership's performance.
IMR program
"one of the big announcements you made I caught wind of this was that GM you're or you're the first voice AI a pre-empt for their is it I am our program I believe their I am our look how did that come to be why did they approve you like just tells about that process it's a it's a great it's obviously very cool validation"
A special program run by General Motors that helps its dealerships pay for approved software and advertising tools, ensuring the tools meet GM's strict quality and security standards.
General Motors' In-Market Retail program, which provides co-op advertising funds and establishes a list of approved, compliant technology and marketing vendors for GM dealerships. Being an approved IMR vendor allows dealers to use manufacturer-subsidized funds to pay for the service.
General Motors
"validation it's a great opportunity so first off hats off the General Motors for being a leader in this space a lot of we're having a lot of OEM conversations and what I can tell you about these other conversations is a lot of the OEMs have not created an AI category yet"
One of the biggest American car companies, which makes vehicles under famous brand names like Chevy, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac.
One of the world's largest automotive manufacturers, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. GM designs, builds, and sells vehicles under brands like Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac.
Fred Beans
"So we have some dealer policy and Fred beans parts apartment absolutely is a partner of ours oh wow okay and we're in all of Fred bean stores one of the largest operations across country Fred bean is wow so he uses you in parts or not no we're working on that oh you're working on that okay yeah he's got us answering his calls wow yeah he's got us answer you know Fred yes and he called me a few months ago he goes Scott it's Fred beans I said sir I'm aware I say he goes don't call me sir call me Fred"
A highly successful and famous owner of a massive network of car dealerships and auto parts stores on the East Coast.
The founder and president of the Fred Beans Automotive Group, one of the largest privately owned dealership groups in the United States, based in Pennsylvania. He is a legendary figure in automotive retail, known for building a massive network of dealerships, parts operations, and collision centers.
equity mining
"you take a Excel spreadsheet loaded into the back in the Mia set the prompting for the conversation you want to have and our team will do that with you and then basically turn me a loose and that can be a conversation where you have 500 people called for recalls special order parts customer declines are on the sales side equity mining showroom follow-ups are you doing that now yes oh wow okay yeah we're already doing that and so how are you doing sorry to catch out there but how are you doing like equity mining or you connect well they we connect do the initial conversation"
A method where dealerships look through their customer records to find people whose current cars are worth more than what they still owe on their car loans, allowing the dealer to offer them a trade-in deal on a brand-new car.
A dealership sales strategy that uses software to scan customer databases and identify vehicle owners who have positive equity (their car is worth more than their remaining loan balance). Sales teams then proactively reach out to offer these customers a new vehicle with similar or lower monthly payments.
Xtime
"so X time rental CDK scheduler my karma we're going to we're going to dive into all those to create automated processes to follow up with customers so sale side and service side parts department definitely we're up to our eyeballs in the parts department right now"
A popular software program that car dealerships use to let customers book service appointments online and manage their repair shop schedules.
A leading service scheduling and retention software platform owned by Cox Automotive. It is widely used by franchised dealerships to manage service lane capacity, online appointment booking, and customer communication.
CDK Global
"so X time rental CDK scheduler my karma we're going to we're going to dive into all those to create automated processes to follow up with customers so sale side and service side parts department definitely we're up to our eyeballs in the parts department right now"
A massive software company that provides the main computer systems car dealerships use to run their daily business, from selling cars to managing their repair shops.
A major provider of dealership management systems (DMS) and retail technology solutions to the automotive industry. CDK's software manages core dealership workflows including sales, financing, inventory, and service scheduling.
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