Business View Magazine - September 2015

126 Business View - September 2015 Business View - September 2015 127 Dolan Automotive Group “We’re here to make a customer for life.” TheDolan AutomotiveGroup is located in Reno, Nevada and serves customers in the Reno, Carson City, and Lake Tahoe areas. Brady Dolan, the Group’s general manager, recounts how the company was founded by his father, Tom, in 1982: “Dad was general manager of Reno Dodge. Then he came to Reno Toyota as General Manager.” Tom’s success there soon led to his taking over the operation and, today, Dolan Automotive has a Toyota, a Lexus, a Mazda, a Kia, and a Scion dealer- ship, all in Reno. Each dealership sells both new and used cars, and offers its customers service and parts. “We’re always trying to add new stores, as we grow, but they have to be the right franchises,” says Dolan. “We got the Lexus franchise in 1990, because they decided to put an open point in Reno. (An open point is new franchise built from the ground up, as opposed to taking over an existing dealership.) “We added Maz- da/Kia four years ago.” According to Dolan, who also works with his brother Ryan, and sister, Danielle, the company was able to get new dealerships based on the efficiency of its sales and service, its high reten- tion levels, and its positive CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) at already-owned locations. Several things differentiate the Dolan Automotive Group from its competitors: “Our salespeople are called ‘vehicle specialists,’” says Dolan. “We don’t call them ‘salespeople’ anymore. And they’re all paid sal- ary, so there is no commission. If customers want to drive five or ten cars, we’re not rushing to get to the next commission. Most people say that going to a car dealership to buy a car is excruciating. We want them to enjoy the experience. That’s our business model.” Ryon Walters is Dolan’s Chief Operating Officer. He elaborates on the dealership’s switch to a non-com- missioned staff: “We get a lot of feedback on how much people like that we pay salaries. The wall comes down almost immediately because we let them know that we’re here just to show them the product; that there’s no pressure here, we’re not on commission; we’re just here to serve their needs.” In former times, both Dolan and Walters admit that car buying was more of a contest, with a lot of haggling, and salesmen going back and forth between the cus- tomer and a manager, who was always somewhere in a back room. “When I started in the business it was more of a game, saying ‘yes’ or ‘no,’” relates Walters. “Now all of our managers are right on the showroom floor. Everybody’s always free to go talk to them. But there’s more to a deal than just price – there’s credit, what a trade value is worth, there’s a lot that goes into it – but there’s not a whole lot of haggling. We’re trying to get rid of that.” Dolan appreciates the difference between the new Millennial Generation of car buyers and their Baby Boomer parents. “It’s completely different how they were taught to buy a car,” he says. Younger buyers are simply more sophisticated and knowledgeable, these AT A GLANCE WHO: Dolan Auto Group WHAT: New and used car dealerships offering sales and service WHERE: Reno and Carson City, NV WEBSITE : www.dolanautogroup.com