Full Transcript for The Tech Stack Is Only Half the Story | Tom McGeachy & Casey Goodnight

here to just not get left behind kind of thing. 15 00:02:09.250 --> 00:02:20.580 So I think that's what's exciting, is knowing that any time there's this much disruption, this much speed or pace change, um, you just know that there's gonna be opportunity, and, you know, winners and losers, but there will be opportunity for sure. 16 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:28.820 Absolutely. Opportunity's always there, and it's about, like you said, get- getting excited about what's coming, but then also not getting left behind. I love that. 17 00:02:29.160 --> 00:02:39.720 Um, so for those that are out there that maybe don't know you gentlemen, I'd love for you both to take some time, tell us a little bit more, maybe even about your automotive journey or what you're doing now and, and we'll kind of go, go from there. 18 00:02:40.480 --> 00:02:51.140 Well, so, uh, I've only ever worked in a car dealership before. I, I started as a lot guy when I was 15 years old. Okay. Uh, worked my way up to general manager. I worked at two different Toyota stores for 24 years. 19 00:02:51.800 --> 00:03:02.000 Um, then I got on this vendor side, and now I work with Automotive Mastermind, and it's really been a great learning experience for me to be out there visiting these different dealers, seeing different cultures, and the way different things happen. 20 00:03:02.500 --> 00:03:07.500 Um, I'm appreciative of meeting new people that maybe I wouldn't have met before, like, like Casey and the, and the Passport Auto Group. 21 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:18.480 Um, but yeah, I'm here with, with Mastermind, and we're kind of just talking about data-driven strategies and ways to use, like, active intelligence to kind of get after the customer. I love that. 22 00:03:19.140 --> 00:03:29.860 Yeah, I'm, uh, you know, Tom's a legend, but, uh, 20, a little over 20 years in auto now, and, um, I started off as a lot guy as well, a porter at a service lane, and then went into the early days of BDC and internet department. 23 00:03:30.320 --> 00:03:37.680 Cut my teeth there. Um, worked for a couple different groups. Um, got trained up really nice by the Hendrick Group, so shout out to the Hendrick Group for good training. 24 00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:46.780 And then, um, worked for a local store down in Virginia that had eight stores. Uh, managed a lot more of the m- marketing side at that point, so I got my feet wet in the marketing realm. Yes. 25 00:03:46.990 --> 00:03:49.049 And then, uh, went off to do the vendor side for a little bit. 26 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:56.280 So I was working for Cars.com when it was still under The Washington Post, and so faced dealers, sold to dealers, and, uh, got very exposed to, like, martech. 27 00:03:56.820 --> 00:04:06.640 And then, uh, my favorite account was Passport, and Passport, uh, had a role open up for me, so, uh, today I'm the e-commerce director for Passport Auto Group. Manage nine stores, and, um, and been having fun. 28 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:19.680 I love that. That's great. And I, I love that the, uh, shared perspective, right? Of starting from here, journeying to here. Um, let's talk about what that journey, the perspective that that journey has given you. 29 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:31.960 When you're looking at where automotive has been or, uh, kind of how it's gone so far, what are some trends or things that you're seeing now that can either be improved upon or maybe that we need to pivot away from? 30 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:34.380 You wanna start? Yeah. 31 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:43.920 Well, I, you know, kind of brought me back to memory lane here the first day when there were, somebody was up there on the stage talking about, like, how things have happened in, like, these time cycles, right? Yes. 32 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:52.260 And I remember when I was, first started selling cars, I was the first guy in the office with a computer. I bought, like, a little iMac, had AOL dial-up- [laughs]... 33 00:04:52.270 --> 00:04:55.860 to get on there to try to email people and find a way to, to sell cars. Yes. 34 00:04:55.980 --> 00:05:07.420 And so we're kind of watching that, a different bubble, kind of like we talked about before, but these trends have been pretty awesome to, to watch. Um, and it's kind of exciting to see how all that goes. Yeah. I agree. 