So whoa car guys and car gals welcome to the cafe.
This is lou ramirez, the car guy, and this is frelinhart’s subprime hero and we are brewing solutions on the car guy coffee podcast.
We are so pumped up uh to get really this solution session in gear.
We have a very, very special guest one that has also jumped in to championing this message to forgive focus, fly to keep growing and to see solutionaries rise to upshift and uplift, an entire industry speaking of upshifting and uplifting.
Do us a quick favor tag, a car guy tag, a car gal share, share, share, share, share, share, get it out there.
Let them know that we are brewing solutions and we are live.
So do us a quick favor, get them in the room, we’ll be right.
Back right after these messages from our incredible sponsors, like think ad group, we also wanted to make sure that this message got out to you from our special guest from the dealership toolkit, which really you can just drop a box of tools inside of the biggest room.
In the world, which is the room for improvement and things will explode in your business, just like that, that’s simple folks, all you do is get a box of dealership toolkit, put it inside your room and come home.
Your whole business changes the whole game.
No folks, it is really that simple, it’s because they’re, what they’re going to do is they’re going to come inside they’re, going to take all the work away from you and they’re going to do it all they’re going to make sure that your dealership is running the Best way it possibly can they’re going to tune up that engine.
That makes sense right.
So we’re excited to have the ceo and co-founder on our show.
Today.
Oh mr, the one and only rich delancey welcome welcome uh.
We met him by way of a great car gal uh, which we’ll talk more about that here in a little bit, but welcome rich welcome to the cafe.
Oh man, i’m i’m so happy to be here.
Uh.
You know, everybody knows me knows: i’m a typically a diet, coke guy, but i’m doing the coffee thing today.
So uh uh tuning up there for you.
So here we go.
That’s what i’m talking about.
We are excited to have the coffee in your house because we know that liz is a coffee lover and uh made sure to get her some fresh, fresh brews.
What did she think of that? Oh she’s, all over the the coffee for her birthday, i got her a uh machine so now like she’s for starbucks out there.
That’s that’s, that’s that’s! What we’re on is.
No, i’m just kidding.
We love starbucks too, but we definitely want to make sure that they learn how to brew carya coffee.
But thank you so much for that.
I definitely want to make sure that we talk about the great things that are coming on because you’re helping us in going forward in helping promote what great incredible women are going to be doing for this incredible industry, that is, the car business.
It’s transforming of life, industry and uh, we’re just so excited to talk about it.
I mean again we’re going to talk about things exploding, car, guys, car gals coming together.
Let’s just throw this out there.
Real fast, get ready.
Everybody.
20.
21.
Kargal coffee is coming and i’m excited for liz jumping on that show with them as well.
That’s going to be such a fun time, she’s been killing it on clubhouse man.
You guys have been doing great using that app huh.
Oh man, she is like the uh.
The the cub house queen, i i tell you, i’m normally the first one on all the tactics you guys know and i was definitely uh.
You know i was having her teach me like hey, hey.
How do i do this? How do i talk? How do i i raise my hand, so it was weird being on the other side of the fence, for once it is pretty cool liz.
Isn’t a liz is awesome for one you’re, very lucky man and she’s, a very lucky woman.
From what i saw on her birthday.
It was a birthday week that you give her, so she was even throwing out take notes, guys, yeah.
You know what’s funny years ago, years and years ago, when we first started eating.
You know, i said: hey, you know next week’s your birthday and and uh she said well, you know i get a whole week and i was gullible back in those days.
I’m like.
Oh okay, you know i i was from pennsylvania, she was from maine, so i thought.
Maybe it was a main thing that you got all week so and i’ve just been doing it ever since so uh.
You know a little bit of gullibility went a long way.
It goes a whole long way.
You know, especially when you’re talking about your significant other.
You know there’s nothing better than treating them above and beyond.
You know, that’s something that i take note from.
You know one thing when i was getting really good at my business life i started to truthfully.
I started taking away from my personal life.
I wasn’t giving the attention to my significant, my wife, and so what i’ve come to find is i give her more attention than i than i used to even more than before, and now that i do that it’s made the relationship amazing, doing little things and that’s Not little doing big things, but they are little things like giving your wife a week, letting her know that you care about her.
You know doing things like that.
Are so big, you know, and that shows love, even even if it feels like it, doesn’t go that far folks believe it does it does your wife, your husband does not matter who it is, if you show them, love they’re, gon na show the love back.
It’s like anything else in life, business life period, you get what you put in it and if you don’t put anything towards it, you’re not going to get back what you what you should get and they, and nor should you right.
So thank you for being here.
This morning, richard thanks for being a gentleman and also a great husband way to show that off, because we we like to think of ourselves as good husbands.
Hopefully, one day great, you know we do love our wives dearly and i know you do too.
So, let’s get into this man, you know we, we definitely love to start the show off our favorite way.
We have these three f’s that we always talk about it’s a lot of fun.
To do.
I’m excited to do this with you.
