2019 40 Under 40

Science and logic are the keys to modern success in automotive sales, says Rebecca Mauney, general manager of Barry Automotive Group in Ephrata, Wash.

After graduating in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Tarleton State University in Texas, Mauney packed her six suitcases and moved to Seattle to “go on an adventure.”

That’s where she stumbled across automotive sales.

“Honestly, it was just a job to make money and pay bills at the beginning,” she said. “Now I can’t imagine going back to do anything else.”

After learning about the car business, Mauney said her love of math and science is what helped her see trends and change sales processes to “work the numbers.”

“Much like a science experiment, if you use a solid process and do it over and over again without deviating from the process, you’re going to get the same results,” she said. “Technology, Internet and all the new data we have essentially creates a playbook.”

Mauney began as general manager at Barry Automotive Group in 2016, where she has increased retained earnings by 260 percent and increased net profit eightfold.

Coming from five years at Lexus of Seattle, Mauney said she’s excited to see results on a different scale at Barry, which has just 43 employees.

“It’s so refreshing to come from a large auto group to a small dealer and be part of the community,” she said. “The impact you can make by changing a few processes is astronomical. It’s very hard to do that in a large corporation because that space for improvement just doesn’t exist.”

Mauney said her goal is to be a dealership owner and to use that platform to benefit her community.

“Once I become an owner, I would partner with local schools, sports teams, clubs and events in the community to help sponsor those events,” she said. “Currently we sponsor several events that our employees are involved in, such as a local rodeo, nonprofit private schools, a local softball team, a Little League team and horse shows. We want to be part of what our employees are passionate about and support them in the community.”

— Sarah Kominek