The Godfather Of Short Form Car Content - RussFlipsWhips
Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
68:08
Car
Lincoln Aviator
The Lincoln Aviator is a fancy SUV made by Lincoln. It's like a big, comfortable car that can carry people and stuff, with lots of nice features inside.
Term
trade-in
Trading in means giving your old car to the dealer when you buy a new one, so you don't have to pay as much money. Sometimes you even get extra value if your car is worth more than you owe.
Term
lease equity
Lease equity means your leased car is worth more than what you still owe on it. This extra value can help you get a better deal when trading in or ending your lease early.
Concept
leasing a car
Leasing a car means you pay to use it for some years but don't own it. You usually have to give it back later, but sometimes you can trade it in or buy it.
Car
Mercedes-Benz G-Class
The Mercedes G-Wagon is a fancy SUV that looks like a box and is good for off-road driving. People often get good value when trading it in or ending a lease early.
Term
Rear-Wheel Drive
Rear-Wheel Drive means the car's engine powers the back wheels, which helps with how the car drives and handles.
Term
invoice price
Invoice price is what the dealer pays for the car before selling it to you. It's a starting point for figuring out how much the car really costs.
Term
BDC
BDC is a team at car dealerships that answers calls and messages from customers and helps set up meetings to buy cars.
Term
out-of-state leases
Sometimes people lease cars from a dealer in one state but live in another, which can make the paperwork and taxes tricky.
Term
digital retailing
Digital retailing means you can do a lot of buying a car online, like seeing prices and filling out forms, instead of going to the dealership for everything.
Term
registration fees
Registration fees are money you pay to the government to make sure your car is allowed to be driven on roads. The amount can be different depending on where you live.
Term
MSRP
MSRP is the price the car company says a new car should cost when you buy it from a dealer. It's like a suggested price to help buyers and sellers agree.
Term
Route One
Route One is a way to get a loan to buy a Ford or Lincoln car directly through the car company. It can make buying a car easier and sometimes cheaper.
Term
money factor
Money factor is like the interest rate you pay when you lease a car. It helps decide how much your monthly payments will be.
Company
VAuto
VAuto is a tool that car dealers use to figure out how much to charge for used cars and trades, so they can sell them at the right price.
Term
subvented rate
It's a special low-interest loan rate that the car company helps pay for, so you pay less money when you borrow to buy a car.
Term
appraised trade
When you trade in your old car at a dealer, they check how much it's worth. This is called appraising the trade.
Term
percent to market
This means setting the price of a car a little higher or lower than what other similar cars are selling for, to help it sell better or make more money.
Company
UVI
UVI makes special machines that use ultraviolet light to quickly dry or harden coatings. This helps make car paint or decals last longer and look better.
Concept
CRM
A CRM is like a digital address book that helps car sellers keep track of people who might want to buy a car and what they talked about, so they can sell better.
Concept
dealership inventory
Dealership inventory means all the cars a dealer has ready to sell to customers.
Concept
internet lead
An internet lead is when someone shows interest in buying a car by contacting the dealer online, so the salesperson can reach out and help them.
Concept
lease incentive
A lease incentive is like a special deal that makes it cheaper or easier to rent a car for a few years instead of buying it. It helps people save money when they sign a lease.
Car
Lincoln Navigator
The Lincoln Navigator is a big, fancy SUV that can carry lots of people and has nice features inside. It's a popular choice for families or people who want a comfortable ride.
Car
Cadillac Escalade
The Cadillac Escalade is a big, fancy SUV that looks cool and has a strong engine. Many people like it for its style and comfort.
Car
Lincoln Corsair
The Lincoln Corsair is a fancy small SUV made by Lincoln, a company that makes luxury cars. It's designed to be comfortable and have nice features for people who want a nicer car.
Concept
NADA association
NADA is a group that helps car dealerships by giving them advice and rules to follow. It helps make sure car sellers and buyers have a good experience.
Concept
dealership markup
Dealership markup is the extra money a car dealer adds to the price of a car so they can make a profit and pay their workers.
Term
frontend gross
Frontend gross is the money a dealership makes from selling the car before selling extra things like warranties or insurance.
Term
commission
Commission means a salesperson gets extra money when they sell a car, so the more they sell, the more money they make.
Term
backend products
Backend products are extra things a dealership sells with the car, like warranties or insurance, which help them make more money.
Concept
salesperson monthly contribution
This means how many cars a car seller should sell each month to do a good job at their work.
LIVE
Orsomethingmaybethatasalespersoncoulduse.
Yeah.
Ithinkthethefirstmaybe30or40videos,andIdon'trecommendthis,Iwasfocusedonstraighthumor.
Yeah.
AndIwaslike,I'mjustgonnadoit.
I'mjustgonnawingit.
Anditwasprettybad.
Youknow,there'sthere'sapartinthevideo,it'sstillonYouTube.
YoucangowatchmyfirstYouTubevideo.
IlookatthecameraguyandI'mlike,whatshouldItalkaboutnext?
Isthisreallyabusiness?
Arepeoplereallygonnapaymetotraintheirsalespeopletodosocialmedia?
Youknow,I'vehadsomepeoplethatwanttodoin-persontrainingwithme,whichisreallyexpensive.
AndI'mlike,look,look,look,look,look,look,look.
Youhavenobodycurrentlydoingthis.
Yeah.
Like,let'sstartonline.
Seeifwecanmovetheneedle.
ThenextTonyRobbins,maybeinthemaking,you'regonnabeuptherechangingpeople'slives?
Uh,maybe,man.
Imean,uhuh,Godwilling,Ithinkthatwouldbeanamazingthingtodo.
ThisepisodeisbroughttoyoubyCallReview,thedealershipintelligenceplatformthatconnectseveryconversationtoperformance.
FromtheirhostedphonesystemandAI-poweredattendanttoreal-timeanalytics,coaching,andreputationinsights.
CallReviewhelpsyoucaptureeverycall,understandeveryinteraction,andconvertmoreopportunities.
CallReview,wherecommunicationmeetsintelligence.
Formoreinformation,visitcallreview.com.
WelcomebacktotheDougHornerShow.
I'mherewithRussFlipsWhips,theman,themyth,thelegendhimself.
Russ,thankyouformakingtimeformetoday.
Thatisuhthatisquitetheintro.
AndI'mI'mnotamyth.
Iamreal.
Youarereal.
AndRuss,Igiveyoucreditforkindofbeingthefirstshortformautomotiveinfluencerthatwasn'tjustreviewingcars.
OrIthinkwhenIthinkofkindofsocialmediaautomotive,ItendtothinkofpeoplelikeDougDeMurooruhHoovie'sGarage,likepeoplethathavebeendoingcarreviewsandandandYouTubebasically.
Butyeah,yousortofblewupfirstintheshortformworld.
AndIjustwanttogobackforpeoplethatdon'tknowthestory.
WhatmadeyoujustonedaydecideI'mgonnastartmakingvideosandputtingthemonline?
Yeah,yeah,andthat'sthat'suhthat'sanexcellentquestion.
Andyouknow,andtoanyonelistening,liketheshortanswerisIjuststarted.
Now,thelonganswerisIwasworkingatasmallfamily-ownedLincolndealershipinPittsburgh,Pennsylvania,inahypercompetitivemarketwithatthattimesixotherLincolndealersinthe30-mileradius,whichisjustabsolutelyinsanethattheyallowedthattobetheremany,thatmany.
Um,afewshutdown,um,andtherewasreallyfourformostofmycareer.
Butasaguywhowassellingeightcarsamonth,madelike35grandmyfirstyear,um,youknow,whenIwasinhighschoolsellingcars,whichisawholedifferentstory,Ithoughtitwascooltolikebringhomeanother3K,2500,whatever.
I'mlike,thisisgreat.
Right.
Um,youknow,I'mlivingwithmygrandma,startlookingathouses,andI'mlike,yeah,Idon't,Idon't,Idon't,IthinkI'mlivinginpovertybecauseIcan'tevenbuylikethecheapesthouseonthemarket.
Right.
Andsomethinginmewasjustlike,okay,Russ,yougrewup,youknow,prettypoor.
Youdon'tknowanyonewho'sgonnabuyLincoln.
You're19yearsold,noneofyourfriendsaregonnacomebuyanewLincoln.
YoufoundyourwaytothisLincolndealershipwhoyoulovetheowners,youlovetheGM,youlovetheculturehere.
Howdowemakethiswork?
AndIwaslike,IjustneedmorepeopletoknowwhoIamthatmighthavemoneytocomebuythesecars.
Anditstartedonalittlebitofluck.
Ithinkyouknow,somepeoplewillcallitluck,somepeoplewillcallitseizingtheopportunity.
ThebrandnewLincolnAviator,unannounced,showedupatourdealership.
AndIthinkthathappensateverydealership.
Like,oh,Ididn'tknowweweregettingthattoday.
AndIsaidtomyfriend,Iwaslike,dude,I'mjustgonnamakeaYouTubevideo.
ThisI'veseen,youknow,DougDeMure,I'veseenalltheseguysdoreviews.
I'mlike,IthinkI'mgonnabeatthemtothepunch.
Ihaven'tseenoneonthenewAviard.
II'veseensomelikestagedoneswhereit'slikeatafactoryshow,butlikenoone'sreallygottheirhandsonit.
Noone'slikeopenedupthegloveboxandmovedtheseatsaround.
Yeah.
AndIwaslike,I'mjustgonnadoit,I'mjustgonnawingit.
Anditwasprettybad.
Youknow,there'sthere'sapartinthevideo,it'sstillonYouTube.
YoucangowatchmyfirstYouTubevideo.
IlookatthecameraguyandI'mlike,whatshouldItalkaboutnext?
AndIdidn'tevenbothertoedititout.
It'sit'sit'sliterallyinthere,andhe'slike,showhimthescreen,showhimthescreen.
I'mlike,ohyeah.
SoIstartedlikegoingthroughthetouchscreen,clickingallthebuttons,anditactuallyblewupforaYouTubevideo150,000views.
Ihadreceivedsomeleads.
Isoldthatcarfromthatvideo,andI'llneverforget,I'm19yearsold,Iwasn'treallysellingmanycars,andI'mpullingourfirstaviatorofftheshowroom,andoneoftheoldschoolveteransislike,Whatareyoudoing?
Whyareyoupullingoff?
I'mlike,Isoldit.
He'slike,Ididn'tseeyouwithacustomer.
Iwaslike,YouTubesale,bro.
Andlikeitwasjustitwasjustsocool.
AndthatwaskindoflikeCavemandiscoveredfire.
I'mlike,wehavesomethinghere.
Thisislegit.
SoImean,tomyadvantage,Ididseesuccessfromthefirstvideo,whichIpreachtopeopleisn'tcommon,isn'talwaysgonnahappen.
Soitdidhelpmotivateme.
ButIstartedtoansweryourquestionjustbecauseIwantedmorepeopletoknowwhoIwas.
Okay,andthat'sfair.
Imean,Lincolndealership,you'reayoungkidatthetime,thebrandisn'treallyassociatedwithyoungpeople,soIcanunderstandlookingforawaytostandout.
Atwhatpointdidyoudecideordidyourealizethatokay,thisisreallysomethingandIhavetobedoingthiseveryday?
Andthenwasthataboutthesametimethatyoustartedmakingkindoflikemoreofthesketcheswhereyou'rehighlightinginteractionsthataconsumerandadealerwouldhave?
Yeah,sosolikemanypeople,Iwasveryinconsistentatthestart.
