Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick, powered by CBT News
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Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick, powered by CBT News
How MADA’s NextGen Leaders Are Preparing Dealers for the Future
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The future of automotive retail depends on how the next generation of dealership leaders responds to rapid change, and this episode explores how Missouri dealers are preparing for it.
On this episode of Inside Automotive, MADA President and CEO Doug Smith joins Chairman Nick Anderson and NextGen Committee members Kyle Weymuth, Alex Thompson, and Megan Sinclair Rosso to discuss leadership development, dealership succession, and the forces reshaping retail automotive. From AI and affordability to FTC scrutiny and evolving employee expectations, the panel shares how emerging leaders are approaching today’s biggest challenges while protecting the long-term strength of independent dealerships.
Key discussion points:
- Why MADA launched the NextGen program to develop future dealer leaders
- Leadership lessons from managing multi-department dealership operations
- How AI is influencing sales, marketing, operations, and customer experience
- The impact of affordability pressures and changing workforce expectations
- FTC pricing transparency and the growing importance of digital consistency
- Why customer trust and experience remain the strongest competitive advantage
Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick is powered by CBT News, your go-to source for the latest news, trends, and insights in retail automotive. Subscribe for more interviews with top industry leaders, dealership innovators, and experts shaping the future of automotive.
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Why Next Gen Leadership Matters
SPEAKER_01Welcome to Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.
Jim FitzpatrickToday we're taking a closer look at why preparing the next generation of auto leaders is critical as the industry evolves as a ra at a rapid pace. Here to explore how the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association is addressing that need. I'm joined by Doug Smith, who's the president and CEO of MATA. Also Nick Anderson, general manager of Chuck Anderson Ford. He's also the chairman of MATA and chair of the Next Gen Committee and committee members with us here today. Kyle Weymouth, who is the uh uh with, I should say, WK Chevrolet, Buick GMC, Alex Thompson of Thompson Sales Company, and Megan Sinclair Rosso of uh Dave Sinclair Lincoln. Folks, thank you so much. Boy, that was a mouthful. I stuttered there a couple of times, but when you get five guests, it's a lot to get out. So thank you all very much for taking the time out of your schedule there at the dealerships and at the uh at the association to join me on the show here to talk about this uh very important topic of next generation, who are going to be leading our dealerships uh into uh this this next generation. So thank you so much again for joining us and uh appreciate it. There's a lot happening in the industry today, uh, and I'm sure all of you are being getting prepared for it anyway. So, Doug, let me start with you if we can. Uh for viewers who may not be familiar with uh Matt's next gen committee and why it was important to create it. Talk to us about that.
SPEAKER_05Sure,
Building MADA’s Under 40 Committee
SPEAKER_05sure. I think uh, you know, one of the things we want to do as an association, we always want to have, you know, to be successful at what we do, we want membership engagement. Um I worked for another association that had a future leader committee that's very similar to the structure of what we've done with the next gen, and it works really well. And basically what it is, it's a committee, subcommittee, if you will, uh, of dealers under the age of 40 that are active managers in their respective dealerships. Um, you know, we are fortunate in Missouri where we're about 80% of our dealers, the 368 uh dealership rooftops that we have, new car dealers, are multi-generational, family-owned, have been in business for decades.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And um, you know, I wanted to have a nice pool of um people I could go to to be board members, to be chairs, to be active in the association. And uh, we kind of recreated this next gen program with that in mind, and it's been really successful. Uh, a lot of these guys they've been coming to meetings. Uh, I've been with the association since 2001. You know, they were in in grade school when they were coming to meetings. So, you know, now uh for uh you know, respectively, you could say uh that that they're my bosses. So uh getting them, they they knew about the association, they knew what the association did, but this could really gets them in on a granular level and kind of gets the nuts and bolts of what we do in terms of advocacy and involvement and all the things that we do for dealers in the state.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah. And Doug, I mean it's it's uh you're no different than your counterparts, right, at other states that struggle by getting uh the younger crowd into the meetings and getting them involved in the association, right? The average age of today's dealer NADA says is 70 and a half years old. And uh and so it's difficult sometimes because maybe they might be the only ones that attend the meetings or maybe the general managers or what have you, but uh, but oftentimes the the younger uh crowd in our industry is uh just not involved in the associations. Well, they really should be, right?
