Digital Dealer - February 2019 - 13

many new and soon-to-be
dealers, there is a sense
of the unknown, creating
anxiety, excitement, and of
course, fear.
The fear of the unknown
stems primarily from newer
dealers, or those that are
looking to move into an
ownership and leadership
role in the next few years.
Functionally, the reason is
that outgoing dealer owners experienced the "Great
Recession" and worked
their hardest to keep their
operations, employees,
and of course families
afloat. Since the economy
has bounced back, there
has been so much change
to the industry as well as
the additional economic
uncertainty that continues
to rear its head.
Adding to the fear is a
unique change to leadership and ownership in
the stores. The generational blending is forcing
a change in how dealers
must lead today and into
the future, impacting
recruiting and retaining talent, customer service and
the buying experience,
and overall community
loyalty to the business and
brand. Previous leadership
styles are evolving from
positions of power to being
more transparent, flexible,
and accommodating to
their team members.
Leading today's
dealership into tomorrow
takes more than just the
experience from the past
or the knowledge of working in the store with the
previous dealer. Today's
leaders need to search

for new opportunities to
develop themselves, their
team, and the family they
surround themselves with.
The dealership of the
future requires not only
a change in leadership
skillsets but also the ability
and willingness to prepare,
plan, and protect in the
face of the unknown.
Here are some ways
dealers can set themselves up for success:
 Engage in a leadership development program
to improve upon influence,
communication, and
culture building skills that
lead to continued growth
as a leader.
 Consider professional
coaching to help navigate
some of the unique and
complex situations impacting how you affect others,
and how that can impact
the effectiveness of your
team.
 Partner with subject
matter experts (i.e. CPAs,
lawyers, succession planners, etc.) who can help
build plans, procedures,
and protections for leadership legacy.
 Integrate ongoing
technical learning and culture building opportunities
into your dealership, ensuring your team has the
skills to keep your store(s)
competitive while cultivating next-gen leaders.
 Embrace up-andcoming future leaders by
involving and including
them in the plan to ensure
bench strength is available
in the time of need.
 Invest in a strategic
planning effort to deter-

mine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats associated with
your business, community,
and competitive landscape.
In essence, there are
some pieces of history to
help with transitioning into
new roles, but the reality
is that there is a lot of
unknown for them to pioneer. For this reason, the
industry has been advancing learning, growth, and
leadership opportunities
for dealers.
We are also seeing an
influx of dealers requesting services from CPAs,
bankers, legal counsel,
and succession planners,
to prepare for the future.
Navigating innovations in
technology and preparing
through strategic planning,
preparing proper estate
and transition plans,
setting up proper business structures and so
much more.
Kris Miller, VP of Dealer
Commercial Services at
US Bank, shared, "The
amount of innovation and
advancement in technology since the 2008 financial
crisis is staggering. Internet access has matured
and with it, increased
connectivity to one another
(social media), to our
devices (Bluetooth) and
even from device to device
(IoT) is all around us."
Miller continued, "Similarly,
banking and other financial services have also
experienced this rapidly
advancing technology. The
movement of money has
forever changed, as has

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

the amount of data and the
speed at which these transactions are taking place.
Paper checks are increasingly making way for digital
payments, in some instances happening real time
with RTP® and Zelle®; even
currency has gone digital
with the advent of Bitcoin
and others. Dealers who
are quick to embrace these
new opportunities, working
with trusted financial partners, will remain relevant
in the face of the changing
customer experiences and
expectations this evolution
has created."
The retail automotive
industry will continue to see
change as the economy
continues to fluctuate, and
of course with the 2020
election just down the road.
For new and up-and-coming dealers, no time has it
been more important to be
prepared for the unknown
of the future. Generations
of experience will help navigate these times, however
pioneering the unknown will
require more intentional investment in self, team, and
family, in order to protect
the legacy of the future.
Being a part of his own family's
business, CHAMP RAWLS
has a unique insight into the
difficulties, challenges and
triumphs families face when
combining family and business.
Champ has been officially
associated with The Rawls
Group (www.rawlsgroup.com)
since 2012, although it could
be said he become a part of
the team in 1984, when he was
born into the family business.

FEBRUARY 2019

13
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Digital Dealer - February 2019

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