Dealer management system company DealerBuilt appointed long-time automotive sales team leader Keith Baker as chief revenue officer, with his duties including oversight of new business sales and marketing. He will also work to help improve client utilization and product strategy.
Baker said he joined DealerBuilt in part because dealers need a company “that is genuinely dealer-centric.”
“The DMS space is extremely dysfunctional,” Baker said in a news release.
Most of the negative consequences of that dysfunction “fall squarely on the shoulders of the dealers,” he said.
“I've seen it too many times; smart, experienced, dedicated operators are stalled at best,” he said. “In the worst cases, they are so tightly squeezed they are losing ground in the middle of a tremendous economic boom. They need help. They need allies.”
Baker plans to provide some of that help, coming to DealerBuilt with 25 years of experience building and growing field sales teams. He is also a speaker and a peak business performance coach, with experience building auto industry sales and service teams for companies such as ALLDATA and Autobytel before coming to Cox Automotive in 2012.
During his time at Cox Automotive, Baker helped lead strong growth of vAuto’s client base, according to DealerBuilt. He then became vice president of sales for DealerTrack DMS at Cox Automotive.
“I am truly excited to add Keith to our strong DealerBuilt team,” DealerBuilt/LightYear Dealer Technologies LLC chief executive officer Mike Trasatti said.
Trasatti continued, “He has a track record as a real 'growth innovator.’ However, with a similar passion to take care of each customer…one at a time. As our company continues its growth trajectory, the chief revenue officer is a pivotal role directly influencing our future expansion. Keith will lead the charge as he takes on the responsibility for all aspects of driving revenue to the company.”
As an entrepreneur working under his brand, “Mike theCarGuy,” Mike Correra has helped increase dealerships’ online visibility through focused branding and engaging, promoting each store’s culture and uniqueness with specific social media management.
On Tuesday, auto dealer enterprise dealer management system company DealerBuilt announced the hiring of Correra as a client experience specialist. He will serve as a DealerBuilt subject matter expert for best practices and key metrics supporting one complete dealership workflow in areas such as sales, parts, service, and accounting.
“Keep an eye out as the adventures of Mike ‘theCarGuy’ and DealerBuilt Man come to a car dealer near you!” Correra said.
In his new position, Correra studies dealers’ use of the DealerBuilt DMS, offering them tips and techniques that he learned from many years using the system as a dealer to help improve their performance.
In joining DealerBuilt, Correa remembers a review he wrote in 2014 about its DMS when he was GSM at a dealership that converted to its system. Formed in 2008, DealerBuilt brought to market an enterprise DMS to provide automobile dealer and dealer groups a viable alternative to the traditional market offerings.
“One of the things that impressed me then, and still does, is what an awesome team DealerBuilt has,” Correra said in a news release. “The level of caring for their dealer partners and passion for building the best tools for auto dealers is second to none.”
DealerBuilt said it has seen increased demand over the years for its more modern, scalable platform, emphasizing being customer-centric and a dealer advocate for new DMS services. Now, the company said its DealerBuilt DMS known as ceDMS empowers the staff of hundreds of dealers to build processes best for them, using a system centered around their customers.
Correra’s career of more than 30 years in automotive retail started when he worked at a Ford store as a tune-up and drivability tech. After then taking a sales position at another Ford store, he was later promoted to assistant sales manager. He went on to become GSM at various auto groups and single point dealerships.
He helped one of those dealerships almost triple sales in slightly more than two years. That dealership averaged 50 to 65 units per month when he started, but it went on to consistently average more than 150 by the time he left.
DealerBuilt said that he played an important role in more than doubling annual new vehicle sales volume at another dealership, Raceway Ford, from 2013-2015. With growth in sales from 600 to more than 1,300, the dealership saw an increase in profitability and zone market share, according to DealerBuilt.
At other dealerships, Correra has worked as fleet/Internet sales director before his most recent work helping boost dealerships’ online visibility as Mike theCarGuy.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have Mike on board. He is one of the best possible people we could have as a specialist interacting with our clients,” said DealerBuilt/LightYear Dealer Technologies chief executive officer Mike Trasatti.
He continued, “Our mission is to make a difference in the lives of those we are fortunate enough to meet by utilizing our time, talents, and resources. Mike perfectly exemplifies this; it is his passion. Moreover, the fact that he has used our system for years as a dealer himself is rather the icing on the cake, both for DealerBuilt and for our clients.”
Correra added, “When I left the retail car business after 30 years of success, I felt I still have more to offer dealers. Working for DealerBuilt allows me to help more people than I ever could by working at one dealership, or on my own. Over the last year or so I have been in nearly 90 dealerships and have met hundreds of very cool car people. I am so grateful for the opportunity to help and look forward to helping many more increase their efficiency with their DMS, as well as get better at what they do. There is still much to be done and many places to go.”
Noting George Hines’ leadership in activating the Lithia store network with digital services to reach 80% of consumers nationwide, Lithia Motors has promoted Hines to senior vice president, chief innovation and technology officer.
Lithia Motors president and chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer said in a news release that the company’s internal investments and strategic partnerships are expanding its “convenient and affordable offerings” for customers.
DeBoer also said Lithia’s digital investment in improving the experience of customers helps the company boost market share and owner loyalty. That, DeBoer said, “drives increased profitability in our stores.”
“George has accelerated our technology development efforts, and we're excited to recognize his continued leadership and have him as an integral part of our strategic leadership team,” DeBoer said.
Lithia Motors’ Baierl Automotive multi-dealership platform in Pittsburgh, along with its growing partnership with Shift Technologies in San Francisco, are “incubators” for its evolving digital strategies, the company said.
"Whether people prefer to buy, sell or schedule service from home or whether they prefer the human connection of our store teams, these technologies provide consumers with transparent and empowered shopping experiences," DeBoer said.
