The next generation of leaders in Canada’s automotive retail sector are taking their place. We introduce you to four reasons our industry has a bright future.
In our industry, the perceived lack of young blood coming through the ranks to replace dealers that are on the cusp of retirement has been well documented. But there’s no cause for despair. If you dig a little beneath the surface, you’ll find that a new generation of leaders is indeed climbing the ranks and making waves through the business as they do it. We haven’t spent enough time getting to know these Young Guns. In this issue, that’s about to change.
Canadian auto dealer interviewed four bright young stars in senior leadership positions within Canada’s dealership business (all of them under 40 years old). They have taken hold of the reins, and aren’t planning to let go any time soon.
They’re bringing fresh ideas and new perspective to the concept of automotive retailing, helping transform the way the industry is viewed from the outside as well as spurring creativity within. They’re also being recognized for their efforts, in many cases being nominated for and receiving awards at a regional and national level.
In this article, we share their stories and ask them about the crucial elements to their success as well as what can be done to attract more bright, young people like themselves into the business.
Scott Kilby, Campbell River Hyundai, BC
How did they get started?
Meet Scott Kilby, who at 34 years old currently owns and operates Campbell River Hyundai in Campbell River, B.C.
Despite being one of the youngest dealers in the province, you might be surprised that Kilby’s success doesn’t come from inheriting the reins of a big dealership from family members, rather it comes from a need for self-improvement as well as a desire to succeed. “I’m always looking at ways that we as a dealership can do better,” he says. “It’s an aspect that I’ve also focused on personally, ever since I was a kid.”
In fact, Kilby’s history in the car business goes back to around age 15, when the income he earned from two paper routes in Campbell River, wasn’t cutting the mustard. “I wanted to earn more money. I talked to my dad [a heavy truck mechanic] and he suggested I should apply to work at a dealership.” Kilby got a job at Marshall Ford washing customers’ cars and cleaning the service bays after the techs left for the day. Although he didn’t know it at the time, he would end up becoming lifelong friends with dealer principal Steve Marshall.
“I met him when I first started washing cars back in high school. If it wasn’t for his guidance I doubt I’d be where I am today,” says Kilby. After high school, Scott enrolled at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, but ultimately found it wasn’t the career path he wanted to take. “I came back to Campbell River and decided to pursue a career in automotive sales.”
Yet with no experience, he was at first turned away. “I talked to a sales manager and he just didn’t want to take a chance on me. I was up front and told him he was making a mistake. After coming back the next day dressed in my best, he laughed and said he’d give me a week. If I sold a car in that time, I’d be offered a job.” That week, Kilby sold three cars. His journey to becoming a dealer principal had begun.
Brian Lowes, Mercedes-Benz Winnipeg, Man.
Always a “car guy”
Brian Lowes, dealer principal at Mercedes-Benz Winnipeg, whose facility has received national recognition by M-B Corporate, remembers being obsessed with cars at an early age. “I used the old AutoTrader as my colouring book,” he says. Yet the car business didn’t really appeal to him growing up. “It was the stigma of the used car salesman. I guess you could say that subconsciously I dismissed the idea.” Nonetheless Lowes’ passion with cars continued unabated and as he got older, he learned to work on them.
One day, he was watching a local football game in the bleachers and got chatting to an older gentleman, who turned out to be the General Manager of a nearby dealership (Ericksen Nissan) in his hometown of Edmonton, Alta. “He told me, ‘kid, there’s many facets to the car business, its not just about selling them.’ He explained about management roles and the opportunities that were available. I also sensed from him that there was perhaps a changing of the guard in the industry; that new blood was needed and the opportunities were there for the right people. His dealership wasn’t hiring staff at the time, but I volunteered to work the local car show.”
That was his ticket in. Starting out washing and cleaning cars (much like Scott Kilby), Lowes used the extra time and money he earned to complete finance courses and get his mechanic’s licence, before getting a job in the service department at Ericksen. This was the beginning of an illustrious career.
