Running a successful dealership in a smaller market like Joplin, Missouri, presents its challenges, but Roper Kia continues to set new performance records. In today’s episode of Training Camp, General Manager Tustin Ulrich shares how a culture-first approach built on personal development, high accountability, and consistent routines drives his team to deliver exceptional results and meet ambitious targets.
Ulrich began his automotive career at just 19 years old after responding to a newspaper ad for a dealership business development center. Over two decades later, he leads Roper Kia through a philosophy centered on developing people as much as selling cars. He describes himself as an “architect of humans,” focusing on helping employees become better parents, spouses, and community members. In his view, when employees grow personally, dealership performance naturally follows.
Hiring plays a critical role in maintaining that culture. At Roper Kia, every salesperson must receive unanimous approval from the desk managers before being brought on board. Those managers, Ulrich says, act as guardians of the dealership’s culture, ensuring that new hires are aligned with high expectations. While not every hire works out, the process sets a clear standard and reinforces accountability across the team.
Ulrich also emphasizes the importance of routines and daily structure. About a year ago, he shifted the dealership’s operating hours to allow team members more family time while requiring everyone to start the day together at 8:30 a.m. Each morning, the staff reads the company’s core values, a pledge to guests, and daily affirmations before opening the store. This practice, paired with consistent training, sets the tone for how the team approaches each day. That preparation, Ulrich says, directly contributed to the dealership’s best sales week ever just recently.
"I’m an architect of humans. I focus on making sure that every employee who works for us can become better moms, better dads, better husbands, and better wives. If we can do that every day, the rest is going to take care of itself."
Personal development has also shaped Ulrich’s leadership. Once weighing 450 pounds and working long, unsustainable hours, he began a journey of health and mindset transformation five years ago. By layering in small but consistent habits like journaling, devotionals, and gratitude practices, he lost 160 pounds and gained a renewed perspective on leadership. His team has watched those changes firsthand, making it easier for them to adopt similar habits and stay accountable.
Ulrich believes the same principle applies to dealership leaders. Instead of trying to overhaul everything at once, he encourages managers to choose one simple discipline, master it daily, and then build from there. As those habits take root, he says, results follow and naturally influence the rest of the team.
For Ulrich, sustainable success in automotive retail comes from culture, consistency, and leading by example—both inside and outside the dealership.