EventhoughIknewitworkedandIsawit,itwasn'tlikeeventhoughIwaslikeformeatthattimeobsessedwaslikeaYouTubevideoeveryotherweek,onceamonth.
LikeIstillwasn'ttakingitsuperseriously,butIwas,youknow,onmycontentjourney.
Um,COVIDhappened,we'renotatthedealership,andIstartedgoingin.
Iwasthefirstsalespersonallowedback,youknow,andthatwasforlikeawholemonth.
AndI'mlike,man,thisiskindofcool.
Igotthewholeshowroomtomyself.
Icanlikereallydosomelikereallygoodcontenthere.
BecauseatthetimeIwasprettynervous,actually.
Ididn'tlikerecordinginfrontofpeople.
IfyouwatchthatfirstYouTubevideo,it'sinfrontofeverybody,andIwaslikereallyawkward,andthenasyouseethecontentprogress,there'snobodyelseinthevideos,andthat'sbecauseIlikemadeitapointtodoitlikewhennoonewasintheshowroom.
Yeah.
AndCassie,mywife,waslike,youneedtogetonTikTok.
Like,thisiswhereit'sat.
AndI'mlike,nah,TikTok'sforyouknowkidsandyouknow,dancing,andIdon'tdoanyofthat.
Youknow,IhadseenTikTokandIhadactuallyhadtheappandIenjoyedit,butI'mlike,you'renotgonnasellcarsfromlikeYouTubeiswherepeoplegotodotheirresearch.
Yeah,andIrememberIhadseensomepeopleonTikTok,carsalesguys,likedoingsomesomegood,likeseriouscontent.
SoIhadstartedjustliketalkingtothecamera,andthosearereallybad.
II'vereallyneverdeletedavideounlessitwaslikeinappropriateandyouknow,badjudgmentcallmyendandneededtodelete.
Butbadcontent,200views,they'reallup.
Andthey'rethey'reprettybadinthebeginning.
ButImadeaskit.
ThisisprobablysixmonthsintotheTikTokjourneywhenthecustomerknowsmorethanthesalesperson.
And30seconds,mybrotherwalksup,hewasworkingatthedealershipwithme.
He'slike,Hey,youneedanyhelpouthere,sir?
AndIwaslike,Nope,Iknowmoreaboutthiscarthanyoudo,andyouyoucankindofenvisiontherestofthevideo.
AndIdidn'twanttopostit,Ithoughtitwascringe,Ihadneverreallyactedoncamera.
Idon'tevenknowifIwasacting,itwasjustkindofpretendingtobelikeacustomerIhadearlierintheweek,anditwentviral,gotlikethreemillionviewsonTikTok,andthat'swhereIbecamelikeIcan'tthinkofabetterwordotherthanlikeaddicted.
Like,oh,IandIcrackedthecode,andI'malwaysdissectingwhatI'mdoing,andIcametotheconclusionentertainingeducationalcontentthatcaterstotheconsumerandnotacarsalespersonwillgetmeviews,likes,comments,shares,followers,andsales.
Andthatisifyouwanttolikegetamasterclassonsocialmedia,goonmyTikTok.
Ithinkyoucandothisonmobilenow.
Youusedtonotbeabletosortfrommostpopulartoleastpopular,andthere'sabout400videosthathaveoveramillionviews,andtheyallhavethesamecommontheme.
Russmakingcontentthataconsumerwouldenjoyandfindfunnyandandareeducating.
Yeah.
Yeah,thatwaswasitalwaysthemissiontokindofdropsomeeducationintothevideos,ordidthatjustsortofstarthappening?
Like,wasitmeanttobejustthis'llbefunnyandconsumerscanIidentifywithit?
OrwasitlikeIwantittobefunny,butalsohavelikesomethinghelpfulmixedin,likeashoppingstrategyorsomethingmaybethatasalespersoncoulduse?
Yeah,Ithinkthethefirstmaybe30or40videos,andIdon'trecommendthis,Iwasfocusedonstraighthumor.
Justthere'saplaceforthat,buthumorcontent,youdon'twanttobeknownastheheeheehahafunnyguybecausethatonlygetsyousofar.
AndIknowsomeguyswhorunsomesocialmediaatacardealershipandlike,yeah,TikTokdoesn'tsellcars.
Well,dude,you'rejustpeopledon'ttakeyouseriously.
Andthankfully,youknow,Iwassoobsessedwithcontent,Iwaslike,youknow,justlike,what'snext?
WhatcanIsprinklein?
AndI'mtryingtorememberlikethefirstlikestraighteducationalvideothatblewup.
Ithinkitwassmartcustomertradesintheirlease.
Anditwaslikekindoffunny,youknow.
IdidliketheKaren,like,no,no,no,salesguy,goaskyourmanager.
Icantradeinmylease,Ihaveequity,Ididtheresearch.
Soitwaslikefunny,butliketherewasalsopeoplelikewhotrulydidn'tknowyoucouldtradeinalease,youknow.
AndIthinkthisisanycarsalespersonlisteningisone,wedothiseveryday.
Sowethinksomethingsarecommonsense.
Oh,ofcourseyouhaveleaseequity,ofcourseyoucangetoutofyourleaseanytime.
Somepeopledon'tknowthat.
Yeah,youknow,somepeopledon'tknowthatyoucould,becausealotofpeopleequatethewordleasewithlikerentingahouse.
Youcan'ttradeinyourapartment,youknow,youcan'tgetoutofitearlyandhaveequity.
Andyouknow,thosetimesarekindoffadingaway.
SoImighthavehitthatvideoattheperfecttime,youknow,2022,alotofpeoplecomingoffleasefrompre-COVIDwiththree,four,six.
I'msureyou'veseensomeMercedes,maybeevensomeGWagonorsomethingcrazyequityinthem.
Yep.
AndthatstyleofcontentInoticedactuallyhadalotofpeople,likeIhadbeenreceivingleadsforyears,butneverlikeahundredinaday.
Yeah,nevergottenthousandsoffollowers,andyou'veprobablyseenallthissuccessaswell.
It'slike,ohwow,likewhenyoustarttolikegivepeoplethetherealrawtruth,youstarttolikereallybuildthis,whatIwouldcallauthority.
AndI'vealwayssaidlikethefunnycontentmightbringthemtoyourpage,butthetheauthoritativeeducationalcontentwillprobablyconvertthem.
Iwouldagree.
Ithinkthatthere'satimeandaplace,andtherewasatimewhereIItriedalittlebitmoreofthat.
Butattheendoftheday,Ithinkthatwhatisgoingtogetpeopletopickupthephoneandcallorsendinaleadisheknowswhathe'stalkingabout,andItrusthimandIbelievethathecanhelpme.
Andifyou'reonlyeverbeingfunny,I'mnotsurethatpeoplearegonnareallyfeelthatwayaboutyoubecausewhatvalueareareyoureallygivingthemotherthanalaugh?
Yeah,yeah.
Andit'slike,youknow,Iuseyou,TexasCarGuy,acoupleotherGMsanddealerprinciplesIknowdoingthis.
I'mlike,youdon'tevenneedtobefunnytodothis.
Like,itisdefinitelyawaytosuperchargesomethings.
Itdefinitelywillgomoreviral,butthatshouldneverbelikethethesolepurposeofsocialmediacontent.
Isay,like,thatisjustoneverticalthatcanwork,butit'snotevenlikeifyou'renotfunny,that'sokay.
There'speoplethatgoonsocialmediathatprobablywouldn'tfindwhatIdofunny,butwouldenjoysomeofmyentertainmentormyeducationalcontent.
Yeah,Ithinkthat'sfair.
So,diditeverstarttofeeloverwhelmingtoyouwhereit'slikesomanyleadsarecominginthatyoujustdon'tevenknowwhattodowithyourday?
Yeah,I'llneverforgetthis.
Uhitwasatruestory,andIgotalotofhateforitbecauseIIsometimesyoudon'trealizewhenyou'reworkingforanhonestdealership,yeah,howunhonestotherdealersare.
AndI'llneverforget,ourgeneralmanagerwhohadbeenworkingatthedealershipandbasicallyrunningtheentirestore,kindofquitabruptly.
Anditwasitwashardonme,itwashardonthedealership.
Hewasliketheman,andatasmallfamily-ownedstore,havingyouknowthemanisimportant.
Hehequitsforareallybigopportunity,nobodyfaultedhim.
AndMr.
Beyondi,whoiswasinvolvedbutnotasinvolved,kindofsteppedbackupandwaslike,Allright,familystore,myname'sonthebuilding,I'mgonnadowhatittakes.
Andsomemistakesweremadeonhispart,mypart,thewholeteam'spart.
Imean,wewerethisGM,anditmaybeisafaultoftheBeyond'stime.
Wehithewasdoingeverything.
Yeah,newcars,usedcars,wholesale.
Likehewasjusttherainmaker.
Hecouldn'tdoitallandwasreallygoodatit.
Um,butwhathappenswhenaguylikethatleaves?
It'slike,youknow,youcanhirethreepeopletoreplacewhatoneguywasdoing.
Right.
Andyouknow,obviouslythat'snoteasytodoatasmallfamily-ownedLincolnstore.
AndsoMr.
Beyondhestepsinandhe'stryingtodoitall.
Youknow,he's69,70yearsoldatthetime,socan'tfaulthim.
Andheorderedfourrear-worlddriveaviatorsonaccident,andtheyshowup,andI'mlike,InoticeditinstantlybecauseI'mlike,man,thesethingsarecheap,youknow.
I'mlike,right.
Hey,goodjob,Mr.
Beyonti.
Thisislikethisisthereserve,too,under70.
I'mlike,oh,it'srealwheeldrive.
Yeah.
SoImakethisvideo.
Mr.
Beyondtiwasfreakingout,andhewaslike,Russ,wegottamakeavideo.
AndthiswaslikethefirsttimeMr.
Beyondieverevengottenavideo.
AndIIhadhiminthevideowithme.
I'mlike,allright,guys,Mr.
Bionnimadeahugemistake.
HeorderedfourRearWheelDriveaviators.
Andwhatwe'regonnadoisthey'reallforinvoicerightnow,trueinvoice.
Whateveritis,callme,textme,I'llsendyouapicture.
It'sdependingonit,it'sgonnabelikethreetosixgrandoff,dependingonwhichoneyoupick.
Like500peoplecalled,DM'd,emailed,texted,anditwasreallyoverwhelming,likeextreme.
Nowweendedupsellingthemall,whichwasablessing.
Butit'slikeyouIdidn'thaveaprocess,Ididn'thaveaprocedure.
I'monthephonewithpeoplefor20minutestofindouttheywanttobe500amonth,youknow.
AndI'mlike,dude,it's70grand.
Imean,Icouldcutthepriceinhalfanditwouldn'tbe500amonth.
Yeah.
Um,youknow,Ifindoutalotofconsumersaren'tassmartastheythinktheyare.
They,youknow,theythinkinvoiceis40grandoff.
I'mlike,dude,ifweweremaking$40,000spreadonAviAviator,Iwouldberetiredbynowbasedonmypayplan.
Yeah.
Sobutthatvideowasthefirsttimewhereitwasoverwhelming.
IrememberIsatinmyofficeforprobablyeighthoursansweringcalls,DMs,doingitallonmyown,andwedidgetthemsold,butitwaslike,thisiscrazy.
Thisisnuts.
Andallofmycoworkersweremad.
Youprobablyhadthishappen.