It’s to forgive focus fly, you know the thing about forgiving things is you have to forgive everything that you’ve done in the past that wasn’t right? We we every single day, there’s always something that we go through some kind of struggle right, good or bad.
You know you we don’t sometimes you don’t focus on the bad, but you do need to acknowledge the bad at least and understand where you need to grow from that.
So forgiving that and letting it go and just saying hey, you know what i messed up.
It’s okay, i’m going to let all this weight of unforgiveness on my shoulders of me blaming everybody! All these excuses go away because i’m ready to start focusing on my future right, so i can fly and fly as far as i want to go.
So i can keep growing.
So let’s do this! I’m excited about this.
Forgive focus flies, let’s make it happen.
So you ready for this.
I’m gon na go ahead and let lou take over the reins.
Let’s go! Oh you car guys and car gals riding watching whatever it is, that you’re doing join us real, quick as we forgive focus and fly cross the walls, one two three forgive focus focus good morning.
Now we’re ready for the show we are ready to go.
We got this five-liner that we’re gon na be dropping on you richard, i’m so excited about this.
These are five questions.
We love to ask our guests because it helps us figure out how you got to where you’re at and where you’re gon na go alright.
So my first question is my favorite question.
It always will be it’s.
What is your purpose? What’s your, why? What makes you wake up every day and say i’m going to go grind and i’m going to make this happen.
It is a cool question.
I i like.
I like helping people i always have since i was a kid um and the nice thing about what i get to do on a daily basis is.
I can help dealers and and clients all over the the country, and you know, without people coming into their dealership without leads without um good technology.
They can’t do their job.
You know you could have the best car in the world.
You know you could have a a tesla dealership, but if nobody knows you’re there nobody’s going to come in right, um you could the best product.
I always used to tell people.
When i first started in advertising years ago, you could have gordon ramsay come to your house to cook and you could have youtube playing there and if you didn’t tell anybody about it, it would just be you and gordon ramsay and you too, in the room and It’d be a little awkward right um.
So that’s that’s what i get excited um, i get excited when i look at the sales board at a dealership – and i say: oh, my gosh look at that.
They sold eight today they sold 15 today they sold 20.
Today, i may even get more excited than the people who work at the dealership at times, because you know i love seeing that whole thing from you know start to end somebody that that did a simple search and now is walking out of a dealership in a Car or a new boat or a new rv, and so that’s what powers me every day, man, i i get excited i i get you know i wake up in the morning, just thinking about ways to to get more people in i last night i was thinking About in my sleep, i had this uh idea for targeting parents who you know we had some really cool creative for one of our rv dealers lately and i had a bunch of kids, kicking a soccer ball and playing with the dog, and i’m like man.
We got to target parents, because if parents see this then they’re going to want to come in, i was thinking about that in my sleep last night.
I love it though, but that’s what makes you better every single day is that you’re you’re awesome? You always have that type of stuff in the back your mind so deeply that you’re dreaming about it.
So it’s it’s an amazing thing.
You know having that type of purpose.
Having that type of, why is it is it’s? What gets me going? You know, and i’m really glad that we were talking about this this morning.
You know lou lou has a different.
Why than i do we’re all similar.
We all have very similar purposes, but when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, there’s always got to be that you.
It’s it’s more than just a general thing right and you know there’s a lot of things that can motivate us whether it be growing in business growing in personal life growing in that growing whatever it is that you have use it use that why every single day, I there was a time in my life where my, why was to get a new pair of shoes? You know it’s whatever it was for me to get motivated.
For that moment, i could.
I can make my why a general you know like my every day when i wake up.
Of course i want to motivate my wife i want to you know i want to make my wife happy know that i’m trying to do my thing.
I want my son to see that i’m leaving a legacy of of that i’m work.
I work hard and i do everything i can to be happy and i try to share positivity, because i want my son to see that and him to do that with his family one day and and do those types of things.
But then it can be, as simple like i said, is hey.
I want a new pair of jordans.
I want.
I want a new suit because i need a new suit, so i need to go out and catch this extra deal, because sometimes some people out there they, if you’re in the car business they sell a certain amount of cars.
They made enough money to pay their bills, they they may lay down.
So i used to find a way to not lay down.
It was like.
Okay, i’ve made good money already this month.
How do i just not sit back and talk with the guys in the back drinking coffee? Well, how can i stay up front, keep catching ups or keep making phone calls? Well, it was the little things i would find the little things like i said, like the shoes or i needed this or maybe i need to – i want to go on vacation and make it a little bit more of a surprise, for my wife have that big Dinner that she won’t know about, i just need to get that one extra deal, so she doesn’t know what you know.
It’s extra money for that, so whatever you got to use that that’s so true when i, my mentor in sales, was a guy named todd.
Turper years ago he found me as a as a guy.
I always wanted to be on the air and radio, as you guys probably could tell with my voice, but uh um, there’s no money unless you’re, like you know a big time, damn patrick star and this guy, who is the sales manager at the radio station? He took a liking to me and – and he pulled me out of the the dj booth and started teaching me sales, but the thing that he told me – and i still try to do this every day and i’ve done it every day for going on 30 years.
