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S4E14 - The Grit Behind Great Dealers
S4E14 - The Grit Behind Great Dealers
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About this episode
Joey Wong, owner of Great Lakes Auto Group, shares his inspiring journey from aspiring dentist to successful auto dealer, highlighting the importance of persistence and relationships in the automotive industry. He discusses his experiences with NAMAD, the challenges of competing against larger dealers, and the significance of embracing technology and data in modern dealership operations. With a positive outlook on the future, Wong emphasizes the need for dealers to adapt and prepare for evolving consumer expectations while fostering diversity within the industry.
Topics:
persistence
dealer relationships
NAMAD
technology in dealerships
diversity in automotive
career transitions
market competition
customer engagement
Joey Huang, Dealer Owner at Great Lakes Auto Group, discusses the transition from medical school to automotive. He shares how a tenacious, yet respectful attitude has driven his career, along with people believing in his potential.
For more information about our guest, visit their LinkedIn.
Episode Breakdown
0:00 - Meet Joey
4:04 - Why NAMAD is important for the industry
5:10 - How relationship building advanced his career
8:01 - Getting selected for his first open point
10:50 - How Joey stays persistent in his career
11:44 - Finding optimism in market uncertainties and preparing for 2026
14:17 - OEM and dealers benefit from this
15:11 - Joey’s Best Bets on consolidation, leadership and data trends
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- Meet Joey
- Why NAMAD is important for the industry
- How relationship building advanced his career
- Getting selected for his first open point
- How Joey stays persistent in his career
- Finding optimism in market uncertainties and preparing for 2026
- OEM and dealers benefit from this
- Joey’s Best Bets on consolidation, leadership and data trends
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It was the 12th largest Honda store out of 19 stores in Northern Ohio within five months that
became the number one volume store in Northern Ohio.
Welcome to the Walkaround Podcast powered by JM&A Group. We are at the Sirius XM Studios at the
fabulous Wynn Las Vegas. Heather is just, is this not awesome? Just right away.
This is a total upgrade. What an upgrade. I am so honored. And prior to us starting, we heard this
is where Shaq records his broadcast. That's right. I'm sitting in Shaq's seat and I am honored to
represent. So right now you're basically the same height as Shaq. I am the same height as Shaquille
O'Neal. Here we go. Joining us today is Joey Wong, the owner of the Great Lakes Auto Group,
which consists of a number of dealerships and rooftops. Joey, thank you so much for taking
time and joining us today. We really appreciate it. Mark, I'm glad to be here. Thank you,
Heather. Appreciate you having me. We are so honored to have you here and spend some time
and learning about your history as an automobile dealer. You have quite the career, and we're
looking forward to getting into it in a couple tidbits that our listeners should know about
to be a successful automobile dealer. Someone told me you're a gambling man,
so we're going to get into that. We're in Vegas, right? We're in Vegas. Why would we not?
Why would we not? And Mark, we know your habit and we're going to go ahead and indulge
that and hope that Joey will play along with us. This is a bad place for me to work
through my habit, but that's okay. We're going to get there. Joey, let's start right away,
just in your background, your journey. We've talked to so many guests in the automotive
business, and everyone somehow has a different path into the automotive industry. People say
you're either born into it or you fall into it, but once you are there,
you love it and you don't want to do anything else. Your background is quite
interesting. Having started and studied at the Ohio State University on a science track,
you did biology, you went to dentistry. How does someone go from science to automotive
and selling cars? Mark, I was always a car fanatic as a kid. My father's a physician,
my brother and sister are physicians, and really for my dad moving over from Taiwan,
he wanted us to be educated and in the health profession field because he worried about people
looking down upon us. He said, Joey, at least if I know if you're a doctor and you're educated,
you're going to be respected. For me, I loved cars. I loved cars as a kid. I was fascinated by
them. When I was in college, I decided I could sell some cars. I'm going to give it a shot.
I started out at a Chevrolet Cadillac Pontiac Honda dealership in Asheville, Ohio,
selling cars for summer time. This was before you graduated. You were still in school?
Yes. I was 18 years old, going to Ohio State University for undergrad and taking a summer job.
So I just need to ask this quick question. Your dad wanted you in a respected career
as a doctor or physician. Had you closed him to allow you to go ahead and sell cars?