Um,nowtheytheyprobablywouldn'tbemadatyoubecauseyou'redelegatingleads,butimagineeverysalespersonisansweringphonecallsforanothersalesperson.
Yeah,exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Wasthatbecauselikeyouallhadlikearoundrobinsystemwiththephone?
Wedidn'thaveaBDCatthetime,anditwasjustthephonerangtotheshowemployerwent,beyondLincoln,thisisChristy.
Oh,youwanttotalktoRuss?
Oh,I'lltrytoreadaRuss.
Yeah,afterthethirdorfourthtimethatgetsoldprettyquickly,I'msure.
Yeah,whenit'slikeitifIhadtoguess,probably150phonecallsthatdayjustaskingforRuss,aviator,invoice.
Yeah.
Yeah,andandforanybodythatisnewtosocialmediaorkindofstartingoutandtheymaybehaven'thadthatvideothatreallywentnutsyet.
I'veliveditafewtimesmyself.
Therearecertainvideos,andtheytendtobekindoflike,hey,Ineedtomakeyouawareofthislikecrazydealtypesituation.
Yeah.
Anditis,Imean,literally,I'llneverforgetit.
Theveryfirsttimethathappened,IsawourBDCmanagercomewaltzingveryquicklyacrosstheshowroomandwaslike,Whatdidyoujustdo?
Yeah,ithappensquick.
Like,ifit'sgonnahappen,ithappens.
Ithappens,ithappenedwithinlikeyeah,within20minutes,internetleadswerepouringin,thephonestartedringingoffthehook.
Imean,it'slikealmostindescribablehowquicklyavideothatworksonsocialmediacanjustspreadlikewildfire.
Anddude,thetoughthingis,andIdon'tknowifyouguysdothis,wedidn'thaveaprocessforout-of-stateleases.
Ijuststartedguessing,anditworkedreallywellacoupletimes,likereallywell.
Likewemadeanincredibleprofit.
Yeah,andacoupletimesIguessedreallywrong.
LikeIcan'tsitthereandworkup40out-of-stateleasesatatime.
Atthattime,Ididn'thaveaprocess,wedidn'thavedigitalretailing,wehade-leads,andyouknow,you'remanuallyputtinginmoneyrates,factors,taxes.
SoIwouldliterallydoPAandaddlike$150amonthandjusttaketheirtemperature.
Gotit.
Andsometimesitwaslike,ohwow,dang,youknow,we'relookingforus,goodjob.
How'dyoudothis?
Iguessed.
AndtherewasafewtimesImadelikelikewelostmoney,andMr.
Beyondi,Godblesshim,hewasjustsuchaniceguy.
Hewasjustsohappythattherewassomebodyinthestorethatwasjustliketryingsohard,tryingsohardtoget,andhewaslike,Russ,youdidyouknow,hewouldhewasn'thappyImadeyouknowmoneylosingmistakes,butitwaslikewedidn'tknowwhatweweredoing,youknow.
Imean,whowhothere'sthere'sprobablylessthanahandfulofpeoplethathavegotten150leadsinaday,prettyseriousleads.
Yeah,it'slikeuhyouyouwantmetoworkthedealtothepenny?
Well,Igottacallourournotarycompanyorourdealerumoutofstatecompanyandthendoallofthatforthemtotellthemthepayment'stoohigh.
Sowasitlikeataxesandregistrationissue?
Yeah.
Sothere'slikeIthinkitwasforMichiganhadlikewayextrauhtaxesandfeesthanIhadestimated.
IthappenedonceinVirginia.
Um,Ithinksometimesourout-of-statecompanywewereusingdidn'tevenknowwhattheyweredoingbecauseyouknowtheywerelocaltoPennsylvania.
AndIdon't,youknow,theytheystartedtohatemeatacertainpointbecauseyouknowwestarteddoingalot.
Andyouknow,it'slikemostofmostoutofstatedeal,alotofcompdealerswon'tdoout-of-stateleases.
Interesting.
Yeah.
Ithinkifyouhavetherighttool,itbecomesalotlessscary.
Andbutthethebigquestionmarkoftenbecomeswhat'stheregistration?
Becausethatiswildlystatespecific.
AndIknowthatlikeOhioandPennsylvania,prettyinexpensivetoregisteracar.
Yeah.
MichigangoesoffofliketheMSRorthelikethesellingpriceofthevehicle.
Yeah.
It'slikeapercentofthesellingprice.
Soifyousellan$80,000,youknow,Lincoln,that'slikean$800regfee.
InOhio,it'slikeahundredbucks.
YouknowwhatImean?
Soit'slikethat'sahugedifferencerightthereifyoudon'tknowwhenyou'reworkingthedeal.
Yeah,it'suhIdon'trecommenddoingwhatIwasdoing,butyouknow,Ialwayssay,like,Ihadalittlebitofabenefit.
Iwasatasmallfamily-ownedLincolnstore,justwantedtogetour150,200dayLincolns,dayoldLincolnsoffthelot.
Yeah,soitwaslikewhateverwecandotogetthem,youknow.
Andtherewaswehadjustgonethroughamanagementchange,sotherewaslikeIwasthemostknowledgeablepersoninthebuilding.
Soitwasn'tlikeIwasgoingaroundanybody,itwaslikeI'mtheonlypersonwhocouldevenattempttofigurethisout.
Yeah.
Butyouknowwhat'sfunnyaboutwithmyGMquitting,hehadpromotedmybrothertoFIlikeamonthbefore.
Hehadnocluewhathewasdoing.
Andthenwhenmygeneralmanageratthetimequit,hetookourseasonedFImanager.
SoI'mnowmanagingliketheFIofficewithmybrother,tryingtoteachhimhowtodoFI.
NeitherofusknowhowtodoFI.
Imean,Ihadsellingcarsforquitesometime.
IIunderstoodtheconceptofRouteOneandratesandmoneyfactorsandyouknow,catcashandtrack.
Iunderstoodit,butI'dneverdoneit,youknow.
Sowereyouveryself-taughtinalotofthingsintheindustry?
Um,yeah,mymygeneralmanagerdidagoodjoboftakingmeunderhiswing.
Iwasalwaysveryperceptive.
Like,I'mtheguy,youknow,thateveryGMordeskmanagerprobablyhates.
LikeI'mtheguythatwalksaroundthedeskandjustwatcheswhatthey'redoingandcankindoflikefigureitout.
LikeIrememberIsentmyfirstdealtoRouteOne.
Nobodyreallytaughtme.
Ijustseenthemdoitsomanytimes.
They,youknow,theywenttoVAuto,theyprintedthebookout,theyputthebookoutonthedesk,theytheystructuredthedeal.
Iknewhowtostructureadeal.
Youputthebookoutin.
Iknewwhatbanksjustfromwatching,okay,goodcreditgoeshere,badcreditgoestothesedeals,youknow,LincolnAutomotiveFinancialServicesifwe'regettingasubventedrate.
LikeIjustkindofwatchedallthat.
SowhenmyGMquit,um,itwasn'tlike,ohmyGod,theskyisfalling.
AndIhadwatchedsomeappraisedtrades.
IhadliterallylikewhentheyputthecarinVauto,likewhatpercenttomarket?
AndImadesomebigmistakestoo,appraisedtrade,likesomebig,bigmistakes.
Uhyeah.
Anduh,butIhadaconceptofit.
So,youknow,andIlearnedthroughtrialanderror,andyouknow,Mr.
BeyondiwouldbethefirstsavorforeverymistakeRussmade,hedidhadahomerundeal,likeahomerun.
Yeah.
Soitwaslikekindoflenientinininthatrespectthatyouit'snotlikeitwasjustmistakeaftermistakewithoutmakingupforitinsomeotherway.
Yeah,Imean,therewastimesIputwaytoomuchmoneyonatradejustbecauseinandthere'sguysthathavebeeninthebusinessfor30yearsthatdothat.
There'stimesIwould,youknow,stealatrade,youknow,juststraightup,youknow,andalotofitwasn'tlikemaliciousintentonmypart.
IalwaysputwhatIthoughtwasfairmoney,butIthinkitwaslikethisBMW.
AndIIIgotitforlike10grandlessthanlikerealtradingvalueshouldhavebeen.
AndIwaslike,Ohwow,Ididn'tmeantodothat.
IjustIwasjustalittlenervous.
Itwasanexpensivecar.
IfiguredIMr.
Bionnialwayssaid,youcanalwaysgivethemmore,youcan'tgivethemless.
SoIwaslike,letmejuststarthere,seewherewecango.
IIIhadacallouttoourwholesaler.
Hehadn'tansweredme.
Andifyouknowme,though,youknow,I'mlikeanow,now,nowguy,soI'mnotgonnawait40minutesforawholesalertocallmebackandjustsitthereandputzaroundthecustomer.
SoItooktheinitiativeandthrewanumberonacar.
Ihadnobusinessputtinganumberon,andyouknow,workout.
Endedupworkingout.
Okay.
Andthenthewholesalercalledmewithhisnumber,andI'mlike,uh,yeah,thisisprobablygoingstraighttoyou.
SowhendidyouwhendidyougetconnectedwithJohnandFreddieMedia?
Whendidthathappen?
Likeitwasitbecausethesocialmediastarstartedrising,youknow,kindofwhatwasthethestorythere?
Becauseyouwereinatthegroundfloor.
Yeah,andthisisaanextremelyuhinteresting.
Conversation.
I'mgladyoubroughtthatupactually.
Andwhat'suhwhat'ssofunnyisIhadbeenwatchingcardealershipguy.
Nobodyknowswhoheis.
IseehimonX,youknow,Twitteratthetime.
AndIrememberIstartedseeinghimdolikesomesponsoredposts,andtheywerelike,IthinkXisstillkindofthewildwestwithsponsoredposts.
Youdon'thavetolikediscloseituhlikeyoudonowonInstagramandTikTok.
AndI'mjustlike,thesecompaniesarepayingthisguy.
Andwithallduerespecttocardealershipguy,meandyouhaveprobablybothpromotedacompanythatisn'tnecessarilythebestofthebest.
Ithinkwebothhaveintegrityandhonorandwanttopromotereallygoodcompanies.
Yeah,butI'mlikeseeingthempromotethislikenewAIcompany,andI'mlike,yeah,there'sbetteroutthere.
Like,buttheyprobablypaidhimalotofmoneytotalkaboutthem.
AndI'mthinking,like,dude,Igotmorefollowersthanthisguy.
Hemighthavemoreindustryclout,butyouknow,IthinkXhehad400,000,buthisotherplatforms,hewaslikereallyjusttakingoff.
Yeah.
AndI'mlike,dude,Igotlike500onTikTok,200onInstagram,50onFacebook,YouTube.
Igotlike50.
Isaid,I'mIthinkI'mbiggerthanthisguy,honestly.
Andthatwasnotcocky.
I'mjustlike,butIain'tmakingnomoney.
He'smakingmoney,heknowssomethingIdon'tknow.
AndI'mDMinghimonTwitterforlikethreemonths.
Noanswer.
AndI'mlike,dude,I'mgonnaDMhisInstagram.
Hehaslike100followersonInstagram.
Ibetheanswers.
IDMhimonInstagram,I'mlike,hey,what'sgoingon,man?
Idolikethecompleteoppositeofyou.
Youdowritten,Ido,andthisislikepre-podcastoranything.
Thisisjusthimdoinghiswrittenstuff.
I'mlike,Idoshortformvideo.
Idon'tknowhowmanycarsalespeoplefollowme,butI'msurethenumber'sbig.
Ihavealotofpeopleintheindustrythatarefollowingme.
