[Originally aired August 23, 2018]
Today on CBTNews.com – Thursday, August 23rd, 2018:
Industry Icon Mike Maroone Discusses One-Price Selling, Industry Disruptors, and the Future of the Car Business
Recently CBT Automotive traveled to Colorado to meet up with one of the industry’s leading professionals, Mike Maroone. The former COO of AutoNation, now auto dealer, sat down with us at his Colorado Rocky Mountain dealership where we recapped the last 25 years in automotive, how and where his career started, and his hopes for the future.
Mike shares how his passion for automotive was inspired by his father who purchased his first dealership in 1955 near in Middleport, New York. Like most family businesses, Mike started working at the store when he was only 13. Years later, a bit older and more experienced, Mike moved to Florida to run one of his father’s expansion stores. From there, Mike was able to grow his personal business by purchasing other stores in the Florida area which eventually lead him to the opportunities that would later become AutoNation.
Mike’s career at AutoNation spanned over 18 years. After his career with AutoNation, Mike knew it was time to go back to how it all began. “I sat out a period of time, and I missed the business,” he says, “and I really missed the team building part of the business”.
Mike now holds investments in five stores throughout Colorado and Florida and is excited about the next phase of his career that he calls the “knowledge transfer phase.” The idea is to take the knowledge that he has obtained over the last forty years. So there are clearly no signs of the icon slowing down anytime soon.
Cody Lusk Set to Steer Import Auto Industry Through Stormy D.C. Waters
With a penchant for politics, Cody Lusk has been an ideal fit for his role as President and CEO of American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA). Before joining AIADA, he spent years working inside the Beltway as a political operative. He held prominent roles including chief for staff to U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson and as an appointee under the George W. Bush administration for then-Secretary of Commerce Don Evans. That experience primed him for his current job where he serves as the face of the only national trade association representing America’s 9,600 international nameplate automobile franchises. Read More
How Assumptive Selling Can Dramatically Improve Your Results
Do you want your salespeople to dramatically improve their results without you having to spend more on marketing to drive more Ups? Make sure they always assume the sale. When they assume every Up is a buyer who is going to buy today – just like they did when they were Green Peas – they’ll close more deals more quickly for more money and for better CSI. All because they treated everyone like a qualified buyer who wanted to buy today. Read More
