homegrown series folks.
This has been a lot of fun to be able to talk to people.
Local um see some things.
I have a superstar sitting right next to me to my left, not just because this is who’s.
My homeboys dudes, like a brother, i mean we literally spent months and months together, traveling the country spent days hanging out just at our houses years in life, yeah yeah.
We we, our kids, our family, like it’s like his kids, are like my niece, and you know niece and nephew, and vice versa.
I know my son to them is like their nephew and just like with lou we’re all the same.
We kind of have this connection right here and it’s it’s a beautiful connection and that’s something whether the car business was still around or not.
We’re always going to have that because we built that and that’s kind of before the car business.
That’s how he dragged me right, yeah and that’s what’s so beautiful about this – is that it’s it’s like you find life.
Life is everything you know.
I always compare life and car business because they to me you can use the same kind of things that you want done in life, but you can in car business, and it applies right.
So you know these friends that i’ve met.
You know he said before the car business you know really before the car business sean and i have met um went to the same high school together.
You know our kid.
We basically grew up as adults together, yeah literally like raising itty-bitty babies.
To now we have grown men and women going late in college, yeah, yeah college and yeah yeah, no doubt, but you know: hey, i’m not going to go too much further, because there’s going to we got a lot of stuff.
We want to ask you on it’s five liner um, but i also before we go.
There’s always this thing we do at the very beginning of every show, it’s very important.
You know we know we do it every single day at work, right yeah.
You know what i mean: that’s basically what it is that we try to keep ourselves uh being able to do to go to the next heights and focus on where it is that we want to go so on three car guys and car gals join us.
While we forgive focus, fly one, two, three forgive focus fly and keep growing.
If you saw that intro at the beginning, you’ll see that, like we get, we get everybody to do that as a guest.
So, what’s cool is that here soon you’ll be in our intro.
Doing that yeah right now and and here’s another fact, some royalties, this is the first time some face.
Anybody has done it right next to me and lou on our show, it’s always been on two different screens or something like that.
So this is history being made right now, folks that was beautiful.
Now, look, look, look what i also got him to do.
Oh snap, oh he’s on the board.
We’ve had so many we’ve had some amazing guests.
We’ve had a couple signatures, but we’ve never had a you know this is it feels good best signature on the book? How big that is, i love it.
I told him to go big and he did it.
So i love it.
You can actually read the name.
So that’s the point so five-liner all right man, so we’re gon na ask you five questions, sean and these five questions are just about you about.
What’s coming up, i always ask the same question.
First, everyone that gets asked this question because it’s important to start with this um your purpose, your your! Why, when you wake up every day, what is the thing that sparks you to say? You know what today i’m going to be better today, i’m going to go work out today, i’m going to you know: i’m not going to sit there and just watch it up, walk by i’m not going to not pick up the phone and call this lead.
What causes you to go ahead and make sure that you do all those things you know anytime anytime, you have, you know family watching, you anytime, you have friends watching it co-workers watching you and you would expect that of the same people you just have to.
You.
Have to lead by example, so the family trying to be what i preach.
You know practice what you preach.
Definitely in that way, yeah man and that’s and it’s such it’s true, family practice, what you preach so you’re, just what what it drives.
You is that you’re, just an honest person, man, you um, that’s one thing, that’s well, that’s you know, i don’t think there’s such thing.
You know, i think that maybe in the long run, there’s no such thing as too honest.
You know, i think.
Sometimes it may slap somebody in the face because, you’re being honest in a sense, you know what i mean like it may be like it gives them an awakening, but that’s something that i always really really uh find us.
A great trade about you sean is that i don’t have to worry about that like.
I know that if i ask you what your opinion is on something, if i ask you that question, i better be ready for the real answer.
At least my opinion yeah.
So so i know that there’s like there’s certain questions that i can go.
Ask certain people and i know i’m not going to get i’m just going to get the smile on your face.
Oh everything’s great or i can go to sean and just be like hey dude, i jacked up dude.
What do you think about this? I’m trying to be like? Oh yeah, you did jack up.
This is what you know.
So that’s what i think is great.
I think that your clients see that about you that you’re, a no-nonsense person, i think, that’s why you’ve been successful and they’ll be very consistent in what you do.
Um the uh family thing.
If there’s anything, i know about sean this dude’s a family man dude.
He loves his family, he’s um raised two wonderful children and that’s some more stuff we’ll talk about here in a moment, no more, no, but he yeah.
He literally raised them from you know from out the belly to out the house and um right and uh.
You know sean’s got empty nest syndrome going on right now, um so he’s just trying to throw dogs in there and cats [ Laughter ], but no it’s it’s real.
