Floyd Jerkins discusses the evolution of dealer ownership

Well, I, you know, I think part of that is dependent on where their business cycle is at. You know, some of these that are succession based where they've come up through the, you know, they started working in the shop, you know, when they were a young kid and dad's running the store. You know, that's how they learn. They learn from dad. You know, well, how did dad learn? Well, dad probably never went to school. got a business degree, but, you know, he was probably a good salesperson, you know, and that's how he learned the business. And then he got into ownership. And then, of course, as he grew the business, you know, he wanted his son to take over, you know, especially in the equipment side, Ron. You didn't see years ago, you didn't see women taking over dealerships. I mean, that just was, you know, it was just unheard of. So, and then, you know, consolidation. you know, has been a big push in many of these verticals.

Automotive certainly is, I think, a couple steps ahead of the equipment side in terms of consolidating dealerships in local and regional areas. You know, we were just talking before, you know, recording this that, you know, on the automotive side, it used to be there was a Ford dealer on the corner. There was a Chrysler dealer on the other corner, a Dodge dealer. You know, that was the dealerships, you know, in town. And when you look today, you can see that, you know, ownership groups are primarily made of all brands. And the manufacturers really had to begin to allow that because the while the capital may have been there to allow acquisitions to occur, the operational skills, the insights necessary to run dated operations wasn't. So if somebody was good at running a Ford store, they could be good at running a GM store.

But, you know, outside hedge funds making these purchases, you know, as we said, they depend so much on the operational insights. But if those aren't there, well, there's failure, you know, and that's happening in the equipment side, I think, on a fairly rapid basis that, you know, there's single store, single owner, and there's single store, multi-store. And then you move into multi-owner, multi-stores, and then you move into IPOs and expand some there. But so for that dealer owner, that's a single store. I mean, those competencies are, can you sell a piece of equipment? You know, do you stock the soda machine? Do you, you know, can you repair something? You know, that's usually the competencies. But, you know, when you go through consolidation and you end up at. you know,10 store complex,450 employees. I mean, if that owner's out there changing the tire, oh my gosh, I mean, Houston, we have a problem.

So those stages of consolidation, you know, moving through acquisition mergers, you know, that changes the competencies of the owner group. And I do agree that owner has a tough time. You know, they really do because who do they talk to? You know, who do they share their innermost fears and secrets, you know? From leadership training, you know, they're not supposed to share their fears to their subordinates. You know, that's, you know, you just don't do that. You know, I mean, you've got to be strong and show vision and leadership. Well, the reality is, you know, these owners are, you know, me too. I mean, I'm just a person. You know, I'm just a man. And every owner is the same thing. You know, they sometimes get labeled, you know.

Right.

That's right.

That, you know, years ago, you know, growing up, the gap between generations was very, very wide. And you can see decades before you start to see social trend changes, social economical changes, behavioral changes. Today, that gap is very, very close, you know, and that forces especially business people to have to recognize that. And we can't treat all people the same way all the time. You know, that was, you know, in the era of leadership development. You know, there were studies done in the 40s and 50s where they said that you could treat all the people the same way and you get the best results. Well, through a series of, you know, modeling and testing, they realized, well, that didn't work. You know, so they ended up with realizing that, you know, it's situational based and each situation dictates a specific response. Now, outside of that, there is still a pattern to follow.

You know, that when you understand what that broader based pattern is, you begin to understand how to influence those behaviors of those individuals. And that's the challenge is that, you know, my wife and I just had this discussion. You know, she was on to me because we're watching her favorite show, which I have to watch now, you know, so but I'm still reading. So I'm in the midst of it. She said, what are you reading? I told her. You just can't get enough, can you? And I said, I'm just, I'm not dead yet. You know, so yes, I'm a constant learner. And there are some times where I meet owners that they quit learning years ago. They got started thinking about what their people need to learn. And they spend this mental time and energy upon how do I grow this department or how do I deal with this branch store? But they forgot about themselves. And I think that. You know, the fish rots at the head first.

And I think it's so important that the business owner has a pathway that allows them to grow, to change, to evolve. Because if they don't, you know, then that's impeding the organization. And that's no matter what size it is, it could be a billion dollar company to, you know, $10 million. But it impedes the organization. You know, and it's hard to tell an owner sometimes, you know, the biggest obstacle in the business is you. You know, it's pretty tough, you know, but sometimes they are. And it takes, I think, a real courageous individual to recognize that amongst them within themselves and learn how to step aside, you know. And when they, you know, as I say, they don't want, I don't want to see ego be their master. You know, we have to use our ego. We have to have that. It's a part of who we are. If that's how we manage people, if that's how we influence people, you know, we end up pushing people away from us versus drawing them near.

And that's, you know, that's a big piece to the puzzle here. And that's partly why owners sometimes do get lonely is because we don't listen well. You know, we don't hear well. Our ears shut off, you know.