IthinkIcoulddobranddealslikeyou.
Andwhathappenedwas,youknow,wegetonacallanditwasfunnybecausehehadnotgonepublic.
SoI'mliterallyFaceTimingthisguy,andI'mlike,20minutesintheconversation,I'mlike,holdon,wait,areyouacardealershipguy?
Andhewaslike,Ohyeah,Ishouldhaveledwiththat.
Likehedidn'tleadwiththat.
Hejustlike,Ithoughtitwaslikeanassistantorsomething.
Yeah.
Soweuhwecomeupwithadeal.
Igetbroughtonasacardealershipguycreator,andwhathappened,howthisallcomesfullcircle,itwasbasically,allright,meetJohn.
He'sgonnahesellsforyounow.
AndIreally,youknow,didn'tspendtoomuchtimetalkingtoYossi.
Itwaslike,oh,I'mtalkingtoJohneveryday.
AndJohn,asyouknow,islikeamillionideas.
He'slike,wecanworkwiththiscompany,wecandothis,wecanandwherethecodereallycrackediswhereIdidaUVIdeal.
Andit'ssofunny.
HaveyoudoneUVI?
Yeah,andIreallylikethatcompany,bytheway.
Ithinkthatthat'sacoolproduct.
Yeah,they'regreat,superawesomeproduct.
Anduh,Yaron,haveyoumetYaron?
Idon'tthinkI'vemethim,no.
That'stheirCMO.
Ibelievethat'shisjobtitle.
Yeah,ImeethimatadealershipthathastheUVImachine,andIhavethisreallygoodconceptforavideo,andmeandhimarelikearguingaboutit.
AndI'mstrong-minded,dude.
AndIwaslike,dude,youpaidme.
We'redoingthismyway.
Iliterallystraightupsaidthattohim.
Andhe'slike,andIdon'twanttolikeoffendhimbysayingthis,buthe'slike,allright,thrice,we'lldoittheotherway.
We'llsee.
Don'tletmedie.
AndIdothisvideo,dude.
Blowsup,probablydidlike10millionviewsacrossallplatforms.
IthinkIrememberthat.
Yeah,itwasreally,itwasreallygood.
AndIknowtheygotabunchofleads.
Andatthetime,cardealershipguyandJohnwerethinkingofmeaslikeprobablymoreaconsumer-facingguy,likewasgonnadrivetraffictocars.com.
Theydidn'tthinkuhadealerprincipalwasgonnaliketakemywordaboutUVIandreachout.
Andthat'sexactlywhathappened,andthat'swhereitlikereallyblewup.
Thatthatfirstinitialcasestudywaslike,oh,therearedealerprinciples,andI'mnotgonnanameanynames,butguyswhoown80storegroupsthatdowhatwatchRuss'scontent.
Apparently,theseguysliketobe,youknow,watchingshortformcontentandjustaren'treadingnewslettersandTwitterallday.
Andwhathadhappenediswestartedtolikereallyumrolloutthetrainingatthispoint,too,becausewejustlikegotinterestforthat.
Um,wedidtheRomanToyotatraining,andthisisstillunderthecardealershipguyumbrella,andmeandJohnjusthadaslightlydifferentdirectiononhowbigitcouldhavebeen,yeah,versusyouknowwhatYossihadthoughtatthetime.
Andofcourse,Yossi'sblowingup,youknow,we'rekindofbothblowingupatthesametime,andthere'sonlysomanyresourcesyoucanuhumdelegateandallocate,andwedecidedtokindofpartwaysandspinupFreddyMedia,andwedidthatprobablylikeayearagotoday,likeliterallylikealmostayearago.
Yeah,yeah,it'sumit'sjustwild.
II'msureitdidn'ttakelongafterthatUVIpostforthelightbulbbulbtogooffoverJohn'shead,wherehe'slike,Oh,there'sthere'ssomethinghere,andyeah,youyouwere100%rightplace,righttime,butalsoyouearnedthatrightbybyreachingoutincessantlytoYossiandbeingsmartenoughtothink,okay,letmepivotfromthisoneplatformandtrytohithimonanother.
BecauseI'mI'mthisismyI'mlikethisaswell.
Like,there'scertainplatformswhereit'seasierformetofollowalongwiththeDMsthanothers,andright,becauseit'slikeyoudon't,it'snotveryeasytohavelikefiveplatformswhereyou'retryingtocheckmessagesallday.
AndIknowthatthere'ssomethatkindofpullthemallintooneplace,buttheycan'tdoitthemall.
Butanyway,thatwasuhthatwasasmartmove.
Andlookatwhatit'sdoneforyou.
It'sreallypaidoff,andnowFreddyMediahasreallygrownintosomethingveryamazingthatI'mapartof,whichI'mthrilled.
Soit'sbeengreat.
Andonthatpoint,ifyou'relisteningtothispodcast,youwanttogetaholdofme,justemailme.
Don'tDMme.
Iactuallyanswermyemails.
It'slikeit'slikemysacredgroundoflikethingsIactuallylikegothrougheveryemaileveryday,andItrytokeepmyoneinboxlikesuperclean.
Yeah.
Imean,look,youkindofhavetopickasingularfocus,oryou'vegottohavemultipleassistantscheckingmultipleplacesandthensummarizingitforyou.
Imean,it'sjustit'stoomuch.
Itellpeoplethatallthetime,andIfeelterriblethattheyDMmeandIdon'tseeitforlikethreedaysbecauseIjustcan't,there'snotenoughhoursinthedayformetobedoingallofthosethings.
Sowejustbroughtonaguythat'sansweringmyDMs,andI'mandthiswasahuge,huge,hugedealformebecauseI'vealwaysansweredmyDMs,andI'mlike,dude,Idon'twantsomeoneelselikeandhe'sdoingareallygoodjob,butlikehe'stryingsohardtonottellpeoplethepricingoflikewhatwedoinmytraining.
AndI'vehadtohopintolikefiveconversationswithlikeGMsorsalespeople.
Like,okay,they'rethefirstask,youcankindoflike,hey,itdependsonafewthings,butlikesometimespeoplearelike,justtellmetheprice.
AndIkeeptellingthiskid,like,bro,justIdon'tcare,justtellthemtheprice.
Well,yeah,nothingtohide.
ThisisliketheexactsamethingIhatedaboutthecarsalesindustry.
Youknow,yougotyouhavetocommittoa45-minutemeetingwithRuss'sbusinesspartnersifyouwanttoknowtheprice.
Like,no,youdon't.
No,youdon'there'swhatwecharge.
AndI'veI'vehadtohopinacoupleDMsandlikesendavoicenote,like,hey,thisisRuss.
Youweretalkingtooneoftheguysonmyteam.
He'she'salittlenew.
Here,here'stheexactpricingonwhatwedo.
Ifyouwanttosetupameeting,andeverytimeI'vehoppedin,peoplearelike,Oh,yeah,that'sgreat.
Yeah.
AndI'mlike,doyouhaveyourpricingonyourwebsite?
Um,wedonothavethepricingonthewebsite.
Ihavenoproblemsayingmypricing.
Wechargeathousandtofivethousanddollarsforanindividualforlifetimeaccesstoouronlinetrainingmodules,ourweeklyeventsinmyprivateDiscord,andwechargedealershipsanywherefrom$8,000to$30,000fortotrainwithmeonlineorinperson.
And,youknow,itdoesvary.
Thereare,youknow,I'vehadsomepeoplethatwanttodoin-persontrainingwithme,whichisreallyexpensive.
AndI'mlike,look,look,look,look,look,look,look.
Youhavenobodycurrentlydoingthis.
Yeah.
Like,let'sstartonline,seeifwecanmovetheneedle.
Iliketogoinpersonwherethere'slikealikehalftheteam'sdoingit,theysuck.
Halftheteamwantstodoit,doesn'tknowwheretostart.
Like,that'swhereIcangoinorbymagic.
Butifyouhaveagroupofguysthatdon'twanttodoit,whywouldpayingmetocomein?
Imean,itmighthelpafew,butlikeyouprobablyhaveamoreinternalcultureproblemthatIcan'tfixinacoupledays.
Yeah.
Andlook,that'sactuallyprettynobleofyoutodothatbecauseI'venoticedinmycomingupon16yearsinthebusinessthatdealerscanoftenjumpattheopportunitytospendalotofmoneyonwhattheythinkisgonnabelikethethebesttrainingintheworldthat'sgonnachangeeverything.
Andit'slikeifthere'snotbuy-infromtheteam,thenyoujustspendalotofmoneyformaybeadayortwothat'sgonnalikegeteveryonepumpedupandthennothing'sgonnahappen.
Right?
Yeah,you'vegottohavethatbuy-infirstbeforeit'sworthmakingtheinvestment.
Soforyoutosay,hey,let'spumpthebrakeshereandstartonlinebeforewemakethisbiglikethattomeisactuallyoneofthebestsellingtechniquesintheworldbecauseyou'reyou'rekindoftellingsomebodytoslowdownbeforeyoujusttakeabunchofmoneyfromthem.
Andthere'sthere'stwoanglesinwhichI'veactuallytolddealersnottodomyin-persontraining.
Andandandoneofthemiscompletelyselfish.
AndItellthem,IhavelikeahundredpercenttrackrecordofwhenIshowupinperson,it'sextremelysuccessful.
Andthat'sbecauseone,Ikindofvetthedealeralittlebit,andtwo,Ihavetomakeitwork.
Igothere,Ipromotethematyourstore,Imakeabigdealaboutit.
That'spublicinformation.
Andthatpeoplecangobackandbelike,hey,RusswasatSethWadleyFordofPerrysixmonthsago,andIfollowedalloftheiraccountsandIjustcheckedback,andit'sbeensixmonths,andnobody'sdoingit.
Theyfelloff.
Wherego,ifyouwanttogodowntherabbithole,checkanydealerI'veevertrained,anydealerI'veeverpromoted,andIstayontopofthem.
There'sabigcommitmentonmyend.
SethWadleyFordofPerry,gochecktheiraccounts.
Igotaguythat's50someyearsold,hegotalmost5,000followersonTikTokoverthelastcouplemonths.
TheownerofthestoreisdoingamazingbecauseIstayonthembecauseI'mputtingmystamp.
OrifIwasasalestrainer,youknow,andIwalkedinthereanddidmymagicandyoucutmeacheckandIleave,likethat'snotpublicinformation.
Theowner'snoteverydaypostinghisstatement,youknow.
Dayone,sinceRusstrainedushowtoclose.
Here'shere'sourgrosses.
Like,sothereisselfishly,youknow,Igottoholdmyselfaccountable.
Andtwo,Ijustgenuinelywanttoseedealershavegoodresults.
AndIcankindofsensewhenit'slikeanownercorporateinitiativeorlike,dude,theteamlovesyou.
They'resoboughtin,theyjustneeddirection.
AndIcantellwhatthere'slikethatdifference.
Yeah.
SoIwanttokeepmovingtheyourkindoftimelineforwardhere,andthenwe'llcomebacktosortofjustsomegeneralautomotivestuffuhtowardstheend.
Butatacertainpoint,yourealizedit'snottenablereallyformetostayinthedealershipsellingcarsandkindofdoingthesebranddeals,orI,youknow,IhavethisbusinessthatIwanttostart.
Atwhatpointdidyoudecideit'stimetoleavethedealership?
Andwhythen?
Soyouknowwhat,youknowwhat'sfunny?
Therewasum,Idon'tmindtalkingaboutmoney.
