Which vendors are the best to work for?

[Joe Johnson]

A recent family situation has prompted my relocation to the Dallas TX area very soon. I am not exactly "excited" about having to leave my position as an F&I Manager (with a great company), but I am staying positive and trying my best to make this an intelligent career move. I have done a lot of reflecting and reading through posts here on the forums, and I believe I might take a swing at getting on with one of the vendors. Here is my reasoning:

1) More creativity, more innovation, etc... I am no Alex Snyder, but I like to think that I am a little smarter than the average car guy. I enjoy reading about the latest trends in the industry and staying up to speed on all things digital. I think it would be great to be a part a team that actually knew what the heck I was talking about once in a while when I am geeking it up!

2) Quality of life - I don't think any of us are lazy... but it would be nice to be home before 8-10pm once in a while. I have missed a lot of great moments with my girls while working the long hours.

3) Opportunity - It will be hard to land a good F&I gig with my limited experience. If I am starting at the bottom again, then I might as well shoot for my "dream job" and try to switch over to the DARK SIDE.

Now the fun part...... This is NOT a job search. I am looking for opinions from those of you who have worked at places like Dealertrack, Autotrader, Dealer.com, Edmunds.com, etc and may have good/bad things to say. I value the advice here more than anywhere. I may decide to stay in the dealership for a few more years and continue earning my stripes. Either way, I appreciate the input. Oh, and of course PM is okay if your input is a little spicy!

Thanks guys,

Joe

 

[joe.pistell]

Joe,

There's got to be 100,000 employees at car dealers. What do you bring? What's your passion? Would you like to sell products to car dealers? Would you like to assist dealers in support?

 

[Lee E Kincaid]

Joe - I'm happy to give you some feedback on several of the vendors as I made this move to the dark side about 15 yrs ago. Feel free to send me a private message.

 

[Alex Snyder]

More creativity, more innovation, etc... I am no Alex Snyder,

Ha! That's quite the flattering statement Joe - wow!

Finding the right company is like finding the right woman to marry. Sometimes you're going to date for a little while, but most of the time you know whether that company is right for you as soon as you are introduced. About 6 months later you figure out if it is a place to hang your hat at for a long time.

I can tell you that Dealertrack absolutely changed Dealer.com. And with a pending acquisition on the horizon there will probably be more change. To say the Dealertrack we all know is going to be the same Dealertrack tomorrow is not a prudent statement to make. With that said I do welcome the changes I'm assuming will come.

Cox Automotive is a totally different organization than the old Autotrader.com company so many people have griped about on DealerRefresh (me included). The leadership has changed and they seem to have a vision for the betterment of the entire industry (I like industry-bettering visions over self-interested ones). The fact that Dale Pollak has stuck around is one of the most encouraging things any car guy should appreciate.

With that said, I like to work for an organization that isn't afraid to break eggs with a tasty omelette in mind...AKA they have a vision. Secondly, I won't work for a company whose leaders are people I don't care for. Thirdly, it is about who you know. You're always going to have a better start walking in the door with some connections.

 

[Joe Johnson]

Joe,

There's got to be 100,000 employees at car dealers. What do you bring? What's your passion? Would you like to sell products to car dealers? Would you like to assist dealers in support?

I enjoy sales, but anything in the consultative/relationship building field would be a good fit for me. I don't have the technical skill set to be a product engineer or anything like that, but I really like the digital/technology side of things. Most of my experience has been reading articles, books, publications, forums, and a few years of time IN the dealership trying different strategies. I started on the floor and worked my way up to Internet Manager then F&I/Assistant Sales Manager. I was blessed to have a position where upper management let me see all of the information and be a part of the decision making. Anything I wanted to try would at least make it to the monthly meetings for discussion.

Ha! That's quite the flattering statement Joe - wow!

Finding the right company is like finding the right woman to marry... .

Hey no problem, As a relative newbie in the industry, I have learned a lot from reading your posts. Thanks for the input on Dealertrack/Cox. I have seen a few positions posted in Dallas for them as well as Dealer.com and wondered if they might be a good place to start. One of my issues here is experience. Your point #3 about connections is definitely accurate. I have already had a few rejections (without a phone interview) for positions that pay half as much as I am making now. Moving 1000+ miles away is never easy... It may be a bit of a challenge, but even if I end up taking a position in a dealership for the time being (to support our family), I think I will eventually switch over. We will see!

Thanks guys.. Keep em coming!

 

[ddavis]

Where you live, in the DFW market, makes a huge difference. It is a lot larger than it looks on a map. If you decide to stay in retail, I know most of the players. I can definitely tell you who to avoid. Feel free to hit me up.

 

[rchandler]

I know it's not a concise answer, however it's hard to pinpoint who the "best" are, depending on your needs and what role you end up in. Some companies have horrible reviews on Glassdoor, however the top sales people make a killing, for example. I'd start by figuring out what kind of role you'd like(you mentioned more of Account Management), and you said you enjoy Digital Marketing. I'd start by looking up different automotive Digital Marketing companies, and looking to see if they have any openings. Often, they might have jobs not listed on their websites. Look up the key players on Linkedin, connect and reaching out that way can be a great way to find openings. There are also some good recruiters focused on this field, like DAC company, and Drive180.com is an auto vendor specific job board. There are a lot of great companies & opportunities out there, so best of luck.