General Manager Brad Wise shares the secret to attracting top talent in the car business

On the latest edition of Straight to the Point, host Frank J. Lopes is joined by Brad Wise, General Manager of Ferman Chevrolet of Tampa, one of the largest and fastest-growing Chevrolet dealers in the country.

Lopes gets straight to the point with Wise by asking him, what he and his team are doing to combat the chip shortage challenge? Wise says he’s keeping his staff somewhat in the dark about inventory challenges because they currently have a lot of momentum at the moment. He says, the dealership made all the right moves a year ago and acquired all of the inventory they could. He continues to say, that as fast as inventory comes in, it’s going right back out the door with customers.

Lopes says Wise is very skilled in attracting top talent for the dealership. He knows how to encourage them to continually grow and develop. Wise says the secret is once you have really focus on a specific area of improvement. Ambiguity doesn’t inspire employees to take action. They might not understand the mission if they don’t know where to begin. An often undervalued management skill in leadership is recruiting. If you have the best players, you will win. Wise goes on to say, a great salesperson can turn nothing into something.

Wise says he’s a lifelong researcher. He aims to find people with specialized knowledge to help the dealership achieve long-term goals. Wise says it’s all about self-development. You have to take risks and learn to be uncomfortable. You have to have faith that it will work out no matter what.

Wise concludes the conversation by stating that the auto industry can change your life. He says you do have to get in a good store, that’s about 70 to 80% of the determining factor, but having a purpose is important. When you find yourself in a good work environment, anything is possible.

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