Yeah. Did you need his permission? Boy, I mean here, obviously as a salesman,
you got to close someone, right? Closing your father is probably the hardest job in the world to do.
My dad, he passed about a year ago and even all the way to the end,
he talked about respect. And you know what, Joey, no matter what profession you do,
you got to be respectful. I keep his promise and so forth. But he loved to joke around.
I mean, his favorite statement was, hey, I sent my son the four years of private boarding
high school, four years of college, and four years of dental school to be a used car salesman.
Making him proud though, with all the accomplishments over the years. And so,
you know, thinking about NAMAD, and we're here at the 45th annual membership meeting,
there's more to just the conference in Las Vegas. Why is NAMAD such an important
association for dealers and for the automotive industry as a whole?
Yeah. Great question, Heather. And you know, for me, I really wouldn't be who I am today
if NAMAD wasn't there. NAMAD serves as an organization to help grow females and minorities
in our dealer body for us to become automotive dealers. And they put the candidate
and the manufacturer together. And so they've served as an organization. I've been coming for 23
years, but I know they've been an organization for over 30 years. Yes. It has a very long history.
And you know, one of the core things that I've heard you say, and other dealers say, is this
industry, this event, NAMAD and itself is about relationships. Tell me more about that.
How have relationships impacted you in your career? You know, so when you come in and you
interview and when you meet manufacturers, they got to believe in you, right? And some of it's
having faith in who you can become. You know, when I first started coming to NAMAD in 2003,
I owned two small General Motors dealerships. They didn't even sell 200 new cars in a year.
And when you're presenting to a manufacturer and they're looking at you, trying to see
as a young 30-some-year-old kid, does he have promise? Does he have it to become a big Metro
dealer, to be a dealer who can sell volume? I mean, they're trying to figure that out from you.
So that relationship, proving who you are, showing who you are in your background,
and then at the same time, the numbers that you have at your current store,
that proves that relationship over time for them to give you a chance.
Back in 2003 at my first NAMAD, you know, I competed for an open point,
and a guy named Guy Warner from Hyundai Motor Company saw that promise.
And I wanted to be a big Metro dealer, and he gave me an open point with Hugh Beagle in
a Southeast suburb market of Cleveland, Ohio. And that's what helped me as a minority to get
to that next level. Built this dealership, the store became, you know, the number one volume
Hyundai store in Cleveland, and then became the number one volume store in the state of Ohio.
But by doing that, I'm able to tell my story here at NAMAD the next years to come,
to be able to get other manufacturers and also Hyundai to believe in me to give me more
opportunities. It seems like that's one of the most interesting or important parts of
NAMAD is the ability for others to pay it forward and start growing that network even further. Would
you agree with that? It is. You got to be persistent. You got to be, I mean, you know, the manufacturer
who's here, they're getting contacted by hundreds of dealer candidates. And how do you shine through
all of them, right? Beyond the dealer candidates, you're competing with the publicly traded
groups out there. Absolutely. Whose pockets are extremely deep.
You are competing against a lot of people. 100%. And how do you outshine them? Right?
Absolutely. So Joey, let's think back when you got that open point and you became a dealer.
What was that feeling like? What surprised you? You know, I can still remember the day I got
the letter, right? That, hey, Joey, we're going to give you the letter of intent to be the
open point in Streetsboro, Ohio, and how happy I was, right? Because it's everyone's dream
to grow, to be a bigger dealer, to be a better dealer, or even get your first dealership. And for
me, it was a dream come true. I couldn't have been any happier at that time. And then obviously,
for it to keep growing and continuing from there. What didn't you expect when you started
operations and you got into it? What surprised you? You know, when you're 33 years old at
that time and you're competing against really respectful big dealers in the Cleveland market,
Rick Case was there, Ron Marhoffer, very respectful, generational dealerships. And then the
manufacturer says, Hey, kid, we're going to go with you. Right? That's a surprise. That's a happiness
too. That's a vote of confidence in yourself that had to really give you some, some, you know
what, I got this, I am going to go in here and I'm going to be successful. I'm sure it
motivated you 100%. And you know, not all is always going to be happy. I mean, so,
you know, 2005, 2006, you know, I compete for a Honda OpenPoint as well in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
And I lost, you know, and, you know, it's that ability to keep coming back and trying again.