Ithinkit'sactuallyhealthytoinspirepeople.
Therewasmultiplemonthstowardstheendof2024betweenmysocialmediaandmycarsales,Iwasalmostcracking100grand.
Andit'sfunny,ifyougotomywebsite,Ijustput45grandonthere.
Andmymyguywho'smybusinesspartnerandkindofhelpsmehavealotofbehind-the-scenesstuff,waslike,dude,whydon'tweputtherealnumber?
Igo,it'snotevenbelievable.
It'slikeliterallynotevenbelievable.
45grandislikeanumberpeoplecanwraptheirheadaround.
Istartsaying,hey,Imade$98,000onemonthselling.
Noone'sgonnawraptheirheadaroundthat.
Like,let'sjustuseamorerealistic,attainablenumber.
SoI'mmakingstupidmoneysellingcars.
Youknow,you'reselling30pluscarsatafamily-ownedLincolnstoreonaprettydecentpayplanthatuhthatIhadconstructed.
Um,Lincolnhadanincredibleperformancebonusthatuhtieredupprettyhighforsalespeoplebecausethey'relike,dude,youfigureoutawaytosell45newLincolnsinaquarter,wewillpayyou.
Andyouknow,soI'mhittingallthesebonuses.
Thispayplan'sincredible.
Anditwas,youknow,sowedoRomanToyotatraining.
That'suhAugustorJulyof2024.
Wegetsomeinterest,youknow,dealerplateguy,Zach,theiraccountsstarttoblowup.
Proofofconceptworked.
Yeah,John'southeresellingaway.
LikeI'mthe,youknow,I'mliterallythenextbigthing.
AndI'mlike,dude,IgotI'mIworkatadealershipjob.
LikeIhaveafull-timejob,andtheBeyondies,I'mnotgonnasaylikeIoweittothem,buttheyhavebeensogoodtome.
Like,Ican'tjusttakethreeweeksoffamonth.
Sowe'redoinglikeoneamonth,youknow.
SoIdidoneinlikeNovember,December,January.
I'mdoinglikeoneamonth,andthey'reallgoingreallygood.
AndJohn'slike,dude,John'slikebeggingmetoquitmyjob.
He'slike,dude,IcanIcangetyouoneeveryweek.
Icangetyouoneeveryweek.
AndI'mjustsoscared.
Iwasjustsoscaredtoquitmyjob.
I'mlike,isthisreallyabusiness?
Arepeoplereallygonnapaymetotraintheirsalespeopletodosocialmedia?
AnditwasMarchof2025,andanAustraliadealershipmadeaverylucrative,largeoffertocometrainforyouknowacoupleweeks.
Anditwaslike,ohmygoodness.
Uhone,I'lljusthavetoquitmyjob.
Um,two,that'sathat'sthat'sthatmanynumbersonthat.
Okay,let'suhlet'sdothis.
AndIrememberwalkingin,IIdidn'tcry.
I'mnotacrier,andIdon'tsaythataslikeahumbleflex.
Ijustdon'tcry,andIdon'tthinkthat'sifyoudocry,it'sokay.
Um,butIrememberwalkingin,tellingMr.
Beyondi,showedhimtheemailthread.
Isaid,dude,IIgottagodothis,andifIcangetthis,IknowIcangetitagainandagainandagainandagain.
AndIsaid,IIdon'tknowwhatelsetosay.
IhateIdon'tevenwanttousethewordsI'mquitting.
Ijustthissidehustlehasexploded.
Yeah,andthatwasinMarchof25.
AndheIrememberhim,thisiswhyMr.
Beyondiistheworld'sgreatestman.
Hegoes,Russ,hegoes,I'mgonnamissyou.
Hegoes,youshouldanditwasn'tlikeafireonhedidn'tlikelikesomepeopletellyoutoleaveonlikebadterms.
He'slike,notonlyshouldyouquit,hegoes,youneedtogohomerightnowandworkonthis.
Thisismassive.
Hegoes,pleasedon'tcomeintomorrow.
Pleasegohomeandbuildthistobeasbigaspossible.
AndIliterallywalkedoutofthebuildingrightthere.
Iwasreallyupset.
Um,butyouknow,atthesametime,upsetongoodterms.
Yeah.
AnduhIcan'tthinkofanotherownerwhowouldliterallylikenotbelike,allright,Russell,canIgetcanIgettherestof,youknow,andIwasfullypreparedtoworkforanothermonth.
LikeIwasgivinghimlikeamonthheadsup,andhewaslike,dude,he'slike,thisishuge.
He'slike,goodonyou,andgoworkonitrightnow.
Thisislikethisseemslikeahugepriority.
He'slike,andIwantyoutohavedealslinedupwhenyougetback.
He'slike,putmedownasareference,referral,becauseMr.
Beyondy'ssocialmedia,whichwekindofoverlapped,didn'treallytalkabouthissocialmediawasblowingupatthetime.
He'slike,I'lltellanybodyandeverybodywhatyouhavedoneforthisstoreandhavedoneformeandmysocialmedia.
Andhehe'sbeenagoodreference,he'sclosedacoupledealsforme.
Yeah,that'samazing.
Andyeah,that'sumthat'sprobablyprettyuncommoninthisindustry.
Ithinkthatuhalotofdealerships,andII'mgeneralizingheretoadegree,butIthinkit'sfairtosaythatinmostplaces,ifyouhavesomebodywho'sperformingatthelevelthatyouwere,notjusttheleadsaspectandtheawarenessaspect,butjustclosingdealsaspect,peoplegetalittlebitbitterwhenthatpersonwantstoleave,whateverthereasonis.
Andforhimtohandleitthatway,Imean,howcanhenotlovetheguy?
Imean,ifyouwatch,ifyou'veeverseenoneofhisvideosonsocialmedia,youcantellexactlywhoheis,butthat'samazingthathehandleditthatway.
Yeah,anditwastoughbecauselikefromthedaytheGMquit,Idon'tIcan'tthinkofabetterterm.
AndIdon'tIdon'tsaythislikeIjustlikeIwasalmostlikeashadowGM,youknow,becausehewejusteverydayhewouldsitinmyofficeandwewouldjustbounceideasandhewouldtakewhatlikeIwaslike,hey,weshouldtake.
IrememberIsaid,Hey,weshouldtakerealpicturesofourinventory.
We'reusingfakepictures.
Ithinkitwouldhelpusstandout.
Boom.
Hedoesit.
I'mlike,hey,Ithinkthisvendormighthelpus.
Boom,wedidit.
HeyRuss,we'rehavingourmarketingmeeting.
Iwantyouinthemeeting.
I,youknow,sotherewasjustlikeIhadforaboutayearandahalforwhateverthetimelinewas,spentalotoftimebuilding,youknow,thenextprocess.
OurGSM,who'sstillthere,wasmyidea.
Umhewasacustomerofourswhoworkedinhospitality,whowasobsessedwithLincoln,obsessed.
I'mlike,thisguyhasit.
Hedoesn'tknowhowtostructureadeal,hedoesn'tknowhowtopraiseatrade,butheisit.
Andhe'sstillthereandhe'sdoinganexcellentjob.
Andyouknow,Iwaswewerereallybuildingthestore,buthindsight2020,youknow,leavingwasn'tagooddecisionforformyfutureandmyfamilyfinanciallyforsure.
Good.
I'mgladI'mgladthatitworkedoutforyou.
Um,Iwanttotalkalittlebitaboutthis,itissortofnotsocialmediarelatedsomuchasitis.
Nowthatyou'reoutintheworldandyou'retrainingallofthesedealershipsandyou'reuhyou'reyou'reyou'rekindofontheothersidenowofthisbusiness,whereit'snotyou'renotinastorewhereyou'reisolated.
Youonlyknewandyouonlyeverworkedatonestore,isn'tthatright?
Yeah.
IworkedatuhBeyonneLincolnfrom15yearsoldasalotattendantumallthewayuptoyouknow20,26yearsold.
Yeah.
Soyouonlyknewitoneway,andyouit'sclearthatyouworkedinareally,reallygreatplace.
Whataresomeofthemaybeperceptionsthatyouhadoftheindustrythathavenowchanged?
Thatyou'regoingtoallkindsofdifferentdealersandseeingthewaytheydothings,learningabouttheirprocess.
Sowhataresomeperceptionsthatyouhadthathavenowchanged?
Andwhataresomethingsthatyouseetheaveragesalespersonjustmissingcompletely?
Andwhy,youknow,thisreallycomesbacktotheindustryaveragebeingeighttotencars,kindofwhereveryouare,andthemajorityofcarsalespeoplejustcannotseemtopushpastthatnumber.
Whydoyouthinkthatisnowthatyou'reoutinthewild?
Yeah,anditreallyboilsdowntoyouknow,alotofit,someofitisonleadership.
Ithink,youknow,atBeyondiLincoln,frommyoneexperience,wejustcaredsomuchaboutthecustomerandtheexperience.
AndthatisduetoMr.
Beyondi,LouisBeyondibeingsoinvolvedandwoulddoridiculousthingstosatisfycustomers,likeunbelievablethings.
Andthat'swhyIthinkhissocialmediadoessowell.
Likeit'salltrue,it'sallit'salltruethings.
AndIIfoundthatyouknow,IhavebeentosomedealersthatblowBeyondyLincolnoutofthewater,andthat'snodisrespecttoBeyondyLincoln.
There'salwaysgonnabeguysthatarebetter,andIthinkLewiswouldadmitthathimself.
He'sstrivingtobebetterhimself.
I'vebeentodealershipsthatcare10timesmore,havedailymeetingswiththesalesteam,andthey'regoodmeetings,they'renotliketerrible,annoying,they'relike20minute,herewego,here'swhatwe'regonnado.
I'vealsobeentosomedealershipsthathavepaidmetocometrainthatIfindthatlikeleadershipdoesn'tcare,they'rejustoncruisecontrol,andthatmakesyourteamnotcare.
Imean,look,you'renotgonnawineverybodyover.
Youknow,Ithinkumofoursalesteam,youknow,wewereanywherefrom15to8peopleatatimethroughmycareerthere.
Weusuallyhadacoregroupoffivetosixpeoplethatcaredalot.
Noteveryonewasthebestsalesperson,butwealllikebecauseMr.
Beyondticared,weknewwhathewoulddo,wecaredalot.
AndwhenI'vebeentosomestoreswherelikethetheownerortheGMjustlikeit'sjustkindoflikeadud.
Likethere'salotofdudsoutthere,bro.
Like,justdoesn'tcare.
Andandthatreflectsontheteam.
Now,withthatbeingsaid,tosalespeople,don'tusethatasanexcuse.
Oh,mymanagerdoesn'tcare,Idon'thavetocare.
Like,youcanI'veI'vehadmanagersIworkedwithatBeyondyLincolnthatdidn'tcare.
Ididn'tletthatruboffonme.
Ialwayscared.
Ialwayscared.
Ialwaystookitsoseriously,andIthinksometimescarsalespeopleforgetthatthecustomer,whetherthey'rebuyinga$10,000,$20,000,$100,000,$200,000car,that'snotnormalfor99%ofpeople.
Somebody'sbuyinga$10,000car,it'sprobablyabigdealforthem.
Somebody'sbuyinga$200,000car,andyouprobablyseepeoplewhodoiteveryyear,butformostpeople,itisabigdeal.
AndIalwaystrymybesttomakesurethatthecustomerknewIunderstooditwasabigdealtothemaswell.
Andjustprovidingareallygood,thorough,open,andhonest,youknow,experience.
