April 17, 2025 • 22 mins
In this episode, my guest is Christine Mitchell—aka The Car Lady— founder of The Car Lady Canada, and we talk about what it really takes to build dealership loyalty, elevate women in automotive, and create a culture that actually sticks.
Christine’s been in the car business since she was 16—and what started as a gig in the lube lane turned into a national movement that’s helping dealers across the country retain customers and talent.
We talk about:
- Why most “women in automotive” conversations are missing the mark—and what needs to happen instead
- The real ROI behind Know Your Car Night (87% retention)
- How to create dealership culture that isn’t just pizza Fridays but real leadership from the ground up
- The surprising power of post-sale follow-up that doesn’t involve a birthday email or another push notification
- Why empowering the receptionist might be the smartest move you make this year
Christine dropped a line that really stuck with me:
“The diamonds are in your store. You just have to harvest them.”
If you’ve ever said “we want to improve our culture” or “we need more loyalty” or “we want more women on our team”—this is your playbook.
It’s not about checking boxes. It’s about building something better—together.
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FlexDealer Need Better Quality Leads? FLX helps car dealers generate better quality leads through localized organic search and highly-targeted digital ads that convert. Not only that, they work tirelessly to ensure car dealers integrate marketing and operations for a robust and functional growth strategy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
MC (00:00):
This episode is brought to you by FlexDealer.
Hey auto industry.
Welcome to this episode of theDealer Playbook Podcast.
We're here at the TorontoInternational Auto Show.
(00:22):
If you haven't noticed, I'm notsitting in the studio right now
.
We are live with my pal,christine Mitchell.
She's the owner, she's the carlady, I'm the car lady, you're
the car lady, and you justreminded me it's been eight
years since we've done this last.
Christine (00:34):
Yeah, the last time we did this, we talked a lot
about women's car care clinics,of course, still hosting those
all the time.
But, yeah, time, but yeah, it'sbeen a long time.
I was long blonde back then andI changed my look up and I'm
still as enthusiastic about thecar business.
MC (00:49):
As ever, we've both changed our hair.
Yes, you know because I used to.
Not well, I still didn't haveany, but I didn't have any here
either.
Um, as my kids say, I look likefranklin the turtle back then,
eight years ago.
Um, you, as we were chattingpre-show, you brought up a
couple of things that struck achord in me that I want to.
I want to just pick your brainon and I'm going to start it
(01:09):
this way my little daughter,aria yes, when she she's now
almost 12.
When she was seven, we werestanding in church and she tugs
on my jacket and I look down andshe says, dad, in these exact
words no exaggeration.
What do I need to learn to takeover your company one day?
I have a 15 year old boy, yes,and a 14 year old boy who, I'm
(01:32):
convinced, still want to beNinja Turtles when they grow up.
But she knew what she wantedand still knows what she wants,
like she goes after.
There's a tenacity in her thatI, and an observance in her that
has heightened my awareness ofwhat I think we have done.
(01:52):
Your perspective buildingbusiness in our industry.
What do we do about this topic,this issue of women in
(02:13):
automotive, and helping showthem, or demonstrate, that this
is a career that they can growand that we need them and want
them in this industry.
Christine (02:24):
Well, that's an interesting question because I
have a daughter myself and Iwould love her to take over my
company.
I've begged and cried andpleaded a hundred different
times.
But she said to me Mom, youcast a big shadow, you are the
car lady.
I don't want to have to spendmy adult career having to look
over my shoulder and haveeverybody say, hey, where's your
mom, where's your mom?
So she's working for amarketing team at the Ivy School
(02:45):
of Business Now.
I couldn't be any more proud ofher.
But women in automotive I getasked this question all the time
because I've been at this avery long time.
Right, I got in this careerwhen I was 16.
It's been 27 years and I thinkthe conversation needs to start,
particularly on the retail side, because I always come at it
from a retail perspective.
I think the conversation needsto start from the top and how it
(03:06):
trickles down, because I getinvited, of course, to a lot of
different things InternationalWomen's Day, speaking events and
conferences and I find the roomtends to be either upper
management and or vendors.
But we don't get a lot of thepeople who have the actual boots
on the ground in the retailside at these events, because
(03:29):
when I call a dealership andwhen you phone a dealership,
mike, the person who answers thephone is usually the first line
of contact, and how do weempower those people?
Are the conversations that I'mparticularly interested in.
I want to know how we canadvance the women we currently
have into roles that will movethem into upper management,
(03:49):
providing with training,mentorship, sponsorship etc.
To give them the opportunity,because they obviously have a
liking for the car business atsome point.
And I want to just make surethat we're not just keep
recruiting, recruiting,recruiting, but we're actually
empowering, educating andfulfilling the goals education
wise and career wise of otherwomen that are currently in our
(04:12):
industry.
MC (04:12):
Yeah, it's.
What I'm hearing is let's showthem what's possible, right,
right.
We often talk about how theauto industry most of us who did
kind of a trust fall backwardsinto this space and never left.
How retail automotive inparticular has no ceiling but it
has no floor also Right, but wedon't do a great job at
(04:35):
demonstrating the no ceilingpart, right, and that you can.
Christine (04:40):
And I get asked this all the time, right, because
people want to know.
I've been in the car businessmy entire life.
I got in the industry at 16.