Yeah. Well, when you're in a hot market, that's different than if you're in a business or in a market that you're having to push to make things happen. And in these hot markets, it sometimes creates bad habits. Oh, big time. Revenue's growing, sales are happening. To me, it's in those times is when we need to be very good at what we're doing and not be lazy. Managing growth is an art form, and it requires you to have the proper vision because we want to have sustained growth. I hate to see a company spike and that's fatiguing to the culture of the business. I mean, just terrible on the people. It's hard on systems and processes and the things you have to do to make it flow well. And I think, you know, owners have opportunities today. I mean, when I was coming up, Ron, we didn't have the Internet. You know, I mean, I drove 45 miles to a major university just to be able to sit down with young people and get.

Today, you go on the Internet and get that. But that's the challenge, I think, today for business owners is that there's too much information coming at us. You know, I mean, you got the manufacturers are pushing their programs. You know, you got trade associations, you got industry public, I mean, you got all this stuff coming at you that, you know, you could spend every day just absorbing information and never get anything else done. So that's why in my coaching, you know, one of the first things that we try to do is I want to make sure we establish a learning pathway. You know, what is our prescription? You know, because without that, we can talk about 187 different things. But at the end of our time period together, what did we accomplish? What did we implement? You know, I always say talk is cheap. You know, implementation is where we make money. You know, well, is money what's the motivator?

You know, I've had some clients around that their business is throwing off cash like you would believe. They're not working in the business anymore. They're working on something. They've got it clicking, but they're not happy. You know, they're just not having fun. You know, so I had a guy that we spent about six months going through this and he finally got the conclusion. He says he was too young to stop. You know,47 years old, financially secure. You know, so guess what? He's selling his operation now. And he and his wife, they're homeschooling their kids. They're just going to start living their life. You know, so like he sends me notes now telling me, you know, day 363 of my new life. You know, he doesn't regret selling. He doesn't. But he was so ingrained because he was second generation. He didn't want to disappoint his daddy. You know, but he realized what his dad wanted.

And I knew his dad and his dad wanted him happy, no matter what that was. So I think a lot of business owners, you know, as I mentioned, if they're not having fun in the business, that's part of the privileges of being an owner, Ron. You know, we should be able to find something that makes us happy. But it's all, you know, all this leadership stuff that goes on today. And I've been around that for 40 years. It's about making everybody else happy. Well, that business owner has to make themselves happy, you know, because I think that's when we're at our best is when we're having fun. And what does it take to get there? You know, I think there's a lot of, you know, we produce 20 groups for 25 years in my consulting company. You know, and that's part of what we did. I started that from the very beginning. You know, we put, I can remember being in Iowa and meeting with all about 15 to 18 parts managers of these operations on day one.

And then I'd bring in all their service managers, all their sales managers, all their bookkeepers. And I remember the owners at the last day, they said, Floyd, you know, if you didn't get our financials, how do you know anything about us? I said, well, let's go through the day now. Because after I sat with your people, they told me everything about your businesses all the time. And it was amazing how we can make so many radical improvements by having these people meet together. that were their peers. Now, for the owners, you know, over the years, that was always exciting to have the owner group come together. And we did a lot of their financial work. So it was, but we actually had meetings where we didn't want to discuss financials, because there's more to the business than just financial management. And everybody gets so caught up in the numbers, they forget that, to me, there's financial, there's operations and human resources.

And when we start talking about operational flows and the human resource side, oh, that would, I mean, the whole conversation would be totally different than when it's just financial basis. But unfortunately, there is also, I think, inside that 20 group, there's sometimes the atmosphere isn't conducive for many owners to really talk about their particular issues or maybe their struggles or Sometimes there's real dominant players in there and that more non-dominant owner isn't willing to put himself out there because there's some strong-willed people in the room. And even there are some of the strong-willed people sometimes would have a lot of bragging going on, but they have their issues too with what's going on in their operation of their life. And I think that's where I've been able to fill a void through my coaching because I'm working one-to-one.

You know, I've got an extremely intense background in organizational psychology, organizational behavior, but I've got a very practical experience, you know, in operations management. I run my own stores. I've been involved in the equipment side, you know, almost 25 years just doing consulting and training. That dealer development work, I can go back and I can tell you exactly where that occurred. My stores are running good. I was asked by dealer development to go visit another store. I went to that store and thought, well, geez, these guys are missing these 12 things. So for two or three days, I just, you know, and on the plane ride back, there was a gentleman I was sitting next to, and he said, what do you do? I said, well, I own stores. I'm just out here working with dealer development. He said, so how much did they pay you to do it? And I said, well, they didn't pay me to do it. They just asked me because I'm good at it.

