Providers & Administrators, 1st Qtr 2019

1ST QTR 2019 P A 27 Kelly As you transition into working essentially as an employee of a big company they now have about 10000 employees across the country and I think they were at just under 9000 when they started talking to us you realize its fun to be part of a growing organization And we really dont feel we gave up our independence We still have the freedom to run our business the way we want to run it The people we answer to at Brown Brown are not interested in running our day to day business Its a very competitive marketplace out there Anything we can do to set ourselves apart and do more for our dealers will be a real advantage In our training initiatives we work with the BDC sales sales management F I and service We really complete the whole circle P A Whats your secret to effective training Kelly One thing we are doing differently is all the trainers we use are employees of ADG Brown Brown and they all have real world experience Our fixed operations trainers are people who worked as mechanics and became advisors and service directors They can really get in and roll up their sleeves and identify areas that can be fixed and trained on We felt the best way to be ready for whatever comes at us is being part of a bigger organization A lot of our employees have been general managers finance directors and even partners in dealerships We go out and find the best of the best Were not just going in on ideas and thoughts We live in a practical world so well keep plucking people out of retail Theyre used to long hours And I dont think they work less when they move into consulting but the hours are certainly different P A You mentioned your training touches every department Where do you stand on selling F I in the service lanes Kelly Theres a lot of chatter about selling F I products in the lanes Right now we dont do a whole lot of product sales in the lane We do have more product awareness in the service lane very similar to the sales side of it Its the meet and greet and the process it takes to identify the needs of potential F I customers when they come into the service drive Its more about creating an experience where service is aware of the products being sold Will we see more products sold in the drive Eventually Right now its such a small amount its not even trackable A lot of people have tried service drive service contract plans Some have had success with it Most have not Will we have to get there I think so P A Why so Kelly The more opportunities we have to tie our customers back to the dealerships where theyre servicing and purchasing cars every touch we have with the customer at the dealership theres a need to find way to earn that customers business That retention will help keep dealerships going So it will be natural to find the right products and services to offer in the service drive We just need to create a service drive plan P A What about sales and F I Trainers are telling dealers to tear down their silos for the sake of compliance if not production Kelly Im a firm believer that sales and F I have to work hand in hand and that you do tear down the silos and you do start the F I process the moment the customer walks into the showroom onto the lot and even onto the website If that means introducing F I products earlier introduce them earlier But its all about retention P A How did you get into this business Kelly I grew up in the car business I started working in dealerships as a porter My father was an attorney He represented dealers and he wrote the Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act which is still in place today I worked for some of his clients and one of them suggested I talk to Western Diversified who was purchased by Protective At the start of my ninth year with Protective I decided to leave them and join Joel at ADG Together we spent 15 years building the agency one dealership at a time always with an emphasis on income development We wanted to give dealers the professionalism of big box established trainers but with all the flexibility you get with a smaller agency P A How did you connect with Joel Kelly A family friend of mine had worked with Joel and said You should meet Joel Kansanback hes doing what youre looking to do Joel and I met up and the rest was history It took a lot of work but it was good hard work Its not easy to represent the number of administrators we represent and represent each extremely well Thats just a testament to our core values and what we do P A What advice would you give to agents who want to follow your lead