Back in the day where you couldwrite a 365 in the morning and
get your license in theafternoon, I got my license the
same day because I was workingat a car dealership in the lube
lane and I had to be able todrive the cars.
So I started really early.
(05:00):
But the most popular question Iget in regards to that, people
want to know again, not only thebackstory, but did I have
another person in the businessfor me, am I a PhD?
Did I?
Means Papa has dealership?
Did I have any experiencedolder brothers, dads, uncles
that were already in the carbusiness?
No, I fell, like you, into thecar business because I loved the
(05:23):
industry.
I fell, like you, into the carbusiness because I loved the
industry and I still, after allthese years, get so excited when
I'm teaching my Know your CarNight events to meet somebody
who's a first-time buyer.
There's no.
You know, when you're afirst-time buyer, the world's
your oyster right.
I always think of it as beingthe first taste of real freedom.
It's the time you can drive tosee my friend Mike in Texas if
(05:44):
you want.
Right, because you got a car,yeah, and I just think there's
such joy in that and that's whyI got into the business, because
I loved the vehicles and Iloved the freedom that cars
bring to you.
MC (06:01):
Hey, does your marketing agency suck?
Listen before we hop back intothis episode.
I know you know me as the hostof the dealer playbook, but did
you also know that I'm the CEOof FlexDealer, an agency that's
helping dealers capture betterquality leads from local SEO and
hyper-targeted ads that convert?
So if you want to sell morecars and finally have a partner
that's in it with you, thatdoesn't suck visit flexdealercom
.
Let's hop back into thisepisode.
(06:21):
You might be the only otherperson that's articulated for us
on the show that the liberatingutility that a vehicle is oh,
there's nothing like it.
Christine (06:35):
There's nothing.
You know, I grew up my momdidn't have a car, never got her
license until she was in her40s, after my parents separated.
So up and when during that timemom brought home all the
groceries by bundle buggy or byremember the bundle buggy she
brought home groceries on thebus.
When I got my first car, I wasworking at Jack McGee's in
(06:56):
Peterborough.
My first car.
I was working at Jack McGee'sin Peterborough, my first job,
and my mom co-signed for me.
I bought a 1987 Chevy Sprint thethree-cylinder and my payments
were $146 a month and my mom gotin the car and it was the first
time she knew that she wasn'tgoing to have to walk on a
February day in Peterborough inthe winter with our groceries
(07:18):
because I had a car and I coulddrive.
We were so excited they let medrive it out of the showroom by
myself.
I got mom in the car.
We were so excited.
We got on Clonsilla Avenuethere in Peterborough and went
through a stop sign.
We were so distracted with ourown joy of having a car, the
little Chevy Sprint that.
(07:39):
I named Ian because I name allmy cars.
MC (07:42):
And what's your car now named?
Christine (07:43):
So now I have a Highlander and her name is Haven
, for safe Haven.
The last one was Mr CharlieLexus.
Wow, I've had a lot ofdifferent vehicles, but Haven is
a great car.
MC (07:54):
I don't know.
This must be a common practicewhere people, because we name
our vehicles, yeah, um, like oursierra was the ciarello,
because it's the michaelciarello vehicle.
I had lola corolla I love thatthese are like real names.
I tried I'm like trying to findthe most foolish sounding name.
You're like meet ian, yeah, ian, I, ian, ian, the.
Christine (08:16):
Spread, lola, corolla yeah, they've all been good
vehicles.
But you know, because of whereI live I don't know if you know
this, but I actually live inPort Elgin, which is about two
and a half hours from the city,and I spend a lot of time in a
car, sure, and I have to havesafety, security and I have to
really enjoy the ride and I lovebeing in the car by myself.
You know it's two hours a piece.
I roll a lot of calls.
(08:36):
I listen to Howard Stern.
Just think about what I'm goingto do next, yeah.
MC (08:41):
Let me ask you this Over your career from your vantage
point as you look back.
Christine (08:45):
Yeah.
MC (08:47):
The passion you have is passion that's developed, not
just like installed Right, right.
Like I can't just say, okay,car lady, install your passion
level on these individuals Right.
What?
What are the pit stops alongthe way that you can think of
where you're like?
Oh well, okay, I love thisindustry.
Christine (09:07):
Yeah Well, I started the business because I was
expecting and I had to get outof the shop.
So I went to the library andused windows 97 and AOL to make
the worst looking flyers you'veever seen in your life and went
dealership to dealership.
But the passion for growing thebusiness part of it came
because I was a single mom witha daughter to feed and I drove
(09:31):
from my.
I was living in Mile May andnow Port Elgin.
But I drove those miles becauseI knew I could make Toronto
money Right and drag it homeright, because you could buy the
biggest house in my village atthat point for like 300 000.
But again, it was still alwaysabout working in the car
business.
I've never considered doinganything else.
Sure, and I really like the partwhen I, when I'm teaching my
(09:51):
event, whether it's a first-timebuyer or the sixth buyer, I
know that I'm bringing a valueto the dealer because those
customers are going to rememberme and remember the service they
got at that store, you know.
My second question during theseminar I ask is how many of you
were surprised to be invitedtonight?
And I get about 75% of thehands in the room because
(10:14):
they've never either beeninvited or been to one before,
wow and they want theopportunity to be thanked for
their purchase.