35 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:17.900 Yeah. I'd say, um, one of the, like, themes I've noticed, 'cause when I started at, around 17, 18 years old in the car dealership world, we were kind of, like, finishing up the '70s, '80s, '90s stigma. Yes. 36 00:05:17.930 --> 00:05:23.659 I would call that the stigma era. Um- Yeah... and I, I felt like, hey, the car business had, didn't have a chip on its shoulder. 37 00:05:23.700 --> 00:05:31.270 It didn't really look too much, uh, or too closely at people's educational background or even some of their other kinds of background. [laughs] Right. And it was then. 38 00:05:31.270 --> 00:05:36.540 Um, and it was very much like, you know, if you're, you're a production role here. Yeah. And, um, and it's a merit-based system kind of thing. 39 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:44.539 So I feel like, you know, very blessed to have started and had humble beginnings, but been able to be exposed to so much culture and opportunity along the way. 40 00:05:45.280 --> 00:05:56.364 Um, but where I see, like, coming out of that stigma era and into, like, the trust and the transparency, like, we've been hearing that word for a decade plus. Yes. Yes. It's only gonna get accelerated with the... 41 00:05:56.484 --> 00:06:03.624 acceleration of information, AI namely being, like, able to feed things that we didn't even want it to feed- Yeah... so quickly and so, uh, and so fast. 42 00:06:03.664 --> 00:06:17.584 So I think just being aware of how it's sourcing that information, what you can do as a dealer to prepare for that source of information and, and try to become a little bit defensive of your, you know, your realm of truth and what your

culture needs to be presenting the outside world as a, as a dealer group. 43 00:06:17.664 --> 00:06:28.304 So I got... So that's on the back of our mind is, um, you know, making sure that we're not left behind in that realm, but also preparing for s- telling the story that we want to tell. And, um, I don't know, it... 44 00:06:28.344 --> 00:06:31.504 I think, was it you that said something about the Gen Z- Oh, yeah. Learned all about that yesterday. 45 00:06:31.544 --> 00:06:39.064 There's Gen Z customers that are, are starting to enter the market, how they'll be more likely to, to, to call the dealership versus other generations. Yes. 46 00:06:39.074 --> 00:06:48.964 And how they feel like a dealership is a trustworthy place, versus where that maybe not have been there with the Boomer generation or the Millennial generation, so. Right. Pretty interesting stuff of how that's evolving. 47 00:06:49.244 --> 00:06:59.904 That's super encouraging. Yeah. So I mean, I think, you know, maybe the generation I started with and kind of have grown in the last 20 years, and even Tom's too, is like maybe we were a part of some of that shift. Yes. 48 00:07:00.044 --> 00:07:05.444 Um, because I think, you know, when you look at any kind of economical decision, it's like it, it should be a win-win. Mm-hmm. 49 00:07:05.494 --> 00:07:12.584 And I think, you know, consumers are starting to realize that, like, typically, good businesses, businesses that have been established, they're looking for a win-win. They're not- Right... 50 00:07:12.604 --> 00:07:15.594 you know, it- there's, yeah, there are bad actors, but, like, I... 51 00:07:15.624 --> 00:07:25.224 And that, that was what was so refreshing about a SOTA was, uh, from the very first conference on, it was always people forward, motives are right, that kind of thing. So, um, yeah, that's encouraging. Yeah. 52 00:07:25.304 --> 00:07:36.224 I, I think you're right too. And I think, um, to your point, there has been this shift of importance of we gotta get back, transparent, like you said. It's been, we've been hearing that word. 53 00:07:36.644 --> 00:07:44.944 But, but trust is on the other side of that, and how do we establish trust? How do we get away from the stigma, which we, you know, I... 54 00:07:45.274 --> 00:07:56.424 A- an- and even talking about, you, you mentioned bad actors, and it's funny you say that because I think I can't think of a car movie that's, like, a positive reflection of the car business. 55 00:07:56.484 --> 00:08:00.684 Like, I can't think of one movie that I'm like, "Oh, yeah, this, this is the hero story." 56 00:08:00.924 --> 00:08:11.864 Every movie that I can think of, and I'm sure, and, and, and again, if there's any filmmakers out there, forgive me, but I, I can't think of one that I know that I can say, like, "Oh, no, this is actually a reflection of the business." 57 00:08:11.884 --> 00:08:22.154 So it's like how do we now become that change to get that customer to pick up the