And he went, and I remember going, the hell is that? You know, and I said, sir, explain that. And he said, son, he said, you've got more talent than your little finger. He said, you got perverse management. He said, you know, they're using you. And I went, no, they're not. And I, you know, that whole conversation went to my, you know, I got off the plane. I tore up his card because he ticked me off. What the heck does he know? He doesn't know me, but boy, I can tell you what, it took me three days to finally go home and talk to my wife about it. She said, well, yeah, you do have. You know, you have loyalty there. And that was a stimulus that said, oh, geez, you know, I mean, I've got to make sure I recognize, you know, am I really able to help someone? Well, I am. Well, how does how does that make sense today? And that was a stimulus of me becoming a consultant because I felt like I could help a variety of business. I love the people.

I love the business side, you know, so I didn't want to be a one owner store. I mean, you know, after a while that got boring. But working with multiple business owners, oh, my gosh, Ron. And I'm living on the beach today, but my passion to serve, my insights, as I've talked to you, I mean, you've accumulated 40,50 years, and you're able to condense that knowledge today. That, to me, is that's when we're at our best. I'm better today than what I was when I was 30. And I thought I was pretty good at 30-I. I didn't know my butt from a hole on the ground, you know, but my education came from listening to others and listening to the dealer owners and being part of their lives and listening and seeing what works for them. And that's been exciting, right? I mean, that's been exciting. And the work with owners today in this capacity has been really, really enjoyable.

You know, I think it's through forums like this, Ron. You know, I started a website and I wrote some content to put on there just to really give individuals that either don't know me or can't find out anything about me to kind of see a little bit of that thought leadership. But, you know, there's still nothing better than just having that one-to-one conversation. And I think it's through that conversation that We begin to understand one another and we begin to understand, you know, I'm always very curious. You know, I want to know who you are and what your challenges are. And, you know, and then if I can help, you know, I'm pretty quick to tell you, yes, I can, but I'm also, I can't help in all instances. Sometimes what I offer isn't what you need. You know, there's a difference between consulting and coaching. There's a difference between consulting and training.

And sometimes I have to explain that, you know, because I don't mind and I enjoy the consulting side. But sometimes you need, you know, if there's more width and depth that's needed, that's either something that I don't have the competency to do or I don't have the desire to do today. You know, there's a difference in that. But I'm also pretty good with identifying the resources in which I can make a recommendation. You know, I mean, I. Today, my focus isn't to sell services to support my company. It's not to sell services to support staff and trainers. You know, I mean, I'm an independent one man show. You know, I'm doing this out of love and support and, you know, wanting to contribute and give back to people that have been there for me.

Well, I think that's a, you know, that's something I have found, Ron, is that if, you know, a dealer owner shouldn't feel like it's the sign of weakness when they want to reach out for help. You know, if you had, if you woke up in the morning, you had this big lump on the side of your throat, you'd probably go to the doctor. I mean, you know, if you didn't, well, shame on you. You know, there's, so in business. business, sometimes the owner gets caught up in they're so busy, they can't take time to do this. And I think that's wrong. You know, I do. I mean, I carved out time religiously for my personal learning when I ran my companies, Ron. You know, and that's just what I had to do. If I didn't carve out the time, I didn't make it, you know, and then when I did it, it was always I need to do more of this, because now I can bring ideas back. Sometimes owners don't have a job description.

You know, I mean, that's odd to say, you know, but sometimes they don't have a description so they can guide their plans and their thinking, you know, and that's so important to do because an owner's got primary responsibilities. But yet sometimes, you know, we get so involved with everybody else and, you know, who do I talk to about that? And that's, again, I think that's. I don't think that's a sign of weakness.

say, well, I made more money.

I know of a couple of companies that are doing 360 valuations and are doing it up and down the chain. You know, and I mean, the owner is critiqued and evaluated just like everybody else. Now, I will also tell you that was painful to get started. And it's all about misplaced ego.

I think, you know, if we just, we do a few more of these podcasts. You know, because for us, it's extremely unscripted.

It's just a natural flow. You know, I'd like to continue to talk to owners through this type of a forum. And I think if we can continue to talk about things that matter to them, then I think that'll help, you know, do what we both want to do, you know. You know, I've challenged you on your side. I mean, all this educational opportunities. Well, we need to have something for the dealer owner. You know, I mean, I really think so, Ron. You've got such a great platform and such a great, unique process going there that, you know, something that addresses owners, because if these good people attend your classes and. They're stifled by going back because the culture isn't there or the systems aren't being allowed to be there. And the owner group is stifling that. Well, you know, I mean, we're spinning, you know, and it's about implementation.

I would say let's take our next conversation, Ron, and let's talk about recruiting and retaining talent. Okay. Let's take a specific topic and let's just, again, unscripted, let's just talk about that because I think that's affecting a lot of dealership owners today. And without their people, they really can't run the business. But recruiting people is a tough subject today. I think retaining talent today is a tough one. We can even talk about training talent and how to train them. There's several different things within that topic that I think affect the dealer owner today. Maybe between us, we can offer some ideas or something there to help that along. You know, at least just have the discussion.

I will get you a new picture.