Andmostcarsalespeoplejustaren'tstrivingtogetbetter.
Well,mymanagerdoesn'ttrainme.
Wehavenotraffic.
Thisisabadmonth.
I'llgetitnextmonth.
Andit'slikeyouhave200carsonyourlock,100cars,50cars,500carsonyourlock.
Youhaveaphone,youhaveaCRM,youhavetheabilitytogetthesecarsmoved.
Youcanmakeithappen.
Youjust,youjustcan.
PutmeinanydealershipinAmerica.
I'mnotgonnasayI'mgonnalightitup,butI'llfigureoutawayovertimetogetitdone.
I'mnotthese,someofthesesalestrainerssay,oh,putmeintherefirstmonth,I'llbetopsalesguy.
Idon'tsaythat.
Givemeayear,though,andI'mgonnahaveareallygoodprocessinacorecustomerbase,andI'mgonnahaveitfiguredout.
Becausethisisalong-termgame.
Anysalesguy,it'slike,oh,putmeinthere,I'llbeasalesguy,bestsalesguy.
Maybeyouwillbe.
Andthat'snotme.
That'sI'llneversay,oh,Imean,Imight,I'maprettygoodsalesguy,butifyouhaveaccesstothisinventoryandyouhaveaphonetocallpeopleandaphonetomakecontent,recordyourself,andtheabilitytogooutandshakehandsandmeetpeople,youcangetitdone.
Andquitblamingtheweather,theeconomy,yourmanagement,thepricing,theincentives,andjustgetitdone.
No,Ilovethat.
It'ssimple.
AndwhatIseealotofindustry-wideissalespeoplejustkindofwaitingaroundforsomethingtohappen.
Andtheproblemwiththattomeisthatyou'reputtingyourfateintothehandsoftheuniverseandjustwhateverit'sgoingtobringyouthatday,right?
Ifthethephonerings,maybeyouyouansweritfirst,yougetaninternetlead,maybeit'sgood,maybeit'snot.
Butareyoureallydoinganythingtocontrolyourowndestiny?
Whichthebeautyofcarsales,andyou'veproventhis,I'vedefinitelyI'veproventhistomyself,isthatyoucanyoucangetasmuchasyouwantandyoucancreateasmuchactivityasyouwant,butitdoesrequireyoudoingsomething.
Youcan'tjustsitaroundandright.
Imean,it'slikeIfeellikesomepeoplearetryingtobeBecomethebestsalespersonintheworld,butonlywhensomethingcomestothemorfallsintheirlap,right?
It'slike,no,yougottagofindpeopletotalkto.
AndIdon'tseealotofthat.
There'sthe,IthinkJonathanDawson,herunsareallygoodsalestradingcompany,hadusedthisanalogy,whichIlove.
There'sreallytwotypesofsalespeople.
There'sumthere'shuntersandthere'sfarmers.
Hunterswakeup,don'tknowwhatthey'regonnaeat,hopeadeerisgonnawalkby,hopethey'regonnamaketheshot,andwhentheydo,theylovetobragaboutit.
Ohman,Ijustclosedthisguy.
Hewasafreshwalkin.
Hunters,though,don'tknowwhatthey'regonnadothenextday.
Farmersare,youknow,farmingandthey'regonnayieldahugeharvest.
AndwhenyoulookattheguysthatpeopleonthislivestreamandI'mwatchingthispodcastdon'tevenbelievetheycan'tevenwraptheirheadaroundit.
ThetheFrankKranitis,theOliRita,'stheCodyCarterswhoaresellingoverahundredcarsamonth,nofleet,legit,straightupdoingit,arefarmers.
They'rethey'recontinuouslygrowingacommunityaroundthem,continuouslyadvertisingandmarketingthemselves.
Andsocialmediaiswhatyou'vedone,Doug.
Yourfirstvideoprobablydidn'thavethedoorsgettingbeatdown,butjustthatconsistenteffortoffarmingacommunity,plantingthoseseeds,becausepeoplewhoseeyourvideostodaymightbebuyersinayear.
Buttheymightbelike,Oh,Ilikethisguy.
Thisguy'sthisguy'smyvibe.
I'llI'llbuyacarfromthisguy,butiftheydon'tconsistentlyseeyou,well,iftheyseeyoutodayandyou'renotpostingayearfromnow,they'llprobablyforgetaboutyou.
Yeah,no,100%.
It'sadvertising101.
It'sallaboutthemessageishugelyimportant,butthefrequencyisalsoveryimportant.
Yes.
Andweletwehaveathere'sauhpersonalinjurylawyerinuhhereinCleveland,andpersonalinjurylawyersareveryfamousforthis,right?
Theyreallytheylovetheirbillboards,right?
Butthegoodones,man,dotheyhavealotofbillboards?
Andsomeofthem,youmightnotevenbeanativetoacertainarea,butifyou'rethereforacoupledays,you'relike,IIfeellikeIknowthisguyalready,becauseeverywhereIgo,Iseehisface.
Andthey'refollowingme.
Right,exactly.
Andit'slikethat'sthat'swhatittakesincarsalesaswell,becausetimingiseverythinginlife,butcertainlyinthisbusiness.
Imean,I'vehadpeoplethatarethey'reahardnotoday,andnextweekthey'rereadytogo.
Andthat'sjustthat'swhathappensincarsales.
Andifyou'rereallysmart,I'llgiveyouaprostrategytipifyou'relistening.
Thisreallyhelpedmesomuch.
IwouldjustaskcustomersthathadnoclueIwasonsocialmediathatjustwalkedinorreferral,hey,followmeonsocial.
AndI'llneverforgettwospecifictimesthishappened.
Oneguyjustwalkedin,reallylikedme,justcouldn'tputadealtogether.
Iwaslike,heyman,pulloutyourphone.
Whatdoyouuse?
Facebook,Instagram,YouTube,TikTok.
IuseInstagram,followme,RustFlips.
He'slike,man,you'relikefamous.
Thisiscool.
Well,likeaweeklater,Ipromotedlikeanewleaseincentive.
Hecalledme,boughtacar.
Boom.
Okay.
Yeah.
Thatwasawesome.
AndIdidn'thavetocallhim.
Hecalledme.
Secondly,Ihadacustomer,actually,notevenacustomer.
Hedidn'tbuyacarforme.
Didn'tbuyacarforme,wantedanavigator.
Hereallylikedthenavigator.
Hiswife,shewasanescaladegirly.
Hebroughtherin.
Wetriedtomakeitwork.
Wedideverythingthat,youknow,smoothhertothenavigator.
Yeah.
Anditdidn'twork.
Hecalledmeandwaslike,Russ,Iloveyou.
You'resogood.
Like,thanksfortryingtomakethatwork.
It'sjustnotgonnawork.
She'swe'regonnagogetanescalade.
AnythingIcandoforyou.
Isaid,Yeah,youcanfollowmeonsocialmedia.
Whatdoyouuse?
Facebook,Instagram,YouTube,TikTok.
He'slike,I'monFacebook,followmeonFacebook,Russflipswhips,andsendmeasmuchbusinessashumanlypossible.
AndnowI'mfollowingupwiththatguyeverysingledaybecausehe'sseeingme.
Hecan'tforgetaboutme.
AndhesentmemorereferralsthananyothercustomerI'veeverhad.
Itseemedlike,andIdon'thavetheexactnumbers,butitwaslikeonceamonth,onceeveryothermonth,thisdudewasputtingmeinagroupchatbecauseheownedabusiness,wasatthecountryclub,knewalotofpeople,bigfamily,andhewasjustlikealways,dude,I'lltake12referralsoveryoubuyingonecar.
Yeah.
No,that'samazing.
AndIlikethatyousaidthataboutthatyou'refollowingupthemeverydaybecauseIheardyousaythatearlyon.
Itmighthavebeenonthecardealershipguypodcast.
IIcan'tbecertain,butitwasoneofthethingsthatreallyresonatedwithmebecauseIwilladmit,likemanysalespeople,Icouldgeteasilyexhaustedwithjustdialing,dialing,dialingandcallingpeopleandgettingtheirvoicemails,andit'slikenobodyseemedtoeverwanttoanswerthephone.
AndthatcanthatIthinkdeflatesalotofcarpeople.
Buttheconceptofnow,hey,Imakeavideo,I'mfollowingupwiththousandsofpeopleeveryday.
AndImightnotbetalkingtothempersonally,butthey'reseeingme,hearingme,hopefullylearningsomething,andtheyfeellikewe'vejusthadaconversation.
Sobytheway,andyou'refollowingupwiththemontheirschedule.
Theymightwatchyourvideoatmidnight,theymightwatchitontheirlunchbreak.
Ifyoucallthem,well,youbetterhopethey'reavailableandhavetimetotalk.
Exactly.
AndIthinktomypointearlierabouttimingbeingeverything,andanotodaycouldbeayesnextweek.
Ifyoucallsomebody,likethisistheanalogyIuseallthetime.
Ifsomebodycallsmerightnow,I'mnotavailablebecauseI'mdoingthispodcastwithyou.
Yeah,ifthat'syouroneattempttogetintouchwithme,probablynotgonnahappen,right?
Probablywe'reprobablynotgonnaconnect.
So,andthat'swhathappens.
Salespeoplearelike,oh,Icalledthem,leftamessage,we'llsee,andthenontothenext,right?
Theycompletelyforget.
Doingthis,it'slikenoweveryday,there'sachancethatthesamepeopleareseeingavideoeverydayoverandover.
Andthenbythetimetheymeetyouinpersonorcallyoutodobusiness,they'relike,IfeellikeI'veknownyouallmylife.
That'sit.
There'sthisinterestingstrategythatastudentofminecameupwith.
UhTravisHooverataHyundaistore.
I'llbehonest,Iforgettheexactlocation.
Hegoes,Russ,hegoes,Ilove,Ilovethevideos,thecustomers'ideas.
WeloveTikTokbecausethisideawe'vedoneoverthelastmonthisliterallygoingcrazy,andwe'resellingabunchofcarsfromit.
Insteadofsendingthemaspecificone-on-onevideo,um,whichyouwhichyoushoulddo,andIthinkthat'sagreatstrategy.
Hegoes,Sometimesthesepeoplearen'tansweringus.
We'remakingaTikTokvideoaboutthecarthey'reinterestedin.
We'renotnecessarilymakingitspecificallyforthem,butthenwe'resendingittothem,andthentheycanseeitonTikTokorInstagramorwherever.
AndI'mlike,dude,that'skindoflikeprettysmart,liketwobirds,onestone.
Likeyou'regettingasocialmediapostoutfortheday,andyou're,youknow,you'retryingtogetacustomerthathadshowninteresttore-engage.
And,youknow,ifyou'repostingavideosocialmedia,youmightgetmorecustomersfromit.
Yeah,no,thatisthatisverysmart.
It'ssortoflikeaverytargetedvideoforthatwasrelevanttothatparticularperson.
Butyes,anyothersalespeoplethatarelisteninghere,ifyou'renotwillingto,orifyou'renotreadytoatleastgetonsocialmediajustyet,youshouldattheveryleastbedoingthosepersonalizedvideos.
Becausepeopletoday,theyjustvideoistheplatoristhethewaythattheywanttoreceiveinformation.
Imean,it'slike,yeah,there'sstillsomereadersoutthere,butI'mIknowyouknowthis.
Like,IhavemetsomepeoplethatneverinmywildestimaginationwouldIthinkthattheywatchmyvideos,right?
Someincrediblyimportantpeople,someextremelysuccessfulpeople.