They've spent a lot of moneysecond largest investment next
to your home and they want theopportunity to learn.
Now and it used to be, theseminars were more about just
maintenance, but now I spend alot more time with technology,
of course, and I spend a lotmore time with connectivity
(10:37):
pieces and a lot more time withsafety systems, for sure.
MC (10:40):
There's something so brilliant in this, because those
of us that live in the techbubble tend to our bias tends to
lead us to believe thateveryone just knows technology.
Yeah, they don't.
Yeah, they don't.
And here you are putting onevents focusing on technology,
filling these dealerships withpeople who have no not to sound
(11:00):
demeaning but have no clue.
Yeah, who want to know.
Christine (11:03):
Well, think about the last time you took delivery of
a vehicle Again, pre-podcast.
Tonight we had a littleconversation.
One of the people in the roommentioned that they were buying
a car.
Took them nine hours at thedealer just to buy the car.
Okay, imagine how long thedelivery process takes.
Yes, like there's so muchinformation now, by the time you
get them connected to thebranded app and you set up any
(11:24):
connectivity piece like aStarlink or an OnStar, you get
the phone paired.
You know today's vehicles,particularly if you bought an EV
, the delivery takes so longpeople don't have the bandwidth
for it.
And then you try to think as aa dealer.
You'd love for that salespersonto walk mr and mrs customer
back to the service departmentand book their first appointment
(11:44):
and introduce them to theservice manager.
But you and I might both knowthat that's very rarely going to
happen because they've just runout of capacity at that point,
right.
And so that's where we bridgethat gap.
Know, your car night bridgesthe gap between the delivery and
the service and to counteractanything that may have gotten
missed during that, delivery andtechnology is now a huge piece
(12:11):
of that, people who work at thatstore how much actual extra
effort needs to go in post saleto maintain the relationship.
MC (12:20):
Yeah, you know, because obviously in the marketing world
, sales and marketing it's, youknow, high funnel, mid funnel,
low funnel.
Forget about them, send them abirthday message, but you've
tapped into something that Ithink is really important here,
which is no.
Then there is loyalty, correctambassadorship, referrals, and
(12:41):
then by the time we've completedthat, they're ready to buy
their next vehicle again.
Christine (12:44):
Absolutely.
And people who attend the eventare 87% more likely to service
with that dealership in the nextfour years, just for
maintenance alone.
So if people understand howmaintenance works and the
benefits and the advantages ofservicing with the dealer, it
keeps them out of the big redtriangle store and out of the
store that sells the bigpackages of toilet paper.
I got quoted once in an articlethat said the car lady says
(13:08):
don't buy winter tires where youbuy frozen shrimp.
And I thought that, yep,absolutely Right, go to your
dealer.
I think people think that thedealer is still in their minds.
More money, right, but there isa lot of things to be said
about the retention piece andthat's why and they want to be
thanked for their purchase,frankly, they don't want a
birthday card, they want to bethanked for their purchase Again
(13:30):
.
They've made a big investmentand they're investing in you.
And if you don't build thatcustomer for life, frankly
there's a lot of options wherethey can take that vehicle now
and if you don't get them backfor the first couple services,
any marketer will tell youthey're in the wind.
MC (13:43):
I just have to just point out here she said the big red
triangle store.
Christine (13:48):
Yes.
MC (13:49):
Off camera.
Here we have Emer, who this ishis first time in Canada.
Well, it's my show, I can saywhatever I want.
She I'm in Canada.
Well, it's my show, I can saywhatever I want.
Christine (13:56):
She's referring to Canadian tire.
Yeah, and don't write meletters.
I love Canadian tire as much asthe next person.
MC (14:00):
I have to take Emer to a Canadian tire, yeah, just so he
can experience what it's like tobe in a Cabela's meets, zellers
meets, target meets.
I don't even know how you wouldexplain it at this point, but
Emer loves the gadgets andgizmos and the tools and the
this and the that.
(14:20):
Yeah, but I 100% agree withwhat you're saying.
Yeah, we don't do a great jobat encouraging these individuals
who, to your point, made theirsecond largest purchase.
Yeah, who chose me, which is soflattering?
Yeah, they have a whole row ofdealerships on that lane and now
I'm just going to let them they, which is so flattering.
Christine (14:36):
Yeah, they have a whole row of dealerships on that
lane.
They could have picked fromanybody.
They picked you, they pickedyou.
So now they've spent five hoursin your showroom.
How do you get them back forthe next four years?
How do you get them back forthe next four years?
Even something as simple asretail detail?
Does your dealership offerdetailing Right?
How do you get that customer tobuy a gift certificate for
(14:59):
somebody in their family to comeback to your facility?
You host a new year car night.
You get them in and like andall the little tips we do like.
Right now we're um forsomething as simple as stop
overfilling your gas tank.
Yeah right, ruins the charcoalcanister assembly system of the
vehicle.
People are like, oh gosh, thelight bulbs come on and that's
where I get my passion from.
that's what keeps me driving andsmiling as I head home on the
(15:19):
highway, because I know I made adifference for somebody today.
I taught them something theydidn't know before.
MC (15:24):
You said something pre-show that I want to pick up on here,
as you've just said this, whichis Like it's 2025.
Right, why do people?
Why are people still havingnegative experiences with car
dealerships and and there's?
