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The truth about culture, cash flow, and customers from a dealer in the trenches
Featuring Anthony Marino, President of Marino Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram
Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap newsletter.
Today’s guest is Anthony Marino, President of Marino Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, who dives into his P&L sheet, shares a raw view at what drives his business, how he calculates a good investment vs. a wasted expense, the culture rule that drives customer loyalty, and much more..
1. Carrying forward a multigenerational legacy.
Anthony’s passion for auto retail grew out of his family roots in auto sales and his father, who is still involved in the business.
“He's semi-retired. Car guys never really retire. They always wanted to be in the mix and be part of the action and ask questions. It's great. My dad (Tony Marino), he's been in the business since the 50s with my grandpa. He's right behind me over my left ear here.”
2. Entering the business on his own terms.
Anthony’s path into the family business wasn’t linear.
“When I came out of college—which was 2004—my dad absolutely did not offer me a job…At that time, he didn't own a car dealership. He was a VP for Lynch Automotive, which…had many dealerships at the time. And he said, ‘you've got to go out into the world, get your head kicked in a little bit, and then we'll talk.’”
He started his career in auto retail after leaving banking during the financial crisis—beginning his journey in the business in 2009 answering phones at a Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram store his dad had purchased.
3. Proving himself from the ground up.
Anthony attributes a great deal of his success in auto retail to his dad’s no-nonsense approach to introducing him to the business.
“He doesn't care who you are, what your last name is…You better come in, you better be respectful of your colleagues…if anything, he was even tougher on me being his son and doing everything the right way.”
Coming up through the ranks ad working from opening to close, helped Anthony learn the business while earning the respect of the staff.
4. Gaining ownership through time and trust.
Anthony’s transition into an ownership role in the family business was no easy feat.
“My dad doesn't hand anything out…He felt it about his father…saying, ‘look, we worked really hard together to get here and nobody's going to take it away…I worked my way up—and this is over the course of…10 years.”
Anthony’s dad started stepping back from the business four years ago, but remains a good sounding board.
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5. Refining operations through years of iteration.
Anthony has invested more than a decade into continuously innovating.
“This didn't happen overnight, that's for sure. This started many years ago. I'd say it's been a 12-year run of really working hard at it, of refining our processes and starting from the meet-and-greet process.”
Today’s market and customer require dealerships to be at the top of their game—always putting themselves in the shoes of the customer.
6. Applying outside experience to dealership performance.
Anthony still finds himself leaning on his prior banking experience, more specifically his work as an accountant.
“I still like it a lot…doing our statement or month end stuff, doing a review, data analytics with advertising, things like that. I love that stuff.”
Marino Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram actually uses an accounting firm that Anthony worked at—serving as an extension of his team.
7. Letting data (not ego) drive decisions.
Dealers often find themselves getting caught up in their pride when making business decisions.
“A lot of times…as dealers, you think, you have this great idea or your ad company's got this great idea. Nobody clicks on it…Well…separate ego, which is normal, from actual results…Get over yourself real quick when something doesn't work.”
8. Turning inventory quickly and strategically.
Anthony’s new vehicle sales strategy is all about volume.
“We want to, you know, sell a lot of new cars because we want to sell them if we make some profit. Get a trade is the most advantageous to selling a new car. You want to get a trade, maybe some F&I income and move on.”
Even the inventory challenges associated with the tariffs are manageable if you think strategically.
9. Reinvesting consistently in the physical operation.
“We reinvest in the store heavily every single year, multiple times a year. What kind of projects, what kind of things can we actually do for the dealership…to improve it? We paint the dealership once a year. It makes a huge difference.”
Investments like painting the store and adding new graphics go a long way in helping to attract customers, and create an above average experience.
10. Staying deeply involved in day-to-day operations.
Anthony continues to operate with a hands-on approach to the business.
“I'm up early…looking at the bank to…see what happened. See if there's anything…that we need to bounce; if there was any sort of fraud…I allow myself to look at some high-level stuff and then I'm like, ‘well, what about that? I haven't asked that guy a question. I haven't asked her a question in a while.”
Anthony’s advice: Live and breathe every facet of your business.
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