Everyoneintheworld,nomatterhowrichorpoor,successful,notsuccessful,theyweallconsumesomelevelofvideomedia.
Andpeoplewouldoftentimesratherwatchavideothanreadanemail.
Certainlylistentoavoicemail.
Ican'treallyrememberthelasttimeIreadanythingmorethananAIsummaryofavoicemailIreceived.
IIcertainlydidn'tlistentoit.
Andumsoyouabsolutelyhavetobemakingvideosattheveryleast.
Youknow,it'slikethere'stwopointsIwanttotouchonthatyoujustmentioned.
Ifyou'refightingsendingvideostocustomers,you'refallingbehindthetimes,bro.
You'regettingleftbehind.
Andyousoundexactlylike,andIInevermettheseguys,IcanonlytalkaboutwhatI'veheardthroughthegrapevine.
Yousoundexactlyliketheguyswhowouldn'tsendemailsinyouknow,thethe2000s.
Isentanemail,no,Igottareadmy,Iwouldn'treadanemail.
Andifyouyouemailme,Idon'tknowIcheckedmyemailtwiceamonth,youknow.
Andtherewereguys20yearsagothatwouldsaythat,andnowtherearesalesguysthatarelikethecustomerssentme,ifsomebodysentmeavideo,I'dbeoffended.
Ohwhatwhywouldweset,youknow,Imean,youyoumighthearitatyourstoreoryou'vehearditthroughthegrapevine.
Soit'slikepointpointnumberoneislikeyoudoneedtobesendingthesevideostopeople.
AndwhatyouwhatIhavenoticediswhenIstartmakingsocialmediacontent,whenIstarted,itjustmadememoreconfident.
Youknow,ifyoucoulddoaacoupleminutewalk-aroundonacar,youknow,it'llit'llmakeyoumoreconfident.
AndyouyoumentionedsomethingwhichhasbroughtupamemoryofminethatItotallyforgot.
MylastcarIsoldatthedealership,literallythesamedayIquit,wasprobablythebestsale.
85-year-oldguyfromOhio,IbelievehewasfromCleveland,drove,noappointment,justtocomemeetmebecausehehadbeenwatchingmyvideosonFacebook,askedtospeaktoMr.
Beyondi,andwaslike,Thisguy,whatagreatman.
I'vebeenfollowinghimonFacebookforayear.
Ilovehisvideos.
Ilovejustsittingtherewatchingthem.
Andwewerelike,Well,whatdoyouwanttobuy?
Andhe'slike,Youguystellme.
Youtellme.
Andyouknow,wedidalittlediscovery,andIthinkweputhiminaLincolnCorsair,tradedinhiscar.
Um,anditwasjustlikesocool.
They'relike,an85-year-oldmanwatchesonFacebook,thinksI'mentertainingandeducation,drovethreehours,drovepast20otherLincolndealershipsunannounced.
Like,literallydidn'tevenknowifIwasgonnabetherethatday,yeah,whichIthoughtwascrazyjusttojusttocomejusttocomeandmeetmeandbuyacarforme,whichwaslikejustsocool.
It'samazing.
Youtrulyknow.
Youhadsomebodyrecentlydrivelikeeighthours,didn'tyou?
That'sactuallyprettycommon.
I'vehadIhadacouplethattheyflewinactuallythatcameinfromOklahomaCity.
Andthiswasnotlikethiswasawholething.
Theytheystartedthathewasoneofmyearliestfollowers,connectedwithme.
He'sabusinessowner,andhewaslike,Listen,whenmywhenthetimecomes,whenmyBMWleaseisup,I'mgettingacarfromyou.
Andyeah,ayearlater,sureenough,weyouknowwhatImean.
SothiswaslikenotandI'mjustcurious,becausetothepeoplelistening,thishowmanytimesdidyoufollowupwithhimviaphonecalltomakesurethatthatwasstillgonnagothrough?
Uh,Ineverdid,tobehonestwithyou.
Nowhefollowedupwithhim.
That'sthepoint.
That'sthepoint.
Youknow,ififthatifyoubumpedintothatguyatabarandhewaslike,dude,yousawMercedes,cool.
Yearandahalf,Igotyou.
Thechancesofhimfollowingthroughwiththatayearandahalflaterareslimthan.
Butbecauseyouconnectwithhimonsocial,heseesyoueveryday.
Herememberswhathesaidtoyou.
Hejustreachedbackout.
Youyoudidfollowupwithhim,justyoufollowedupwithmanypeople,notoneperson.
100%.
Andandtherewereafewtimeswherehewouldreachbackoutandwe'dhaveaconversationjusttokindofcheckin.
Butitwaslike,youknow,hefeltafterthatinitialconversationcomfortableenoughtocontinuetheprocess.
But,youknow,andheknewhewasveryunderstanding.
I'mlike,listen,Idon'tevermeantobedisrespectfulifImissyourcall.
Iwillgetbacktoyou.
Lifeisjustallkindsofcrazyrightnowbecauseitfirstandforemost,Ihavetorunthesalesdepartmentofadealershipeveryday,whichisahugecommitment.
Andthenyou'vegotallthisgoingon,andhebuthewassupercoolaboutit.
AndI'vegotpeoplethathavecomefromalloverthecountrytobuycars.
Imean,manyofwhomweveryeasilycouldjustshipthecartothemandthey'relike,no,I'mI'mcominginandI'lldriveithome,I'lldoaroadtrip,right?
Yeah.
Orthey'llflyinandthenwe'llshipthecartothem.
It'scrazy.
Yeah.
SoIwastalkingtoaguythatyou'llseeasocialmedia,he'skindofcopyingyoualittlebitwiththename.
Haveyouseenaguy?
Hejuststartedlikeamonthago,BenzandBrows.
No,Ihaven'tseenityet.
Lookatit.
Hehashugeeyebrows,soit'slikeaprettygoodname,actually.
Andheworked,he'saGMataMercedes-Benzstore.
Andhesaidtome,Iwaslike,dude,thisisgonnablowupforyou.
Um,thisisgonnabehuge.
Igo,youhavepeopledrivinginfrom,youknow,he'sinLubbock,Texas.
I'mlike,you'renotpeopledrivinginfromDallas,Oklahoma,here,there,uh,Vegas.
They'regonnadriveintocomecomeseeyou.
Hegoes,nah,man.
He'slike,wegotagreatshippingprocess.
Igo,no,they'regonnawanttocomemeetyou.
Yeah.
They'regonnacaremoreaboutmeetingyouthanbuyingthecar.
Yeah,100%.
Sohecouldn'twraphisheadaroundthat.
Isaid,dude,justtrustme.
Trust.
YoujustkindofhavetowaitandandwatchandletithappenbecauseIneverinamillionyearsthoughtthatIwouldevenstartdoingthis,letaloneitturnintosomething.
Andthensureenough,hereweare.
AndnowI'mtalkingtoyou,somebodythatIIwatched,andandyouwereabiginspiration.
I'vetoldyouthis,right?
Youwereabiginspirationtometogetstartedintheearlygoing.
Um,myhesitationwasIdon'tknowifIcanbefunnyallthetime,likeRuss.
Like,thatseemslikeexhaustingtobecreativelikethateveryday.
Andsoyouwerekindofpartone,andthenGeorgeSalibawasparttwo,wherehe'slike,Hey,IhiredacameraguytofollowmearoundalldayandjustfilmwhatI'mdoingatthedealership.
AndI'mlike,allright,well,Ican'thireacameraguy,butIcandothat,right?
Yeah.
Andpartofthat,andbytheway,ifyou'regonnadobehindthescenescontentlikeuhmyselforGeorgedoes,thenyoubetterhaveagoodprocessandyoubettertreatpeopletherightwayanddothingstherightway.
Um,otherwisethatdoesn'twork.
Ifyouworkatkindoflikeanoldschoolshadydealership,I'mnotsureyouwanttobeputinthat.
Well,one,change,buttwo,doyoureallywanttodobehindthescenes?
Soanyway.
Ifyouwanttosellcarsatleastfromit,yeah.
100%.
SoI'llkindofwrapuphere.
UmIasked,I'veaskedthisacoupletimesonmyonmypodcast,andIknowthatyoumadeavideoofitbecauseyou'vetalkedalotaboutthepayplanthatyouhad.
Nowyou'reoutinthewild,you'veseenalotofalotofstores,andyou'vemetsomeofthehighestperformingsalespeopleintheworld.
Whatdoyoubelievereallyisthebestwaytocompensateacarsalespersonfromtheperspectiveofnotonlywhat'sbestforthem,butwhatworksbestfortheconsumer?
BecauseIfeellikethatisakindofacircularprocessthatendsupworkingwellforeverybody.
Yeah,Imean,look,thereisnoultimatesolution.
Butifyou'reputtingmeonthespothereandyou'relike,Russ,therehastobe,youknow,you'rethepresidentoftheNADAassociationandyouhavetheauthoritytodictatewhatanexactpayplanwouldlooklikeforcarsalespeople.
Firstandforemost,Itrulybelievethis.
Everysalesperson,dependingon,youknow,salary,let'sjustI'llI'llkindoflayoutthepayplan.
IfIweretostartfromscratch,youwouldmake$500acarminimum.
Becauseifyousell10carsatadealershipandthat'sallyoumadewas$500acar,youareworthfivegrandamonth.
Thatisthatisworth$5,000.
Idon'tcarewhatmarketyouwerein.
Yousell20cars,thatdudedeservesa$20or$10,000paycheck.
Ifyou'reconsistentlyselling20cars,Idon'tcareifyousellKia,Mercedes,Bentley,Lexus,youdeserve$10,000,inmyhonestopinion.
Now,Ithinkitshouldbeaminimumof$500acar,noguarantee,andasmallcommissionableupsideonbackendproductsandfrontendgross.
Forexample,you'reasalesguyandyourmanager'slike,hey,Ineedyoutoselltheoldestcarininventory,andit'sa$10,000loss,andyouputacustomeronthatcarbecauseyourmanagerasksyouto,andyouspendthreehourssellingit,threehoursgoingoverthecarwiththecustomer,andyoumake$500.
That'sfair.
Now,thenyousellthatG-Wagonthatisalaydowndeal,youknow,andyoumakeallthemoneyandthemoonandthestarsonit.
Idobelieveasalespersonshouldbecompensated,notbecausetheyhadanythingtodowiththatsale,becausethatcarsellsitself,butbecausetorewardthemforthesix-hourdeliveryontheonthecarthatnoonecouldsell.
SoIthinkthere'salittlebitofagiveandtake.
IthinkifIweretoopenupadealership,it'dbe$500minis,noguarantee,nosalary,$500minis,smallcommissionableupside,youknow,somewherebetween,Idon'thaveto,I'veneverdonethismath,fivetotenpercentonthefrontend,acouplepointsonthebackend,andletpeoplemakearealhonestliving,buttherewouldbehighexpectationsworkingformeatmystore.
Sure.
Whatwouldyouthinkisistheminimumthatasalespersonshouldbecontributingonamonthlybasis?
Imean,obviouslyeverydealership,everymarketisdifferent.
Ifyou'rejustgoingtotakeyourclassic,youknow,dealershipthat,youknow,wantstodobetween100and150cars.
Ithinkyoushouldhaveashowroomofsalespeoplewhereyourworstguyisdoing12to15,andthisisscalable.
JonathanDawsonboughtaMitsubishistore.
Hetalksaboutthe20-caramonthsalesperson.
Hehasthreesalespeople.