I'm seeing a thread here whichis well, because if they don't
know these things, then humannature expects that you sold me
(15:47):
something perfect.
And then, when that thing isnot perfect, what do I do?
I go, they're just out to getme.
Yeah, it's interesting, see, itwas all a ploy to just get me.
Christine (15:56):
McDonald's screws up your order, you keep going back
to that drive-thru.
But if a Chevrolet dealershipscrews up your order, you'll
tell everybody about it.
That's why the event can also bea sounding board for people who
just want to be heard.
Right, I never would say that Iwork for the manufacturer.
I don't, I work for myself.
But I want to be the ear youknow and they want to be
(16:18):
empathized with.
And it's interesting, you know,when you're selling the car
that's typically their firstexperience how little some of
the salespeople know about theservice of that vehicle.
There's a great opportunity foreducation, to educate your
sales team on what's going tohappen in the next four years,
so that you can build a book ofbusiness.
(16:39):
I always say to these dealersuse this as an opportunity to
sell more cars.
I remember when I sold cars fora very short period of time, my
sales manager was always afterme to say are you followed up on
that guy with that?
Have you followed up with himon that?
Have you followed up with heron that?
And I was running out ofreasons to call.
And so I always encourage mystores to use Know your Car
(16:59):
Night as an opportunity to getthem back into the building,
without asking them for a nickel, to build relationships and
trust.
Let me earn your business andtrust today, even though you
haven't made a decision on thatnew Denali.
Why don't you join us for Knowyour Car?
Night Come and learn about usas a dealership.
Let me earn your business andtrust Because, to your point,
(17:22):
people, when they take thevehicle home, they want it to be
perfect and everybody wants itto be perfect.
But life gets in the way andyou want to make sure you're
proactive with that.
MC (17:32):
I know you've thought about this, but I'm having a bunch of
aha moments right now.
Christine (17:36):
Well, you can always have me back on.
MC (17:39):
Which is the tie in back to recruiting, retaining and
growing talent.
Right, nobody wants to work fora loser organization, right.
But when, when it becomes realfor the individuals, as you've
now done this from coast tocoast, the bearing on morale and
(18:22):
culture inside of thedealership?
Christine (18:25):
Yeah, well, there's not the ups anymore that there
used to be, right, particularlyon the sales side.
So most of it comes from adigital space now and everyone
is sort of working from thisdigital space.
But I think the bestdealerships that have the best
culture again, it does startfrom the top, but it radiates
through every department and I'min a lot of retail stores every
(18:46):
single week and get to meet alot of really, really great
people who've got, who are justdiamonds, just diamonds waiting
to be polished.
You know, I get asked a lot.
Like I said earlier, a lot ofthe women I know get asked to be
participants in a lot of theseconferences.
The diamonds are in your store.
You just got to harvest them alittle bit.
Right, and don't be busy.
(19:08):
Be productive and proactive,right, because you can get stuck
in the minutiae, right, we gotto get stuck in the minutia.
Right.
We got to sell more cars.
We got to sell more cars.
We got to service more cars,right.
That's why service advisorsthere's a great example, right.
Service advisor, I always think, is the busiest person in the
dealership and there's anexcellent opportunity there
because they want them to do thewalk around, but they've got 10
(19:28):
people standing in line behindthem.
So, streamlining systems,building opportunities for those
people to empower those people,that's where you're going to
make your most money.
The culture of the store it'snot just pizza day, it's just.
You know?
MC (19:42):
I'll tell you a story, or pizza day at all.
Christine (19:43):
You know a man named Amin Dajani.
He's with the Waynes group.
Yes, yes, the first time I evermet him.
He was a general manager at DonValley North Toyota and I had
come in for the meeting and AminDajani was the general manager
at Don Valley North Toyota inthe time and I didn't know he
was except from his picture onthe website.
And a man was out in theparking lot picking up trash
(20:04):
from the parking lot and it wasAmin Dajani.
And I had said to him oh, I'mgoing in for a meeting, and he
goes oh, christine, you'remeeting with me.
And I was so surprised.
But it was started from the topand that's why people like that
are going to continue to besuccessful.
That's why he would be a mentorto me, because he sees the
problem, fixes the problem, notafraid to get dirty, not afraid
to be too busy, but want to bepart of the culture.
(20:24):
Monkey, see, monkey, do Watchme, do watch me, do watch me, do
Learn from me, learn from me,and that's how you do it.
MC (20:32):
I mean, what a leadership lesson.
There's multiple leadershiplessons.
Christine (20:35):
I never forgot that Well you never forget it.
MC (20:37):
Now I hope those that are tuning in don't forget it.
You know, emer and I havewalked into dealerships where
there's half open boxes andpopcorn on the floor and a dirty
popcorn.
Go into your ladies roomeverybody.
Christine (20:52):
Go into the ladies room of your dealership because
sometimes they're a disaster andthe management is typically.
I don't want to bestereotypical, but sometimes you
have a service manager, youhave a gentleman.
They may be male and they neverwalk into the ladies room.
If I walk into the ladies roomof a dealership and there's no
paper in there and the soapdoesn't work and the counter's
all wet when I put my purse downnow, I'm annoyed.
(21:13):
Right.
Check the ladies' roomeverybody.
MC (21:17):
It's in the details.
Christine (21:18):
Devil's in the details.
MC (21:19):
Devil's in the details.