So 2006, that process took about 15 months. And I lost to Joe Sarah. Sarah's a big group in the
Michigan market. And I understand the reason that Honda chose him, because I was not
a proven commodity yet. But you stay with it. 2007, 2008, 2009, you're showing what
you're doing with your Hyundai store, what you're doing with your General Motors stores,
and you're coming back here to name that again, meeting with the different manufacturers,
meeting with Honda in particular and saying, Hey, I want my opportunity. 2010 comes,
Cincinnati is an open point for Honda. And they said, Here, Joey, we'd like you to apply for it.
Again, you go through the processors, 100 dealers that apply to give out 20 interviews.
It's a year long process. And again, I come in third place on that. I don't get the point.
And for most, you could get very disappointed by it. And for some, you may even want to quit.
And says, Here, I give up, I'm not going to do this anymore. But instead, I stayed with it. And
that's why I talk about persistence, staying with it, being tenacious, and keep coming,
keep coming back to name that because that opportunity is going to come to you.
And in 2014, Honda finally said, Yes, Joey, we have a point in Akron, Ohio.
We'd like you to take that point. And it was a minority development point already.
And we'd like to see what you could do with it. It was the 12th largest Honda store out of 19 stores
in northern Ohio. Within five months, that became the number one volume store in northern Ohio,
and has been the number one volume store in northern Ohio for the last 10 years.
But you're proving yourself. And when the opportunity comes, you got to perform.
I think that persistence theme is so true, especially even if you're just starting out
and you're starting to sell cars, or you're trying to become more in the industry and
advance your career. Like that persistence is so vital in this business.
Or if you've been in business for 20 plus years and
Can't be complacent.
Running dealerships in multiple states now. What motivates you now? What keeps you going
with that persistence?
Well, great question. And I want to make something else to make you laugh about that.
You're learning on the way. You know, my first summer selling Mr. Nassif called me in
at Christmas time said, Joey, here, there's five or six Christmas cards here for you.
And I was like, okay, I showed up his dealership. I was in school at Ohio State,
come there, and these cards are all open. And I'm like, Mr. Nassif, you opened up my mail.
He goes, they came to my dealership. I get that. And, but you know what he proved to me
and showed me goes Joey, out of the six cards you got here, five of them are from customers
that didn't even buy from us. He goes, you need to learn that how to be persuasive,
how to be a little bit more tenacious, how to learn from this process here,
that here you're going to be, they love you enough to send you a Christmas card.
They love you enough to buy a car.
Joey, let's fast forward a little bit and get your perspective on the business
as it is today. I think a very common theme we've been talking about for most of this year is
uncertainty, tariffs, inflation, affordability. There's so many factors, consumer demand,
that are just fluctuating up and down, right? What's as you sit today and you look at your
business and your group, what's your opinion? Are you bullish? Are you looking forward to the
rest of the year in a positive way or do you have some concerns?
Mark, great question here and I'm an optimist. I'm an eternal optimist, really. So I'm only
going to look at the positive side. Is that really right or not? Here you look at different
things that come up. I just bought a Honda store in 2019-20 and COVID starts, right? And
as a person, your client could be, oh no, I'm in trouble. What are we going to do?
Or you can take that situation that's in front of you and make the most of it.
Here today, our interest rates higher? Sure, but they're not really that high.
Are the tariffs here? Sure. Still, people are buying cars in America. People are still
spending money and it's your outlook in the way that you carry yourself,
your store carries yourself, the people that carry that work with us carry themselves.
And here we keep doing business. Sounds like a very positive outlook as we're
looking at the second half of 2025. And as you look into 2026, what should dealers be doing today
to prepare for 2026 for the affordability, the evolving consumer expectations? What are you
thinking about for your dealer group for 2026? Here in any year that you're preparing first,
it's all about the basics, right? Making sure your people are ready, your dealerships are ready,
they're clean in our presentation. You know what preparation makes for a great year?
And I can share with you this as we're coming toward the end of 2025,
we're looking at a positive year. We had a great first six months for the year.
I don't expect anything different. I know that the interest rates are going to get
lowered here sooner or later and that's going to be great news. It's going to bring
positive motivation. It's going to bring momentum to our business and people are going to be
out there ready to buy more cars. As a dealer of multiple franchises, are you more bullish on
certain OEMs than others or are any of them like you're looking to, that's the manufacturer for me?
