The Walk Around

JM&A Group
  • 5.0 (23)
  • AUTOMOTIVE
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

A car dealership podcast that brings all things automotive to your listening ears! Learn how to grow your dealership, or grow your automotive career with sales, Finance, Fixed Operations, and Leadership insights.

  1. S4E21 - Mastering the Balance of Leadership At Your Dealership

    JAN 7

    S4E21 - Mastering the Balance of Leadership At Your Dealership

    From the finance office to General Manager, Jesse Hill of Safford Mazda Sterling shares how he balances family life with a busy career, how he led a virtual change in the finance office and advice for future dealership leaders. For more information about our guest, visit their ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Episode Breakdown 0:00 - Jesse’s journey to the auto industry  7:29 - Balancing family with the demands of retail automotive careers 13:39 - Initial thoughts on virtual finance at the dealership 19:42 - How virtual F&I caused other processes to evolve 22:43 - The transition from the finance office to General Manager 28:29 - Key skills to develop for leadership roles 33:23 - The Process of converting a store from one OEM at another 36:50 - Dealership focus for 2026 43:41 - Bet it or Forget it: AI, front end gross profit, dealership culture Liked this episode? Find our full episode library ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    49 min
  2. S4E20 - Dealership Profitability & Disruption: What’s Ahead in 2026

    11/19/2025

    S4E20 - Dealership Profitability & Disruption: What’s Ahead in 2026

    Steve Greenfield, GP at Automotive Ventures, shares his perspective on affordability challenges, dealership profitability, emerging retail tech, and how AI may shape the future of customer experience and operational efficiency. For more information about our guest, visit their ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Episode Breakdown 0:00 - Meet Steve of Automotive Ventures!  0:53 - The state of vehicle affordability and consumer credit 4:00 - Supply chain fragility and new chip constraints 6:19 - What dealers can control to protect profitability 8:05 - DMS disruption and evaluating tech investments 11:10 - The surge of AI and where it will actually help 13:20 - How AI can unlock sales productivity & loyalty 18:33 - Autonomous ride-hailing and its real implications 22:20 - The durability of the franchise dealer model 24:08 - Best Bets: Profit margins, valuations, direct sales & BYD Liked this episode? Find our full episode library ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    33 min
  3. S4E19 - From Tesla to Tekion: How One Founder is Redefining the DMS

    10/23/2025

    S4E19 - From Tesla to Tekion: How One Founder is Redefining the DMS

    Jay Vijayan, Founder & CEO at Tekion, discusses the dealership pain points he saw which led to the creation of his business. He also shares insights on AI and digital retail and lessons he learned from his leadership role at Tesla.  For more information about our guest, visit their ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Episode Breakdown 0:00 - Jay’s introduction to the automotive industry  7:42 - Why Jay’s company decided to acquire dealerships   10:23 - The major pain points he saw dealerships facing  15:38 - What Jay learned from owning dealerships  21:14 - How a focus on people drove their platform creation  26:11 - Addressing dealers’ concerns with changing technologies  33:03 - What can dealers expect from AI in the next few years?  37:56 - The F&I process and what dealers are saying  39:53 - Best Bets: Cloud platforms, the next industry disruptor and APIs  42:32 - Lessons learned from working at Tesla  Liked this episode? Find our full episode library ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    45 min
  4. S4E18 - Consumer Buying Trends Dealers Need To Know

    10/08/2025

    S4E18 - Consumer Buying Trends Dealers Need To Know

    Marc Bland, Head of New Business and Growth Audiences for S&P Global, breaks down the trends he’s seeing across customer bases, the segment OEMs are overlooking, how to engage more buyers and his opinion on TikTok car sales. For more information about our guest, visit their ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠.  Episode Breakdown0:00 - Marc's insight on OEM sales and consumers3:33 - What’s important for dealers to pay attention to7:14 - Who is driving buyer growth?9:09 - How dealers can engage fast growing buyer populations12:51 - Ways dealers can hit gross margins17:10 - Generational buying trends21:23 - Is there a segment OEMs are overlooking?26:20 - Best Bets: TikTok car sales, small EV buyers adoption Liked this episode? Find our full episode library ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    34 min
  5. S4E17 - Built to Last: Strengthening Your Dealership’s Future