Well listen, I can't thank youenough for joining me today.
This has been so enlightening.
Definitely would love to haveyou back on.
How can those listening andwatching connect with you?
Christine (21:28):
You can find me at thecarladyca, you can find me on
Instagram and you can find meon Facebook.
The Car Lady Canada.
MC (21:36):
Christine Mitchell.
Thanks so much for joining meon the Dealer Playbook.
Thank you, hey.
Thanks for listening to theDealer Playbook Podcast.
If you enjoyed tuning in,please subscribe, share and hit
that like button.
You can also join us and theDPB community on social media.
Check back next week for a newdealer playbook episode.
Thanks so much for joining.
This episode is brought to you by FlexDealer.
Hey auto industry.
Welcome to this episode of theDealer Playbook Podcast.
We're here at the TorontoInternational Auto Show.
(00:22):
If you haven't noticed, I'm notsitting in the studio right now
.
We are live with my pal,christine Mitchell.
She's the owner, she's the carlady, I'm the car lady, you're
the car lady, and you justreminded me it's been eight
years since we've done this last.
Christine (00:34):
Yeah, the last time we did this, we talked a lot
about women's car care clinics,of course, still hosting those
all the time.
But, yeah, time, but yeah, it'sbeen a long time.
I was long blonde back then andI changed my look up and I'm
still as enthusiastic about thecar business.
MC (00:49):
As ever, we've both changed our hair.
Yes, you know because I used to.
Not well, I still didn't haveany, but I didn't have any here
either.
Um, as my kids say, I look likefranklin the turtle back then,
eight years ago.
Um, you, as we were chattingpre-show, you brought up a
couple of things that struck achord in me that I want to.
I want to just pick your brainon and I'm going to start it
(01:09):
this way my little daughter,aria yes, when she she's now
almost 12.
When she was seven, we werestanding in church and she tugs
on my jacket and I look down andshe says, dad, in these exact
words no exaggeration.
What do I need to learn to takeover your company one day?
I have a 15 year old boy, yes,and a 14 year old boy who, I'm
(01:32):
convinced, still want to beNinja Turtles when they grow up.
But she knew what she wantedand still knows what she wants,
like she goes after.
There's a tenacity in her thatI, and an observance in her that
has heightened my awareness ofwhat I think we have done.
(01:52):
Your perspective buildingbusiness in our industry.
What do we do about this topic,this issue of women in
(02:13):
automotive, and helping showthem, or demonstrate, that this
is a career that they can growand that we need them and want
them in this industry.
Christine (02:24):
Well, that's an interesting question because I
have a daughter myself and Iwould love her to take over my
company.
I've begged and cried andpleaded a hundred different
times.
But she said to me Mom, youcast a big shadow, you are the
car lady.
I don't want to have to spendmy adult career having to look
over my shoulder and haveeverybody say, hey, where's your
mom, where's your mom?
So she's working for amarketing team at the Ivy School
(02:45):
of Business Now.
I couldn't be any more proud ofher.
But women in automotive I getasked this question all the time
because I've been at this avery long time.
Right, I got in this careerwhen I was 16.
It's been 27 years and I thinkthe conversation needs to start,
particularly on the retail side, because I always come at it
from a retail perspective.
I think the conversation needsto start from the top and how it
(03:06):
trickles down, because I getinvited, of course, to a lot of
different things InternationalWomen's Day, speaking events and
conferences and I find the roomtends to be either upper
management and or vendors.
But we don't get a lot of thepeople who have the actual boots
on the ground in the retailside at these events, because
(03:29):
when I call a dealership andwhen you phone a dealership,
mike, the person who answers thephone is usually the first line
of contact, and how do weempower those people?
Are the conversations that I'mparticularly interested in.
I want to know how we canadvance the women we currently
have into roles that will movethem into upper management,
(03:49):
providing with training,mentorship, sponsorship etc.
To give them the opportunity,because they obviously have a
liking for the car business atsome point.
And I want to just make surethat we're not just keep
recruiting, recruiting,recruiting, but we're actually
empowering, educating andfulfilling the goals education
wise and career wise of otherwomen that are currently in our
(04:12):
industry.
MC (04:12):
Yeah, it's.
What I'm hearing is let's showthem what's possible, right,
right.
We often talk about how theauto industry most of us who did
kind of a trust fall backwardsinto this space and never left.
How retail automotive inparticular has no ceiling but it
has no floor also Right, but wedon't do a great job at
(04:35):
demonstrating the no ceilingpart, right, and that you can.
Christine (04:40):
And I get asked this all the time, right, because
people want to know.
I've been in the car businessmy entire life.
I got in the industry at 16.
Back in the day where you couldwrite a 365 in the morning and
get your license in theafternoon, I got my license the
same day because I was workingat a car dealership in the lube
lane and I had to be able todrive the cars.
So I started really early.
(05:00):
But the most popular question Iget in regards to that, people
want to know again, not only thebackstory, but did I have
another person in the businessfor me, am I a PhD?
Did I?
Means Papa has dealership?
Did I have any experiencedolder brothers, dads, uncles
that were already in the carbusiness?
No, I fell, like you, into thecar business because I loved the
(05:23):
industry.
I fell, like you, into the carbusiness because I loved the
industry and I still, after allthese years, get so excited when
I'm teaching my Know your CarNight events to meet somebody
who's a first-time buyer.