SPEAKER_05No question. They are the future of our leadership, they are the future of this industry. Uh they are seeing you know, and they speak the language, they know that the technology, uh, you know, the uh they're ahead of the game when it comes to those things. Um, you know, and I need that. I'm not getting any younger. I need to have that influence also, and I need to have them telling me what you know what, hey, these this should be a priority. Getting them to come to our events was pretty easy. It just simply took an invitation, you know, a personal invite from us.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah.
SPEAKER_05And um, these guys have hit the ground running. I I couldn't be happier with the way this has worked. And uh uh I I know other states are trying this. We just happen to be really successful at it. Yeah, that's great. That's great.
The New Skills Dealers Need
Jim FitzpatrickNick, you've spent a lot of years in the business. What skills do you think that uh dealers or I should say the future leaders of dealerships and dealer principles need uh that maybe weren't as essential years ago?
SPEAKER_06So the two main ones are flexibility and adaptability. Um I'd say the industry in the last uh say eight years has probably changed more than it did in the previous 25. And in order to keep up with that and keep employees happy and keep meeting the consumer demand for how we do business with them, uh, we are gonna have to be flexible and and not do things just because that's how we've always done it and uh adapt to adapt to the market because it's changing all the time.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, well, that's for sure. That's for sure. Megan, let me ask, start with you, and I'll ask uh the other uh members here. Um you're already active and involved in the dealership operations today. What's been the biggest surprise or learning curve stepping into the business?
SPEAKER_00Learning curve is the complexity of the dealership. Every department operates as its own business, its own culture, its own processes, and the only way to be successful is to get them all to come together and be one team and move forward with the same goal. So working, I've grown up working in every single department, so I know the personality differences of every single department and that and getting them all to come together and know that the most important thing for us is taking care of the customers, and that's how we move forward and continue to stay in business and stay successful.
Jim FitzpatrickAnd Alex, how about you?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I would agree with Megan on that a lot. I mean, obviously, everyone was called, we've grown up in the business, so we've worked every department. Um, to me, the biggest, I guess, surprise learning curve, um, kind of like Megan said of learning how each department runs while still following us running a business, but then following our manufacturer's guidelines while running that said business. So it's and those are ever evolving. So staying on top of that is um can be challenging at times.
Jim FitzpatrickOkay, okay. And Kyle, you want to jump in there?
SPEAKER_03Sure. I think the biggest surprise I heard Doug say that uh, you know, this is for uh under 40. And biggest surprise is I just turned 40, so I don't know how they didn't kick me off this thing. Uh, but you know, I I'm appreciative that that Doug started this years ago because, you know, I think the next gen in general, um, you know, we're here to protect our industry for the future. You know, you mentioned earlier the average age of dealers being in their 70s, you know, with market consolidation and some other factors like that, you know, big groups coming in and buying a lot of uh stores like us, we're all multi-generational community dealerships. And uh so that that's why I think Doug wanted to get us involved, and that's why we're so happy to be a big part of it.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, no, it's it's fantastic. It's fantastic. Megan,
Social Media Sales And Brand Building
Jim Fitzpatrickdid you ever think that we would see a time that we were selling vehicles online through social media? I mean, the actual salespeople out there pitching and and having some fun videos and interviewing uh other colleagues in the dealership and maybe even putting some of their customers online. I mean, this is a whole new way of marketing, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00It is. We've leaned hard into the social media aspect of it within the past year or so. But I remember when it first started, nobody was really touching it because that was weird. And now that is our go-to for advertising is social media, including influencers, getting all of our salespeople their own accounts as well as a dealership account, and they're all interconnected, and we create stories, and that's really where we get to build our brand, which is kind of where it's leaning now in the industry. We've we've done the hard work, we've built the foundation and the base, and now we just have to have our brand of for the Sinclair's customer service and and taking care of the customer and get that out there so people know who we are. Yeah and can come by and more from us.
