Thank you for meeting with us today, Colby! We’ll kick this off the way we often do — how’d you get into the auto industry?
I started selling cars when I was 18 in Austin, Texas at a Chrysler store. It was back when the Chrysler Crossfire was a thing. I couldn't sell them because I couldn’t fit into them, but it was a thing.
I was horrible at selling cars at that time, so I decided to do something completely different. I joined the military and did multiple other jobs, but when I realized that I was doing everything I could to make money, and I still wasn't making enough to support my wife and three kids, I decided to jump back into car sales.
During the time when you had those other jobs, was going back to cars always kind of the plan, an option that you had on reserve? What brought you back to auto specifically?
I’ve always loved cars in general. I think I've had 24 cars in my life. Thankfully my wife understands. I explained to her a long time ago that we will probably have a car payment for the rest of our lives because of my love for having multiple different vehicles.
But, going back really just kind of came by chance. I needed to figure out how to make more money, so I was on LinkedIn or Indeed and something popped up. It was a Chevy store in San Antonio, which is where I live, so I applied and got the job.
There’s so much opportunity in the industry, so that makes total sense. You say you’re a car guy, huh? Which cars you're currently enjoying?
My family and I actually have three. My son just turned 16 and he just got his license, so we got him a ’22 Civic Sport. My wife drives a Jeep Grand Cherokee L, and I drive a ’23 GMC Denali.
I told my wife that if we find a deal, and if she’s extra nice to me, we’ll get the Escalade that she really wants.
The three cars that you mentioned are pretty much cutting-edge models. Do you always want the newest thing, or do you have some classic favorites?
As a daily driver, I love technology. I love the screens, onboard Google Maps, all of it. I'm a big technology guy. So, daily driver technology all day.
But as far as classic cars, something that would be good for the weekend or going out? I’ve always wanted a 1969 Yenko Camaro. Those are just ridiculous. But I also really love a ’72 step-side Silverado, or the old-school Impalas.
…I guess I just named a lot of Chevys.
Yeah, but those are great! A lot of times I'll hear a car make and model that I cannot visualize but those I can. Iconic answers, I'd say. So, how long have you been with Cavender?
5 months. I was at Konect before that.
Were you doing similar work with Konect? What do you do with Cavender currently?
I wouldn't say it was a clean connection between what I did at Konect to now, but I've been in marketing and understanding that for a while. Konect was kind of like a piece of the puzzle that doesn't make the most sense, but from a standpoint of looking forward toward the future of automotive and where the industry is heading as far as technology, it was a great experience for me to go over there and try to push the boundaries.
One of the things I love most about the role here is that the title doesn’t mean much. What’s important is being able to have conversations with people like our VP of Variable, Eric Barbosa, our CEO, Rob Cavender, and all the others in the group to align our strategy. That's what I really love about the role here — that strategy piece along with the marketing. With that, you get to be far more in-depth with how things are operating.
How much variety is there to strategizing for multiple stores? Or, is it a similar region, therefore, a similar strategy kind of applies across the board?
No, not necessarily. For instance, in the San Antonio market, we have a Jaguar Land Rover store, a Nissan store, a Ford store, a Chevy store, so some things have to change.
But the overall strategy is geared toward branding and messaging. From a group level saying, “This is who we are, and this is how we operate.” Then, when you get down into the individual stores and demographics, that marketing and that messaging is going to have the diversity to reach a larger swath of customers.
So, what about the future? Where do you see yourself flourishing in the industry?
That's a good question. I try not to look that far ahead. For lack of better terms, I'm not chasing any particular title. I'm not chasing any particular role.
What I really enjoy about the industry, and just in general, is the ability to help a group, or help a team, or to build. That's really the satisfaction that I get instead of chasing that big role or that big position.
One last thing that we love to ask is this — what are the things that you see the industry commonly missing?
I'm big on collaboration. The better ability that people have to collaborate cross industry, cross company, cross dealer group, that just lifts everybody up. As they say, a rising tide raises all boats. The only way that we're going to be able to push past some of the stigma and frustrations that we have in the industry is to work together. To pull others up, and allow yourself to be pulled up.
You're speaking our language for sure.
That’s one of the reasons why I’m a fan of ASOTU. In fact, I think I’ve been to every event. At some point, I think I should earn a golden hat.
We may or may not have spent the last of our time chatting about hats, XL noggins, and giving flowers to Mammoth Headwear. Tbh, a big sparkly-gold ASOTU hat does sound pretty dope. -Chris & Kristi