There's no.
You know, when you're afirst-time buyer, the world's
your oyster right.
I always think of it as beingthe first taste of real freedom.
It's the time you can drive tosee my friend Mike in Texas if
(05:44):
you want.
Right, because you got a car,yeah, and I just think there's
such joy in that and that's whyI got into the business, because
I loved the vehicles and Iloved the freedom that cars
bring to you.
MC (06:01):
Hey, does your marketing agency suck?
Listen before we hop back intothis episode.
I know you know me as the hostof the dealer playbook, but did
you also know that I'm the CEOof FlexDealer, an agency that's
helping dealers capture betterquality leads from local SEO and
hyper-targeted ads that convert?
So if you want to sell morecars and finally have a partner
that's in it with you, thatdoesn't suck visit flexdealercom
.
Let's hop back into thisepisode.
(06:21):
You might be the only otherperson that's articulated for us
on the show that the liberatingutility that a vehicle is oh,
there's nothing like it.
Christine (06:35):
There's nothing.
You know, I grew up my momdidn't have a car, never got her
license until she was in her40s, after my parents separated.
So up and when during that timemom brought home all the
groceries by bundle buggy or byremember the bundle buggy she
brought home groceries on thebus.
When I got my first car, I wasworking at Jack McGee's in
(06:56):
Peterborough.
My first car.
I was working at Jack McGee'sin Peterborough, my first job,
and my mom co-signed for me.
I bought a 1987 Chevy Sprint thethree-cylinder and my payments
were $146 a month and my mom gotin the car and it was the first
time she knew that she wasn'tgoing to have to walk on a
February day in Peterborough inthe winter with our groceries
(07:18):
because I had a car and I coulddrive.
We were so excited they let medrive it out of the showroom by
myself.
I got mom in the car.
We were so excited.
We got on Clonsilla Avenuethere in Peterborough and went
through a stop sign.
We were so distracted with ourown joy of having a car, the
little Chevy Sprint that.
(07:39):
I named Ian because I name allmy cars.
MC (07:42):
And what's your car now named?
Christine (07:43):
So now I have a Highlander and her name is Haven
, for safe Haven.
The last one was Mr CharlieLexus.
Wow, I've had a lot ofdifferent vehicles, but Haven is
a great car.
MC (07:54):
I don't know.
This must be a common practicewhere people, because we name
our vehicles, yeah, um, like oursierra was the ciarello,
because it's the michaelciarello vehicle.
I had lola corolla I love thatthese are like real names.
I tried I'm like trying to findthe most foolish sounding name.
You're like meet ian, yeah, ian, I, ian, ian, the.
Christine (08:16):
Spread, lola, corolla yeah, they've all been good
vehicles.
But you know, because of whereI live I don't know if you know
this, but I actually live inPort Elgin, which is about two
and a half hours from the city,and I spend a lot of time in a
car, sure, and I have to havesafety, security and I have to
really enjoy the ride and I lovebeing in the car by myself.
You know it's two hours a piece.
I roll a lot of calls.
(08:36):
I listen to Howard Stern.
Just think about what I'm goingto do next, yeah.
MC (08:41):
Let me ask you this Over your career from your vantage
point as you look back.
Christine (08:45):
Yeah.
MC (08:47):
The passion you have is passion that's developed, not
just like installed Right, right.
Like I can't just say, okay,car lady, install your passion
level on these individuals Right.
What?
What are the pit stops alongthe way that you can think of
where you're like?
Oh well, okay, I love thisindustry.
Christine (09:07):
Yeah Well, I started the business because I was
expecting and I had to get outof the shop.
So I went to the library andused windows 97 and AOL to make
the worst looking flyers you'veever seen in your life and went
dealership to dealership.
But the passion for growing thebusiness part of it came
because I was a single mom witha daughter to feed and I drove
(09:31):
from my.
I was living in Mile May andnow Port Elgin.
But I drove those miles becauseI knew I could make Toronto
money Right and drag it homeright, because you could buy the
biggest house in my village atthat point for like 300 000.
But again, it was still alwaysabout working in the car
business.
I've never considered doinganything else.
Sure, and I really like the partwhen I, when I'm teaching my
(09:51):
event, whether it's a first-timebuyer or the sixth buyer, I
know that I'm bringing a valueto the dealer because those
customers are going to rememberme and remember the service they
got at that store, you know.
My second question during theseminar I ask is how many of you
were surprised to be invitedtonight?
And I get about 75% of thehands in the room because
(10:14):
they've never either beeninvited or been to one before,
wow and they want theopportunity to be thanked for
their purchase.
They've spent a lot of moneysecond largest investment next
to your home and they want theopportunity to learn.
Now and it used to be, theseminars were more about just
maintenance, but now I spend alot more time with technology,
of course, and I spend a lotmore time with connectivity
(10:37):
pieces and a lot more time withsafety systems, for sure.
MC (10:40):
There's something so brilliant in this, because those
of us that live in the techbubble tend to our bias tends to
lead us to believe thateveryone just knows technology.
Yeah, they don't.
Yeah, they don't.
And here you are putting onevents focusing on technology,
filling these dealerships withpeople who have no not to sound
(11:00):
demeaning but have no clue.
Yeah, who want to know.