Jim FitzpatrickSure, sure. Alex, are you uh experiencing the same thing using people in for social media or your team for social media?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's amazing the reach you can get um using social media, um, of how how wide people see, how the algorithms work is what's been the most interesting to me of kind of the widespread reach we can gain from just being out there on social media when the salesmen that do it obviously doesn't work at first, so it can be a little frustrating, but the guys that really stay after it are the guys that become successful.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, for sure. Nick, does that uh pose a problem with these new FTC laws or these these regulations that we see? I mean, it it seems as though if a sales if a department's got 10 salespeople and they're all on social media and they're sharing numbers with customers or sale prices or what have you, is that a potential area of concern or problems uh that that you know that you may have at the dealership if somebody says, well, wait a minute, the salesperson told me it was X number of dollars, and you know, now there's gonna be a fee put on there, a doc fee, or certain different incentives?
SPEAKER_06Yes, it does. And so it really helps us or or forces us as dealers to uh adapt and uh change our processes. Um before the sales guys could uh go out and advertise the vehicles online um at our online prices, but they wouldn't have to disclose anything. They may or may not update the pricing when we change our pricing. Uh, but now with the new FTC, not necessarily new guidelines, but their new interpretation of the guidelines, uh, we do have to be way more on top and way more uh quick to make sure that all of our online presence is reading the same to everybody.
Jim FitzpatrickSure, sure. Um, Kyle, what do you hear? What are your concerns? Uh what are you hearing most, I should say, as concerns from younger uh individuals entering uh leadership positions or the car business in general?
SPEAKER_03Uh just that it's kind of unknown, you know, and I and I guess the the biggest piece of advice I would probably give somebody is you know, build build relationship capital as you go. And you know, you you never know when you're gonna need somebody to lean on, um, and and vice versa. So, you know, that that's the biggest form of capital I think you could you could invest in is just making relationships and uh being able to pick up a phone and call somebody when you need something, and that that's probably the biggest piece.
Jim FitzpatrickSure,
Work Culture Relationships And Women Leaders
Jim Fitzpatricksure. And and see if you agree with me on this, Alex. You know, we we're we're pretty brutal in this industry when it comes to hours and it comes to allowing people to have the proper time off with their families, obviously to attend little league games or church functions or whatever the case might be. And uh and today's people uh or to should say Generation Z now coming up, they're saying, well, not so fast on you know just throwing more money at us. We want a good work-life balance in our careers.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I would I would agree with that. Um, that's something we we lean heavy on, is making sure the people who are our employees can do stuff with their family because I mean going to your kids' events, going to your kids' games is very important um to everybody. So making sure they can do that and don't feel like they're um I don't know, right? Don't feel like they're getting like put out from their job or don't feel like it's a really convenience and then think they just can do it and it's no problem is is very important.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, yeah, for sure. What does the industry need to do from your perspective? And I mentioned that you're the only one that's really qualified to answer this, uh, to attract more females into the industry.
SPEAKER_00Um I think just letting us know that we can be a part of it. I think women need to be more confident and know that you actually will make a difference here in this industry. I know I'm one of few women in the industry, and I'm here because my dad and my grandpa started the dealerships, and that's why I'm here. But I keep hiring more women, I keep bringing them in, we keep trying to put the word out because women are super valuable in this industry. We there we see so much more success from women in the industry in every single department than we do on men. They they just need to have the confidence to know that they can come in and do this job and they can do it really well.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, very, very good point. Um, Alex, um do you think that the next generation approaches the dealership leadership differently than previous generations? And if so, how?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I'd say every generation coming in has their own way, they want to do it, and they think they've got the newest spin on it. You can only reinvent the wheel so many times. Obviously, with technology changing, um, the newer generations are a little more up on the technology than the past generations. I think that's probably really the only thing that changes the most of the technology, because I mean, in the end, it's about taking care of the customers. So that really hasn't changed from the beginning to now. Um so technology is really the only thing I think that we can really evolve differently than in the past.