It’s true! You know the thing about the reason why i asked you the.
Why is the reason why i ask everybody the? Why is because, when i always think about when i was in a business when i was selling i’m in the business stuff, but when i was out there on the lot on, you know catching ups pounding the pavement.
I remember there was days that it was too hot outside it was too cold outside or you know i just wasn’t feeling it or you know i just not in a good mood and i would sit there and i would be like instead of not working instead Of not being outside, instead of not catching that up instead of not, you know doing the extra walk around on a car with that it takes in this type of weather.
I would drive myself because i would think about what would my son and my wife say if i called them right now.
That’s something i learned a long time ago.
So i use my family as my.
Why? But as i get older and as i mature a little bit more that why that’s that’s just because that’s the right thing to do so, and i so it is it’s a great thing to power you to get you past the next level.
But i think what it continually makes me do, that is the drive to just be better than i was yesterday, and i talk about that.
A lot constant growth keep growing and just being a little bit better, like you know whether it’s just being able to do one more push-up, one, more pull-up, one more burpee right, you know or or maybe making that one extra phone call or whatever it is.
That’s truthfully: what drives me now is just to be better.
It’s that’s.
I found that to be my purpose and that, because it spreads out to a lot of things that drive me such as my family, such as um, my friends such as you know everything you can imagine you know.
So that’s just one of those things that i can use, but i just try to be a little bit better.
You know i’m not in competition with you sean with him.
I just believe that, if i’m better than i was yesterday, i’m just that means there’s a huge improvement going on just got a constant 365 days of it turn that into 10 years 10 years from now freaking i could you know i’m doing some miracle miracles right.
So um, so i love that answer.
I think that one thing about sean, like i said his him being a family man is key to him, and i know that he loves his wife adores his wife.
They have a great village they’re good.
They are like almost 21 years, yeah him and his wife are like amazing people, his wife.
Actually, when it comes to my wife, my wife is like loves chris, that’s like a home girl right.
So true i mean real talk.
That’s like that’s the one and uh! So me and sean have been able to build on that.
So we’ve we’ve become friends and we’ve.
You know, done a lot of stuff, so i’ve seen these things so he’s 100 right.
So question two for lou.
Thank you! I’m just down for uh sean to share uh anything that he has in the side of um.
What’s connected you in the car business and what has made you uh kind of build a brand around uh around you? Why is it that we’re going with chef shawn? Why is it uh that that you have done things for years like i’ve gone back uh into the archives of what the dealership’s been doing in so many of the older videos that were you and your testimonials? You know what i mean the other things that we’ve had out there um.
Why is it that um over the years, it’s been so important for you to reshape, rebuild and connect your person to your uh to your car guy persona, if that makes sense, um, because there’s so much, that’s you that’s wrapped into the chef sean.
You know what i mean it just keeps it real.
I mean there’s no, there’s no fluff or there’s no advertisement, it’s just it’s real.
It is what it is you know being who i am.
I try to wrap my my my art, which is cooking into you.
Know my my business, which is you know, helping people, you know solve transportation problems so anything it’s cooked, yes and i can cook and they say looking at all that stuff.
That’s you know just that’s part of part of my personality, so just as i would put love into making great food, you know try to put the love into making it.
You know a good deal for myself and for the customers got the right recipe for you.
Folks out there you know, if you’re out there and you’re not you’re in hardin county, if you’re anywhere across the country, we can help.
You come soon come see.
Him he’s got a recipe for you he’s going to make sure that it has the perfect flavor everything about the deal not to get cheesy, but to get real.
Oh come on, i’m just turning to lou real, quick, so the.
But he really is the chef, though so i mean think of this and when going uh on one of the boat trips right when we’re out there with all the guys – and you know we’re we’re on a house boat trip for three – that’s what we created right.
This man right here, is preparing and continuing to move the entire food flow like you’re, on a luxury cruise liner, okay and where you’re eating food.
That’s amazing! Everything that you touch and eat is like blowing your mind right, while you’re just sitting outside a great environment.
He’s doing that by himself the whole time he loves you, you know what i mean because he loves it and enjoys it.
It doesn’t matter.
What’s going on italian beef, sandwiches, sandwiches, hey you hungry! If you even look like you’re a little hungry, that’s the thing! You know it’s out there, fire up the ground sean’s, not just sean, doesn’t just like uh, isn’t just good at cooking and he absolutely loves doing that.
I mean you can see it like.
He loves to make a good dish.
I’ve known that, since i’ve known sean every time he says: hey, i’m having a little grill out at my house, you want to come yeah, it’s been good.
I’ve been able to taste a lot of different things from his smoked food.