Now was just do one more at the end of the day when you think you’re done everything’s crossed off on your list, you’re ready to pack it in throw the shovel down.
Do one more one more call one more drop in one more visit, one more check, and i always every day at the end of the day, i always think.
What’s my one more and that has served me so well in my career, i can’t tell you how many big deals or new clients or discoveries i made that were on the one more that had.
I just stopped.
That would have never happened and that’s usually what fuels you continuing that when you see a result, come from that one more seed be like this.
Is that deal that i closed, because i i did wrap it up and i made that one more call or i sent that other email or i i did that other whatever the thing is that you do you know, but whatever it is.
When you see fruit come from that man, then you do it’s like i’m always doing the one more uh.
We try to encourage the guys at the dealership to always be the guy.
That gets your job done, because that’s what you’re supposed to do get your job done and then some be the and then some kind of person make right happen and then a little extra, a little extra.
You know and that’s the difference between you know, being you know good at your job or being a lead at your job.
You know the difference between um some people in some cases, it’s being the difference between being poor at your job and just being good at your job, because because some people – they don’t you know they, don’t necessarily don’t get me wrong.
We all have different purposes.
We all have different wise.
Not not.
Everybody has to be the guy who’s number one, not everybody, that’s not what their drive their drive is to.
Maybe it’s.
The work is for them to be able to go home and be able to have freedom at home right.
You know have be able to pay their bills they’re not so concerned about their career, they’re, more family oriented and that’s.
Okay.
Everybody has their purpose in life.
Everybody has their what’s going to be their thing, you know, but you know for us, business-minded people, it’s a big deal.
You know to for us to take that extra, that extra step.
It’s the same way when you implement stuff like char like that rich was talking about right.
There rich is talking about doing one more now, if you implement that in your business life every single day, that is what gets you ahead? That’s what puts you and sets you aside, because not everybody does that most people do one less seriously like they could do they um.
You know what i’m close enough.
I did enough today.
No, it’s never enough.
You know michelle streets.
Just put up things says: make an make it impact right, always make an impact, and when you make an impact, it’s making an impact for a lot of people and you’re setting a precedent and for your teammates like as a leader the ceo co-founder of dealership toolkit.
I mean come on, you have to be.
You have to lead by example, if you’re not doing that one more.
How can you expect your team to do that? One more right.
So when you do that, and you show it and don’t oh look at me, i do one more, you know it’s not that and it’s not what he’s doing he’s just you know giving us tips.
What i’m telling you is that when your team sees you do it, you don’t have to tell them to do it when they see the leader doing it, they follow the leader they get better, they want to be, they want to keep up with the leader.
They want to.
They want to make sure that that’s what it is.
You go into work if, if rich goes into work today and he’s sitting and he’s sitting in a call center – and he starts just acting negative, his whole team’s going to get negative.
He goes in there and he acts positive.
His whole team will be positive and that’s just how it goes, and it’s something about that and don’t get me wrong.
You do have to go in there and sometimes you have to tell your team hey.
This is the way it needs to happen because they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do, but you do it in a in a very good way.
You know you explain, give examples of what that can help them grow.
Don’t hey! Don’t just do this because i said so do it, because if you do this is what can happen matter of fact.
I know this is going to happen, um so lou.
What you got him for number two.
Well, we are always going to try to on the second question, tie it into the car guy-ism of the business and understanding rich.
How did you get involved in the car business side of marketing of doing all the things that you do to brew solutions for dealerships nationwide worldwide all over right? What is it that got you into the auto industry? Well, funny, i’m probably the greatest nepotism here in history and uh or my former company um.
I worked for verizon and i worked with all different types of clients.
I worked with plumbers and and lawyers and doctors, i’ve always been a digital guy, and i worked with occasional dealers, but dealerships have always had specialized marketing firms and uh verizon.
One time wanted to move uh liz and i from washington dc for me to take over in operation in the philadelphia market and uh liz did not want to move to philly um, even though i’m from philly but cheesesteaks eagles, you know, fly eagles fly the whole Nine yards but uh she uh.
She worked her back channels at the the company we came from and they wanted to start a digital department.
They were in the auto industry, largely just a direct mail, firm and uh.
So the keep liz they offered me a job and because i would do just about anything for liz.
I uh i left my job and and came on and started selling dealers, but boy was that different um, but man, it’s it’s.
The funniest thing was it’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me: um it professionally it.
I have such a passion for it now liz and i she was a general manager of stores.
She ran stores.
She grew up in the car business and i was always one of those car groupies.
You know asking her, you know we’d be watching a movie and seeing some guy in the box and i’d be like.
Does that really happen? And you know the king of cars.
Remember that television show oh yeah yeah.
I was like addicted to the blue genie.
The whole thing i was just fascinated by it and then all of a sudden and all of a sudden, i was on the inside right, getting to work with with dealers and the very first dealer i ever worked with was uh john hinderer, honda in in ohio And this was at a time when probably eight or nine out of ten dealers, i talked to weren’t doing any kind of advertising on google.
