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Dealership university—Elgie Bright’s game plan for auto’s future in a time of disruption
Meet the chairman, professor, and advisor of automotive marketing and management at Northwood University
Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap newsletter.
In this episode, Elgie talks about the next generation of auto retail leaders redefining the industry, why Northwood University is at the center of it all, and how the college is building an automotive retail curriculum to tackle tomorrow’s technologies.
1. Next-gen auto retailers will bring another level of excitement to the business.
Amid some skepticism about the future of auto retail, Elgie still sees a bright future for the business when viewed through the lens of the next generation of leaders he helps guide at Northwood.
“If you're a 30-year vet, and you're looking out over the headwinds and the tailwinds, yeah, you may have a different perspective. But for a 22-year-old that's getting ready to go out and conquer the world, none of those concerns resonate with them.”
For many of the students at Northwood, the desire and determination to be successful in the business far outweigh the challenges.
2. A degree from Northwood can be highly valuable to compete in the business.
Northwood offers the same depth of learning for students interested in pursuing a career in auto retail that other programs offer in other careers.
“You can compare it against any other professional career degree, whether…mom or dad or somebody in the family has gone and got a culinary degree or mom and dad or somebody has gone and got a fashion merchandising degree.”
The school’s curriculum consists of ten courses and focuses on fostering critical thinking, soft skills, emotional intelligence, and the marketing and management skills students need to excel in auto retail.
3. Many students already have some ties to the business.
Northwood, which has a total enrollment of about 2,000 students, has around 200 in its automotive program, with 50% of them coming from dealer families. Many of the students don’t know what career they want to pursue in the business when enrolling, but some kind of experience in automotive has drawn them to the program.
“The typical student is one that's full of passion and energy—one that understands somewhat about the automotive space. They may not know everything about it, but they could be race fans—-they could (have) worked at the local Enterprise or anything…that a 16, 17-year-old can get a summer job at.”
4. Northwood University has some impressive alumni.
Northwood’s automotive and marketing management program has several notable alumni—including Jim Koons (Jim Koons Automotive), Tammy Darvish (DARCARS Automotive Group), and Ryan and Kelley LaFontaine (LaFontaine Automotive Group). This speaks to the legacy and reputation of the university.
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5. A wholistic approach to automotive education.
One of the key components of Northwood’s curriculum is its “active learning” environment element, which enables students to hear from thought leaders and subject matter experts in the field to learn the fundamentals.
“In football, they call it basic blocking and tackling. Even though that game has evolved so much since I played in the 70s to what it is today, there's the basic blocking and tackling. No matter what comes, there will always be sales and marketing…accounting and finance, and management of people.”
6. Success requires the right balance of soft skills and hard skills.
Being able to internalize the soft skills and learning the hard skills is paramount, amid all the technological changes the auto sales business is undergoing, says Elgie.
The principles shared by those like Carl Sewell in “The 10 Commandments of Customer Service” and Stephen Covey's book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," will continue to be important, but the hard skills are just important, he contends.
“Whether that is some type of data analytics tool today and then beyond that data analytics…those things can be taught, but the soft skills need to be internalized.”
7. The auto retail business gets an undeserving bad rap these days.
While the auto retail industry has faced its share of criticism, it has made significant progress in recent years. The fact that the majority of the hundreds of millions of vehicles on the road today were initially sold by franchise dealers is evidence of this improvement, he argues.
“Today's dealers, for the most part…are trying to deliver a different customer experience. The amenities, the locations, they're at NADA looking for the tools, technology, and the talent that will make a difference…but like anything else, the minority sometimes is louder than the majority.”
8. Structural changes in the business will require future leaders to think differently.
Teaching someone how to manage the shifting dynamics in automotive sales, like shrinking front-end gross profit on new vehicles, requires a different approach. For example, instead of instilling in young talent that volume is the primary goal, it’s important to get them to value customers more long-term.
“When I started selling cars, when I worked at the dealership, it was all about sales…Today it's about that customer and everything that customer brings to the table… the new car is only one piece of it.”
9. Getting potential leaders to see their value.
Though it might sound a bit cliché, the key to guiding a student or aspiring talent in their career is getting them to see themselves being successful in the business whether they choose to attend Northwood or not.
“I'm not gonna talk you into or out of anything. If you see Tesla as a great opportunity for you to make money, then Tesla has on campus recruiting. But the key is you. And I'm going to help that student own their path.”
10. The auto retail learning ecosystem must evolve.
Tech trends in the business, including online retailing, digital tools, and AI will have a major impact on the teaching and learning process. Much of it is still bricks and mortar, but new offerings will enable dealers to be able to do more of the entire consumer journey online with the tools that a customer already owns.
“When I'm talking to dealers and car guys and people, ‘We're saying, oh, that's what's expected’,” because it's what's done. But the market will always decide the winners and the losers. If the market can find someone that can do it quicker and better, that's who they turn to.”
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