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- No B.S. dealer strategy: How Brett Sutherlin built a Toyota powerhouse
No B.S. dealer strategy: How Brett Sutherlin built a Toyota powerhouse
Plus, what brands he’s avoiding
Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap newsletter.
In this episode, I speak to Brett Sutherlin, dealer principal of Sutherlin Automotive, who discusses how he turned frustrating service experiences into a sales growth engine, the tech he built to power it, and why he walked away from Nissan at the right time.
1. Success in auto retail requires deep personal commitment.
Brett grew up in Atlanta in a dealership family, knowing that he wanted to be in auto retail), but six months after he graduated from college, his dad sold the family business (to what would become AutoNation), requiring Brett to find his own lane.
“I stayed in the retail industry a few years for AutoNation, went and took an opportunity to run a Honda dealership in Miami.”
Under Brett’s leadership, the Honda dealership went from 700th in the nation to the top 25 in a couple of years.
2. The most innovative business ideas might be right in front of you.
fusionZone, the dealer website solution Brett founded with his wife Karen in 2009, grew out of a need to improve operations at the Honda dealership in Miami.
“At that dealership, I noticed a hole in marketing and technology. At the time, there was no real significant SEO benefit from these dealership websites (early 2000s). That's when I started creating our own technology at the dealership level that I funded.”
fusionZone quickly became one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the business. Brett and his wife sold the company in 2017.
3. Success is the best value proposition for expanding business opportunities.
One of the keys to success in auto retail is the verifiable proof that your methods and/or products can improve operations, explains Brett.
The fundamentals of what fueled the success of fusionZone—identifying the problem and creating a solution to address it—-continue to be the formula for success in auto retail, whether it’s developing a new digital tool or running a dealership.
4. Staying stagnant is the kiss of death in today’s retail market.
A lot of dealers still refuse to break away from the traditional way of doing things and continue to ignore how technology can improve various facets of their operations, explains Brett.
“We're hanging our hat on that right now…We're taking over dealerships that are not performing well and making them some of the best in the nation.”
Out of 177 Southeast Toyota dealerships, Sutherlin Automotive Group’s Montgomery dealership was one of 17 that had a positive volume growth in 2024, says Brett.
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5. Business expansion should not be driven solely by numbers alone.
Brett intentionally maintains a relatively small number of dealerships, even though he could acquire more stores.
“I would rather have three that are very, very, very profitable and that are run well, versus having 10 smaller stores. If we're doing $350 million in revenue out of three locations, (it’s) a lot less brain damage than owning 10 stores that are doing 350.”
That said, Sutherlin Automotive Group is looking to grow its operations, but with the right brands in the right markets, says Brett.
6. Being able to execute the right strategies to achieve strategic goals should be a top priority.
When Sutherlin Automotive Group purchased the Toyota and Lexus dealerships in 2023, the combined revenue for the two was $100 million a year. Brett’s team has doubled revenue and volume, putting heavy emphasis on parts and service.
“With Toyota, we made a commitment. We gave them a forecast. They supplied us with cars. We exceeded our forecast. And it was all turned around. mean, we're turning our inventory incredibly fast.”
Selling out of service has been the bread and butter of the company’s sales increase.
7. Selling cars through service is a huge opportunity if done right.
Sutherlin Automotive sells a couple of hundred cars a month through its Toyota dealership’s service; 55 to 60 cars out of its Lexus store’s service; and 75 to 80 cars out of the Subaru dealership’s service—-through processes that include a more consumer-centric approach to sells and the auto group’s own internal tech.
“If you knew that you had to be basically ‘assaulted’ every time you went into a dealership to service your vehicle, it's going to turn you off. It would turn me off in a heartbeat.”
Instead of taking an aggressive approach to selling a customer a car, Sutherlin’s software enables managers to be able to assess inventory, evaluate a customer’s service on a vehicle, and get more aggressive on pricing ̶ with a soft approach to selling vehicles through service. Brett says he’d much rather pay a higher price for a vehicle to one of their service customers than an auto auction.
8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be a game changer.
“Google gives you the playbook. If you have a person internally who can implement, it's a game changer…You can target up to 20 individual communities in your city. So, if Montgomery is our PMA, you know, I can reach 20 individualized areas.”
The key is thinking digital first, having the right content, and getting the process dialed in that is going to bring in the right customers.
9. But an SEO strategy, alone, is not enough.
To improve sales, a dealer needs to focus on improving their website to make it a better online experience for customers, explains Brett. Dealers also need to think beyond.
“Most dealers are not, with tech enough, to realize that…is what it takes to drive market share. If you look at most dealers, and you probably know this, if you look at most dealers' results from an organic perspective, they're declining. And they're declining because traditional SEO is no longer working.”
Social media and engaging with people who visit the platforms is important as well, an area that Brett admits his company could improve on.
10. Relationships are still a key part of the business, whether it’s acquiring stores or customer retention.
The value of building and maintaining relationships in all facets of the business cannot be overstated, says Brett, whether they are developed in-person or online.
Brett’s Toyota and Lexus dealerships, which can be tough to get, were purchased (off-market) through his CFO’s former working relationship with the family that owned the dealerships. LinkedIn has been a major recruiting source for talent and potential acquisitions. And his customer retention strategy is deeply rooted in relationships.
“Once the customer buys that vehicle, that customer's worth $17,000 in gross profit to us. So, we ensure, from a building and facilities perspective, that we offer…the best experience…We are going to do what we have to, to ensure that customer is coming back to us.”
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