To his i mean everything on a gr sean i mean when it comes especially to sean cook anything, but when it comes to grill it’s a grill master right here.
Yeah kills it on the grill.
Oh i’m not fat man.
What are we grilling again, i’m going to go ahead and make that happen soon, so so on the grill being the the master that he was.
I guess in connecting number two.
What was it that you did before the car business and what connected you to the car business? What did i do before the car business? I actually had a contract company, i’m doing small partial delivery for a you know, major outfit here in the united states um.
How that connects me, i guess, is really is really the type of employment or the type of lifestyle that you would have as a as a car.
Guy individually, you know as a small business owner.
It’s your lifestyle, it’s not clocking in or clocking out or or you know or like leaving it.
You know you, don’t you always waiting for the phone call.
You always answer your phone.
You always respond and do your business, you know so in the car business.
I didn’t when i left the my my small business.
I did not want to clock in or be kind of you know privy to to control in that way, or you know control my money or anything like that.
So it gave me the opportunity to just be myself still be creating my own small business within you know another large business doing that gives me the freedom to you know have my time and to take care of people, how i need to take care of them And implement obviously strategies you guys have taught me over years, but you know things that i know how to do.
You know with staying organized and you know and being proactive and searching for business, so right, right, kind of transition.
You know – and that’s that’s really.
You know, after my my small business closed down.
Um fred, you know asked me a couple times: hey you want to come on the road.
I did.
I’ve turned it down more times than i said.
Yes, of course you know, but it only takes that one takes one.
Yes and then you know, and i’m a closer on the road and lose like hey or fred’s, like hey we’re going on the road, i’m going to go on a sale, but i’m not going with you, even though i told you i wanted you to go with Us but lou is going to be your manager.
So next thing you know we’re driving to the hills of kentucky and for taurus with blue ramirez, and you know it all kind of transitions from there.
It’s crazy how that works.
You know – and you know that’s crazy.
Sean got sean got to see some crazy parts.
John sean was out there with us staying in hotels, seeing what it’s like to be out.
There he’s dug it.
He dug in deep he earned his.
He earned his players card.
You know what i’m saying so he knows what he’s talking about, because there were weeks on the road.
You know, you know you qualify, people you know, y’all would scan in.
You know: 100 200, you know scans.
I forgot.
We just had that little scanner.
We were high tech so consider that real, quick for all of you, car guys and car gals out there think of this for a moment.
Put yourself in this position.
Okay, you were never in the car business.
You didn’t sit through an orientation class.
You didn’t watch a bunch of joe birdie videos or any of the uh, the the old vhs’s of the of the past right.
You didn’t go through any of that stuff.
You didn’t get prepped too much outside of your boy.
Saying, hey come out with me.
We’re going to go to the sale and remember these sales are not just any day sales.
These are the sales that you use to put the the defibrillator on a dealership and ignite them into into life.
Again, right, you add the jump box, that’s what the sale is he’s brand new.
He had 200 people inside of a week that he’s that he’s having to pull in and then have to process and turn into car deals.
Okay, brand new didn’t know anything hasn’t been taught, nothing hasn’t really.
I mean for just the drive there: maybe okay, absolutely yeah, there’s ten steps and and we’re gon na do this and it’s just gon na look like but hey when we get there, we got ta line up all the cars and we got ta set up all This and we got ta, run the caution tape.
You know what i mean all that other crazy stuff.
That’s going on moving the cars around making anything right.
What where how hey they’re here they want this.
They want.
You know what i mean and imagine this this.
The crazy uh fire hydrant of of drinking that he had to do at that time that many people don’t have to hit it that aggressively.
But you didn’t you took it like a champ man, you took it like at night, uh man, it was exciting.
I mean it was all new.
It was totally a new industry for me, so it was, you know, invigorating to to learn.
Basically, you know, being you know, doing small parcel.
That’s you learn everything that you have to do about that and trucks and and business and financially john, basically in his in when he was talking about you, know partials when he was doing this business.
He did it for a long time and he would drive an hour plus in lexington 90 minutes almost unless you’re flying, but you know 90 minutes to get to his reward his where he had his business like that was his headquarters right there and then he started.
They started upgrading, they started doing you know working on their vehicles.
They started doing this because you know they understood.
That’s the way you save from overhead and he did a good job.
So he started learning about everything about motors.
All these you know brakes having a constantly brakes was probably the most common thing.
Yeah yeah i mean i could imagine on those those things are heavy.
Oh yeah then having to deal with drivers that were like iffy, sometimes nascar, drivers right some of them and then that you know they get in little accidents.
Oh my gosh, all kinds of stuff having to make sure that you had your your all your right licenses.
