Presented by:
Hey everyone,
In October, we had the pleasure of attending the Women In Automotive® First California Social, hosted by DLRdmv® on the rooftop of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
The theme was “With Intent.”
And as the day went on:
We heard women share how they got into auto;
Why they’re choosing to stick around;
How men in auto are supporting women in their companies;
And why all success comes back to your orbit, and who you can lean on.
View from the rooftop of the Petersen Automotive Museum | Photo: CDG’s Ash Savage
— CDG
First time reading a CDG Newsletter?
The four pillars holding up LAcarGuy’s brand
What leaders owe the women on their teams
And how to build the “orbit” that keeps your career moving
LAcarGuy’s Simpson: Train for success, promote from within, don’t go it alone, and own your brand.
Meghan Simpson, chief marketing officer at family-owned LAcarGuy, helps run 10 rooftops from Torrance to Santa Monica alongside her brothers and her father, who she said founded the company in 1973.
“We joke that we're kind of edging out my dad, but that's really not true,” she said at the start of her session at the social. “Retirement is [not] in his vocabulary.”
Meghan Simpson | Photo: Photography Students from Port of Los Angeles High School
Also while on stage, Simpson joked that she was there representing the family as the “LACarGal” of the day, adding that her goal was to walk through the four aspects of the group’s approach to the car biz.
Those four pillars are:
Training for success;
Promoting from within;
Facing challenges together;
And being intentional with its brand.
On training: She explained that it used to be a headache, since NADA Academy meant sending people across the country.
Eventually, LAcarGuy brought in instructors through NCM and built its own five-month program covering parts, service, labor rates, as well as what the general manager role looks like day to day.
Now: Each department nominates one person, so that a business office employee learns alongside a parts manager. She said it was designed that way to help people spot problems and offer solutions outside their own corner of the store.
“For us, it was just a way to collaborate with different departments that you normally might not get to collaborate with,” she said.
Meghan Simpson | Photo: Photography Students from Port of Los Angeles High School
(Fun timing: CDK recently asked women what would make dealerships fairer, and training topped the list at 42%. Meaning, LAcarGuy is right on the money...)
On promoting from within: “We try our best to move people around where they fit,” Simpson said. She presented a video featuring a few of the women and how they’ve grown at LAcarGuy.
One started as a receptionist and worked her way up to advisor.
Another is now the Volkswagen service manager, and said she’s happy because she’s heading to a job she actually likes.
A third woman put it this way: “Everybody wants equality, and being a female, I also feel like I have this different intuition. I'm a first-generation Mexican-American, so I want to make sure that everybody feels welcome at Genesis.”
On sticking together: Simpson said no one at LAcarGuy is immune, and “no one can face [industry] challenges alone.” She offered a few examples, like the pandemic, the CDK cyberattack, the L.A. fires, and the end of EV tax credits.
Her point was that these hit way more than one customer. And they hit every side of the business internally.
Same goes for some of the current challenges she listed. (Cough, cough, California CARS Act.)
“We are not immune to challenges in this industry, man, if anyone wants to start a California CARS Act support group… because this is a lot,” she joked. “But we're here for it. We're here together.”
On that note, she said the group uses ComplyAuto Guardian, which scans its websites and flags potential violations, like disclaimer language the FTC might not like.
On branding: Simpson pointed to the shop-by-lifestyle search LAcarGuy is trying out on its website (think an SUV for a trip to Mammoth, or a third row for growing kids), then summed it up succinctly.
“Your brand is just really your story that people are telling without you in the room. So make that story worthwhile, make it worth hearing. And make sure the women on your team are the authors and not just the characters.”
Men’s panel: Find a champion, make the path to ‘yes’ clear, and put women at the top.
Later, Dawn McCullough-Aguilar, vice president and sales director at DLRdmv®, moderated a men’s panel with Allan Cooper, co-founder of Men In Automotive; Mike Benavides, a Women In Automotive® board member and founder of iFuel Automotive; and Jimmy Douglas, founder and CEO of Plug.
Douglas said women make up about 11% of the industry and just 6% of dealership ownership, even though women are the decision-makers in about 85% of vehicle purchases.
Jimmy Douglas (left), Mike Benavides (right) | Photo: Photography Students from Port of Los Angeles High School
His advice for any woman weighing a career move: Pull up the company’s website, and take a look at who’s on the leadership team.
“That will be a direct reflection of the mindset and sort of the energy around this within that organization,” Douglas said.
Cooper’s take: “Women need mentors. Many, many mentors,” he said, noting that a champion doesn’t have to be inside your own dealership.
Allan Cooper (center), Dawn McCullough-Aguilar (right) | Photo: Photography Students from Port of Los Angeles High School
When the answer is “not yet”: McCullough-Aguilar asked the panel what to do after asking for a promotion or raise and hearing “not yet.” Douglas called promotions a “three-headed monster” of factors to consider.
Know where you sit on your company’s career ladder, and whether you’re performing above or below your level.
He said the people who get promoted fastest are the most effective collaborators, including with people who don’t report to them. In other words, he suggests practicing “influence without authority.”
And lastly, be a marketer internally as much as an operator. (Not bragging, he said, just making sure leadership can see the work being done.)
“You should know, before you hear the no, where your no may be coming from,” Benavides said.
To that point: Douglas said it’s on managers to make it “completely unambiguous if [an employee is] winning or not winning.”
A quick word from our partner
Your customer crossed state lines to buy from you.
The temporary tag expires soon, and they’re wondering where their plates are. DLR50™ handles out-of-state title and registration nationwide, with most deals completed in about two weeks.
From submission to plate delivery, you get visibility into every step and direct access to our Integrated Agency Partners.
Dealers trust DLR50™ to keep registrations moving and customers informed.
Alison Rank: Pick one intention, then build the ‘orbit’ that keeps you on it.
Alison Rank, chief illumination officer at Clearview, started her session recounting a day when nothing went according to plan.
The backstory: She was leading a small volunteer group of women who had spent three years working on their relationships, with some progress, but not transformation.
In a conversation about that, one woman suggested they each ask for a sign.
Rank asked for flowers. (And for what it’s worth… she made this wish in the middle of a snowstorm.) About 30 minutes later, one of the women pulled a green chrysanthemum out of her purse and handed it to her.
(She said it lasted six weeks in a vase in her kitchen.)
Alison Rank | Photo: Photography Students from Port of Los Angeles High School
Looking at it every day, Rank started envisioning a retreat for the group, one built around real change instead of stressful expectations like “I need a new job.”
“That sign didn’t give me the plan,” she said. “It gave [me] the vision, which changed what I could see,” Rank said.
The exercise: She asked everyone to pick one intention and imagine it’s a year from today and they’ve been living it. What’s different? Who’s around to celebrate?
After that, build your orbit: “Your intentions are yours, but you shouldn’t, and do not have to, do it alone,” she said. Her list of people to find:
Someone with a similar intention, so you can declare it and move forward together.
Someone ahead of you who already lives it. Tell her you admire her, then ask what helped her stay consistent.
Cheerleaders who bring new energy and check in on you every once in a while.
People you trust to lovingly call you out when you’re getting off course.
And anyone who can help with the next step, like a coach, a mentor, or someone who can make an introduction.
To keep it moving: She suggested connecting with three people a week. The first one is just to check in and share how your intention is going. The second can help with a resource, and the third can help with a referral or other miscellaneous support.
Thank you to DLRdmv® and Women In Automotive® for hosting.
Have a take on how your store is backing the women on its team?
Reach us here.
— CDG