You know i’d walk in and i would talk to them about their digital and they’d say.
Well.
We have a website.
We do email, but this is back when search engine marketing was just really starting to get going and and uh this guy at john hinderer honda i’ll, never forget.
I was with mr hinderer and and he’s like man.
This other store.
I used to be number one, and this other store is is kicking my butt and i said well, have you googled your name lately he goes.
Why would i google my no name, i’m like just do me a favor google, your name and this other store was over top of them.
I said you, you know those guys owe you a fruit basket because you’re running all these ads people, google, your name and they get the traffic he’s like.
Oh, you bought no fruit basket, and that was the beginning.
I i was hooked and i’ve been all over.
The country and speak spoken: you know great organ: otto con, rvda, nada, all these things and man – i am the biggest car junkie now because of it uh because of john hinderer honda.
Well! Well, i’m thankful for that.
I’m thankful that that you you’ve been through those those phases of the car business and that you grew the love.
You know i remember the king of cars and because i’m the king of cars, i remember that whole thing.
Like the choppa chop, he was awesome and tobin dodge and it’s out in las vegas, and they were the number one like dodge store in the country at the time and they were doing some major stuff and and to come on television and have a reality.
Show like that and to to show light in the car business was pretty cool and you know we.
We we’ve seen movies we’ve seen them all.
We’ve seen suckers we’ve seen used cars we’ve seen.
You know they even got that.
What was that one where they had? The road, the road guys with jeremy pivens in it – oh, oh yeah, yes right, so you know being that we’re old road guys.
We thought that was funny to see that you know um different.
You know this big old circus show the gypsies coming in town.
Doing all that type of stuff, but the we we absolutely love this business.
We fell in love with the two, so we know how you can fall in love with it.
Also – and i’m glad that you did because you’re bringing a lot of great stuff to this business and and we’re real excited about what you your future has to hold with your company.
I know that you guys are still a young company that are growing right now, and this year is a year where you’re able to actually really spread your wings because you’re able to forgive all the past.
Now it’s all over with and you’re able to focus on it and now you’re able to fly, and i know that you guys are going to fly because your wings are just they’re going.
You guys were in that cocoon stage.
So i’m excited about you, guys being the butterfly that you guys can be now and – and i know you got me in trouble by the way with that whole, i i love the forgetfulness of fly when i met you for some reason that just resonated me and So you shipped me one of these bands right, yeah and and i’ve had it on my wrist since, to remind myself every day and liz said to me the other day she goes, you know we have dealership toolkit and you never wore one of your own ones And i’m like, well, it didn’t say, forgive focus and fly on it or i would have, but so i got in trouble because i’m wearing your band and not the one that she made for dual kit.
Well, i just want to let you know that’s how much i’ve adopted the philosophy we appreciate you.
We appreciate you doing.
That means a lot to us.
It does, but you know that’s what you know.
That’s the thing and you guys are we’re partnered up we’re all.
Forgive focus flying together, you know we’re a team here and – and i love that i love that you’re you’re implementing that with you and your mentality and we pre, and that means a lot.
I know it touches home because that whole forgive focus, fly started here.
Local and it’s become now a national thing and a worldwide.
We have it all the way in australia too.
Now you know michael dooley down there uh, you know so there’s a lot of um there’s a it’s! It’s growing really fast because it’s a great way to think it’s, a very simple three words: it’s a three month, it’s a great mantra to any time that you’re going through some difficulty.
If you really want to think about it, just sit down for a second just, forgive that problem, and so you could focus and then and start to focus on what you want and then fly with it.
It does it’s it’s it’s that simple, it really is.
Life is that simple, a lot of us.
We focus too hard on the negative, so bad that we think it’s it’s overwhelming, and it’s really, i remember, staying up late at night, not being asleep because of one little thing.
You know it’s like.
Why did i let myself get to that and and i’ve really learned to adapt to the forgive focus fly, and it’s really helped me a lot too.
So, yes, i’m glad you’re doing that.
We have new by the way, i’m going to announce that we have some new ones coming in and they’re going to be a little bit different than this, and i’m going to send you guys a big ol packet of some new ones that are coming in they’re.
Going to still have to forgive focus, fly and keep growing, but the outside, where the le, where the lettering is for the car guy coffee stuff, all that’s going to be it’s going to be embossed.
It’s going to be sticking up.
So it’s going to be a little bit nicer, so we’re going to have some of those should be showing up any day.
I can they’re in the mail, so they say right so we’ll see when they get here.
We make sure we send you some more we’ll send a bunch for your team down there too, in the in the call room and everything else, and this way everybody can have one.
But we do appreciate that um yeah welcome to the business we’re so lucky to have richard in it tie in a couple things there that richard did say – and this is just for conversation necessarily five liner stuff, but we got a great marketer in the room there.