Mike Trotman, Trotman Auto Group, B.C
Business training a key
Mike Trotman, who heads up the Trotman Auto Group in British Columbia, (which includes Langley Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep, Comox Valley Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep, Alpine Toyota in Cranbrook and Abbotsford Hyundai) was exposed to the industry at an early age. “My father was a dealer,” he says, but Trotman was adamant about pursuing another career path. “I was drawn to business, so I enrolled at the Sauder School of Business [at the University of British Columbia] and took a degree in Commerce.”
Trotman also had a desire to travel, so when an opportunity came to live and work in Italy, he jumped. “It was an invaluable experience,” he says. “I was able to see things from a completely different perspective, I think it was one of the best things I ever did.”
Upon his return home, he knew he’d been bitten by the travel bug, but like many students, needed to find a way to fund his wanderlust. “I decided to work at the family dealership and got into sales. I sold cars for six months and actually discovered that I enjoyed it; the aspect of meeting people, finding a vehicle to fit their needs and working with them through the process.”
In fact, Trotman liked it so much that after that six months he was at the top of the leaderboard when it came to sales at the dealership. It was also around this time that he began to consider other career options besides the corporate world. “I’d almost convinced myself the car business wasn’t for me, yet the more I took a look at the industry and listened to my Dad, I discovered that perhaps there was more to this than I originally thought.”
Trotman’s father had started out on the corporate side, taking a job with Ford out of school and becoming a district manager. “But he had an about turn,” he says. “Going over dealers’ statements, he saw the opportunities available on the entrepreneurial side and opened a used car store.” Over time the store grew to become an AMC franchise, then a Volvo store, a Fiat dealer and ultimately Langley Chrysler.
While Trotman did pack his bags after his sales stint and traveled, the idea of exploring opportunities in the car business was growing stronger. When he returned home this time around, he made a plan to get to work. “An opportunity on the management side came about and I took it, with no regrets,” he says.
- Jim Williamson, Williamson Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac, Uxbridge, Ont.
Georgian College grad
Jim Williamson, General Manager of Williamson Chevrolet Buick Cadillac GMC in Uxbridge, Ont., comes from a dealer background, and like Brian Lowes, has loved cars since an early age.
He washed cars, helped clean and maintain the facilities and worked in the parts department during high school. “At the time, I didn’t really understand the business. I was so keen to leave home and go elsewhere that perhaps I made the jump too soon.”
He enrolled at the Canadian Automotive Institute at Georgian College (Barrie, Ont.), but exited the course, which left him with few options. “I had to get a job. I worked for a company that installed and serviced in-ground pools. I didn’t like it, but it taught me a lot about how to treat people and how I myself, wanted to be treated. I asked my father if I could come and work at the dealership. He said I can give you a job but you’re on your own, it will be sink or swim.”
Williamson started work in December selling cars and armed with his experience from working at the pool company, soon found out that he was good at it. With the money he made, he also decided to finish his courses at Georgian and so enrolled online. Additional courses have followed and he considers self-directed education an integral part of his success today.
Learning the ropes
As they say, there’s no true reward without risk, and all of our Young Guns have taken bold steps in the name of progress. Brian Lowes’ example is a very interesting one. “After working at Ericksen [Nissan] I went to work at another dealer in the service department. I knew there and then I wanted to be a car dealer and one of the youngest at that.” Working in both the back and front end of the store (in capacities as service advisor, service manager, pre-owned manager, sales manager and even assistant general manager), gave Brian considerable insight into how the dealership operated, so when he got offered a job back at Ericksen, he was ready to take things to the next level.
“I was made sales manager. Ericksen was a big store and we sold about 600 Nissans a year. Yet when an offer came to move into the back end as service manager, I saw it as a challenge and took it.” And a challenge it proved to be. “We had 17 service bays and a lot of jobs coming through. I earned a few grey hairs but it was worth it, you can’t put a price on experience.” In fact working in multiple roles would prove to serve Lowes well down the road.