You know so sean was on top of it.
Sean did it for a long time.
That was a lot of fun during those days sean and i got to hang out a lot.
I was working at home.
I was actually at that time.
I was doing a lot of uh calling dealers and i saw i was working from home most of the time, so i didn’t have to really go anywhere, so i would just stay at home.
Make some phone calls? I didn’t do it enough phone calls, but i i did i made phone calls and then i go hang out with sean a lot so sean and i hung out quite a bit.
Then you know born in taekwondo.
What’s about what i did every day, i was going to taekwondo like eight hours a week, guys no joke so in skateboarding every single day, pretty much so, but it was.
It was a good time.
You know so that was probably when me and sean became the closest, so that would that would lead into my third question.
You know um.
I know that you know before you did this um.
You were a uh, you know you, you had your business and you know you uh before you did that.
I know you were you.
Could you actually like, where, like like a cook in the in the right yeah in the industry and so sean he so he, but he was doing it at like not like a steak joint.
He was, i mean kinda, but he was doing it like at asian places and things like that.
So sean learned a lot of culture that but sean’s also the kind of guy who grew up around culture um.
He has family that has different culture in them.
Um and shawn so sean’s much like how lou and i and how most of my friends look is that we don’t look at people at different.
We look them at all as human beings as family.
You know because everybody could be family, you never know, doesn’t matter what color your skin is.
It’s just we’re all love right.
So what would you say hope out of all the stuff that you learned growing up the people you were around and all that type of stuff? What would you say was the thing that you learned that you learned as a trait inside you or as a idea inside you about the world and about people? What would you say? Helped you become the kind of guy who can talk to people and be able to talk to everyone that makes sense and look at everyone as the same.
I guess just just do unto others.
You know, like you, know, that growing up and in multiple you know have an opportunity, for you know: low income having medium income having different different ways in teens different walks of life.
It’s just no one understanding, everybody is the same and everybody feels the same and it’s happy the same and it’s sad the same and the color doesn’t matter.
I’ve learned a lot about geography and you know histories of the world and stuff like that kind of growing up and just knowing that it all it all kind of comes down to humanism versus anything.
You know so uh yeah.
I guess i guess that just kind of doing unto others, because you know no matter even an animal, you know i wouldn’t viciously hurt an animal because i wouldn’t viciously want anything to hurt me.
You know.
So that’s just kind of that way.
You know yeah.
So much so well you’re a good human right and that that kind of question goes up.
After retrospect, after i asked the question, i realized that’s kind of like one of those he’s saying he’s a good human and what i i guess, more or less.
I was wanting to say that sean is one, a great human being um beyond anything.
You know just take away the car guy, let’s take away um, even being a family guy.
You know he’s he’s a good human being he’s the kind of guy he wants like he just said, and that’s why i love you said that he says he want.
You know do unto others as you want done, unto you and um so, but don’t expect that you know what sean does is he throws out that type of vibe to people hey.
I respect you, you respect me, don’t give me crap.
I won’t give you crap that type of stuff right and so that’s exactly the way he wants to be treated, and i can respect that, but don’t tread on him.
Oh, don’t kill him or anybody that he cares about.
I mean or anybody he cares about.
I’ll.
Tell you you know: yeah john, didn’t really funny sean did a funny post sort of funny, that’s sort of serious too.
He writes you all know me why.
Why would i be in? Why would i need you to bail me out right, something’s that nature right arrested? Why would you need me to be yeah yeah? I i mean i can tell you it’s between like one or two things.
You know it says it’s family or friends, it’s one of the only things it wouldn’t be for something or we won’t talk about the third but the first two growing up.
I mean i never got into any trouble myself.
If i got into fights it was because of my sisters, so you do that’s what you do as a big brother.
I guess you know.
I never had a problem with anybody.
It was always them having problems.
So that’s right, so sean is always uh enjoying the at arms that we feel when we talk about the stages that our daughters are going through and the things that we we cringe and knowing you know or our kids have to be exposed to, because you know How guys are, and and and stuff like that and we’re sitting there trying to grow through it all, and we share that pain together um as our our daughters have made this transition into into these women that are now out there doing women things right, they’re going Going to college living on their own, you know, and – and we have each other to lean on during this – and it’s such a blessing.
It’s so great for me, uh just to kind of share the the hey, oh she’s, going through this today.
Oh she’s she’s, going through that too.
Oh, my gosh, you know what i mean that that kind of that this stage of dad is fun for us all, and man we’re enjoying it uh.
But it’s it’s just fun having somebody like sean, and so many of you have a culture inside of your your your dealership and where it is that you are make sure that you are.