You go and we have all these other marketers that get to see kind of or or test in maybe sip in a little bit of what’s happening, because there were huge challenges whenever presenting your product to a car guy right or guys are some of the the Best and strongest closers sellers in the world – and i think something that’s also impeded.
The growth of the car business is the strength that car guys had in closing that you can’t close me on this product.
We’re working we’re putting up numbers we’re making money we’re the biggest in the indus.
You know we’re the biggest in our area.
You know we’re the big fish in the pond, while all of these other industries are embracing different parts of marketing and how to sell their product, they weren’t growing because of how good they were at being closers right.
They didn’t let people with real solutions into the room to really entertain them and don’t get me wrong.
I know what it’s like daily, i mean we’re doing.
I’m fielding calls all the time.
Different people want to get demos.
Different people want to tell us their products.
I’m going to get you 10 more car deals a month.
I’m going to get you 40 more car deals a month.
You know everybody’s going to get us some more some ways, some shape somehow and everybody has to figure out what fits for their processes, because every dealership is pretty much a little different than the other, but you stayed to it.
You stayed continuing uh to to press forward and to build and to take some of those strengths and also not hold it against other people um.
What is it that you think is the the biggest hurdle for, and this is again this is not a five-liner question.
Definitely not, but what do you think the biggest hurdle is for dealers inside of that space, where they’re letting somebody get into their business? What have you seen as being the thing? That’s like the aha moment for dealers when they’re, like you know what i probably could use your product now that i’ve actually listened to you yeah.
I think the one thing that i’ve always been successful is i i don’t think i sell as much as i i try to educate and teach and and show, and it it’s data.
It’s gotten me in trouble and it’s been very successful.
What i mean by that was uh uh, one of the guys that works for us now, rick freeman, director of sales.
He was a sales rep years ago and he was one of the first guys that started teaching me the the car business and he took me under his wings and he took me to this kia store in new england and i’m a data guy.
I’m data and data out it’s x, it’s it’s it’s black and white x’s and – and i was right – and i looked at this guy and i’m like man.
Your website is terrible and here’s why bobo and i’m just trying to help the guy right man.
You would have thought i called his kid ugly or something that guy he he got so mad.
He got red in the face.
He threw us out of the office, it was so funny rick and i get back to the car and rick looks at me and he has like this family voice and he goes well.
I guess you won’t do that again.
Will you, and so from that point forward really what i just tried to do with dealers is just show them the data, because here’s the thing, the reason why i love working with dealers, dealers are data people just like me right they’re, a little sexy they’re a Little sexier a little cooler, but when i put the numbers on the page and they look down at the numbers they can relate, and then we get discussing the numbers and nobody’s selling each other.
We just get into this thing where well, what can we do to make these numbers better? And i you know i say hey, i can do x, y and z and they say well, you know what, if we team that with this this and this and the next thing we know we have a plan and we’re working together, and that’s that’s really just What i’ve tried to do in my career is just not sell you, but just lay it out, and you know try to the one of the comments or compliments i was ever given uh.
I worked for guiding bill riley, which i have a lot of respect for, and he he sent me an email one time after nada.
When i just talked to every dealer, i was on the floor 14 hours a day three straight days.
I could hardly talk when i got done.
He said rich, you are the epitome of the humble servant and that meant so much to me.
That’s one of the emails i’ve always kept around was because that’s what i truly just want to help you.
I don’t want to sell you, i don’t want to.
You, know, grab your money and run if you need me at 3 a.
In the morning you’re one of my dealers – and you call and say my website’s down or hey this email went out with the wrong price.
I’m up i’m on my computer, i’m fixing it because we’re in this together.
You know i i i drive liz crazy, we’ll be out in the middle of the ocean on a cruise and a deal will call me and i’ll take two minutes to try to help him because we’re partners that way.
That’s right, wow, that’s huge! That’s relationship over revenue.
I love that.
I love that you talked about what you did.
You know you put that work in and you were being a servant and you’re just trying to help people and when you truly do that when you’re, when your business is built around helping it will flourish, there may be times where it seems like it’s tough, because You know, but there’s going to be a bunch of people who reach out to you once they once they need it.
You know.
Sometimes people don’t realize what they need at first, sometimes they’re too um caught up in oh man.
I don’t want to make a change because of this, but then they realize i need to make a change.
It’s it’s! That’s the only time.
Anybody really will it’s like quitting smoking cigarettes.
You know people won’t quit smoking cigarettes until they really want to quit.
You can’t say i’m gon na quit tomorrow, unless you truly feel like you want to quit.
Your mind has to be like i’m done.
I am over this and that’s the same thing with most business owners is there’s there’s a lot of them out there.
That are very innovative they’re always trying to do.
Some of them are too innovative, they’re trying to do too many things right and then there’s some that don’t want to make any changes because they’ve been doing it this way, since their daddy owned the store or whatever it was right.
But it’s time to change, and sometimes when you hear that by using the numbers, you know you’re a numbers guy, you understand, you can show them hey here’s the analytics.
This is how it’s going to break down.
This is what you need to do.