phone and call? And I think it does have to do with the speed of information- Mm-hmm... the speed of technology. 58 00:08:22.244 --> 00:08:29.644 But then, like you said, even the things that are being exposed, whether we want them to or, or don't want them to, right? Um, so 59 00:08:30.884 --> 00:08:42.744 moving forward, what are some things that you guys are looking forward to or even excited about, or what are some things that you're anticipating that need to happen in the industry to continue with that success? 60 00:08:42.964 --> 00:08:50.584 Well, I think it's important that there's a lot... Everybody's got a huge tech stack out there, right? Like, everybody's got this and that and all these other add-on things. 61 00:08:50.624 --> 00:08:53.904 And it's important that all those things kind of talk and integrate. Yeah. 62 00:08:54.124 --> 00:09:02.744 So, like, Casey and the Passport group, they really went through the last kind of year, year and a half, where they reestablish their tech stack to where all the things kind of communicate together. 63 00:09:03.084 --> 00:09:11.724 So whether it was moving over to Techion or DriveCentric, getting all the stores kind of on the central base of Mastermind, all those things are kind of talking together. 64 00:09:11.754 --> 00:09:21.904 And, like, that Mastermind DriveCent- DriveCentric integration is so important, it's the first two-way integration that, that we have. So we can see the DriveCentric nodes and all that data right inside of Mastermind. 65 00:09:22.304 --> 00:09:34.024 And then, you know, if an internet lead were to come in, salesperson looks at it, he can see the BPS right there, the, the, the, uh, an- the data behind what's driving that customer and be able to have a better follow-up conversation. 66 00:09:34.084 --> 00:09:43.684 So I do think, like, as things move forward, especially with all this AI stuff, with all the different data that it can grab, it's really important that all the stuff can kind of communicate together. Yeah. Yeah. We... 67 00:09:43.724 --> 00:09:51.384 I've definitely grown up in a car business of, like, siloed information, and I think that's been a frustration for a long time. And, uh, you know, somebody coined it a couple weeks ago. 68 00:09:51.544 --> 00:09:59.164 They were, uh, asking us about our group, and we were describing what technology we've employed, and they were like, "Wow, you guys have, like, the dream stack of, uh, tech stacks." 69 00:09:59.244 --> 00:10:07.764 So, you know, hopefully it stays that way. Yes. Uh, it's ever-changing. Uh, but to Tom's point, like, we wanted to work with people that, you know, have a flow of information that's a two-way. 70 00:10:08.204 --> 00:10:17.484 We wanted to make sure we were positioned to win from a data perspective. Um, and we wanna have quality conversations with customers, you know. The best tech stack in the world still can fall on, on human shoulders. 71 00:10:17.844 --> 00:10:22.584 Right. Um, so,

you know, you g- you gotta kind of pay attention to both worlds. And, and I think that's where we're at now too. 72 00:10:22.604 --> 00:10:32.924 We've, last couple years, a lot of changes internally on the tech stack side, and then last year or so, and then obviously as our next year unfolds, it's gonna be really a he- a heavy dose on the people side. 73 00:10:33.264 --> 00:10:40.764 And that's why I don't just wanna pick good tech. I wanna pick good tech and people. Mm. So, like, you know, kudos to Tom, and this isn't, like, an endorsement for Tom, but, like, 74 00:10:42.024 --> 00:10:45.004 lights out, you know, hands-on help for the, for the company. 75 00:10:45.074 --> 00:10:53.584 So, you know, Automotive Mastermind brings a great technology to the pl- uh, to the table, but then they also bring their people, and their people so far have been, have been really, really helpful. 76 00:10:53.684 --> 00:11:01.014 So we wanna find those symbiotic relationships where it's good tech, but it comes with intelligence and h- and humans behind it too- Yeah... 77 00:11:01.104 --> 00:11:10.844 uh, so that we can actually, where the rubber meets the road, make actual changes. Because until somebody picks up this technology and does something with it, it's just tech on a computer. Yeah. And so, uh, yeah. 78 00:11:10.854 --> 00:11:18.604 You know, like I said, I, I wouldn't wanna pat- Should I-... pat your back too heavy, but it's been a, it's been a great- Should I pay now or pay later? [laughs] Either one. [laughs] Cash App, Venmo, whatever. Yeah. 79 00:11:18.644 --> 00:11:27.144 Yeah. No, but I think what I love that you guys are, are both, uh, saying, and then what I hear, is it's about the synergy, right? Finding the common goal, right? 