Automotive News - February 4, 2008 - (Page 58) 58 • FEBRUARY 4, 2008 INSIGHT JON THOMPSON NADA’s chairwoman: Born to the business At 19, she decided she wanted a stake in the family store David Sedgwick dsedgwick@crain.com out of her status as NADA’s first chairwoman. She seems matter-offact about it — a sign that she feels comfortable in her new role. Perhaps that’s because she earned everything that she got in life, including the family dealership. S laton, Texas, is a town dominated by its geography. On its outskirts are the green circles of irrigated cotton farms that define Slaton’s economy. You can do business with the farmers and ranchers, or you can travel 20 miles up the highway to Lubbock. When Annette Sykora was a teenager, she got a job at the local bank. She figured out pretty quickly that she was never going to own that bank — even if she worked there a long time. She figured she’d have better luck at the family business, Smith Ford-Mercury. Her grandfather, Bill Smith, had launched it in 1952, and he sold a lot of pickups to ranchers and local farmers. Her dad had taken over the dealership, so Annette — never the bashful sort — told him she wanted to run the dealership someday. “I made the choice at age 19,” she recalled in an interview. “I told my dad I wanted to buy the business. He said, ‘I won’t hold you back.’ ” Things turned out pretty well. Sykora runs the family business, and now she has been named the first chairwoman of the National Automobile Dealers Association. Sykora, 44, doesn’t make a big deal Learning the ropes Sykora’s father warned her that she would have to earn the respect of the dealership’s employees, customers and vendors. “I can’t make anybody respect you,” he said. So in 1982, Sykora started at the bottom, working as a title clerk. In the finance and insurance department, she wrote contracts for customers by hand, since she didn’t have a computer or even a typewriter. It wasn’t the best time to enter the car business. The Texas economy had benefited from the rising price of oil, but with interest rates topping 18 percent, consumer financing was a nightmare. Sykora vividly remembers Ford’s low-interest sales promotion, featuring a 7.7 percent annual rate. That doesn’t sound like an especially good deal today, but everything is relative. “People went wild,” Sykora recalls. “We painted it full length in the store window. I thought I was in heaven, because I’d been writing loan contracts at 18 percent.” During her four years in the F&I department, Sykora took on more responsibilities. Her father scaled back day-to-day management of his 30 employees, while Sykora handled marketing, advertising and leasing. She became the de facto general manager, and she started to buy an interest in the dealership from her father and grandfather. In 1988, she entered NADA’s dealer academy. At the time, the program was a traveling road show, so Sykora attended classes off and on in six cities. After she graduated in 1989, she went straight to her father. She showed him a press release that declared her to be the store’s general manager. “He said: ‘What is this?’ ” Sykora recalls. “It said that I would manage the dealership’s dayto-day operation. I just said, ‘Sign it.’ Then I published it everywhere.” Vendors began to deal directly with Sykora, and her father stepped aside. In 1991, she acquired a controlling share of the dealership. Safety net “That’s precisely what he wanted to happen,” she says of her father. “He didn’t want to push me or prompt me. And I had a great safety net. I could ask questions and seek guidance. He would step in if he wanted to.” At the time, the dealership sold about 40 new and used vehicles a month — about what the store sells today. Nine years ago, Annette and her husband, Patrick — a second-generation dealer — bought a second Ford store, Smith South Plains, 25 miles west of Lubbock in Levelland, Texas. Now Sykora’s 17-year-old daughter, Nicole, is working part time in the dealership. Nicole is earning money for her studies at Texas Tech, where she wants to get a degree in advertising and marketing. “One day she told me, ‘Mom, I think I can sell a car,’ ” Sykora recalls. “So I said: ‘Why don’t you try it sometime? You can earn a bit to go to college.’ ” Sykora says that she isn’t sure whether any of her five children will choose a career at the dealership: “It’s a hard thing to teach people our business.” c Incoming NADA Chairwoman Annette Sykora knew early that she wanted to become a dealer: “I made the choice at age 19. I told my dad I wanted to buy the business. He said, ‘I won’t hold you back.’ ” gmdealergroupadvertising.com 800-992 2723 Profits top priority list After an eight-year stint on the NADA board, Annette Sykora will be the organization’s first chairwoman. During an interview at the Detroit auto show, she chatted about a variety of issues with Editor David Sedgwick. Will you champion the interests of female dealers? I represent all dealers now. I do understand that (my status) is encouraging to other women, and I think that’s really good. I don’t think special programs (for women) are necessary. But we do want programs that recruit more talent to our dealerships. We’ll continue to hold our “career” months, and we should look at some mentoring programs like AYES (the Automotive Youth Educational Systems, a partnership of automakers, dealers and schools that encourages young people to consider careers as automotive technicians). We’ll continue to improve and expand on the tools we have in place. What is your biggest priority? Dealer profit is at the top of the list. Dealers want to have factory sales incentive programs that are fair, so that one dealer is not receiving an unfair advantage. It is not fair to the consumer. Consumers want transparency. questionanswer Congress has failed to pass legislation requiring special titles for salvaged vehicles. This would prevent flood-damaged “Katrina cars” from being resold as undamaged vehicles. Is NADA still working on this? Total-loss legislation is important to the industry. These cars are still ending up in consumers’ hands. It’s a very real issue. They are ending up in Mexico and other parts of the world. There is still plenty of opportunity for an industry solution. Creation of a data base (a registry of damaged vehicles) doesn’t require legislation. But there is still some resistance from the insurance industry. Now that Democrats control Congress, permanent repeal of the estate tax seems unlikely. Have you given up on this issue? That will always remain on our song sheet. The tax is very unfair. Our businesses are generational. The business is handed down. (The estate tax) is one of the most unfair taxes. We are trying to be realistic (about total repeal). To say we’ve given up would be too strong a statement. But it doesn’t look (possible) for the foreseeable future. c The NEW way to buy and sell NEW vehicles with other same brand dealers! You have your front lot… and your back lot… FFER OFFER:: NO RISK OREE NO RISK F REE USE IT F1,,2008 USE IT 2008 3 h31 Untill Marc h Unti Marc Now, you have a THIRD lot Your unllimited “virtual” lot! • Move Inventory Fast • Find Vehicles Immediately • Reduce Carrying Costs • Keep A More Profitable Inventory • Keep A Smaller Inventory Visit us ath Vi t NADA Boo th NADA Boo # 1429W www.thirdlot.com http://gmdealergroupadvertising.com http://www.thirdlot.com http://www.thirdlot.com
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