Jim FitzpatrickSure, sure. Doug, the retail automotive business is evolving quickly as we see right before our eyes every day from EVs to AI to uh changing consumer expectations. Um how how important is adaptability for the next generation to deal with all of this?
SPEAKER_05Well, I think um, you know, like I mentioned earlier, the these guys all speak the language. They all kind of have, you know, they're more in tune with um the changes that are happening because uh uh you know they're they've grown up with technology and and that technology has hit them quickly, they've adapted. Uh, we have a very strong and vibrant uh auto retail automotive sector in the state of Missouri, and um it only seems to get stronger and more vibrant with the increase of uh technological support that is coming. Um I I think it's vital that we um you know have to uh adapt or die. And uh I think you know these folks have done a really nice job of orientating themselves uh into the changes and um really kind of let that um you know trickle down to the association level as well.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, for sure, for sure.
Online Retail Shifts And AI Reality
Jim FitzpatrickUm, Nick, how is the uh the next generation thinking differently about re the retail experience overall?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I'd say in the last 15 years, um dealers, the the playing field has been leveled as far as where you're physically located. Um with the social media presence and third-party lead providers and just an online presence and SEO and SEM and all this stuff that we spend so much money on to make sure that we're in front of as many customers as we can. Um it really levels the field where dealers that are outside the metro areas can sell into the metro areas pretty easy. Um consumers aren't trying to drive three or four or five stores to look at different cars and get their best deal. They can do it all from the uh comfort of their house. Um, and so I think the the important thing and what we're focused on is the next generation up and coming is just to increase the ease of uh doing business with us and uh take the pressure off the consumer and just uh do what we can on a daily basis to make it uh easy to work with us.
Jim FitzpatrickAnd then um as it relates to some of these things that we're seeing, uh obviously AI is taking not just the auto industry but the world by storm, right? Everything is now AI. Um and I'll and I'll start with you, uh Nick, on this. Um, will AI be reducing headcount inside of dealerships?
SPEAKER_06No. I I don't I don't think it will. I think it will be used, at least for the the foreseeable future, I think it'll be used as uh an efficiency tool by the individuals that are currently there. Um I don't think we're to the point where it replaces bodies, um, but I it will come at some point. But I'd say the foreseeable future, it'll just make uh do it everybody doing their day-to-day jobs a little bit more efficient, easier.
Jim FitzpatrickAnd and let me go to the others. Alex, what's your take on AI?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I don't see. I mean, we we've looked in depth of how we could where where it could fit in and where it could be good for the customer, but I don't think in the end, I think a customer when they have a problem enjoys talking to another person. I mean, I know how frustrated I get when I call in and I get one of the robots that sounds like a human. It's just you're not getting that same care and touch that you would from a human that can actually understand emotionally what you're going through at that time.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, yeah. Although they are creating some AI that does sense the emotion uh in the voice of the individual calling in that says, Well, I better get you to a manager right away. Megan, uh, do you want to comment on AI?
SPEAKER_00I agree with both of what they said. It's we're using it more to just increase our current efficiency for everybody. We do have it with to help field a lot of our phone calls. We we get a lot of phone calls, and we've found that that's a problem with our customers and a common complaint. So we have AI helping us to prioritize those calls and get everybody helped as quickly as possible.
Jim FitzpatrickOkay, gotcha. Doug, are you doing anything at the association level to work with dealers to navigate this AI situation?
