Virginia dealer Jon Alcorn's path from employee to owner

Jim Keffer's buyout program creates opportunities for operators as consolidation reshapes the industry. (3 min. read)

Author

Marcus Amick
June 05, 2025

Jon Alcorn

Jon Alcorn, owner of Dogwood Automotive, lives by a very fundamental premise when it comes to dealing with the ups and downs in this business—focus on controlling the controllables.

Sounds simple enough, right? However, the idea is to get one's entire team to buy into the concept—which for Dogwood includes a Mazda, Volkswagen, and Volvo store in Virginia.

"It's a rollercoaster—and I preach to the guys every day that…as things change for us…, the consumers are even…less informed than we are sometimes,” he told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D’Arc and Uli De’Martino. “We're in the people business, and we got to make sure that we control our attitude every day; what we're doing with our leads; our closing; our growth; what we're doing every day to produce traffic."

The daily controllables: Alcorn's operational focus centers on specific areas his team can influence regardless of market conditions:

  • Attitude and mindset management across all staff

  • Lead handling and follow-up processes

  • Closing techniques and customer interactions

  • Prospecting activities to generate showroom traffic

  • Focus on the customer experience rather than external market forces

Seizing opportunities: One thing specifically that Alcorn is aiming to capitalize on in the current market is younger car buyers—looking beyond the 40 or 45-year-old person with a great income that can buy whatever they want.

"We're talking about that 25, 26, 27-year-old that…can't afford a $29,000 starting automobile,” said Alcorn. “So, what about the certified lease programs?...How can we get that affordable car and capture that next generation of buyer?"

Partnership is everything: Alcorn attributes a great degree of his approach to the business and ability to make the transition from an operator to an owner to his partner, Jim Keffer of Keffer Auto Group.

"What Jim does is…he actually finds good deals—and then he invests in people, and he puts together dealer operator buyout programs," he explained.

The partnership did require an investment from Alcorn as well—which is a key fundamental aspect of any great ownership team.

"You buy in with him and then essentially there's a…preset contract that says, 'Hey, this, this many percentage(s), this many years,' and at the end of that timeframe, you own it. He walks away,” said Alcorn.

Powering up: The partnership also enables Dogwood Automotive to leverage Keffer Auto Group's resources—giving Alcorn a shot at expanding his business in ways that he couldn't on his own when competing against bigger retail operations.

"We're right on the outside of the DC market, and they're buying up all these smaller stores on the outside fringe markets. And as long as they're profitable, they're adding to their portfolio…There's great GMs out there. There's great operators out there that (are) never going to get a shot. I was very blessed to know Jim,” he added.

Enjoying the journey: It's a blessing that Alcorn appreciates more and more every day.

"This is my life, my family's life, my kids' life. I know every employee…I know their kids, their wife, their family…I didn't come from the auto industry. I started as a salesperson and worked my way through it. I love it," he said.

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