You are finding a way to interweave yourself on a level that’s deeper than just the car deal.
Okay, the function of what it is that you do inside of your your business is, is good, but where it is that you dig your roots, deep, the the deep places that actually give you the life that it takes for you to produce fruit, like the roots Of a tree, they dig deep into what you cannot see to find and draw out water right to create fruit and those fruits create seed.
Well, sometimes, we got ta dig a little deeper.
What do we usually do when we’re digging deeper we’re gon na hit the chest one time and we are going to make sure that we are penetrating the heart and the things that we do so a lot of our culture at work or for the people right Is that it’s not so much just about the cardio right? It’s the people, you know, there’s a there’s, an accolade that we enjoy being the best place to work in kentucky.
We’ve attained it for three years now and there there’s something about being able to not just say that we have the best deals in town which isn’t even what we would promote um, but uh, saying that we have uh the best people and we love the people.
The most and making that our culture uh, because if they they see it evident on us, you know what i mean when a customer walks into your.
You know in the dealership to my desk and they sit down at my desk.
You know i mean i’m there at my desk or at my place of business, sometimes more than i am at home, so you got to have that feel when they sit at your desk.
You don’t want them to feel like they’re sitting in a business.
It’s i spent a lot of time there, so i wanted to be comfortable, you know, so i want them to be comfortable as if they’re walking to my living room sitting on my couch and i’m handing them a bottle of water there.
It’s the same concept.
You make friends, you know and you them comfortable, you’re comfortable everything usually works a little right.
Let me write that note down just like a ship right.
I love that.
That’s sean, that’s a very good nugget folks.
Did you hear what he just said? So when you bring your clients in you, sit them down in front of you, don’t make it feel sterile like they’re at office right make it like you’re sitting down at your couch and you’re, getting to know each other like friends.
Make that your priority? Oh, my god, you see how culture is is shifting in that direction.
Right, i mean capital one i mean, even if they’re in in their advertisement, they’re saying, let’s wipe away what you feel is the big banker experience and we’re going to make it to where it’s a sit down: homey cozy type of flow um chef.
If we step, we we step into the room and we go over to your area inside of the store um, because i consider it so much like like it’s the straw market right, like everybody, has their their area and they create it kind of the way they Want it and they promote themselves their way uh, but chef sean has this entire wall, that’s from top to bottom side to side filled with cars all over it.
What is that that you got going on over there? That is the kid car lot.
So it’s hot wheels.
It gives me a reason to you know, walk through the aisle and look for cool toys.
Anyways, but uh just have a wall of cars.
Kid car lot, um the kids come in with their with their parents.
You know they’re, always a big part of the car deal.
Always you know so notice that notice, how they’re talking to their kids about it notice? What they’re saying what their kids are saying about the car, because it really does matter more than you.
What you’re saying so um, but you know i usually give a car away to each kid once once they’re there, their parents, you know, do business, i let the kid know: hey you get a new car today, too pick one off the wall boom everybody’s, usually pretty Happy it’s definitely.
You know it’s cool to see yeah.
No, it is it’s it’s i when i saw it that was like it made my mind, go hello, that’s so it’s and it’s a idea.
That sounds very simple right, but it’s so powerful, simple things are amazing.
When you just don’t think about them before i mean as easy as just saying: hey, kids, not only do your parents get a car, but you get to pick one out too.
Oh, come on closed.
You know in the park there’s some there’s some business in there.
You know – and i just have a memory like that, but you know if i, if you’re three years down the road you’re mowing the grass and you run over a hot wheel in the yard – that’s muddy and you pick it up and it’s just hey.
This is the one that my kid got from that car from chicago for a new car.
Anyway, sometimes it can be better than a business card.
It is better than a business card.
I’m gon na tell you that the little things that you hear the customer do, after the close or after you feel like they’ve gone to that next stage.
You know what i mean.
I mean everybody takes their deep breath and tries to uh then count their marbles.
Uh after the customer breaks the curb and they’re driving down the street right, all steps are in-house.
Let’s ride right, but there’s there’s these key things that happen after they they sign on the offer or after they they shake the hand or they we hit the elbows.
Now right, there’s there’s key things that happen, but when the the mom runs in there and be like guess what guess? What guess? What remember that that car we just drove yeah we’re getting it and come here, come here, let’s go and then the mom isn’t quick to pull you over and you’re you’re sitting there getting all your paperwork ready.
You know, as as the car buying coach or the sales person you’re all pumped up about it, but they come through and they do those things.
It’s those other things that seal that experience for for you and the customer uh.
That makes it that much more enjoyable that much more memorable uh, because the way for you to stay relevant to your customers going forward from here is to stay memorable to them.
