Interview with Max Zanan of Perfect Dealership
Max Zanan is an automotive management professional with more than 20 years of experience working in the auto retail industry. Max is the author of a new book Perfect Dealership, a guide for dealership managers and owners to running a more profitable auto business. Today, Max sat down with marketing consultant Alex Swerdlow to talk more about the book and his vision for the automotive industry.
Interviewer: What was the motivation behind the Perfect Dealership book? Why write the book?
Max: Honestly, I’m worried about the state of the auto industry today. There’s so little formal training for automotive professionals, even in knowledge-intensive fields like F&I, many dealerships are basically operating without a plan. For example, practically every dealership I audit for compliance has multiple serious problems in protecting customer data, disclosing financing details, protecting against hacking, and more. The industry won’t survive in this state forever and managers already know that margins are shrinking. I believe my book is going to help the industry mature and grow in the long term.
Interviewer: Why do you think so little formal management is in place at many dealerships?
Max: Well, lots of managers and owners come from a sales background, and most car salesmen don’t have business degrees, you know. These guys running dealerships are usually great salesmen, they know cars, they have a good intuitive sense of how to manage people. But where they’re weak is building business processes, understanding regulations, managing around tight margins, and finding opportunities in financing. Perfect Dealership is one tool these managers can use to build more robust dealerships with formalized business practices.
Interviewer: How is the auto industry going to change in the future - what to dealerships need to prepare for?
Max: The whole industry is just a few years away from massive change. Auto retail is an industry that has so far resisted being converted into a totally online business - most car sales still occur in-person at a brick-and-mortar retailer. That’s going to change eventually. And that’s just one example of how technology is changing the industry. There’s electric cars, self-driving cars, the impact of online marketing and social media. On the other hand, no matter how technology evolves, people are going to be buying cars for the foreseeable future. It’s just a question of car dealers moving quickly and adapting to new technologies. It’s evolve or die at this point.
Interviewer: If you were brought in to run a car dealership today, what are the first management changes you’d implement to see more success?
Max: I’d look at everything! Really, the average car dealership today has issues across the board, in sales, HR, compliance, F&I, everywhere. But to be more specific, one thing I’d really focus on first is knowing the team and the people. Human capital is so important in dealerships, and way too many managers treat employees as people just looking for a short-term gig rather than trying to build a career. When you invest in people, invest in the team, you can outcompete other dealers where everyone’s basically just phoning it in. So the team is where I’d start, but I’d be looking at compliance right away, at sales practices, at F&I, as soon as possible too.
Max Zanan is the author of Perfect Dealership and founder of Total Dealer Compliance and IDDS Group. To learn more of Max’s automotive management insights, buy the book or contact Max today.