SPEAKER_05We're just starting to. Um, I'm more concerned about the legal ramifications of what AI might do or the exposure it might create for a dealer. So we we're working um with some attorneys on maybe some best practices. Um, you know, it has really kind of just taken over the you know the dialogue uh on every retail sector, and AI is everywhere. Um and you know, I I I do think it's gonna be a productive tool, but it's so new. We we've got to maybe harness it a little bit for the industry and see how it works best. Uh, but I'm really more worried about the legal ramifications that it might create. So that's kind of what we're looking at. Um, you know, as far as internal use within the association, we'll we'll examine how it could help us out. Um, you know, I think we do a pretty good job of being a resource to our membership. Uh that's really you know the one thing I really try to prioritize on my day-to-day uh work efforts. And um, you know, if there's a fit for AI, we'll certainly explore it.
Jim FitzpatrickSure, sure. Um, Kyle,
The Next Big Threats For Dealers
Jim Fitzpatricklet me start with you on this. Um, what what do you see as the biggest challenges facing dealers over the next five to ten years? We've got an affordability crisis happening. We've got uh the challenge of recruiting talent into the stores, the EV adoption regulation that we haven't seen in quite some time coming down from the FTC, and then of course the consolidation factor of these, you know, just these huge companies gobbling up smaller dealer groups or the mom and pops out there. I know I threw a lot at you in that. But what do you see as the owner and the the manager of a dealership there in Missouri? What do you see as the biggest challenges?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I don't think you listed all of the above as an option there. I might have chosen that one.
SPEAKER_06Right?
SPEAKER_03That that could have been one. But uh, you know, I guess as far as personally uh in in our situation, I think technician recruitment number one, um, you know, that that seems to be that that age, that workforce is uh is is growing older by the day. Right. Uh they're they're aging out quicker than we can get them in. You know, personally here in our uh local community college, we partnered with them very heavily to uh help get some uh public uh funding to build a new technical center and and hopefully get some some new young folks uh coming out of there. And we've had we've been successful of growing them, growing them from within, you know, from the Lou Brac all the way up to being an ATEC. So uh I guess if I if you made me pick one, that's gonna have to be the one I'll go with.
Jim FitzpatrickIf not all of the above, right?
SPEAKER_03That's right.
Jim FitzpatrickUm Alex, let me ask you, I made one of those things is affordability. Obviously, with the price of a new car now being at uh $50,000 or above average payments, $800, 20 or 30% of the payments are over $1,000 a month. Um, where is all of this headed? I mean, it's getting to the point where the average consumer just cannot afford uh a new car.
SPEAKER_04No, I agree. I think I think about that a lot. Um obviously we we sell high-end vehicles like everyone else in this call, and it's just, I mean, those are they're getting to a price point where they they do have great technology, don't get me wrong. Yeah. I just I I don't have a good answer to that question. I don't do I think about it a lot, but I don't uh I don't I don't know. Yeah, yeah.
Jim FitzpatrickLet me let
Chinese Vehicles Data And Domestic Loyalty
Jim Fitzpatrickme ask you this. Would you be adverse to Chinese vehicles coming into the US and being sold through franchise dealers?
SPEAKER_04Not a fan.
Jim FitzpatrickNot a fan.
SPEAKER_04No. I don't think so.
Jim FitzpatrickSo you don't think they should be sold here? I don't I don't think so. No. So we'll go around the room. Megan, what's what's your feeling on the Chinese topic?
SPEAKER_00Well, I have a Lincoln dealership and our Nautilus is straight from China. Um but I mean Dave Sinclair was my grandpa. American made was his, he liked domestic brands, and he he will always promote domestic brands. So I gotta lean into he was a wise man, so I'll lean into his thoughts.
Jim FitzpatrickAnd Dick, what about you?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, the the the major thing I see with China right now is they're not necessarily a friendly country to the United States. And so allowing them to sell vehicles in the United States um that will send information, uh whether it's uh analytics or data back to China um is not high on my priority list of thinking that's a good thing.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, yeah. We've sold a bunch of cars in China though, haven't we?
SPEAKER_06And that's okay. We'll take that all day.
Jim FitzpatrickThat's right. That's right. Uh okay. So
The Next Decade Comes Down To Trust
Jim Fitzpatrickum in terms of the future, and I'll I'll go around the room here, and I appreciate all the time you've given me, but uh let's kind of go around the room here. Um from your perspective, um, Alex, uh, what do you see in the future? What what what does the next 10 years look like for retail automotive? And how does it differ? How does that differ from today?
