I have an actual question for the both of you.
Okay
this is auto collabs
beard regimen. Do you have?
Yeah, I guess everyone with a beard has to have one.
But like, is it oil? Is it wax is
it you know, I used to have a really really serious beard regimen and then I realized when I didn't add it didn't really make a massive difference but
your beard has gotten a lot shorter I've seen pictures of like the big Kyle beard I did have that doesn't do well without I was 40
pounds heavier. And most of it was in beard
like yours so nicely kept very few strays yours very few strays, I feel like I'm like a sleeping dog. You know, like when a dog's been sleeping too much. They're just
No, but you have like nice, straight and beard hair. It's different. Mine will get a little gnarly. I use something called Honest Amish beard. Wax. I have to look it up Honest Amish, you have to use the I think it's like heavy duty. It's just like a, I don't know, it's not like a wax. It's like, like a pomade. You know, tiny little bit in every day.
You know why I'm asking this, we launched this podcast.
And everybody and their brother was like, Oh, get some guy with a beard and a black.
Some sisters?
selling them on the website, the hat with a beard attached?
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Perfect. So Oh, my gosh, Halloween is coming around the corner that should be some should be a thing handles out at ASOTU CON.
So the feedback that I've been getting from the show kind of reflects the time that we have making it and people are saying it's not it's like a lot of fun. And it's you know, we get a different angle on a lot of the people that you see in here around the industry. And honestly, it's like, that's what I enjoy most like, I feel like the recipient, the best beneficiary of everything we're
doing together. Because I feel like we have been uncovering some things that I don't know, it's not part of the normal conversation in the car business, I guess.
Yeah. For me, I even I've learned some things just from a practical perspective. You know, people like Jasen Rice and Tommy Gibbs, that we've been able to interview at this point, have have given me perspectives on like actual hands in the dirt things that dealers are dealing with, or, or the way that they're approaching problems.
And then perspectives on even people that I've known really well, you know, over the last couple of years like Glenn Lundy, and really hearing Yeah, that one was I learned a lot well, like the way he walks in and approaches, you know, a dealer and approaches the consulting perspective and, and recognizing that whether you have a consultant or not that change management comes with certain expectations that maybe you should have going in, right?
I think to for me, it's it's also just the relief aspect, like, the car business is all about, like, we're always all about the business. It's like, they didn't get to the meat and potatoes for like, three minutes. I'm out. They didn't teach me anything I don't already know. But to your point, we're getting a lot of, I think we're striking a good balance, if we can pat ourselves on the back. Well, thank you
like so. Right? Because I mean, like we all the three of us all produce our shows individually, you guys have a group group effort, this is a group effort, and it's always kind of down to business. So getting the laugh find the balance between the golden nuggets and just relief. I think so and we've been laughing so hard that you're starting something. striking that balance, I think is something that I found really
interesting. And like both of you have alluded to, like we stop recording, and I'm like, Oh man, I needed that. Yeah, so
So Okay, let's move. Alright, let's, we're gonna have a little bro fest for a minute. What in in the last since we've started recording this and kind of leading up to ASOTU CON, which, you know, we're like three and a half weeks away at the time. We're recording this. We're all sitting in Philly, we just walked the venue in the industry at large, what is the most important conversation that you're hearing? Kyle start with
you? Yeah, because we all kind of have different friends in the industry and kind of have a different angle. So from your perspective,
Well, it's interesting because even even with ASOTU like a lot of the conversations that I start to have are good to have trend toward technology and marketing, just because I think that's the way I've been bucketed for so long, from a just industry perspective. And, and, you know, I think a year ago, everyone kind of like threw their hands up and was like, first party data and cookies, you know, and, and everything's been pushed back. And now there's different
stuff happening with Apple. But I do think that that that created this impetus for us to say hey, look, as an industry, our data is not great. As our industry our Connected technologies have not done a good job at at syncing with each other. As an industry. We haven't care hired for even customer data in in a good enough way to be able to retain them, right, we talked about retention is like a culture and you know a how you handle customers and customer experience. But there's also a
data piece to that. And I think that's that's one thing that I've seen, even though now the focus is less on, oh, it just you just have to maintain your first party data that transitioned into this very, very collaborative effort very, like understanding that the data housed in multiple different systems is necessary for not just data for marketing sake, but data for customer experience
sake. And I think that's our super healthy conversation, because a lot of times your your technologists don't relate to your, your experience people. And I think they're coming together at this point.