This is how it can work, and this is how i can help you and even after you show it, and you can show them that this will increase your bottom line at the end of the day unless they want to do it unless they’re really believing it’s Time to change they’re not going to, but so, but that doesn’t mean they won’t just not that day.
Sometimes it takes a little while same thing in the course.
Sometimes it just can’t and that’s the whole reason why dealership toolkit is here today.
I have developed great technology over the years that has just sat on the shelf and and, and the dealer didn’t mean to put on the shelf you they get busy the the the showroom’s full ups.
There’s somebody complaining about the delivery.
A car has a scratch on it, and just life happens and i used to get these awkward phone calls rich.
We love your ideas, we love the product, we really thought it would work for our dealership, but we just don’t have the time, and so i got tired of being fired in for those situations, and so that’s how dealership toolkit came to be because today, what we Really strive for if a dealer never touches any of our stuff, all they have to do is work.
The guy we’re going to get in the showroom is the up.
That’s it.
Now we have some dealers that are very involved they’re, going to dig in you’re going to get more out of it, but you can work with us as a dealer.
You don’t have to do a damn thing.
If you don’t want to just sell the up and if you can’t sell the up, i can’t do that part right.
I’m going to get that up there, we’re going to put them in front of you, just sell it up and that’s and that’s that’s the i think the magic of dealership toolkit is this.
Truly, we can for a smaller store or store that’s tightly staffed or during covid.
We really grew because now all the extra employees, typically at the dealership, they had to downsize and they were running on a skeleton crew and all of a sudden.
We were there to support them and that’s what we do now right and most dealerships.
They don’t know how to operate from home.
It doesn’t that that model was not something that anybody was prepared for in the car business.
For everybody to say, yeah hold on everybody home now, that’s what you’re gon na do and then how to operate.
Doing life at home.
I mean working from home is a no joke task.
You know, especially when you have children, you have pets, you have spouses, you have, i mean so much so many distractions.
You have home improvement projects, i mean right or if you, if, especially if you don’t have a home office, you know a lot of people right.
You know if you don’t have a dedicated space to be able to get away.
It’s very difficult.
You know, distractions, distraction distraction, you know it’s it’s they’re everywhere and it’s it’s very tough.
I know i’ve worked from home before and you know we had to do it during this covet a little bit, but it was very difficult to stay focused on something because it’s so many things like you said you could do.
Your wife would be like hey.
Do this home improvement dude, here’s your honey-do list right, here’s all this stuff, you know and it’s it can be very difficult, but when you do find a good rhythm or if you have a good way of doing it, it can be actually very good right.
It’s like anything, you know some people take it and run with it.
Some people make excuses, you know and and that’s what happens i want to know already.
I won’t throw a quick shout out real quick, because i i see this, we were just talking about smoking, cigarettes and amanda she’s part of the rising grind elite um, and i and i love her she’s – definitely showing tons of growth over this last six months that I’ve known her and she just quit smoking cigarettes, she’s and that’s what we were talking about.
I’ve smoked a pack a day since i was 14 try to quit time and time again, just quit in december last.
Cigarette was 12 20 20 20.
excellent.
That is so awesome.
She says it there.
It is yeah it.
Finally, stuck i’m a non-smoker.
I love it.
You are a non-smoker and i congratulate to you and i i know what you’re i know, you’ve been going through a lot amanda.
I appreciate you for being here this morning: she’s been throwing some shares out.
There she’s been making a lot of comments.
She has been super live this morning and i appreciate you for being here.
You know a quick, a couple, quick, shout outs to people who’ve been here this morning.
There’s some people – i i can’t see the name.
It says facebook user, but it says good morning everyone good morning to you he or her whoever it is.
I appreciate you for being here.
We obviously got amanda she’s, throwing a bunch of great stuff.
Charles higgins is here.
We got joe reinhart he’s here.
We got liz of course, she’s talking about she’s she’s drinking her car guy copy today oh hold on and there’s no there’s no coffee in that big blue dyke.
It’s okay though, and then uh there’s uh brett uh yeah schussler he’s here.
We got jason gares here with my man, we got jay woolwich hello, i mean we have a ton of people.
I got people on linkedin, i got, i got a whole bunch.
I got double digits of people watching there.
We got tons of people watching it on facebook.
I know it only shows a certain number up here, juicy rich, but that only is one page on facebook, so we have a lot of people commenting watching right now.
Thank you all for being here this morning.
It’s been an honor to sit here and talk with rich right now, i’m sure you guys are gathering some great information.
Folks pay attention real close, because this guy is on a rocket ship to success and he’s going to be able to show you guys a way to get there.
We got russell hill hill.
Also, here we got, we got darrell ussery man, oh, my goodness.
We got all kinds of people here, so thank you very much.
These are just the comments.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So i’m gon na get to question number three question number three.
My friend is that we all go through this business and we’ve all had some people.
Who’ve influenced us.
I might know this answer, who has been your biggest influence since it doesn’t just necessarily just business.
Influencer who’s been the biggest one for you, that’s helped you get to the next level, maybe like a mentor.