Don'tI'mkindofpullingsomenumbersoutofmybuttherebecauseI'mtryingtorememberhisLinkedInpostfromtheotherday.
Boughtthestore,they'redoing30carswiththreesalespeople.
Nowthey'redoinglike80carswiththewithfoursalespeople.
Sohebelievesthateverysalespersoncando20.
Um,Ithinkmyminimumexpectation,Imean,I'dloveforittobe20,butIthinkifIhadtogorunastore,I'dbelike,dude,ifyoucan'tdo12,thisprobablyisn'tthebusinessforyou.
Um,youshouldbeyoushouldbesellingeightamonthfromme.
I'mtheownerofthedealership.
Iwillgetyoueightcardeals,eightcardealsthatanybodycouldsell.
That'smyjob.
Ineedyoutogetfour.
Youneedtogetfouramonth,andthat'sbecausenoteveryone'sgonnabeanoverachiever.
II'mnotanidiot.
Iknownoteverybodyisgoingtobethisaboveandbeyond.
Somepeoplewanttoshowupandgohome,andthat'sokay.
There'sroomforthosepeople.
AndIwouldsaytothosepeople,you'regonnaselleightcarsfrommeandyougottobringinfour.
Ifyoucan'tbringinfoureverymonth,youprobablycan'tworkhere.
Yeah.
Okay,that'sfair.
Idon'tknowifyousawthe,Imean,itjustwentup,butmyepisodewithTommy,wherehehisdreamwouldbeadealershipwhereeverysalespersonismakingahundredthousanddollarssalary.
Andthathethesamething,superhighexpectations,butthatyou'renotreallyincentivizinganytypesofbehavior.
AndIthoughtthatwasinteresting.
I'veneverreallyheardanybodykindofsayitthatwaybefore.
Um,ontheonehand,Ithinkthatthere'salotofmerittothat.
Ontheotherhand,Ithinkthatitcouldbetoughbecauseitcouldleadtosomelaziness.
Butuh,ifeveryoneknowsthey'reshowingupandregardlessofwhattheydo,they'remakingahundredgrand.
ButIthinkthat'swheretheshowisrealquick.
Thisisreallyimportant.
I'mgonnagrabtheseboots.
SoIactuallylikeTommy'sidea.
IwasinAustralia,yeah,andIboughtthesebootsfor$750.
IthinkthatwasAustralian.
So,whateverthatconvertsto.
They'rethey'recustom,they'rekangarooleather.
AndthissalesguygavemethegreatestpresentationanddemonstrationineveryreasonIshouldeverbuytheseboots.
Anddude,hesoldmesogood.
I'mlike,dude,I'lltakethem.
AndIaskedhim,Isaid,hey,howmuchcommissiondoyougetonthis?
Hegoes,wedon'tgetcommission.
WeIthinkit'sAustraliandollars,andwemake120grandayear,10grandamonth,andtheexpectationsareextremelyhighforus.
AndIthinkwhathappenswhenyoudoapayplanlikethat,youyouprobablydon'tattractAplusplayers.
Youknow,anAplusplayerlikeme,I'mI'dliketoconsidermyselfanAplusplayer.
Iwantultimateupside.
ButtherearesomelikeAminusplayerswhowantsecurity,andwe'lldothat.
Um,andit'sfunny,inmycompanyrightnow,Ikindofhavetwoofthesameguys.
Oneguyishandlingallofourindividualsales,oneguyishandlingallofourdealersales.
Okay,oneguyisguaranteed,Iguaranteehim10grandamonth,verysmallcommission,oneguy100%commission.
They'rebothperformingreallywell.
Likereally,reallywell.
Oneguywantedtobetonhimself,oneguywantedsecurity.
AndIIdon't,ifyouhadtoaskmetopickoneovertheother,itwouldbelikeitwouldtakemeamonthtodothatbecausethey'rebothreallygood.
SothereisvaliditytowhatTommy'ssaying,butIbelieveittakessomebodytoholdthemaccountable.
Umandtheexpectationswould,youknow,you'regonnaguaranteesomebodyninegrandamonthor$8,500amonthorwhateverthatwouldbetosellcars.
It'slikeyougottobegood.
100%.
That'swherethetoughpartcomesiniscantheybeheldaccountable?
Whichinthisindustrythere'salotofpeoplethatjustaresortofhangingoutanddoingtheirthing.
So,lastquestionwhat'snextforus?
Whatareyouworkingon?
Anybigideasorfocusingontraining?
Uhthetraining'sbig.
Uh,itkeepsblowingup.
IgotallofMarchandApril.
We'rebookingintoMay.
MightbegoingbacktoAustraliaagain.
AbigOEMouttherewantsmetocomedosomestuff.
Um,butlikenextandnew,IthinkalittlebitofumIRLstreaming,youknow.
Justyouknow,I'mgoingtoBelorAmsterdam.
Ithinkit'dbereallycooljusttojusttostream,youknow,whatI'mdoinginAmsterdam.
And,youknow,I'muhI'mworkingonafewthings.
Ithinkuhinthenextsixtotwelvemonths,Godwilling,I'llbehostingsomesomebigevents,uhin-personeventsthatIthinkyou'llbespeakingat.
Youknow,I'lltalktoyou.
Well,IliketoIdon'twanttoputthecartbeforethehorse,butIthinksomesomebigeventswherewegetacouplehundredpeopleinaroom.
Um,Ihavethefacility.
IthinkIthinkthat'llbebigifIdothatonceortwiceayear,somein-personevents.
Youknow,we'restartingtogrowoutmynetworkofpeopleI'vecoached,peoplethatI'mcurrentlycoaching,peoplethatwanttobecoached,thatreallywanttodothis.
AndifIcansay,hey,cometoourtwo-dayevent,I'mspeaking,BenzaBowTysisspeaking,we'reflyinginthisguy.
Um,comeforwe'regonnadoauhadinnerandgolfandwhatwhateveritmightbe.
Ithinkthat'dbereallygood.
AndfromwhatIunderstand,asI'mlearning,thesearen'tyoudon'tdothesetomakemoney,youdothesejusttokindoflikegrowyouryoumightmakeImighthopefullyImakesomemoneyfromit,butlikefromeverybodyIknowthathostsevents,likeusuallythey'rebreakevenveryearlyon,butitjusthelpslike,ohman,Russpackedaroomwith300people.
Yeah,it'sprettycool.
SoIthinkthatwouldbethethenextbigthingformeistryingtoputonanevent.
Okay.
ThenextTonyRobbins,maybeinthemaking,you'regonnabeuptherechangingpeople'slives.
Uhmaybe,man.
ImeanuhUhGodwilling,Ithinkthatwouldbeanamazingthingtodo.
Um,youknow,andifyouknow,IthinkwehavethebenefitthatalotofguyslikeTonyRobbinsmightnothavenecessarilyhadissocialmedia.
AndIcansaytoabrand,hey,X,youknow,thisiswhereyouwecanactuallymakealittleextracash.
Hey,XYZbrand,whatifweputlikeacouplebannersupandyouweletyouguyspresent,payus,youknow,XYZdollars,andwe'llletyousponsortheevent.
Ithinkthat'sumthatwouldhelp,youknow,recoupsomecosts.
UhwegotTexasCarGuy,heknowstheheknowsthevisionontheevent.
Meandhimhavetalkedaboutit.
Yeah,yeah.
TexasCarGuy,shoutouttohim.
Ithinkhepoppedintothelive.
He'sbeenuhhustlingeversincehestarted.
Sowell,Russ,Ireallyappreciateyoumakingtimeformetoday.
Wecoveredalotanduh,youknow,excitedtoseewhereyougofromhere.
I'mproudofyoufortakingtheleaptoleavethedealership,right?
Andstartingyourownbusiness.
Thatissomethingthatalotofpeopledreamofdoing,butneverhavethegutstogoanddo,andyou'veyou'vedoneit.
Socongratulationstoyou.
Anduh,Iknowwe'llstayintouchandIcan'twaittoseewhereyougofromhere.
Yeah,no,Iappreciatethat.
Mycascadingthought,Ithoughtaboutthisinthecartoday.
Yeah.
EversinceI'veleftthedealershipanditworked,Ihavethis.
II'dlovetogethookeduptoaliedetectortest.
I'dloveto.
Yeah.
Idon'tthinkIcanfailatanythingIdo.
AndIdon'tsaytobecalled,IjustIjustdon't.
Iandthat'sbecauseIthinklonglongterm,I'mthinking,youknow,I'mnotthinkingintomorrowornextweek.
I'mthinkinginfive,tenyearsfromnow.
SoifIdohaveasetbackoffailure,IjustIjustdon'tthinkit'spossible.
Soifyou'relisteningtothisorwatchinglive,ifyoucantrickyourselfordoenoughworkintotrulybelievinglikeeverythingIdo,I'mjustgonnawin.
Um,itreallyhelpsbecausethat'showI'vebeenoperatingforthelastyearandit'sit'sbeenworkingsofar.
Yeah,soitsoundslikejustamindsetofsaying,I'mgoingtomakethiswork,andthenyoumakeitareality.
Exactly.
Iloveit.
Allright,Russ.
Thankssomuch,brother.
Appreciateyou,bro.
About this episode
RussFlipsWhips shares his journey from a young car salesman struggling to sell Lincolns to becoming a pioneering short-form automotive content creator. Starting with awkward YouTube videos, he found success by blending humor and education, especially on TikTok, where his relatable sketches and insider tips went viral. Russ emphasizes the importance of creating content that resonates with consumers, not just salespeople, and how authentic, educational videos build trust and generate leads. He also discusses the challenges of managing sudden popularity and the evolving landscape of social media in car sales.
Original notes
Let Us Know Who You'd Like To See On The Podcast!
Russell Richardson, aka @russflipswhips may just be the OG of short form automotive content. After taking a small Lincoln store in PA from Obscurity to national recognition, Russ left the dealership world to venture out and start his own business. What can we learn from Russ as he sits down with Doug Horner, aka @BenzsandBowTies for a full length interview brought to you by @CallRevu
Hosted by Doug Horner, General Sales Manager at Mercedes-Benz of North Olmsted and a rising voice in automotive social media, this new podcast brings a transparent, high-energy perspective to dealership operations, leadership, and digital engagement.
Known online as @BenzsandBowTies he has amassed 500K+ followers and 25MM+ viewers monthly across his channels where he often blends humor into content resonating with agents, operators, and customers alike with authenticity and real-world dealership insights.
"We all are consuming social media all day long every day,” Horner shared in a recent Car Dealership Guy interview. “If everyone is doing this all day long, then that's where we need to be.”
The Doug Horner Show dives into what drives dealership success today through candid conversations with respected industry leaders, performance coaches and digital creators shaping modern automotive culture.
About Doug Horner
Doug Horner is General Sales Manager at luxury dealership, Mercedes-Benz North Olmsted, and the creator of @BenzsandBowties, a brand centered on real dealership culture and leadership perspective, and the joy of the work, as an auto industry influencer.
About CallRevu
CallRevu is the leading communication intelligence platform built for automotive retail—empowering dealerships to take control of every conversation, from the first ring to the final result. Our holistic solution combines an automotive-specific hosted phone system, call monitoring, performance training, and reputation management–fueled by AI-powered analytics that turn every customer interaction into actional intelligence. Founded in a dealership in 2008, CallRevu was created by the industry, for the industry to drive revenue, improve performance, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Learn more at www.CallRevu.com
The Doug Horner Show
Doug Horner
0:00
68:08