With you, Michael. Let me just clear the frog out of my throat, it's yours, they won't go away. I think it's really interesting. It seems like people are putting more effort into trying to better articulate their value proposition. Like we've gone through 20, maybe 30 years of, hey, Company X emerges, and we'll help you get more traffic leads and sales, like that was the thing, well, everything is going to help you get more traffic leads and sales, traffic
leads and sales. And that compounded to a degree that I that I think the House of Cards kind of fell in on itself. And now people throughout the industry are like, You know what, maybe first we should get a clearer idea of what it is we hoped to achieve, and then build backwards from that. And we've even heard guests on the show like, Glenn Glenn Pasch. As far as customer experience, he talked about, like, what do we want them to feel, and let's
work backwards from that. But I feel like I'm hearing more and more like, let's figure out what we actually want, what problem we actually solve. And let's get better at articulating how we aim to solve that and not just revert to traffic leads and sales or, you know, big data or whatever. And so what I think is happening is there's more meaningful conversations
happening to that effect. People are really trying to understand and be okay with not having to do all the things like even dealership wise like, okay, so you're a Subaru store, and I'm a Subaru store, therefore we're the same No, actually, we're having much more open conversations about what makes that store different and, and why then ultimately, their definition of success looks different from this. And we're really trying to detach from this, you know, OEM report that tells us
exactly the same thing. Yeah, there's an element of that, which makes I think the auto industry different than all the other any other industry, in that it's a franchise system. However, it can and does look so different across store to store to store it regardless. I mean, it could be several miles apart only. And what works for a store a could be a lot different than what looks for works for store B. And you know, if I'm if I put my OEM hat on for a second, that's something that's actually
concerning. I mean, I'd be concerned about that if I am. Because, you know, from a franchise consumer experience delivery model, like I want to make sure that it's as seamless as possible, it's as consistent as possible. But the truth also is that it's not like a franchise restaurant, like McDonald's or something where I'm going to eat it this one today, and that one next week, and that one a month from now in a different city. And I want to make sure you know, the fries
tastes the same. This is still a lot different than that, right? It's buying a vehicle, I'm not going to be back for a number of years, anywhere between like three and seven years. And so is the requirement that Hi, my answer to my question is?
Fine, you want my answer?
Well, I really just politely asked you to when you thought to just give
me a minute to tell you what I thought enough about you. Let's talk a little bit about you. What do you think
the thing I see. So you both mentioned this, you about know, technology and this element of kind of working together? If I pull up for a second, I'm feeling this spirit of people willing to celebrate one another that are in competitive industries that I feel this like, undercurrent of that growing, which is something that we set up to do I mean, it's the spirit of Auto Collabs.
Like how can we work together and understand and acknowledge right out of the gate, that there are no like to right, there's no right way to do it, that for everybody. It's different. Every store is different. Every market is different. Every provider is different. And some combination of providers is going to be that dealership secret sauce for a season. And then they're going to change it and they're going to change vendors and providers.
So I've I feel like I see the industry partner side of the business, being willing to champion one another in a way that I feel like I haven't seen before. And that's really encouraging to me because I feel like when that happens and everyone gets a little more open handed and not so territorial. I think the dealers win and when the dealers win the customers win when the customer First when we all win, so yeah,
I think there's a general approach that maybe it's been, maybe it's a result somewhat of this season of profitability that we've been in. But there's a renewed approach to like an abundance mindset, not just in dollars, but like, in in customer base or in people base or in, like, the way that technology partners approach dealers that there is this kind of hate look, you know, I don't have to be at your throat. And actually, you know, I was my good friend Ben, who were will interview at some
point. He has this kind of story that he tells, and anyone who's new in the industry, he kind of tells it this way he's like, so what happens online is industry partner X says industry partner Y is terrible and dealer X competes against dealer Y in the same city, and then all of a sudden, everyone gets to NADA. And for some reason, the two guys that were fighting online are standing at a bar for five hours, just cracking jokes. So
try singing karaoke. And I think that that barman like that, that like those two people at NADA, you know, singing karaoke at the bar have moved into the digital and into the every day in the way that we interact as an industry. And I you know, it's like you said, it's the heart behind this podcast. And what we're trying to do with a soda is, is allow everyone to kind of like move towards something that is not fighting each other, but solving the customer experience.
I spent half the morning, I'm just going to point this out from your beard, thinking but no envying both your beards. But also legitimately dyslexic thinking that your shirt said love cars more than you love people. For those that can't see this? Paul's wearing a shirt that says love people more than you love cars, which I think underscores everything in this conversation. You guys know I love you. This has been a fun project. And like you said, lots of heart behind
it. So I got nothing to add to
that. And just for everyone. That wasn't the wrap of the whole Auto Collabs podcast. We got more of these to go. Oh, we have a lot more to go. Put it up now.
And with that I was signed to a new podcast do we didn't get sponsors? Sponsors told me to ask before she
lets me go to Philly one more time. Oh, well. On that note, I think we have a lot more to do. So. Thanks for listening with us. Thanks for being on the journey. And we'll see you in like 70 more interviews we have to release.
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