SAT#44 - 🎖️🇺🇸🪖 Celebrating Our Heroes

TOGETHER WITH

Every picnic in the park, every cap tossed at graduation, every peaceful evening stroll...these are the moments of liberty our veterans fought for.

Today, let’s not just say “thank you for your service,” let’s choose to live it by being grateful for every cherished freedom.

Happy Veteran’s Day, friends!

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHT

Kayla Kody of Richmond Ford

This week, Chris spoke with Kayla Kody, the Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Richmond Ford. 

Howdy Kayla! As always, let's start with how you entered the automotive industry.

Despite my father owning a dealership, I didn't start in automotive. Post-college, a hiring freeze at the World Bank led me to Charlotte, North Carolina, where I joined a home builder company. My growth there and a suggestion to start my own business led me to acquire them as my first client. I later took on a dealership as a client. I realized the similarities between homebuilding and automotive, which brought my father's dealership on board, too.

How did your father react to you joining the business?

He was initially hesitant, preferring that I gain experience elsewhere to avoid the pitfalls of nepotism and ensure success through proven worth.

Now, I oversee three dealerships full-time. I still engage with the homebuilding sector but focus on automotive dealerships.

How has your role evolved at the dealership?

Initially overseeing marketing, my role expanded to include business processes. Promotion to Vice President came with encouragement to maintain outside industry activities, providing a competitive edge.

What's the secret to doing your job? 

Patience and communication during changes are vital. Setting realistic expectations helps manage transitions. Innovation is essential for growth and serving customers.

How have you seen retail auto love people more than it loves cars? 

The industry offers vast opportunities for diverse individuals to grow. Our goal is to improve work-life balance and culture, evident in our four-day workweek initiative for sales staff and flexible department schedules.

Oh, that's cool. How do you foster that healthy work-life balance for your team?

Besides the four-day workweek, we focus on hiring the right people who embody a work-hard, play-hard mentality, support each other, and thrive in a cohesive system.

Unlike the traditional 'sink or swim' approach in parts of the industry, we invest heavily in our staff's growth, which speaks to our culture and values.

So, getting hired is like entering a deep, trusting relationship from day one? 

Trust is integral to our operations. We don't expect years of service for better work conditions. Our investment in training and development is significant, offering support from the start where it benefits everybody. 

TOGETHER WITH UPSTART

Reach New Heights

Finding the right partner is tough. 😅

Will Benedicts, Variable Operations Director at Proctor Acura, says the biggest reason they adopted Upstart Auto Retail was the flexibility they needed to deliver a great customer experience.

“We didn’t want someone who was just a lead generator and wanted as few pain points as possible. There’s a lot of sincerity in the relationship. Every digital retail tool has a relationship manager, but they’re not Upstart.”

Enjoy things like:

🚀 Sky-high Approval Rates — In Proctor’s case, they achieved a 4.9 customer rating on Google with more than 500 positive reviews.

🚀 Boosted Engagement — Proctor doubled its Digital Retailing engagement rate.

🚀 Stellar Efficiency — Free your team to focus on what they do best – sell cars.

Get started on your success story with Upstart Auto Retail today!

CONTENT RECAP

Rewind the Week

EMAIL:

• Warm coats from warm hearts at Ciocca Dealerships. 🧥

• The folks at DeMontrond Auto Group opened a clinic on-site for associates and their families. 🏥

• From pump to plug: can EVs save you money? 🤨

PODCAST:

The Automotive Troublmakers recap Used Car Week with Steve Greenfield, PLUS we host the winner of the NAVIcon Cup — Jimmy Douglas of Plug. 👏

Plug won the 3rd Annual NAVIcon Cup, pitching against other tech startups to a panel of industry-leading judges, including our own Kyle Mountsier. 🏆

👉 Check out the full convo here. 👈

SOMETHING FUN

The New Face of Robocop

Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz has introduced a new player in the field of autonomous vehicles: the Robocop, a driverless dump truck designed specifically for use in coal mines. ⛰️

Borrowing more than just a name from the 1987 film, the Robocop seems to embody the same futuristic, tech-driven spirit. Stripped of traditional features like doors and mirrors, the truck resembles something straight out of a dystopian Detroit…except it's headed for Siberia. 🇷🇺

Kamaz is sending its autonomous marvel to the coal-rich city of Kemerovo for it’s first real-world testing to showcase the truck's capabilities in a challenging environment, proving that it's not just a fancy prototype but a fully functional worker bee.

This truck may not be fighting off villains or delivering deadpan one-liners, but it certainly is breaking new ground. 🪨⛏️