Um, because folks, there is a whole lot of fighting for their attention right now and and chef sean is, is leading the pack in making the shift from the the one.
The one way that we all knew how to do stuff to now being able to embrace and see the effectiveness and and understand the customer and how they’re changing and how they approach it.
What types of things um have you seen uh as being some of the biggest challenges uh and now communicating and connecting that customer to the physical appointment on the ground? I guess i just flowed here.
I don’t know why? That’s what i mean from like making an appointment to get somebody on the ground right, the biggest the biggest challenge.
What has been the biggest shift now uh in the midst of covid, in the midst of the way that we have to uh contact customers and deal with customers? What has been the biggest shift inside of that time that you had to to make with the customer? Uh before they would actually come through – and i mean this when we were completely locked down like we really couldn’t touch uh anything that they were touching right – well, yeah.
So so you know normally they come in.
You know it can be a process of a day.
Two days three days: well now you know you kind of have to work a lot of it over the phone.
Try to build all that rapport over the phone um and then, of course, people didn’t want to be exposed a lot.
So they would.
You know they would try to get most of the business part of it done before they arrived um.
That was probably the biggest thing that changed for us is doing some of the process.
You know virtually or you know, over the phone versus physically.
You know in the dealership um and it’s hard to build a report with somebody if they’re not sitting your couch, you know what i mean it’s so or you know once they do there now you know kind of moving forward.
We have the masks on you know.
I smile and i have a lot of facial expressions as you can probably see through the whole video here um but uh.
You know that’s how i, how i communicate with a lot of people too, and i think how they communicate with us, and the the master of the people has really changed.
All you sometimes see is that they are i staring at you, you don’t know how you’re being received, or you know how they’re receiving you either.
You know.
So definitely you know, but you know what changes the game just throw this at you, man what it does! Change the game, so, but what cool about that? Because of the match, you could be more forward now with those types of things.
Do you like this really or not? I can’t tell usually i could tell when people are smiling, but i can’t tell.
Can you just tell me, and then that could be more of a joke and they’re going to be more free, so there’s a up, there’s always two sides to a coin right.
Definitely so i no i’m excited you know.
I’m excited that uh.
That thing there’s so many ways to look at stuff i’ve.
I don’t know my feet over here underneath the table i got them picked up, they’re shaking i’m like well, while they’re shaking over there.
We want to let you know that this brew has been brought by.
Think ad group yeah, i think ad group – is the incredible solutionaries that we have teamed up with to make sure that we are helping spread.
The message that you can uh find a solution to a problem without having to be attached to one singular product.
The mindset of justin and derrick and evelyn and all of the solutionaries affiliated with group are always finding a way uh to brew solutions for you, and we are just thankful that we get to uh be with them again.
This brew has been brought by then i mean think group, you know man, i missed it.
We got to do it again.
This group has been brought by air group.
There we go there, you go so back um.
Let’s see the reason why it seems so important.
Uh at this time to connect the dots between the customer and the message and the experience and the delivery is that there’s so much that’s been pushing the customer to get away from the person, so you having to be memorable inside of their their their life.
You know you have to be somebody that they have a relationship with that they can turn down the the idea to shop on carvana.
Why? Because you can make it just as easy, if not more pleasant.
You know more trustworthy, 100 um.
Why is it uh? I mean, i guess i guess i kind of just lean more into the just the same understanding there, of connecting your your brand to the actual experience that the customer is getting and what have you seen as far as being effective in giving them a hey.
This is how this ride is going to go.
You know what i mean.
What have you seen as the key tools? I mean you’ve, you’ve been able to experience and seeing how the next cell app works and and the way that you approach that prospecting of of a customer, because again we’re not out handing out business cards anymore.
You know what i mean that that that day is different, you know what i mean: you’re, not shaking hands in line at all.
You know you’re you’re, not you shouldn’t.
Have that close? You shouldn’t be that close.
You know what i mean: um, so uh having stuff like that, having tools implemented into your business um.
What? What have you seen as being a key component uh to making sure that your message is getting out there beyond uh? Just a hey, i met a car guy at a car lot.
One day i mean everybody, has it in their hand? You know their phone, so you have to you have to be on social media.
You know they’re, you know that’s the biggest way to keep in contact, especially when your customers do leave.
You know friending them requesting them messaging them.
That way, you can let everybody know who you are where you are, what you’re doing you know how you can absolutely um stay in it staying in touch, you know not just you know not just with the car business, but you know try to be interactive too.
Try to have you know, questions and comments, and people can, you know, have fun with you.
Then i have a lot of hobbies.
