Nate Brandt, General Manager of Ozark Chevrolet, sells cars with a seven-day money-back guarantee and a 30-day exchange policy. His salespeople don't negotiate prices, don't chase gross profit, and get paid the same whether they make money or lose money on each deal.
"We're a best price store. We put our best price up front. The prices are clearly shown on all the vehicles, actual cash value for your trade," Brandt told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D'Arc and Yossi Levi. "It's just a volume play."
And the volume speaks for itself: salespeople averaging 14 to 30 cars per month with 97th percentile customer satisfaction scores across both sales and service.
How it works: Brandt has completely removed gross profit from the pay plan equation. His salespeople get paid strictly on volume, whether they make $5,000 or lose $10,000 on any individual deal.
“It's a long term play. You know, you'd rather make, you know, $1 off of 100 different people versus 100 bucks off of one person, because then you've got 99 extra people out there advertising for you,” he explained.
The Rydell Group has operated this way "since the beginning of time," according to Brandt.
And most customers have never encountered anything like this at a dealership, which immediately changes the entire dynamic of the transaction.
Zooming out: Brandt doesn't offer CSI bonuses—he requires 97th percentile scores as a condition of employment.
"Year to date, our service and sales numbers are in the 97th percentile, and anything less than that's just not acceptable to us," he said.
Since poor service kills word-of-mouth and word-of-mouth drives volume, everyone understands that customer experience isn't optional.
"It's always a personal handoff with that guest. It's just that little bit of extra effort makes all the difference," Brandt explained.
Between the lines: That service mentality comes naturally to Brandt, who worked as a service advisor before transitioning to general management. His atypical path in the industry largely shaped his customer-first approach.
"At the end of the day, it's only always about the people, whether it be the employees or whether it be the customers," he said.
Looking ahead: The Rydell Group's vision "to be so effective that you're able to be helpful to others" drives decision-making across all departments.
"We're transparent and we want to make sure that we take care of every single person like we take care of our grandmother, like we take care of our mother's cars," Brandt said.
Bottom line: Ozark Chevrolet shows that removing negotiation and paying on volume alone can drive superior results. The guarantees eliminate customer risk, the transparent pricing builds trust, and the volume-based pay keeps everyone focused on moving inventory rather than squeezing margins.
A quick word from our partner
It’s all inside the machine.
Minimizing risk and maximizing profits is about more than knowing what’s happening today. It’s about seeing what’s around the corner.
The Lotlinx VIN Manager is the industry’s first inventory data platform that presents powerful insights and predictions at the intersection of inventory management, customer data, and media consumption data.
Promote Smarter
Procure More Effectively
Price with Precision
Gain Unparalleled Market Clarity
Visit lotlinx.com to see how the Lotlinx machine can power your dealership.
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
No-BS insights, built for car dealers. Free, fast, and trusted by 55,000+ car dealers.
