Gretchen Seidel, Director of Sales Technology Solutions, Portfolio

Kyle Mountsier: 0:00This is in the dirt with ASOTU.I'm hanging here at Digital dealer Tampa 2023 with Gretchen,Gretchen, we were just having a conversation were like we're gonna throw a mic in your hand because you got some feeling some opinions, feelings. Um, so many of you so talk to me because you were just you've been in the industry how long at this point 30 plus years and you've kind of like one of your roles been give us just like the like 18 Second

‍Gretchen Seidel: 0:26

dealership,retail 13 years, OEM a bunch of years JMA then I went to auto fi Yeah, software as a service. And now I have moved on, and doing something new and different and challenging

Kyle Mountsier: 0:40

something new and different and challenging.So you've seen a lot, you've talked to a lot of dealers, OEM,the dealer side, the whole nine yards, you know that there are good and bad actors out there.We were just talking about, tell me a little bit about you seen dealers that do good, that are good that are community players,yes. But aren't telling their story. They don't

Gretchen Seidel: 0:57

they don't they have all of these wonderful community events that they do.They donate, they volunteer,they have things on the show room, all of the things happening. But yeah, I look at their LinkedIn profile. I look at their dealership website. And I'm like, why don't you tell anybody? You're amazing. People will come see you because they want to see you because you do all these things in the community. And then you have those ones who are really good at community. But yeah, you go to the dealership, and the community outreach doesn't match the people in the dealership?

Kyle Mountsier: 1:26

Oh, yeah. That is it scary. Yeah. Scary.Because like, it's kind of it's like a tale of two things. And then we have to as an industry,we have to match those things.Because we're up against a lot in culture right now. Whether it be like direct to consumer, or EVs and OEMs wanting different things. And so like, what would you encourage dealers that are figuring out how to tell a better story or whether or not they have it matching culture and showroom? Like, what's your encouragement there?

Gretchen Seidel: 1:54

Okay. love people more than you love cars.Hey, now, be authentic. Be real.Yeah. Tell people what you're doing. Not only tell people what you're doing, live it in the dealership? Yeah. Live it,breathe it. No, it be it. And then the customers will just come, the sales funnel will fill. It'll shake out of the bottom, you'll sell more cars,you will make more money. Yeah.But you just gotta

Kyle Mountsier: 2:19

prioritization,right? Like, what comes first?Are we going to? Are we going to lean into culture and community first? Or how to finish the road to the sale? Yes. Right. And there is no road

Gretchen Seidel: 2:29

of the sale.There's no such thing as the road to the sale. The road to the sale is exactly what the customer wants it to be. Focus on community focus on people. It will all come together. Yeah,it's not. It's not rocket science.

Kyle Mountsier: 2:41

You got a little bit of passion about this. I feel like don't get me on. Oh,gotcha. Thank you so much for hanging out with us a little bit. The encouragement, I know that you have a long history in the industry. And it's it's exciting to see that like,you've been in it 30 years, but you're so passionate as

Gretchen Seidel: 2:56

anybody who knows me. You ask them you'll be like, oh, yeah, she's up here about the car. Yeah, like

Kyle Mountsier: 3:01

no electricity in these. Oh, yeah.

Gretchen Seidel: 3:04

There's only a little bit of coffee this morning. That's pretty good.That's good. I know because I need to go find some.

Kyle Mountsier: 3:10

There you go.Well, there's some right over there. Thanks for hanging out with Absolutely. Thank you.Thank you for listening to in the dirt with ASOTU. We love the automotive industry and the people who make it run day in and day out. We would love to connect with you more through our daily dose of fun, a free email that you can sign up for at ASOTU.com That's a s o t u.com. We put our heart and soul into it every day. Thanks again for listening. Join us next time for more Conversations in the dirt with ASOTU

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