SPEAKER_04I think it's just gonna keep getting more competitive. I mean, the more we've talked about on here, the internet technology, um, social media, it's just gonna get more and more competitive as the time goes on. So we just gotta stay, stay ahead of the curve. Yeah. And that's we're gonna be successful and take care of the customer. They're the they're the number one.
Jim FitzpatrickOkay. And then uh uh Megan, what about you?
SPEAKER_00As the industry is changing, it's changing faster and faster, especially with AI coming into the mix, everything's evolving quickly. I think focusing on the customer relationship, because at the end of the day, the relationships are what Matters. So you have to build relationships with your customers and your community in order to continue to thrive in this industry because it is going to be completely very competitive.
Jim FitzpatrickYes, yes. What do you say to those people, those consumers out there that say, well, the salesperson and the staff inside of a dealership is less important because I do everything on my phone and I do everything on my computer and I'll have the car dropped off to me, or maybe I'll just go in to the dealership to pick it up. And the the relationship doesn't matter as much to me as maybe it did to your parents or your grandparents.
SPEAKER_00I actually see people more um focused on picking the right salesperson now more than ever. So they go to dealer raider and they find their salesperson first before they find the car. They want to have, I feel like people want to have that relationship still and want to build that relationship. So now they're more focused on who they're gonna buy the car from before they decide what car they're gonna get.
Jim FitzpatrickYeah, yeah, for sure. Kyle, how about you? What uh where do where do you see the industry in the next 10 years?
SPEAKER_03Well, you you mentioned earlier you talked a little bit about market consolidation, and I and I do see that happening more so uh coming from the top down from the manufacturers. I I think they want to reduce their dealer count. We've we've seen Ford do it, uh we've seen Buick do it as well, uh just trying to have a lower count in general. They don't want to have to deal with as many of us mom and pop folks uh out here. I think they would prefer to deal with just you know one person in a certain market area. And ultimately, I don't I don't think that's good for the consumer. I think it's you know important for the consumer to have choices and options to uh to compare me to you know maybe Alex uh you know, a couple hours away and and you know let them choose. So uh that's where I see kind of the the future going. And we have to all sharpen our own uh skills and make sure we're taking good care of customers. And and to Megan's point, you know, we try to go out and you know sponsor the little league teams and and promote you know everything local and and and hope that those folks choose to do business with us locally as well.
Jim FitzpatrickSure, sure. Good point. Nick, what about you? Where's where's the industry headed?
SPEAKER_06Competition is aimed at the experience, not so much the vehicles or the price. We all sell nice cars, we all sell them at competitive pricing. Um, it's about the experience and the and the treatment that a customer either gets or perceives that they get at a particular dealership. And so uh the the competition will drive us all to be better and our employees to be better, and uh that that's the differentiating factor moving forward.
Jim FitzpatrickThat's great, that's great. And Doug, I started with you, so I'll end with you. Um what say you about the next 10 years of retail automotive as these new leaders come into the industry?
SPEAKER_05I think at the end of the day, Jim, this is a trust business. Um, you know, the the car buyer has to trust not only the experience, but they have to trust the person they're buying it from. These guys have all been, you know, in business for decades. That doesn't happen by accident. So I think it, you know, you're gonna have all these shiny objects coming into the industry, but at the end of the day, car buyer has to trust what they're buying and they have to trust who they're buying it from. And I think these guys all cover that pretty darn well.
Jim FitzpatrickI couldn't say it better myself. Doug, Nick, Kyle, Alex, and Megan, thank you so much for all the time you've given us here at CBT News. We very much appreciate it. I know that our dealer audience will get a lot out of it. So, best of luck to all of you in the future, and uh, let's do a follow up in 10 years and see how you all are doing.
SPEAKER_04Perfect. Perfect, perfect. All right, thanks so much. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for watching Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.