80 00:11:27.384 --> 00:11:36.984 A- and it is important in understanding, like, we can share this common vision. I think you mentioned it w- uh, and said it best is that w- they need to talk to... The communication needs to be there. 81 00:11:37.004 --> 00:11:45.724 And it's not just the communication with the technology, but even to your point, the communication between the people. 'Cause we all know, like, I can have the best tool in the world- Mm... 82 00:11:45.734 --> 00:11:49.244 and, and if I don't know what I'm doing with it, who cares? Yeah. You know? 83 00:11:49.264 --> 00:11:58.424 Like, I, I, if I, if somebody gave me a jackhammer, they could be like, "This is the most powerful jackhammer" and I'm just gonna tear the floor up- Right... 'cause I don't know what I'm doing with that tool. 84 00:11:58.904 --> 00:12:08.380 And I think that's important, is to have that synergy of being able to have a great tool But then get the training, and the support, and the team behind it to utilize it properly. 85 00:12:08.900 --> 00:12:16.360 Yeah, I think we were, we were having lunch a little bit ago, and um, we were talking about kind of our roots in the car business. I didn't even know, you know, some of his roots until when we were just having lunch. 86 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:27.420 And, uh- Yes... it's funny, 'cause I grew up under leadership in the past that was very, like, vendor abrasive. Okay. And I s- I watched how it was really a power play, kind of an old school ego play. Yeah. 87 00:12:27.660 --> 00:12:35.360 Never found that to be very, like... It just wasn't a good alliance. Yeah. To me, I didn't think that, like... I, I was always taught, you know, honey leads to more things than vinegar. So 88 00:12:36.340 --> 00:12:43.780 when I got into the positions that I've gotten into where I have collaborative vendor partner relationships, it's like I'd rather have favor than obedience. Yeah. 89 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:55.740 And so, um, you know, I just, I had a bad actor in my past as my leader, and, and I was like, when I get to a leadership role, I'm gonna flip that script because I wanna get the most out of what he brings to the table, and any partner that we have. 90 00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:06.560 Because these guys go to multiple rooftops in a day, so they feel the vibe of different showrooms. Yeah. They see culture differences. They see, uh, tactic, uh, language, verb, you know, everything. 91 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:14.140 The whole business is, like, presented to them in a, in a different lens. And when I was on, when on the, when I went to the vendor side, I kind of got that exposure as well. 92 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:23.380 I got to see f- you know, 50 rooftops a month. Very eye-opening experience. So when you get kind of stuck in, in an auto group, um, you can kind of have your blinders on. Yeah. 93 00:13:23.420 --> 00:13:32.860 And so we, we look at our vendor partnerships like that, as like, hey, you're here to bring a perspective we can't give to ourselves. You know, we need your technology, but we need your eyes and ears as well. 94 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:40.700 And, and that hands-on help is what it's all about. That's great. I love that. And how that works together is, is so important. Like, you know, we just, we just kind of talked about that drive-centric integration. Yes. 95 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:48.920 Well, we had the, uh, the Toyota store on ear- for early access, and we worked together, and with me working with, uh, LT, one of the, the managers there. 96 00:13:49.300 --> 00:13:59.230 We found a couple holes that we were able to take back to the product team, and they got that stuff fixed pr- right away. So it's that working together, that collaba- col- collabilation—I said that wrong Collaboration... 97 00:13:59.230 --> 00:14:06.100 collaboration. Yeah, yeah. I know what you meant, yeah. [laughs] Yeah, so w- that working together to allow us to kind of move forward and, and fix things for everybody else. Yeah, I love that. 98 00:14:06.150 --> 00:14:12.860 And that's, it's so important, and it's so needed, because what it speaks to is being able to be coachable, right? Mm-hmm. 99 00:14:12.900 --> 00:14:21.360 I love how you were

