Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap newsletter—the key lessons from top operators, founders, and execs shaping the future of auto retail.
Today’s guest is Johnny Cantrell, Executive Vice President at Shottenkirk Automotive Group.
Johnny breaks down how he rebuilt his business from the ground up, what he learned from failure, and how he started running one of Tennessee’s most efficient independent dealerships.
Behind the curtain—winning strategies from 29 dealerships (and the mistakes to avoid)
Good leadership is absolutely vital.
As someone who has worked for several major auto groups, Johnny has come to really appreciate the value of leadership.
“I think with analytics and so many reports, sometimes we think that we can report our way or just click buttons to get the results we want. But any of the mentors I had in my life…leadership was that key ingredient. When they spoke, it got you motivated, got you fired up, it made you listen.”
If you don’t have good leadership, it’s hard to get the most out of your team.
Leadership should not be confined to an office.
For Johnny, leading a store has always involved having boots on the ground.
“A lot of guys will tell you they have the first ones there and the last one to leave. Anytime I got a new store that maybe was broken or trying to fix, that was the most important thing. When your staff shows up, they want to see the leader there.”
Johnny always wanted to be a participant—meeting customers, leading the meetings, going over the reports. Physically being there is important.
Planning is essential with operating multiple rooftops.
Shottenkirk Automotive’s 29 rooftops are located in Texas, Georgia, Alabama, California, Illinois, Iowa—which requires a substantial amount of planning.
“We grab a calendar the first of the month. We look at what stores probably need immediate help. Or if someone reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, Johnny, I need your help. I'm struggling with this, this, and this. We prioritize that. And then we just map out a schedule.”
One of the auto group’s biggest focuses is traffic management—internet management and phone management.
Know when it’s time to revamp the team and act on it.
Don’t ignore the warning signs that it could be time to let someone go.
“Your staff comes to you and says, ‘Hey, I'm worried about this guy.’ And you know it. You've seen the numbers, and you feel it. But…we always hear, ‘Yeah, but he's loyal…’He or she's been here for so long.’ Yeah, but he or she is this or this or that.”
There’s a difference between not meeting expectations and not being coachable, the latter being a sign that it might be time to move on.
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Community connections are invaluable in this business.
Johnny landed his first job through relationships he’d established through his family’s business—which was the furthest thing from auto retail.
“…I'm interviewing for the job…The sales manager's…(is) working four or five car deals…And a lady walks by and sees me in the office and goes, ‘hey, Little Johnny, how are you doing?...’He goes, 'was that your mom?’ And I said, ‘no, just some lady I know’…10 minutes goes by…Then a guy walks by and goes, ‘hey Little Johnny, how are you doing?...He goes, ‘is that your dad?’ I said, ‘nah, guy I know.’ And he goes, ‘did you plant those people here?’ I said, ‘oh, no, sir.’ I said, ‘my dad owns a skating rink in Sherman, Texas.’
That’s how Johnny got his foot in auto retail.
Maintaining that human connection needs to be embedded in processes.
Most in auto retail will tell you it’s all about the numbers—but Johnny makes it a point to dig deeper than the percentage points when assessing target goals.
“I don't just want to look at the numbers and go, ‘well, that guy's not…dialed in…he's not working. That's not a fair statement. Maybe they had a 2008 Prelude with 40,000 miles that was on the internet, right? And they took a deposit, it's still there and it got 40 leads.”
Data is important—but don’t let it drive you to make a knee jerk decision.
Operators are a great way to assess a store’s processes.
Most of the time Shottenkirk Automotive Group’s operators are very consistent, but at the time of this interview, three of the group’s stores were up—with 26 down.
“I had texted one of those store operators that is up. He's up 45 % pace and gross and about 35 % up in volume. I'm sitting here going, now why is he that way? So I texted him and said, hey, wow, you're really bucking the trend. Great June. He goes, ‘hey…the processes did not change in March, April, or May. They're the same in June. We're just getting better results.”
That speaks to the value of managing the process, not the report.
Don’t get caught up in vanity metrics.
A lot of people in the business manage the report, not the process.
“…If you want to make your report look better, mark a couple of leads bad,…you'll shoot up—but it won't help your volume. It won't help your gross. It won't help your staff sell more cars and earn more income and feel better about their job.”
Manage the process and the numbers will come.
Every auto group’s perspective on AI is probably going to be different.
“…I can tell you what we're most excited about, the COO and the Shottenkirks and myself. The most exciting thing for me, for AI, is inventory. Let's not use our gut anymore on used cars, right?”
The way AI is being applied in other business sectors like supermarkets as a management tool is a strong indication of where the tech’s greatest value is in auto retail.
Inventory management is everything.
Johnny believes there’s not enough focus on inventory.
“What consumers are buying? What are they looking at? What's turning the quickest, right? Inventory always has a great place in my heart because I'd have a great month going and we'd get about 10 days to go and I'd look and we'd have a hard write down at 46 days. And sometimes we'd have a $100,000 write down.”
Sounds like a huge opportunity for AI.
