As the automotive industry navigates unprecedented uncertainty, dealers must shift from incremental thinking to exponential strategies, especially around artificial intelligence and data mining. On today’s episode of Thriving in Chaos, Brian Benstock, Partner GM and VP at Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura, challenges dealers to radically rethink how they serve, sell, and scale. With tens of millions in hidden profit lying dormant in dealership data, Benstock reveals how embracing AI and smarter communication isn’t just an option—it’s the key to unlocking a goldmine right beneath dealers’ feet.
To start, Benstock opens today’s discussion by challenging a long-standing assumption: that other franchise dealers are the primary competition. He asserts, “I used to think we competed with those dealers, but the real enemy… is the independents.” Then, he reaffirmed his belief by noting that 80% of the service business is being captured by independent repair shops rather than other franchise dealers.
Determined to reverse this trend, Paragon partnered with Google to create a seamless digital service experience, allowing customers to book service appointments through voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa, and offering free pickup and delivery. Benstock stressed the importance of “moving at the speed of the customer” by eliminating friction points and adopting the same convenience-focused mindset that disruptors like Amazon have mastered.
But beyond service, Benstock sees the real treasure hidden within the dealership’s own customer database. With roughly 11,000 customers holding equity at any time, even a modest conversion rate of 10% per month could generate approximately 1,000 new car sales. Of those, 68% of customers would trade in their vehicles, resulting in millions of dollars in gross profit when factoring in new, used, and service department revenues. Benstock refers to this potential as the dealership’s “acres of diamonds,” a metaphor for the immense untapped value lying right beneath dealers’ feet.
Further, to harness this, Paragon is investing in AI-powered trade cycle management tools that analyze customer data and automate personalized outreach, ensuring the right customers are engaged at the right time. AI agents are already handling service appointment calls end-to-end with zero human intervention—reducing costs while maintaining high success rates.
Benstock emphasized the urgency for dealers to act now and collaborate on AI adoption, calling the current moment “kindergarten” for this technology in the automotive retail industry. He challenged dealers to rethink competition—not as a fight against other dealers but as a battle to reclaim business lost to independents and new digital players. With AI, data mining, and innovative customer communication, dealers can create a “dealership on every corner” through customers’ phones, delivering personalized service and driving exponential growth.
“Rather than be disrupted, we want to be a part of the disruption.”
