Digital Dealer - November 2019 - 23

Once I got married and moved back to
Long Island, my father suggested I come
back to work at the dealership. I was
already accustomed to working long hours,
so I thought if I'm going to work like that
I might as well work for myself and my
family. That's when I joined the family
business. My father bought the dealership
in 1976, and he has been a great role model.
It has been my good fortune to be able to
work with my family.
As those of us in the business know, the
recession hurt our industry as much as any
business. We thought we might lose our
franchise when Chrysler filed Chapter 11
bankruptcy. Instead, we added Chrysler
and Jeep to our rooftop. That was a turning
point for our store. Last year we retailed
504 new and 198 used vehicles.
The uncertainty surrounding the
recession made me realize I needed to be
more involved in what it means to be a
franchise dealer. I wanted to know what
was going on in order to better protect our
family franchise investment. So, around
that time, I became more active in the
Greater New York Auto Dealers Association.
What I really love about the car business
is the chance to talk to so many people. I
love selling cars, especially when it leads to
a long-term customer relationship.
DEALER MAGAZINE:

If a woman asks you for advice on
whether to work in the industry, what
would you say?
JANE: I would tell them to try us out.
You don't need any unique or special skills.
All dealers are willing to train. You must
have a passion and desire to work, as well
as be a team player. You can enjoy a career
path for a long time with a well-paying job.
Our industry provides stability, growth,
good careers and financial stability.
DEALER MAGAZINE: Would you
describe yourself as a hands-on or handsoff manager?
JANE: I'm definitely more of a handson manager. We're a small dealership
with 32 employees, so I'm always still here
dealing with all kinds of issues at the end
of the day. We're a tightly knit dealership,
which is one of the benefits of working

here. I believe effective leadership requires
speaking directly to employees and having
them feel you have integrity. It's also giving
direction so they can succeed, as well as
asking and listening to their ideas for
how improvements can be made for the
betterment of the team.
DEALER MAGAZINE: What specific
skills do you look for when hiring new
talent?
JANE: Communication. Enthusiasm.
And a desire to work. If they have those
skills, we can teach them the car business.
We have regular hands-on training with
our staff. We also utilize the association's
seminars, which provide a vast array of
educational support for dealers.
DEALER
MAGAZINE: I'd like

THE
UNCERTAINTY
SURROUNDING
THE RECESSION
MADE ME REALIZE I
NEEDED TO BE MORE
INVOLVED IN WHAT
IT MEANS TO BE A
FRANCHISE DEALER."

to shift to marketing.
What is your
dealership's marketing
strategy, and how
involved are you with
social media?
JANE: We do a mix:
some TV, newspaper,
and digital. We
work a lot with our
in-house database,
applying analytics
and intelligence for
targeted e-mail marketing. We market on
social media, using Facebook and Google
ads. We also take advantage of marketing
through the manufacturer. Texting is an
important communication tool for us, and
we use it quite often through our CRM
system.
DEALER MAGAZINE: Which CRM and
DMS products do you use?
JANE: We use VinSolutions for our
CRM and Reynolds & Reynolds for DMS.
Certainly, every system has hiccups. But
we're pleased with both. We've been
running Reynolds & Reynolds as our DMS
for more than five years and VinSolutions
for about seven months.
DEALER MAGAZINE: What single
piece of technology has made the greatest
difference to your dealership?

Continued on pg. 24

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

NOVEMBER 2019

23
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Digital Dealer - November 2019

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