Calif. dealer exec creates weekly Clubhouse chat for auto retail tips

California dealership executive David Long didn't want to have to hop on a plane to brainstorm with other retailers, so he created an interactive virtual network instead. Now, hundreds of dealers connect each week.

Long, executive general manager of Hansel Auto Group in Santa Rosa and Petaluma, launched a Clubhouse audio chatroom called "All Things Used Cars" in November 2021. The room is like an interactive podcast or call-in radio show, with Long as host and a rotating cast of industry leaders as co-hosts. Long has led more than 100 episodes, which take place every Friday at 6 a.m. Pacific time, and keeps a running list of the most helpful tips.

"I'm trying to take at least one thing away from each episode so that I can come in and turn that insight into action," Long told Automotive News last month while thumbing through a stack of more than 100 auto retail how-tos and best practices he has gleaned.

Long's listeners are doing the same. Longtime dealers share their strategies but also apply new practices at their stores. And Hansel employees are eager to hear opinions on their ideas from dealers around the country.

More than 2,000 members have joined the room on Clubhouse. Episodes typically have 300 to 400 participants, many of whom join the conversation. Long surveys them to choose a topic and speakers for the following weeks.

"Somebody said these episodes help us see around the corner. It's like reading tomorrow's newspaper today. I thought that was pretty cool," Long said.

Long came up with the idea for a Clubhouse room when much of the country was reluctant to attend in-person events because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I felt like the country was starving to get together. I wanted to create a forum that people could get together and not have to catch COVID," said Long.

The Clubhouse room's guest list of industry players and co-hosts has included prominent Virginia dealer Liza Borches, longtime auto retailer and Cars.com executive Brian Kramer and vAuto founder Dale Pollak. The show is generally focused on used vehicles but features a different topic, usually in the used-vehicle space, each week. It's similar to a dealer 20 Group, a common industry meeting of 20 noncompeting dealers to exchange ideas, share best practices and discuss challenges.

Long calls the Clubhouse room a "20 Group on steroids."

Industry experts and seasoned dealers "come in and pour information into us at no charge," he said.

Mike Weldon, fixed operations director for Hansel and a frequent contributor to the Clubhouse room, said the virtual nature of the meetings makes them easy to attend, unlike traditional 20 Group sessions. He started a separate Clubhouse room on fixed operations this year.

"This is an ongoing therapy session," he said. "You can actually talk to people that are just like you, and they can tell you what their trials and tribulations or their successes are. You really can take a ton away from that."

Alex Flores, owner of Bravo Auto Group in Texas, has been in the auto retail business for nearly three decades and learns something from each episode. He requires all his managers and his employees in the used-vehicle department to listen each week.

"People have to learn the art of acquisition and inventory management," he said. "Now more than ever, it's important for everyone to be paying attention and to understand how that used-car world works."

Bravo improved used-vehicle pricing based on suggestions from members of the group. Vehicles were aging on the lot, and Bravo was losing money on them at auctions.

"We had the old mentality of try to make the most when we first got the car and then change the price. This room has changed our mindset on that," Flores said.

Bravo began pricing the vehicles based on market supply rather than desired profit. The shift has helped the group sell vehicles faster and reversed wholesale losses.

"It has made a night-and-day difference. It has really changed our game," Flores said.

Another dealer, from Buffalo, N.Y., applied Hansel's playbook on developing a buy center and acquired 50 cars in his first month, Long said. Long shared those results with his employees as a proof point that their business was innovative.

"You talk about supporting the direction we're headed, that does it more than anything else," he said. "It's one thing to talk about it, but it's another thing to see somebody doing it with success."

Hansel Auto Group's eight dealerships sold 6,500 new vehicles and 4,500 used vehicles last year, and they rounded out their strategies based on conversations with peers from across the country.

"This is the way that I can gather information from smart people and have them all in the same room and ask questions and get answers and hear perspectives," said Long. "It's one of the best things that I've ever stumbled into."