Digital Dealer - February 2018 - 29

T

oni Anne Fardette is the Director of Business Development
for the Atlantic Auto Group
($1.1 Billion Dealer Group)
in Long Island, New York. Atlantic
brands include Lexus, Audi, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Lincoln,
Nissan, Volkswagen, Chevrolet,
Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler. With
over 2,200 employees, Atlantic is
a major employer in Nassau and
Suffolk Counties.
Toni Anne's responsibilities
include digital marketing for the
group, which currently consists of
24 stores; creating, maintaining
and measuring the internet and
business development processes for
all stores on behalf of the partners;
developing and maintaining the
new hire and interview process for
all appointment coordinators and
business development managers; as
well as conducting ongoing and consistent internal training courses for
the Atlantic Automotive Group. Her
team of 19 BDC managers and 82
appointment coordinators delivers
anywhere from 5,000- 5,600 units
per month.
In the following interview, Toni
Anne shares with us her considerable insights on how to set up
and manage a successful Business
Development Center. She also talks
about the challenges of juggling
work and home, as well as the
winning formula she uses to create
a proper balance between those two
commitments.

TONI ANNE, YOU STARTED
IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY AS A
RECEPTIONIST AND TODAY,
MORE THAN 15 YEARS LATER,
YOU ARE THE DIRECTOR OF
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
FOR THE ATLANTIC AUTO
GROUP, A BILLION-DOLLAR
ENTERPRISE AND THE EIGHTH
LARGEST DEALER GROUP IN
THE COUNTRY. COULD YOU
FILL US IN ON THIS AMAZING
JOURNEY; IN OTHER WORDS,
HOW DID YOU GET FROM THERE
TO HERE?

I started as a part-time receptionist in 2000. It was not my intention
to pursue a career in automotive. It
was just a part-time job while I was
attending college. About six months
after I started, was when BDC was
kind of born within the industry. I
noticed that department was made
up of only two people, and they
were able to control how much they
made in terms of income because of
the additional monthly commission.
So, I thought if the general manager
would be willing to accommodate
my school schedule, I would rather
do that, with the chance to make
more money. Because that has
always been my personality type:
how can I take whatever I'm doing
to the next level? I spoke with the
general manager and he was able to
accommodate my school schedule.
Basically, I went to school from 6
a.m. to 9 a.m. and then worked at
the dealership until the evening.
At this point, it was probably
2001, when "internet," not the
way we know internet today, but
when the internet was starting to
become a thing. Back then, it was
just a contact form on your website. We had an AOL email address
for the dealership, because there
really wasn't a CRM yet. We would
correspond with that customer
via the email address or by phone.
The general manager asked me if
I would be interested in managing
this new internet department. That
was technically a promotion, and I
became the internet manager. We
were delivering 40 to 60 units each
month out of the internet department, which was a big number at
the time.
I did that for about a year, at
which point I realized there really
wasn't any room to grow with that
company. So, I went to work for another Toyota dealer on Long Island
as their BDC manager and stayed
with them for about five years.
I wanted to take my career to the
next level, which meant I would
probably have to work for a dealer

group. I was speaking to an OEM
rep about wanting to grow and that
person told me Huntington Toyota,
which was also on Long Island, was
looking for a business development
manager, and they are part of the
Atlantic Auto Group. I went to
the interview and they hired me. I
worked in that store, running the
single-point BDC, from 2008 until
2010.
In 2010, I had my son and considered not returning, taking a couple of
years off while he was young. Shortly
thereafter, the managing partners,
Michael Brown and John Pickett,
called to offer me the position of
BDC director and have me oversee
all of the business development
departments and work out of the
corporate office. I had been planning
to stay home with my son but this is
what I had been working toward. So,
after speaking with my husband, we
decided that we would make it work.
I formally accepted the position in
April of 2011. And that's how I got
here. When I took that position, we
had 11 or 12 stores and now we have
24.
YOU'VE CERTAINLY ENJOYED
GREAT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS. WHAT'S YOUR
BDC PHILOSOPHY?

First of all, to lead by example. I
spend a lot of time nurturing and
coaching and counseling my BDC
managers - there are 19 of them. We
have 24 stores, but I have a couple
of managers who oversee multiple
points. These 19 managers all report
directly to me. We are not in the
same building, and we're not centralized. I still try to spend as much
time as possible with them building
leadership skills. I think there is a
huge difference between a leader
and a manager or supervisor, and I
think that's what makes a difference
between an average or a good BDC
and an above average or great BDC.
So, my first philosophy would be lead
by example.
My second piece of that, which

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

Continued on pg. 30
FEBRUARY 2018

29
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - February 2018