Christine (11:03):
Well, think about the last time you took delivery of
a vehicle Again, pre-podcast.
Tonight we had a littleconversation.
One of the people in the roommentioned that they were buying
a car.
Took them nine hours at thedealer just to buy the car.
Okay, imagine how long thedelivery process takes.
Yes, like there's so muchinformation now, by the time you
get them connected to thebranded app and you set up any
(11:24):
connectivity piece like aStarlink or an OnStar, you get
the phone paired.
You know today's vehicles,particularly if you bought an EV
, the delivery takes so longpeople don't have the bandwidth
for it.
And then you try to think as aa dealer.
You'd love for that salespersonto walk mr and mrs customer
back to the service departmentand book their first appointment
(11:44):
and introduce them to theservice manager.
But you and I might both knowthat that's very rarely going to
happen because they've just runout of capacity at that point,
right.
And so that's where we bridgethat gap.
Know, your car night bridgesthe gap between the delivery and
the service and to counteractanything that may have gotten
missed during that, delivery andtechnology is now a huge piece
(12:11):
of that, people who work at thatstore how much actual extra
effort needs to go in post saleto maintain the relationship.
MC (12:20):
Yeah, you know, because obviously in the marketing world
, sales and marketing it's, youknow, high funnel, mid funnel,
low funnel.
Forget about them, send them abirthday message, but you've
tapped into something that Ithink is really important here,
which is no.
Then there is loyalty, correctambassadorship, referrals, and
(12:41):
then by the time we've completedthat, they're ready to buy
their next vehicle again.
Christine (12:44):
Absolutely.
And people who attend the eventare 87% more likely to service
with that dealership in the nextfour years, just for
maintenance alone.
So if people understand howmaintenance works and the
benefits and the advantages ofservicing with the dealer, it
keeps them out of the big redtriangle store and out of the
store that sells the bigpackages of toilet paper.
I got quoted once in an articlethat said the car lady says
(13:08):
don't buy winter tires where youbuy frozen shrimp.
And I thought that, yep,absolutely Right, go to your
dealer.
I think people think that thedealer is still in their minds.
More money, right, but there isa lot of things to be said
about the retention piece andthat's why and they want to be
thanked for their purchase,frankly, they don't want a
birthday card, they want to bethanked for their purchase Again
(13:30):
.
They've made a big investmentand they're investing in you.
And if you don't build thatcustomer for life, frankly
there's a lot of options wherethey can take that vehicle now
and if you don't get them backfor the first couple services,
any marketer will tell youthey're in the wind.
MC (13:43):
I just have to just point out here she said the big red
triangle store.
Christine (13:48):
Yes.
MC (13:49):
Off camera.
Here we have Emer, who this ishis first time in Canada.
Well, it's my show, I can saywhatever I want.
She I'm in Canada.
Well, it's my show, I can saywhatever I want.
Christine (13:56):
She's referring to Canadian tire.
Yeah, and don't write meletters.
I love Canadian tire as much asthe next person.
MC (14:00):
I have to take Emer to a Canadian tire, yeah, just so he
can experience what it's like tobe in a Cabela's meets, zellers
meets, target meets.
I don't even know how you wouldexplain it at this point, but
Emer loves the gadgets andgizmos and the tools and the
this and the that.
(14:20):
Yeah, but I 100% agree withwhat you're saying.
Yeah, we don't do a great jobat encouraging these individuals
who, to your point, made theirsecond largest purchase.
Yeah, who chose me, which is soflattering?
Yeah, they have a whole row ofdealerships on that lane and now
I'm just going to let them they, which is so flattering.
Christine (14:36):
Yeah, they have a whole row of dealerships on that
lane.
They could have picked fromanybody.
They picked you, they pickedyou.
So now they've spent five hoursin your showroom.
How do you get them back forthe next four years?
How do you get them back forthe next four years?
Even something as simple asretail detail?
Does your dealership offerdetailing Right?
How do you get that customer tobuy a gift certificate for
(14:59):
somebody in their family to comeback to your facility?
You host a new year car night.
You get them in and like andall the little tips we do like.
Right now we're um forsomething as simple as stop
overfilling your gas tank.
Yeah right, ruins the charcoalcanister assembly system of the
vehicle.
People are like, oh gosh, thelight bulbs come on and that's
where I get my passion from.
that's what keeps me driving andsmiling as I head home on the
(15:19):
highway, because I know I made adifference for somebody today.
I taught them something theydidn't know before.
MC (15:24):
You said something pre-show that I want to pick up on here,
as you've just said this, whichis Like it's 2025.
Right, why do people?
Why are people still havingnegative experiences with car
dealerships and and there's?
I'm seeing a thread here whichis well, because if they don't
know these things, then humannature expects that you sold me
(15:47):
something perfect.
And then, when that thing isnot perfect, what do I do?
I go, they're just out to getme.
Yeah, it's interesting, see, itwas all a ploy to just get me.
Christine (15:56):
McDonald's screws up your order, you keep going back
to that drive-thru.
But if a Chevrolet dealershipscrews up your order, you'll
tell everybody about it.
That's why the event can also bea sounding board for people who
just want to be heard.
Right, I never would say that Iwork for the manufacturer.
I don't, I work for myself.
But I want to be the ear youknow and they want to be
(16:18):
empathized with.
