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 Katelyn Gilmore, General Manager of Paradise Chevrolet Cadillac.
We discuss how her team maintains top 10 national volume, why she's betting big on the world's first fleet-only service center, and why she’s handing out Rolexes to senior employees.
Employee retention starts with culture, not compensation alone.
At Paradise Chevrolet Cadillac, half the workforce has stayed for over a decade because leadership invests in people-first initiatives that go beyond paychecks.
"We can have the best process in place for great customer service but if you have unhappy employees, you're going to have no one to execute it."
That’s why the dealership gives Rolexes to 30-year employees, awards a car at their annual Christmas party, and offers free gym memberships plus mental health resources.
Working in roles beats shadowing them when preparing for leadership.
Succession planning works best when future leaders experience every department firsthand rather than just observing from the sidelines.
"If you are to physically work in the role, you got to live it with all its glory and grievances, and then hopefully one day, fix the job when you get it to it."
Gilmore sold cars while earning her master's degree, moved through finance, and worked her way through the store before becoming GM, giving her the credibility and insight to lead effectively.
Paradise is maintaining top 10 national volume with disciplined operations.
The dealership moves 250 new vehicles monthly, with 20% coming from fleet, placing them among the largest commercial operations in their region.
"We want to be a perfect play between gross and volume."
They rank top 10 nationally for Chevy retail volume and top 5 in their zone, balancing aggressive volume with healthy gross profit instead of chasing sales at any cost.
Building a standalone fleet service center solves space and capability gaps.
Paradise is constructing the first dedicated fleet service and parts center in the United States to handle heavy-duty commercial vehicles while freeing up retail space.
"To be able to have a facility, not only to grow in the fleet respect, also allows us to free up space to become more productive from our current business venture too."
The facility will include lifts for 4500 and 5500 trucks, provide loaner vehicles for commercial customers, and allow the main location to focus entirely on retail operations.
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OEM support will determine EV success after federal subsidies expire.
GM created an allotment program that pre-funds dealers 5% of vehicle cost, allowing stores to continue marketing the $7,500 incentive through year-end.
"They are going to basically pre-fund us 5% of the vehicle up to a certain amount of vehicles and then we'll get short funded when we sell that car."
The real test comes January 1 when this program expires, revealing whether manufacturers will sustain aggressive support or pull back on EV investments.
Proactive EV strategies beat reactive discounting every time.
Rather than slashing prices to move inventory, successful dealers focus on building processes and loyalty that keep customers coming back beyond the initial sale.
"Anyone can take five grand off of an EV to sell it. But the question then becomes, what's the end goal here? If we only chase that race to the bottom mindset, it's ultimately not good for the consumer."
Aggressive lease offers might drive short-term volume, but creating stickiness through exceptional service prevents dealers from constantly paying for repeat business.
Cadillac's EV lineup presents a real luxury market opportunity.
Despite the Escalade IQ's price challenges, Cadillac now has three of the top 10 best-selling luxury EVs, positioning dealers to capture premium buyers.
"Cadillac has three of the top 10 bestselling luxury EVs. So, I think that there's some merit there."
The Lyriq and Optiq move well at lower price points, giving dealers room to grow their luxury EV business while the brand works to crack tier-one status.
You cannot save your way into profit.
Paradise runs four service managers for 40 technicians and 15 advisors, which seems heavy until you look at productivity and profitability.
"You can never save your way into a profit….If you have the right people, in the right positions, even if you're a little heavy, it still translates to you make more money."
As long as personnel costs align with gross profit, having extra management creates bandwidth for proactive thinking instead of constant reactive firefighting.
Inconsistent onboarding costs money through preventable turnover.
When new hires receive different information depending on who trains them, it creates confusion that leads to early departures and wasted investment.
"I could walk in the door and talk to one person, but then if someone else walks in the door, they could talk to five other people with different questions each time."
Standardizing the onboarding process with recurring NCM or NADA training ensures every employee gets the same foundation, reducing costly turnover from avoidable mistakes.
Local 20 groups provide unexpected business development opportunities.
Joining a non-automotive local CEO group with chamber presidents and hospital board members creates cross-promotional benefits that traditional 20 groups cannot offer.
"The value in that is something similar to being a part of the chamber in your local town, or in the Rotary because. You get to connect with other business owners who can then funnel your own business."
While manufacturer 20 groups help with best practices and compliance, local business groups turn fellow members into potential customers and strong referral sources.