Heather, that's a trick question there for me. I mean, I'm on air and this is being recorded
and there's certain manufacturers better than others. Wow. Well, you know. What
have we asked it this way? Are you feeling positive about how OEMs are engaging with the
dealer body? What kinds of trends are you seeing with OEMs as you excited?
I'll say it this way. Here, manufacturers are partners to dealers. We can't sell cars without
them and they can't sell cars without us. The beautiful thing in America, we have franchise
laws and they need to be able to sell them through dealerships. Together, we're partners.
Each one needs to view it that way and some may view it a little differently. I can share with you
that for a dealer, what the more trust we have in our partner as a manufacturer,
the better the store performs and also the better the value of the dealership.
So, Joey, we said earlier, we both share an interest in gambling. Here we are in Las Vegas.
We thought we would end our conversation with a segment that we're calling best bets.
I'm going to throw out a couple of trends or statements about the business
and you're going to tell us, bet it or forget it. All right. I like it.
I'm ready. I'm ready. Here we go.
Heather, you have something to add? No, I'm ready. I'm waiting for it.
Here we go. Is she going to bet it too? No, just take it.
Why not? I mean, Heather, you can tell us whether to bet it or not. All right.
Consolidation will eliminate 30% of dealer rooftops that are existing today.
Bet it or forget it.
It's a good one, right? Boy, that's a good one. Mark, you know why I said it's a good
one? Number one, here it is the American dream. Everybody who's here at this conference
wants to be a dealer. They could be a general manager. They could be a sales manager
and it's their dream. And I believe as long as manufacturers want to continue to grow with
diversity with females, it's going to keep that American dream up. So I'm going to say forget
it because I want to see all of these candidates here get their own first store and then get
to their second store and that is the American dream. It's what happened to me and I hope
for everyone else at this conference. Yes. Again, another positive outlook.
Exactly. I mean, don't you just want to hang out with Jolie for most of the time?
You are a glass is half full. I can definitely sense that and that's why you're successful.
Here, God made me that way. I'm glad you mentioned the GM position,
right? Because here's another one for best bets. The GM of 2030 will look more like a
COO than your typical car guy or gal. That it or forget it? Forget it. Here, that GM,
here he has to have the ability to lead by example. And what do I mean by that? Here,
he's not going to be some corporate guy sitting on top of a dealership. He's going to be able to
know how to sell a car. He's going to be able to know how to get them through finance.
He's going to have to be a leader by example. So he will never be that executive that sits
up there that's not active. He will be on the field. He won't be sitting in the press box.
Right. He's my quarterback. He's the guy on the field ready to make it happen.
All right. I love it. All right. Here's our last one because we know you're tight on time and you
got to go. Dealers should invest more in first party data than third party data. Bet it or
forget it? I love it. Bet it. Bet it. Okay. Tell us what's your outlook on the technology
front. There's so many opportunities now we're hearing with AI with just the evolving
use case of CRMs. What's your position right now in dealership technology?
If you don't believe in it and you don't get involved in it, you're going to be out.
What should dealers be thinking about most when you think about technology?
Here when technology, I don't believe you need to be the forefront, the forefather. You don't
need to be the person who's going to be inventing it and going forward with it.
You just need to be a good copier. Learning the best practices of what other dealers are doing
through our 20 groups, through NADA and that part will help you be successful.
Through conferences like NAMAD where you have that opportunity to get those ideas off.
We're here at the conference. We have classes. There's other experts that are here to help us
and it helps us grow as dealers here at NAMAD. Wow. Well, Joey, we want to say thank you.
It's been a true pleasure. We appreciate your insight, your history and your learnings and
Mark, I'd say for our first Sirius XM Studios at Wynn, Las Vegas.
It's going to be hard to beat. Joey, you set the bar.
You set it high. You've set it high. Thank you so much. I appreciate you having me.
I'm glad to be here part of NAMAD. 23 years. I look forward to coming for 20 more years
and I appreciate all the manufacturers working toward increasing females and diversity
toward dealerships. Thank you.
Thanks, Joey. Thank you.
We really appreciate you joining us today on The Walkaround and we hope you enjoyed the episode.
Please be sure to like, share, subscribe and follow us.
We look forward to seeing you next time on The Walkaround.
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