So two you guys are gon na.
Think i’m like the ultimate kiss ass right here, uh! No, i don’t think i probably.
I think i know that you see where this is it’s liz and we we were professional colleagues before we became romantically involved, but from day one.
If you guys get to know me, i’m i’m happy with my laptop sitting in a room by myself.
You know just banging out stuff, that’s who i am naturally right and liz really forced me to get out of my my shell and um from uh from a mentoring standpoint.
She also keeps me out of my head um.
You know i can get that head trash at times and and she focuses me and the the thing it pisses me off about her, but it’s probably the best.
She never lets me stop right when i come up with something and i’m all proud, i’m just like the the little kid coming home with the report card with the a minus liz has always been the one b, but it was an a minus.
Isn’t there something above a minus and it drives me crazy and sometimes i get so mad at her, but i’ve had my best breakthroughs.
I think at times, because she, when she says it’s done, it’s done.
You know, and that’s that so from uh she’s had a huge impact on me.
The other, the other guy that had a huge impact on me was uh.
When i was back with.
Let’s talk about radio todd turper and you know he he was one of the first and probably the only sales manager.
I ever really worked for that really read and read all the time he read all the sales books he used to give me books and he tried to teach me more about life than than devout sales and – and i always appreciated that um you know i had A family issue years and years ago, and he pulled us off the road we went to a restaurant.
We just talked for three hours about the family issue and you know in the middle of a work day and that the to be good to people and to try to i’ve always tried to treat my employees the way he treated me um, because he was just A great great great role model wow, that’s those are two people that you could definitely honor.
Obviously i know liz and i think that liz yeah, i know she’s definitely taking care of that.
I know that’s definitely been a huge influence in you and it’s and it’s like you, mentioned earlier, um look.
What was the name of your second influencer again uh todd, chirper todd turper.
You said that he was trying to help you with life more than it was business, but you know folks, it’s crazy little secret that life and business are direct correlations.
They the way you act in life will be determined how your business runs.
The way you run your business will determine how your life runs.
It’s if they all go together.
It’s there’s something about habits.
There’s something about consistency, there’s something about having integrity.
All those things translate to business.
All those things translate to family.
So it’s it’s having those core values inside you, you know it’s so key.
You know i.
I love that you’ve had those people in your life that you’ve been able to do that.
I love that.
You know you understand that that you do understand.
You understand, because you just talked about liz, who is your wife, who is the most important person in your in your whole world right and when you, when you’re having somebody like that that is such an influence before you were even like that, when business influencer to You and then to become part of that and to be able to humble you, you know you think you did something great and she’s like hey, that’s an a minus.
What about a or a plus right? And that’s that’s so funny, because i’m i’m i’m asian right.
I’m half korean and my mother, that’s exactly how she did with me.
Hey mom.
I look at this.
I got straight a she goes yeah, but one of those a’s is a very low a you could have done better.
You know it’s so funny.
You know a b is like a c in the household of my mother’s house right when i grew up so and it’s the same way with my son.
You know my son he’s he.
You know we do the same thing with him, but it’s funny he’s a great kid, but anyhow, that being said, man that is awesome that you throw honor to them too.
I i i you know, i don’t even know both of them.
I know liz.
I know how powerful liz is.
Liz is an amazing person and you’re very lucky to have her like.
I said – and i know she’s lucky to have you too, and it’s good that you have somebody there that can influence you and and help you get to that.
Next level and to have somebody that can humble you, but at the same time, if she said if you came in with that, a plus she’s going to praise you for that, too, though, you know she’s going to make sure you take care of it there you Go: here’s your diet, coke, my friend, you can have extra today, so i believe that all women, when attaching and and getting into that that relationship with men – i mean they they all of them, upgrade us right.
I mean beyonce, says it great.
Let me upgrade upgrade right and – and that’s usually like the pitch – that i was doing like trying to get a uh a co-buyer like, let’s get your wife on.
Let’s get your girlfriend on the loan right and and trying to encourage her to uh, be part of it.
You know: hey, don’t you wan na, don’t you wan na upgrade them right.
We try to get them all pumped up about, knowing that they are making the man better.
The word says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing, and it’s more than just somebody to look good on our side.
It’s more than just somebody to have that companionship with it’s somebody that’s going to go through the muck, the mire, the horrible horrid things that we get over inside of our life, but we’re attached to somebody else that makes us better every day makes us better and That we’re we are getting better because we want to be better for them.
I know that every book that i’ve read concerning how to be a better husband, how to be more intentional.
All of that was for the intent of not for me to say that i’m better at something, but because i want to present myself better to my wife when i’m putting the outfit together.
It’s really hey.
Do i look all right today? Does this look? No good? No, i need to change all right i’ll, be right back, you know, and it’s it’s always for the for the other and that’s what’s great about any good, complementary relationship where you are upgrading each other.
You are finding a way to make each other better and when you get to patch that into business folks, it explodes when a family really digs in there together to to take on the task.
