40 Under 40

A totaled car helped lead Courtney Paschal into what has become her dedicated career in dealership sales development and automotive leadership.

After her vehicle was wrecked in May 2013, Paschal went in search of a new one. She walked into Street Toyota in Amarillo, Texas, and left not just with a new car to drive but an offer for a job as an assistant to the fleet manager. The dealership also is where she met her husband, Brad.

Working in the automotive industry wasn't in her career plan. Paschal had gone to school to study interior design, hoping to sketch out new kitchens and bathrooms. But the person who sold her the car — the same man who had sold her parents all of their cars — was convincing when he suggested she try working at the dealership.

Paschal was intrigued. When she told her manager at her remodeling company job about the offer, he told her to take it because the dealership offered benefits. Paschal did.

Since June 2013, she has worked her way up to Internet sales manager at Street Toyota, a role in which she has helped fine-tune the procedures of the dealership's business development center and acted as an advocate for her employees.

Paschal has spearheaded a move to cut down bad or duplicate leads coming into the business development center by reducing its number of third-party lead providers. In 2017, the business development center had 3,276 leads and gross profit of $2,460,211 while using 10 lead providers. Last year, it had 5,707 leads and gross profit of $6,199,095 while using just seven lead providers, she said.

Paschal told Automotive News she is zeroed in on community outreach and continuing to grow as a leader in the automotive industry, particularly as a mentor to her seven employees. She finds it crucial to regularly check in on her employees' well-being and consult her whole group in meetings for ideas and suggestions to take to her general manager.

"I fight for them because I listen to them," Paschal said.

In June, Paschal's employees moved from $10 an hour to $15 — a change Paschal said she "fought and fought" for over the course of about a year.

"At the end of the day, as long as your employees know that they're valued and they are listened to, they are heard — then you've got a great team," Paschal said.

— C.J. Moore