I cook, and you know i like cars too, so a lot of that stuff that i you know.
I interact with friends on a friend level, you know what i mean would be cooking and food, or you know, cars and racing building.
Things like that and you know, keeps those common grounds where you’re not just always talking about selling a car or buying a car.
It’s friendship within other ways.
You can do that on social media with with social friends 100.
That is your calling card now so, and this is what i try to implore to my people and and he’s that’s right, because you don’t need a business card.
If you have that, you can just get people connected that way, um he says friends.
He says friends that he just interacts with his cooking.
His driving or just you know, hey, what’s up type stuff right.
Those friends eventually need cars, so eventually they’re going to come, see you, but if they don’t know you’re doing this job or they don’t think you do it at a higher level.
They might go see the guy who’s posting more stuff about selling cars.
So a lot of times what i’ve come to find is you’ve got to do a certain percentage of everything you know.
I can’t just be all business on social media which, to my fault, that’s probably one of my weaknesses, i’m pretty much 90 plus business.
When i post stuff, i do put out about some like i posted one last night, that was you know personal, and then i things like that, but i don’t really do it too often um.
I probably should do more, so people know who i really am, and then my friends, even my friends, know who i am and what i do um, but sean does a good job.
People sean definitely posts stuff, he’s been doing he’s been building that up he’s working on his his um.
His almost like a lot walk.
I love it.
He does a good job introducing himself talking about he’s at the hill.
You know, on top of it he’s going to be here all day till all week and you know all that type of stuff.
I watch those videos, i love them um, but yeah.
It’s.
That is your business card.
You know.
The thing is: is that people now when you, if i was a client right and now that, especially now that i’ve been using social media, it’s unbelievable how powerful it is.
If i i get off the phone with sean boom.
First thing i’m going to do is go to his social media and see, if he’s, how many cars he’s selling like man.
What’s this guy do? Does he sell cars? I don’t see anything if i don’t see anything of him really of all any of that connected to him at all, then why would i call this guy he’s not that much of a professional, and i don’t he? Obviously he doesn’t have any clients that really care.
Then i go look at let’s or the complete opposite i get on here and i look up sean.
I see sean come on, throw more see a testimonial from a couple.
Customers see pictures of all these people smiling with sean.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh, my god, and you just keep going you want to talk about a resume.
You want to talk about a business card.
You want to talk about powerful.
Now you have people telling people to go, see you.
You have people talking about how great their experience is.
You have these people smiling in front of their car with their fours up, because we’re for the people that is so powerful beyond a piece of paper that you hand them that says hey.
This is how you get a hold of me.
What this is? What’s your name yeah, that’s it! I can see the reviews right there, there’s so many things and that’s why that culture and don’t and don’t get me wrong, there’s still people out there who don’t use social media.
But let’s talk about the years.
Let’s talk about statistics.
Let’s talk about who’s buying cars, now we’re talking about people that are buying cars that are now social media driven people who are all over who use it to do.
Reviews of see reviews of restaurants do their own reviews or restaurants check in at this store.
Checking in at that restaurant, more more, more common guys.
This is not something that’s going away, it’s becoming more every year! So when you look at demographics five years from now, a majority of people buying cars are now that generation and now they’re getting into the 30s guys.
These are real clients.
These are people who can buy and afford whatever they want.
So, if you’re not catering to that now because you’re well, all my clients for well those clients are going to be buying their last car, soon, no offense and don’t take it the wrong way.
I’m fat, i’m just being honest, i’m running numbers in my head.
Those eventually are not going to be that way.
Guess what they’re guess what’s gon na happen? The majority of your clients are gon na, be this client, and now you don’t know how to do it and guys like sean who are already starting to do it guys.
Like most, you know most people on our team, guys that are out there doing what they’re supposed to do.
Trust me, if you start doing it now, and you start forming those habits, it’s it’s not easy.
Just like working out the first few times you get a little sore, you don’t see results you’re, like man.
Why am i doing this? It takes a little bit of time when you start seeing the results.
The soreness goes away, quick.
You start loving, soreness, it’s different.
I mean that’s what it becomes, so you have to understand that that’s becomes something if you do it every day.
So i’m glad that you brought that up sean.
It’s a great point.
Social media is now your business card, so we’re not shaking hands with people.
We’re not handing people anything anymore, we’re just passing our information verbally, they can just or you could just send them a link on your phone.
It says: hey check out my facebook boom go friend me real, quick or you can friend them and send them a request.
Send a message: there’s so many things that you can do be aggressive.
Do it right show people who you are because if you’re selling a lot of cars out there and you’re not using social media, that’s a shame, because you can really really use what we just talked about and it’ll help your business so anyway, sorry to ramble right.