    10/01/2025

    S4E17 - Built to Last: Strengthening Your Dealership’s Future

    Jenell Ross, President at Bob Ross Buick GMC, discusses taking over the helm of her father’s dealership, how she is working to improve operational performance and supporting the presence of women across the industry. For more information about our guest, visit their ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠.  Episode Breakdown 0:00 - Meet Jenell 2:13 - The state of the business 3:46 - Key leadership lessons learned 5:55 - The industry at its core is... 8:49 - Innovations that had the biggest impact 12:41 - Navigating talent retention 15:51 - Supporting women in the auto industry 18:17 - Lessons learned from leading a dealership group 23:47 - Advice for new dealers 24:30 - Best Bets: GenZ purchase habits, Amazon-like car delivery and more! Liked this episode? Find our full episode library ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    33 min
  6. S4E16 - Leading the Next Generation of Dealers

    09/24/2025

    S4E16 - Leading the Next Generation of Dealers

    Karen Ford, President at Sutton Ford and incoming NextGen Committee President at NAMAD, talks cultivating culture and continuing legacies at dealerships. Plus, what she had to do before she could join her family’s dealership.  For more information about our guest, visit their ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠.  Episode Breakdown0:00 - Karen’s journey to becoming a dealer  5:50 - What OEM work-experience gave Karen as a dealership leader 6:47 - How Karen’s continuing a dealership legacy  8:10 - Top rewarding moments from becoming a dealer 9:25 - Cultivating a culture at her dealerships 10:49 - The goal of NextGen and building up future dealers 12:00 - Dealership operations: What Karen’s focusing on  14:04 - Establishing connections with local communities 17:50 - Opportunities for increasing sales 19:12 - Karen’s Best Bets on community-first dealerships, digital retail and more Liked this episode? Find our full episode library ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    25 min
  7. S4E15 - The Human Connection At Your Dealership

    09/17/2025

    S4E15 - The Human Connection At Your Dealership

    Perry Watson IV, President of NAMAD, explains the necessity of improving the human element at dealerships. He details different ways dealers can accomplish this and shares how NAMAD is helping dealers and their communities evolve.  For more information about our guest, visit their ⁠LinkedIn⁠.  Episode Breakdown 0:00 - Meet Perry1:56 - Are dealers optimistic regardless of market uncertainties?3:39 - Being a servant leader5:59 - What does winning look like in automotive?7:00 - How dealers can connect with their community11:03 - 2026 priorities for NAMAD organization15:05 - Talent retention and operational practices working well for dealers17:55 - How dealers can create more relational customer experiences19:25 - Where are dealers using AI most?21:09 - Best bets on online and DTC buying Liked this episode? Find our full episode library ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

    32 min
  8. S4E14 - The Grit Behind Great Dealers

    09/09/2025

    S4E14 - The Grit Behind Great Dealers

    Joey Huang, Dealer Owner at Great Lakes Auto Group, discusses the transition from medical school to automotive. He shares how a tenacious, yet respectful attitude has driven his career, along with people believing in his potential.  For more information about our guest, visit their LinkedIn.  Episode Breakdown 0:00 - Meet Joey  4:04 - Why NAMAD is important for the industry  5:10 - How relationship building advanced his career  8:01 - Getting selected for his first open point  10:50 - How Joey stays persistent in his career  11:44 - Finding optimism in market uncertainties and preparing for 2026  14:17 - OEM and dealers benefit from this  15:11 - Joey’s Best Bets on consolidation, leadership and data trends  Liked this episode? Find our full episode library ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

    19 min
See All (104)

Trailers

5
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

A car dealership podcast that brings all things automotive to your listening ears! Learn how to grow your dealership, or grow your automotive career with sales, Finance, Fixed Operations, and Leadership insights.

Information

  • Creator
    JM&A Group
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    104
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 960011
  • Show Website
    The Walk Around