And it's interesting, you know,when you're selling the car
that's typically their firstexperience how little some of
the salespeople know about theservice of that vehicle.
There's a great opportunity foreducation, to educate your
sales team on what's going tohappen in the next four years,
so that you can build a book ofbusiness.
(16:39):
I always say to these dealersuse this as an opportunity to
sell more cars.
I remember when I sold cars fora very short period of time, my
sales manager was always afterme to say are you followed up on
that guy with that?
Have you followed up with himon that?
Have you followed up with heron that?
And I was running out ofreasons to call.
And so I always encourage mystores to use Know your Car
(16:59):
Night as an opportunity to getthem back into the building,
without asking them for a nickel, to build relationships and
trust.
Let me earn your business andtrust today, even though you
haven't made a decision on thatnew Denali.
Why don't you join us for Knowyour Car?
Night Come and learn about usas a dealership.
Let me earn your business andtrust Because, to your point,
(17:22):
people, when they take thevehicle home, they want it to be
perfect and everybody wants itto be perfect.
But life gets in the way andyou want to make sure you're
proactive with that.
MC (17:32):
I know you've thought about this, but I'm having a bunch of
aha moments right now.
Christine (17:36):
Well, you can always have me back on.
MC (17:39):
Which is the tie in back to recruiting, retaining and
growing talent.
Right, nobody wants to work fora loser organization, right.
But when, when it becomes realfor the individuals, as you've
now done this from coast tocoast, the bearing on morale and
(18:22):
culture inside of thedealership?
Christine (18:25):
Yeah, well, there's not the ups anymore that there
used to be, right, particularlyon the sales side.
So most of it comes from adigital space now and everyone
is sort of working from thisdigital space.
But I think the bestdealerships that have the best
culture again, it does startfrom the top, but it radiates
through every department and I'min a lot of retail stores every
(18:46):
single week and get to meet alot of really, really great
people who've got, who are justdiamonds, just diamonds waiting
to be polished.
You know, I get asked a lot.
Like I said earlier, a lot ofthe women I know get asked to be
participants in a lot of theseconferences.
The diamonds are in your store.
You just got to harvest them alittle bit.
Right, and don't be busy.
(19:08):
Be productive and proactive,right, because you can get stuck
in the minutiae, right, we gotto get stuck in the minutia.
Right.
We got to sell more cars.
We got to sell more cars.
We got to service more cars,right.
That's why service advisorsthere's a great example, right.
Service advisor, I always think, is the busiest person in the
dealership and there's anexcellent opportunity there
because they want them to do thewalk around, but they've got 10
(19:28):
people standing in line behindthem.
So, streamlining systems,building opportunities for those
people to empower those people,that's where you're going to
make your most money.
The culture of the store it'snot just pizza day, it's just.
You know?
MC (19:42):
I'll tell you a story, or pizza day at all.
Christine (19:43):
You know a man named Amin Dajani.
He's with the Waynes group.
Yes, yes, the first time I evermet him.
He was a general manager at DonValley North Toyota and I had
come in for the meeting and AminDajani was the general manager
at Don Valley North Toyota inthe time and I didn't know he
was except from his picture onthe website.
And a man was out in theparking lot picking up trash
(20:04):
from the parking lot and it wasAmin Dajani.
And I had said to him oh, I'mgoing in for a meeting, and he
goes oh, christine, you'remeeting with me.
And I was so surprised.
But it was started from the topand that's why people like that
are going to continue to besuccessful.
That's why he would be a mentorto me, because he sees the
problem, fixes the problem, notafraid to get dirty, not afraid
to be too busy, but want to bepart of the culture.
(20:24):
Monkey, see, monkey, do Watchme, do watch me, do watch me, do
Learn from me, learn from me,and that's how you do it.
MC (20:32):
I mean, what a leadership lesson.
There's multiple leadershiplessons.
Christine (20:35):
I never forgot that Well you never forget it.
MC (20:37):
Now I hope those that are tuning in don't forget it.
You know, emer and I havewalked into dealerships where
there's half open boxes andpopcorn on the floor and a dirty
popcorn.
Go into your ladies roomeverybody.
Christine (20:52):
Go into the ladies room of your dealership because
sometimes they're a disaster andthe management is typically.
I don't want to bestereotypical, but sometimes you
have a service manager, youhave a gentleman.
They may be male and they neverwalk into the ladies room.
If I walk into the ladies roomof a dealership and there's no
paper in there and the soapdoesn't work and the counter's
all wet when I put my purse downnow, I'm annoyed.
(21:13):
Right.
Check the ladies' roomeverybody.
MC (21:17):
It's in the details.
Christine (21:18):
Devil's in the details.
MC (21:19):
Devil's in the details.
Well listen, I can't thank youenough for joining me today.
This has been so enlightening.
Definitely would love to haveyou back on.
How can those listening andwatching connect with you?
Christine (21:28):
You can find me at thecarladyca, you can find me on
Instagram and you can find meon Facebook.
The Car Lady Canada.
MC (21:36):
Christine Mitchell.
Thanks so much for joining meon the Dealer Playbook.
Thank you, hey.
Thanks for listening to theDealer Playbook Podcast.
If you enjoyed tuning in,please subscribe, share and hit
that like button.
You can also join us and theDPB community on social media.
Check back next week for a newdealer playbook episode.
Thanks so much for joining.
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