Having returned to the sales manager role, he heard that the dealer group that owned the Nissan store was in the process of purchasing a Mercedes-Benz location. “They were looking for a general manager to run it, so I went to my boss and convinced him that with my background and training I was ready for it.”
The experience went really well which got Lowes thinking about becoming a dealer himself. “I started looking for opportunities in the Mercedes-Benz network; which markets were under performing and cross referenced it with the ages of the dealers and their succession plans, that’s how I found myself in Winnipeg.”
Still in his 20s, many found it hard to take him seriously about his plans. “I was told to get lost frequently,” he said. As a result, he soon learned how to ask the right questions. “Eventually I was able to put a deal together. I managed to get investors, raised the money and away we went.” Since taking control of Mercedes-Benz Winnipeg in 2008, the store has doubled sales volume, ranked among the top 10 brand dealers in Canada two years in a row and in 2010 was the recipient of the Mercedes-Benz Star Dealer award.
Hard work pays off
Scott Kilby, no stranger to hard work, knew that if he wanted to become a dealer he had to take control of his career. “The one thing I really learned from Steve Marshall was to lead by example. To be successful you need to go the extra mile, be the first to arrive at work and the last to leave. You’ve got to be focused and disciplined. I like to think of it as training like an athlete. Even though your friends are having burgers and fries you can’t because you’ve got to watch your weight and you’ve a goal to achieve.”
Kilby’s approach paid off. He rose to become General Manager at the store where he worked. Always one to look at ways for self-improvement, he worked closely with his business manager. “I was always looking at new ideas and ways we could improve and one way I felt I could do my job better was by enrolling in finance courses.” So he booked off some vacation time and went to business school in Vancouver. “For me it was eye opening. When I came back to Campbell River I knew I wanted to take it to the next level and own my own store.”
Armed with the knowledge in financing, determination and moral support from his parents and wife Allison, Kilby started a business specializing in pre-approved loans and selling inventory from local dealers. It proved successful and after three years, he was ready to look at getting his own store.
He found a partnered principal at a local dealer that was looking to sell and decided to approach him. “He didn’t take me seriously at first,” says Kilby, “but eventually we negotiated a deal.” Next came approval from Hyundai corporate. “It was a tough process and they put you through a lot of tests,” he says.
Kilby was able to acquire the majority of shares in Campbell River Hyundai and at age 32 became a dealer principal. Since that time, the store, which was once losing business, has grown to have the majority market share in the Campbell River area and has been nominated small business of the year, with Kilby himself also receiving a nomination for Young Entrepreneur of the year.
When opportunity knocks
Mike Trotman also saw an opportunity to acquire an ownership stake, but with his background, the approach was quite different. “My father was going to sell Langley Chrysler. Having witnessed a lack of leadership in the industry I didn’t want to see that happen, so I agreed to buy him out.” It was the catalyst for what has become one of the fastest growing dealer groups in Western Canada.
“I was still very much aware of the stigma that goes with the car business and also the concept of inheriting the family store,” he says. “However, with my degree and background I felt that, along with my brothers [who were also involved in the business], we could really stand apart, by bringing a new competitive edge to the industry.” One way he was able to do that was by focusing on other business in other industries as benchmarks, not necessarily rival dealers. “We looked at successful groups, such as the Four Seasons hotel chain and even Starbucks,” he says. “What their strategy was for attracting customers, keeping them and growing their business.”
Go beyond the expected
Inspired by what he saw, Trotman understood that to grow and stand out, not only did Langley Chrysler need to deliver a customer experience that went above and beyond expectations, he also needed to have staff who could help make that possible; talented, knowledgeable and motivated people. That meant looking outside traditional recruiting channels. “There’s still a great deal of misconception about the car business,” he says. “A lot of the time people don’t understand how complex, challenging and also rewarding it is. It’s probably one of the business world’s best kept secrets.”
