Designing Your Process Around Your Guests

Special Guest - Mike Maroone

We’re honored to be joined by a seasoned and well-respected automotive legend in this episode of The Walk Around podcast. Discover valuable advice for all areas of the dealership from Mike Maroone, who has dedicated over 40 years to the automotive industry. From leading large teams to investing in technology, this is surely a not-to-miss discussion for any person in the automotive world.

In this episode you’ll hear:

The state of modern retail today
Mike’s biggest worry in the business
The key to driving the auto retail process
Discussion on who owns the guest experience (OEMs? Dealers?)
Why it’s necessary to train teams to effectively use your CRM system
How Mike sees Artificial Intelligence (AI) playing a role in dealership operations and much more!

Episode Breakdown

0:00 - Welcome, Mike!
6:27 - A heart for community involvement
9:38 - Training for CRM systems
12:32 - Mike's tips for choosing tech
14:41 - Artificial Intelligence in dealership operations
16:47 - The state of modern retail today
20:30 - Who owns the guest experience?
24:59 - The craziest time in auto & today’s opportunities
28:35 - Mike's leadership principles
30:27 - Will these auto trends remain?
36:46 - Is this a Schor Thing?

Mike Maroone, Chairman and CEO of Maroone USA, is an entrepreneur, investor and second-generation auto retailer. His automotive career began with the Maroone Automotive Group, which under his leadership as president has grown into nine franchises in six locations with 900 associates.

In partnership with his father Al, the Maroone Automotive Group was consistently recognized as one of the top-performing auto retail groups in America.

As owner of Maroone Enterprises since 1997, Mike works both independently and in partnership in multiple ventures spanning interests such as automotive, healthcare, water and aviation. From 1997 to 2015, Mike served as president, chief operating officer and director of AutoNation, Inc. where he was responsible for all retail operations of 280 franchises (with over 20,000 associates!).

He has been honored with numerous awards - Automotive News named him an All-Star and one of the industry’s 50 Visionary Dealers of all time while Time Magazine awarded him Quality Dealer Award.

For more about Mike, visit his LinkedIn.