Digital Dealer - August 2019 - 24

Road Trip to DD27 | AUG 19-21, 2019 | Las Vegas

Cover Story (Continued from pg. 22)

here, or elsewhere. With our large
military bases in the area, we needed to
make sure it was easy here, as well as if
the car owner is re-located and it does.
We launched it to gain a competitive
advantage because in today's retail
world proﬁtability in new cars is
beyond challenging. We needed to
oﬀer something unique, and Binary
Automotive Solutions and the warranty
program proved to be everything we
wanted and more. Titus-Will Protected
is a straight-up beneﬁt and value to our
customers.
DEALER MAGAZINE: Part of brand
reputation includes how a store is
perceived by the local community.
Could you talk brieﬂy about some of
the ways Titus-Will gives back to its
neighbors?
DAWN: Yes. We're really big in our
community investments. We partner
with the Boys and Girls Clubs in the
area. We're across the freeway from
an elementary school and it seems
like we've been part of the school's life
forever. We just completed a Feed the
Hungry peanut butter drive during
which we collected 66,000 pounds of
peanut butter that will go to our local
food banks and to help ensure kids
are fed during their summer break.
We also every start of the school
year by setting up backpacks for less
fortunate school children. We are
pet-friendly and support adoption and
foster programs for animals. Our store
is very pet friendly. In fact, we have
a customer who brings in his huge
talking bird in a cage while waiting
to get his car serviced. We love our
4-legged customers. Our company has
always been very generous to great
causes whenever we can.
Whenever a young person buys a car
from us and it's their ﬁrst car, we really
make it special and our team creates a
presentation of basic ownership tips.
For example, we show them how to
check their oil, how to maintain their
car, how credit scores work and really
explain the entire purchase process.
24

AUGUST 2019

When they know how the car works,
it gives them more conﬁdence in
their purchase and makes a lasting
diﬀerence. We love to do that because
so many kids today don't have those
skill sets any longer.
We're always supporting something
in the community, such as the parks,
sports teams, book reading programs.
We're huge with the military and
participate in the Hiring Heroes
campaign. Our service manager is
former military, as well as many of our
other employees.
I grew up in Tacoma and went to
school here, competing as a gymnast.
I have raised my family here. Just as
we like to think of our store as a home,
Tacoma has always been my home.
DEALER MAGAZINE: You'll be part
of a panel discussion at the upcoming
Digital Dealer 27 Conference. What
will you be talking about and why is it
important for dealers to attend?
DAWN: We're still reﬁning our topic,
but our focus will have something to
do with building the kind of culture
in your store that gives employees a
reason to stay and customers a reason
to return.
Your employees, as well as your
vendors, can become your best
advocates of this culture. And you take
care of this culture by giving employees
a nice home to come to every single
day. It's their home because you spend
more time with people you work with
than you do with your own family.
When you make your workplace feel
like home, your customers will feel it
and keep wanting to return.
My pitch is how do you change the
culture and allow and enable your
employees to develop and grow? We
plan to discuss ways of making this
happen. It's also important to recognize
that some employees just want to
come to work and not necessarily be
great stars. Everybody needs A, B and
C players. It's what makes a winning
team and you win by retaining your
people. One of the ways you do that is

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

by letting them make decisions on their
own. Perhaps it's not the same decision
you might have made, which you can
cover later in a coaching session. You
want them to feel as if it is their store
and their name is on the sign.
I have a great story because I work
for a great company and the Titus
family and Will family have provided
me so many opportunities. I mean
who does that? Who hires a cashier at
21, lets her lead the company in many
roles and then ﬁnally promotes her
to Vice President in 2017? That is the
company I want to be a part of and it all
starts with smart and compassionate
ownership. I am very blessed.
I try to attend the Digital Dealer
conference every year. In fact, I'm
bringing all three of my digital
marketing managers to the next one.
DEALER MAGAZINE: This is the
open question. Any ﬁnal words you
want to add?
DAWN: My ﬁnal word here is that
not only do I love this crazy, everchanging business, I also love the daily
people interaction. I tell the customers
how grateful I am for choosing us
because customers can go anywhere to
buy or service a vehicle and they chose
us - we're honored and grateful.
I always remember what it is like
when you buy your ﬁrst car -- it's a
lot of money. It's a big decision. Your
life revolves around that car, going to
the doctor, to school, your job. So, we
can't ever forget how important that
vehicle is in that person's life. If you put
yourself in that position and if your car
broke down, what can you do? You'll
want to go to a dealership that cares.
Take good care of your customers and
employees and they'll be happy to tell
your story.
I have been fortunate to have two
loves in my life. My husband, who
I married in May of 1984, and with
whom I share an incredible family, and
in November of 1984, when I started at
Titus-Will and found a second amazing
family. How wonderful is that! ■
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Digital Dealer - August 2019

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