There, i just think it’s i mean, there’s just a lot of a lot of good nuggets.
There i mean we can have an entire training all day and and speaking of when we would do that, but the best method of approaching that is to stay consistent with it right.
You have to be able to know how uh you have a measurable way to see what it is that you’re dealing with uh by staying consistent with it by doing it, uh continuously, is what it is that most uh advertisers are paying for right if you’re a Marketer out there you’re you’re paying to have a consistency of message and, and the key is that you don’t know when you’re going to catch somebody at that time, to do that.
That purchasing that they’re wanting to do but there’s so many challenges on all ends.
But sean is doing an incredible job of connecting his persona uh to his person and his person to his persona.
He makes sure to show a lifestyle of truly being for the people um, but also being for the people in many different ways.
I mean he’s such a diagnosis of many things in in my life.
You know what i mean like.
If i talk about a health thing, i i’m talking to sean about it, but he’s also a car guy’s car guy.
Where here here’s the keys.
I need you to test this out.
Tell me what’s going on with that right, you know he’s the guy for that he’s our qc at the dealership.
You know, hey drive this this weekend.
You know, let’s see what it is, but he’s also hey taste this.
What’s in that, you know what i’m saying he’s both of those things as far as the chef and the car guy and it’s crazy how he mixes it together.
Sean even got in the mix of buying cars for the store, he’s been he’s gone to some auctions.
So sean’s, like you, know, he’s doing some stuff he’s learning some things he’s definitely building up a great resume um, but the biggest thing is that once again, i’m gon na get back to it.
Sean is just a great dude, great person, great human being, and that’s the most important thing.
That’s if you can start with that foundation in yourself and you work on yourself like that, and you become an honest, just good person who does unto others what he expects to be done on yourself.
That’s recipe to becoming great the rest of it’s just taking those steps making sure you be consistent and you just do what you’re supposed to do every single day and like he mentioned you know with the workout that being sore.
You know i mean i’ve been at the dealer, our dealership now for seven and a half years.
You know when i, when i decided you know to come off the road and i wanted to you know i work at you know at a physical.
You know brick-and-mortar store um, you know, i told myself and i told you and i told you know lou, that you know i’m gon na i kind of like entrenched.
You know when i got my desk.
I know the first time i put up sandbags and i dug trenches and i laid you know, laid the foundation to try to, because i wasn’t going anywhere.
I was like hey.
This is going to be my mission.
This is my plan.
I got a couple kids in high school.
I know i’m going to be rocking this, at least until that point you know so that was you know, and even you know those first couple years.
I probably did slack a little too much on on that.
You know you always look back and kind of know at the first year, if i would have been that much more proactive than i am.
You know the later years, where you know where would the career take for me from there? Of course, you know hindsight’s always hindsight, but just knowing that you know in every you know every year trying to just implement every everything just that works for you better.
You know so, just knowing that and the thing we talk about a lot is the biggest room in the world is a room for improvement that doesn’t matter who you are sean you’re, going to look back, even if you did the stuff that you think you should Have done back, then, if you were, and today you look back, i could have done more and that’s the craziest thing, because there’s always more that you can do.
We all have the same hours every single day.
We all have 24 hours 365 days a year.
No one else has more than that.
We all have the same, but we see a lot of people who do some crazy stuff in that amount of time, while we’re like i’m lazy, even though i feel like even now, i feel like i see people do stuff and i’m like man like a glenn Lundy, do this, dude is unbelievable and i’m like – and i do we do some stuff, but man he does some stuff now granted.
I have a.
I have a full-time job during the day.
That’s a little us.
I would be able to knock out a few more things if i didn’t have that, but but the same time he’s earned that he’s rocked it and he’s done nothing but some great stuff.
But his his day is a is a daily plan of what he’s going to do and he makes it happen and you’re going to find that so you’re going to look back at it five years from now, just like all of us in your business time of Being in this business and you’re going to be like man, i could have done more, i could have done a whole lot more as a salesperson.
I look back, i’m like god bless.
I miss all kinds of deals.
I know i did i think back.
I should have been like doing this and that you know, but at the same time that’s cool that you think that way, because we all need to think that the big misconception, the more successful you become, the less work you have to do: .
You know those kind of guys they have.
You know big social media, followings and those dudes are up at you know 4 a.
m and they’re don’t even have to be.
You know their bank account says enough, you know, so they still do it.
You know to try to be successful and i think we hit you like with the seven eight liner yeah.
I don’t know and that’s okay, we’re way.
Past five.
I know that’s okay, but i thought they were really good.
The flow was really wonderful.
You .