Perhaps because of his own business background, Trotman has been able to attract people from outside industries, such as banking, finance and marketing to name a few. Within the Trotman Auto Group, he’s been able to help foster a unique culture, where staff are valued, trusted and respected. “They’re an integral part of our success,” he says, “without them, none of what we’ve accomplished would have been possible. When you’re able to create an environment where everybody comes together, where creativity is encouraged and you can provide your staff with the tools and encouragement to succeed, that’s when the magic really happens.”
That magic has worked like a charm at the original store, Langley Chrysler, and it has grown from being your archetypal mid-level suburban auto retailer into a nationally recognized dealership. Trotman and his brothers have been able to acquire other stores along the way, including Comox Valley Dodge (2003); Cranbrook Toyota (2008) and Abbotsford Hyundai (2009)), resulting in a business today that has revenues of some $110 million.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to achieve,” says Trotman. “Despite challenges and difficulties, including the economic meltdown in 2008-09 we’ve emerged stronger, not only as a group but as an industry in general. Car dealers are a resilient bunch and they’ve been able to weather many storms. That’s why I feel it’s so important to support the industry and those within it.”
Build around great people
Brian Lowes has a similar outlook when it comes to finding the right people. “They are the key to making it work,” he says. “Training is hugely important, your employees need to be armed with the knowledge and to help customers the best way they can, but they also need support and encouragement.” Lowes approach to staffing, perhaps because of his own varied experience in the industry, is to find people roles that suit them best. “Traditionally mangers were often plucked from the showroom floor,” he says, “but the thing you have to remember is that the best sales guy doesn’t always make the best manager and vice versa. People need to be comfortable with their thought processes, they need active encouragement to harness the skills they have, that is how collectively as a group you’re able to succeed.”
Besides creating roles for staff members where appropriate, Lowes is also adamant that employees receive praise for their efforts. “If they do well, they need to be rewarded,” he says. Each year he organizes a retreat for staff and their spouses, which also provides them with a chance to bond as a team, as well as providing incentives such as gala invitations for charity work and outstanding contributions.
“We’re all in this together, from the dealer principal to the sales manager, to the accountants and technicians,” he says. “Helping people develop emotionally as well as technically is hugely important.”
Scott Kilby also stresses the need to find the right people, train them and keep them. “Training is such a big part of being successful as a dealership,” he says. “Getting the right people on board, providing the tools they need is essential. When a sales, service, parts or detailing customer comes into Campbell River Hyundai they deserve to be assisted by somebody who is knowledgeable and helpful.”
He also sees it as crucially important that everybody works together as a team. “There’s strength in numbers,” he says. “Having regular meetings with your staff and keeping them in the loop is so important as is a need to listen and collectively solve issues. Today the industry is more competitive than ever and dealers need to have their finger on the pulse and be able to adapt quickly. You can’t do that unless the entire team is involved in the process.”
Kilby also believes that downtime is also important to help staff be the best they can be. “We close the dealership at 6 p.m. everyday,” he says and “I ask everybody to go home and spend time with their families. Work is important but quality time with loved ones even more so.”
Jim Williamson, based on his own experiences, believes that taking care of your employees and being able to trust and value them is essential to running a successful dealership. “You need to treat others the way you want to be treated,” he says. “You can’t put a price on trust, respect and loyalty.”
Back to the future
All of our Young Guns agreed that the biggest challenges still facing the industry is trying to overcome age-old, persistent stigmas and bringing new talent into the business. “Unfortunately, even though in reality the industry is far removed from the image of the shady salesman, we still have to contend with that image of the business,” says Trotman.
Yet there are signs that perception is slowly changing. For Mike, being part of Business in Vancouver magazine’s top 40 under 40 list of business leaders, has certainly helped. “It was great to receive that kind of recognition,” he says. “Many in the wider business and academic communities don’t equate car dealers with entrepreneurs and leaders in other fields such as science, high-technology, financing or accounting. I hope that, as a result of our success at TAG being documented we can help attract more high caliber people into the car business and show them what an exciting and vibrant industry it is, with tremendous opportunities and rewards. I’m living proof of that.”