talking about being receptive to understanding, like, wait, they're getting out and able to see more than I'm able to see, so why not get something from their perspective, right? 100 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:29.359 Why not listen as opposed to, like, the old school way? "No, we got it." Yeah. You know? "I know, I know it. This is the way we've always done it," right? Haven't- Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? 101 00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:33.460 So, uh, a- and I, I, I also, I did, I started in sales, so same thing. 102 00:14:33.490 --> 00:14:47.200 I did the whole brooming cars and all the fun stuff, so I remember some of those, or that old way of thinking of, like, either, A, I don't wanna switch vendors, or I don't wanna change vendors, or I don't wanna work with vendors at all, or I'm working with people that I know, and that, you know. 103 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:54.800 And which is good. You wanna build those relationships. Mm-hmm. But it can also be limiting if you're not open to what's going on around you. So I love that. 104 00:14:54.880 --> 00:14:58.940 Um, before we get out of here, gentlemen, I always ask everyone do you have any golden nuggets? 105 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:05.000 For people that are out there, if there's one thing, one little nugget that you can impart of wisdom, anything that you would wanna tell them. 106 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:14.020 That's a great- Casey, I love how you looked at To- I love how you looked at Tom and said, "Hey, what, what do you got?" You want the extra second to think about it. He, he just, he just ki- I appreciate it. 107 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:23.820 He just silently just said. Tom, Tom's a wise sage, you know. I, I- [laughs]... do feel like, you know, with all the, the different tech stacks going on, all the different programs, nothing beats effort. 108 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:31.440 And as long as you're putting out effort, there's gonna be results. And, and, you know, all this stuff can't do things for you all the time. 109 00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:40.500 The human is still part of this, and it's just really kind of been a good central part of this conference, this, these last few days. The human is super important. Yes. But that effort behind the human is important. 110 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:45.140 So my golden nugget, make sure you're still putting effort out in everything that you do. That's it. Yeah. 111 00:15:45.200 --> 00:16:06.260 I think, um, you know, read a good book a long time ago called The Slight Edge, and um, it's pr- it's a popular book, but I would just say that, like, parlaying what he just said, effort leads to a learning curve, and if you're just doing those little steps every single day, it does, it, it puts you in a position where when others see the actual results start to form up, they're way too late to catch up, because it was small building blocks. 112 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:22.599 So I think those small building blocks, those small daily disciplines, the effort that goes behind it, and then taking a human, you know, mind and, and a culture, and then applying the technology, like, it, it, it can have a trend that's gonna be hard to duplicate when someone observes the results later. 113 00:16:22.660 --> 00:16:25.600 Yeah. So i- it's a Slight Edge mentality, so. I love it. 114 00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:38.000 It's, it's, it's about being, uh, as they say, addicted to the process and not necessarily the outcome or the result that is attached to it, because the process is where, like you said, those daily disciplines, the effort that goes into it. 115 00:16:38.280 --> 00:16:48.100 It's all about the choices that we make. Well, listen, this has been Unscripted. I'm Errol Beaumart, your host, and uh, we're excited to have you here with us. This is ASOTU CON 2026: Year of the Human. 116 00:16:48.560 --> 00:16:57.680 And remember, it's about being able to be open, being able to be coachable, and continuing to learn and grow. We'll see you on the next one. Thank you for listening to Unscripted. 117 00:16:58.060 --> 00:17:05.920 At ASOTU, we're obsessed with uniting people around one big idea: that thriving people are the only path to a thriving and profitable industry. 118 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:13.020 If that resonates with you, then head over to morethancars.com, join our email list, and explore our full list of podcasts.