That is the business man guys it’s.
It’s usually an unstoppable business.
When a family gets in there and they dig in together because it’s easy for people that are only have the business to be able to separate from each other, but when you are welded together in your relationship folks, you understand we’re gon na make it through this.
No matter how hard it is, if it’s hard on you well then it’s hard on me and if it’s easy for you well, then i’m going to help make it easier for you right or for me, but but it takes that honesty you know and that’s the One thing he has with liz is that she’s, honest she’ll, tell him hey, that’s great, but you know we could do a little better.
She says down here.
He gets extra ice when he gets.
I love it.
So, but that’s but that’s it.
You know she absolutely adores you and i know that she absolutely loves you, but she also respects you when it comes to business too.
So much so you know, and you do the same with her and that’s what it takes.
You know.
Yes, when you team up with a family member with business and you’re working together, it’s can be difficult at times, because it’s all day every day, non-stop business or not.
You have to make agreements or disagreements right and but then you have to learn to take that business and then separate that from your home life and that’s very difficult when you work together all day long.
But i believe that you guys do a great job with that.
I know you do um and i and i because, like i said, she’s bringing you that ice she’s making sure you got that no, i love liz you’re very lucky.
Liz is awesome.
Lizzy is super.
Awesome super real 100 real keeps it real, so we’re going to get her on the show eventually too, and i know she’s like no we’re going to get rich on first well, then, look at me.
Definitely, if anything she has to get on the car gal coffee podcast.
Absolutely i want her to be like if not the first guest, the second you know i want her to be in that first, five, at least whenever she has that time.
We’re gon na make that happen so liz, it’s on you you’re getting on either our show or the cargill coffee show you’re gon na have to do it, maybe about so probably.
Actually you definitely will be on both eventually but you’re.
Gon na have to pick one and you’re gon na have to do one soon, liz, so we’ll get you on soon.
So so would you oh, don’t be scared, it’s all gon na be good, but speaking of not being scared, there are things that have happened inside of your business, your career, your relationship that have probably hit you on the chin had to take a step back.
You know: we’ve had the chance to to figure out some of the things you’ve got to forgive focus and get ready to fly from, because you know nine competes and all that cool stuff right in life.
So but i want to know inside of that, because you have been on an adventure with your spouse and with the team inside of business.
You’ve had mentors inside of your life that showed you that, like john maxwell would say it doesn’t matter how much you know until they know how much you care and people have been able to speak into your life because of their their.
What they’ve paid into your life right, they’ve sold good things into it, but you’ve learned a lot of lessons.
You’ve gone through a lot of things and you guys have to together what has been the hardest lesson that you’ve learned in business inside of your adventure.
Now what has been the hardest lesson you’ve had to learn and actually begin to improve, because you’ve learned that lesson.
The hardest thing for me is i, as i was talking earlier, i came at things from that that i just want to help, and i just want to be that you know humble servant for lack of a better description.
What it took me, a long time to understand, is that nobody’s that way right and where i always tend to look at the best in situations and the best in people the and you know taking things that face value um.
It wasn’t always that way.
So uh a couple things in my you know, since we launched the company, you know evolving from this digital guy from this developer into more of a leadership.
Ceo role, i’ve had to you know, learn that not you know, everybody that i hired or not everybody that we partnered with or not even everybody that i i’ve worked for in the past was, is genuine uh about certain things and um.
One of my partners in this business is always pushing me to see the work you know to plan for the works in any situation, and that is just was foreign to me right.
You know and whether it, but if you plan for the worst and then the worst, doesn’t happen, you’re ahead and he’s right in that way, but having to to think about what could go wrong, um that that that’s been a little bit of a change.
For me.
That’s that’s good stuff man, that’s uh and there’s always going to be challenges right.
Folks, 2020 is behind us and – and i joined the army of people that keep saying that.
But it is behind us, and you have other challenges that are in front of you telling the guys, as we went through finishing up the last month of last year, 2021 is going to have challenges every year before now has had challenges next month is going to Have challenges yes, you’re, going to get a lot of no’s, especially in this business.
You’re going to get knows the majority of the time.
It’s a it’s a it’s a numbers game, it’s all in ratio and as much rejection as we take there’s so many lessons to learn in it.
The people that have said no to me that i couldn’t close help me to be better for the people that i eventually did close.
I understood what worked.
I understood, what didn’t work.
We understood what was going to actually grow and what wasn’t going to grow and as you taken your business from where it was to the challenges that some people would throw in the towel, some people would say you know what we need to just figure out a Whole other business, because this just isn’t going to work, we’re not going to be able to pursue our dream, but you took those hits on the chin, and so many of you other solutionaries out there have taken those hits on the chin.
You’re going to take.
Some hits on the chin, maybe today, but guess what you’re still going to be able to get up you’re going to have to forgive it.
You’re gon na have to focus on what you can do and fly above it, but it’s it’s incredible to have people like you and all these other solutionaries that have jumped inside of the cafe to tell us these stories, because what we learned is that we have .
