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How Cavender built a scalable dealer group—the framework for success
Featuring Rob Cavender and Eric Barbosa, Cavender Auto Group
Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap newsletter.
Recently, I spoke to Rob Cavender (COO) and Eric Barbosa (VP of Variable Operations) from Cavender Auto Group who discussed cracking the dealership code by using data-driven decision-making, structured leadership development, and a relentless focus on customer experience.
1. Growth with a focus on community.
Cavender Auto Group has expanded to eight stores and 850 employees, but its focus remains on the San Antonio community. With seven of its locations in the area, the company takes a long-term approach to both customer relationships and employee development.
“We have a big concentration in this one community, and this community has done a lot for the Cavender family over a long period of time. So I feel like we owe it to this community to keep supporting them… If you think about the size of each of these families, that's probably somewhere around 3,000 people we’re having the opportunity to affect.” – Rob
As the company grows, the challenge is maintaining that connection while improving operations across multiple rooftops.
2. Building a clear path to leadership.
For years, Cavender operated without general managers at each store, but as the company grew, it became clear that having dedicated leadership was necessary to streamline operations.
“We really realized the value of having one person that can break away the silos between departments… Frankly, we struggled with our three recent acquisitions for a couple reasons. First, I'd say the GM and not having a centralized playbook… We really needed someone at each store carrying the flag.” – Rob
Rather than hiring externally, Cavender developed an internal training program for sales managers to move into general management roles. Candidates must meet key performance benchmarks, attend NCM GM School, and complete structured leadership training before being promoted.
“These guys have two years going into it, plus the NCM training. They're going to hop in that seat and they're going to understand at least how to get that plane off the ground.” – Eric
3. Adjusting sales operations with AI.
Cavender recently shifted from a traditional BDC model to using AI for initial customer engagement, particularly for text and email responses. The goal was to speed up response times and allow salespeople to focus on higher-quality conversations.
“We just have AI handling the lead from the get-go on any texts and email responses. Salespeople are involved. We have an internet team that is involved on internet leads specifically.”
Early on, the team realized they needed to refine how AI and sales teams worked together.
“I remember the first day we rolled out AI at this Ford store. I saw an overnight email response from me, a text from our BDC agent, a text from the AI, a text from our salesperson, and an email from our manager. And I was thinking, what is this customer going to do with this? He's probably just going to bail.” – Rob
After adjusting the process to reduce overlap, the company has seen stronger engagement while reducing the workload on sales teams.
4. Keeping sales teams engaged with quarter-time check-ins.
Cavender takes a structured approach to sales activity, with mandatory check-ins at 12, 2, 4, and 6 PM every day. These sessions help managers track daily activity and provide coaching in real time.
“All of our stores stop at 12, 2, 4, and 6 PM. Salespeople come to the tower and they have a coaching moment with the management. We go through their activities, what they've done for the day at those times.” – Eric
The structured approach has resulted in more customer outreach.
“In 2022, we had 1.2 million activities. In 2023, we went to 1.7 million. And then last year, we had 3 million activities that we know that our people are working, doing something to connect, follow up, whatever that may be.”
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5. Improving customer experience by simplifying processes.
A review of Cavender’s operations found that customers were sometimes receiving multiple, uncoordinated messages from different platforms.
“Customer comes into service today, they come in, the second the RO is opened, a text message is opened, right? We've got two platforms at a couple of our stores for our MPI versus our communications tool. They're getting separate text messages from each of these different [platforms] and the customer is like, ‘Who am I actually supposed to respond to?’” – Rob
The team is working to consolidate and simplify these interactions, ensuring that communication is clear and customer-friendly.
“We mystery-shopped our own stores and saw exactly where customers were struggling. Now, we’re making those fixes—from simplifying service scheduling to improving digital experience.” — Eric
6. Creating structure before further expansion.
As Cavender prepares for future acquisitions, the company is taking steps to ensure smoother integration by creating a centralized playbook that defines key processes.
“We really want to make sure that we can walk into this next dealership and say, ‘This is who we are and this is how we run, and we're here to support you off of this strong foundation.’” – Rob
By clarifying expectations and best practices in advance, the goal is to reduce the challenges that came with past acquisitions.
“We're not just buying stores to buy stores. We're creating a framework that makes every acquisition stronger, not messier.” — Rob
7. Defining company culture through values-based leadership.
Cavender has worked to formally define its company culture through a structured values-based leadership program.
“Somebody came to me and said, ‘What does confidence in Cavender really mean?’ And we realized we didn’t have a clear definition. Now, we do.” – Rob
The program is designed to reinforce company values at every level, from hiring to employee training.
8. Small improvements can drive significant financial results.
Cavender is also analyzing small operational changes that could have an outsized impact on revenue.
“A 4% increase in total opportunity close rate? That’s $28 million for our organization in a year. Just 4%.” – Eric
By focusing on total opportunities—including phone calls, showroom traffic, and marketing-driven leads—the company is working to capture more potential sales.
9. Localized marketing with an emphasis on simplicity.
Cavender is focusing on making its online presence more user-friendly, particularly in areas like service scheduling and payment transparency.
“If you go on our website, we want it to feel intuitive—not like some clunky, outdated auto portal. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for the customer to do business with us.” – Eric
The company is also keeping its digital marketing efforts local, prioritizing engagement from in-market buyers rather than broad online reach.
10. What’s next? More structure, then more growth.
Cavender’s leadership team is taking a measured approach to expansion, focusing on strengthening internal operations before making additional acquisitions.
“We learned that growth without structure leads to chaos. So before we expand again, we’re making sure every process is dialed in.” – Rob
As the company refines its approach to leadership, AI, and customer experience, the goal is to build a dealership group that is prepared for long-term success.
“The way customers buy cars is changing, the way dealers operate is changing, and the ones who don’t adapt will fall behind. We’re making sure Cavender stays ahead of the curve.” – Eric
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