November 8, 2024 • 29 mins
Discover the keys to building resilient business partnerships with special guests Steve and Jeremy from Alpha. They share how military discipline, integrity, and a strong company culture have driven Alpha’s remarkable growth and success. Learn how their commitment to shared values with Vision Management Group fosters mutual respect and impressive results, even in challenging markets. Tune in to hear their insights on creating dedicated teams, seizing growth opportunities, and transforming the automotive dealership landscape.
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Episode Transcript
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Tony Fiorillo (00:00):
Hello, I'm Tony Fiorillo with Vision Management
Group and I am honored to behere today with Steve and Jeremy
, who are the principals ofAlpha.
Steve started this company backin his late 20s, maybe when I
first met you Early 20s Early20s yeah, it's been that long.
And Jeremy's been here 15, 16years as the president of the
(00:24):
company and we've had thepleasure and the honor of doing
business with these folks forit's been 10, 11, maybe 12 years
.
Yeah, that we've been doing so.
Today, guys, I just I reallyappreciate you taking time to
sit and talk to me and I justwhat I want to do is really talk
about you know your business,our business, but how we've
(00:44):
aligned real well together yourculture.
I mean, I noticed when I walkedaround your office you have a
core value up there of alwaysdoing the right thing and funny
thing is is that's one of ourcore values.
And I look at my experience,obviously, working with you and
your team.
It seems like at every turnthat we've come into any kind of
a situation or any kind ofsomething we've tried to build
(01:06):
or that you guys have alwaysdone the right thing.
And you know, tell me,basically, how do you instill
that in all of your employeesthat work here.
Steve Rosenvall (01:19):
Yeah, I mean, I think it started from the very
beginning, right?
So my dad and I, havingmilitary backgrounds, we were
always very heavy on just do theright thing, things will work
out.
We were always the long-termplay.
We were never the short-termgratification guys.
And so even our story beganthat way, where my dad was
working for another warrantycompany who took reserve money
(01:41):
and disappeared, right, and thenI stepped in with my deployment
money to cover it all.
Right, and that's how westarted by doing the right thing
.
So from day one we've justinstilled that into everybody.
Then, obviously, jeremy camealong and did a much better job
at growing the culture.
And then when we met your wordsI don't want to take them out
of your mouth, but these youngwhippersnappers and as we sat
(02:04):
down and talked about doing theright thing, that really
resonated with you and probablywhat was about six to eight
months later, you gave us anopportunity.
Tony Fiorillo (02:14):
No, which is true .
I mean, it's amazing how lifeintersects with one another and
how business intersects with oneanother.
And, frankly, having the chanceto meet you I know you you
probably remember, don'tremember, but we met way, way
back when, had a kind offriendship right and you had a.
You had a table there and Ithink my former business partner
(02:35):
had a table and and I'm lookingover there going, what's this?
You know, he's a guy.
He's like 20, man.
I'm like buddy, look you lookso good.
He's like 20, man.
I'm like buddy, look you lookso good.
You're just dressed so sharp.
And it's funny how years laterwe connect and then we end up
doing business and it really is.
It was that's what attracted mereally about what you working
with you guys.
A number one you were young,innovative, but your culture
(02:59):
that you already were startingit had.
Jeremy Lindsey (03:03):
And just the fact that you always did the
right thing.
I think the important part isreally finding the right people.
I notice you guys are verydeliberate about the individuals
you bring onto your team aswell, and that's a real focus
for us as well.
I think it's that deliberatecheck to make sure that each
time you're bringing people thatreally reflect your values and
your culture.
Otherwise you're not going toget to the do the right thing,
(03:26):
you're not going to be able topresent that consistently to the
marketplace, but if you findthe people that understand that
your business really reflectsthat value.
Tony Fiorillo (03:37):
I agree 100% and, like I said before, my
experience and our experienceand really as our team, our
employees and everything else,is the constant positive
feedback that I get, the factthat you guys do always step up,
you always find a way to find asolution to an issue.
I mean, we all know in thisbusiness not everything is
perfect, not everything iscovered, and then we have my
(03:58):
capital failure, but it's really, it's what happens after an
issue arises.
Is really the?
I think the proof.
Steve Rosenvall (04:07):
Yeah, I mean, I'm glad you brought that up,
because we are all human, wemake mistakes at time and so
when we recognize that we doeverything we can to make it
right, you guys own it and youguys do the same thing.
Tony Fiorillo (04:19):
We own it.
You have to own it and that'sjust part of I think, really I
think, running a good soundbusiness.
And speaking of running a goodsound business, I look at you,
where you guys started yourbuilding into where you are
today and obviously you can onlysee a very small backdrop, but
you've built this verysuccessful company and what's
been really nice is the factthat you've shouldered up with
us and we've had suchincremental growth and it's
(04:43):
really been heavily on the alphaside.
I mean, you guys are ourpreferred or go-to TPA because
of the relationship and thefacts of your culture and how
well we align.
What do you see reciprocatingas far as that with why?
Vision, why have you guys likedvision?
(05:03):
Or what have you seen that wedo?
That's maybe different fromsome of the other TPAs that
you've been associated with orknow of, and kind of some of the
things you hear from them about, some of their experiences,
yeah, I think an important thingis that we don't go off of
price.
Steve Rosenvall (05:22):
Right, we're not going to be always the
cheapest guy or the lessexpensive option in the market,
but along with that comes abetter service, a better quality
, a better understanding of whatthe consumers need.
And we've talked about thismultiple times, because we have
to appeal to three differentpeople, right, the dealer, the
agent and the end consumer.
(05:42):
And if we aren't hitting allthose boxes, we're failing you,
right, we're failing otheragents.
But as we partner up with guyslike you that have that full
picture, you're not missing anypuzzle pieces.
The training, the people, theknowledge of the program, the
industry, your relationships Imean that's everything you need
(06:03):
to have a successful business.
And so we think the same way,and that just compliments each
other so well, to the point thateven in a down market, we're
both growing tremendously.
Jeremy Lindsey (06:16):
Yeah Well, and I think Steve hit on something
important.
He talked about the fact thatyou guys do a lot of training,
and it's not something that wesee consistently across the
board.
Some are great at that, but youguys are very process driven,
and I know what BenjaminFranklin said process is the
foundation upon which success isbuilt and you guys do a great
(06:39):
job of ensuring that your teamunderstands your process and
implements that directly withthe dealerships that you work
with, and I think thosedealerships see the value of
working with your agency, andthat's a massive advantage for
the vision management group.
Tony Fiorillo (06:55):
I appreciate it.
I believe so too.
I think we do have a slightedge in the marketplace just
because of the way that we do it.
But, again, what powers us isreally you, the fact that I know
with confidence that when I goin to speak to a dealer or to a
prospective dealer, that therubber can always meet the road.
(07:17):
I'm never flinched by beingable to put and install your
guys' product, because I knowwhat you say you're going to do.
You do and I can't say thatabout a lot of other third-party
administrators or othercompanies that are out there,
because they don't all seethings the same way Right, you
know, I think that's again atestament as far as why I
(07:38):
believe you guys have had thegrowth and again for us, why
we've had the growth.
You know you mentioned earlierdealers.
I think we have one of ourclients that stopped in, but
what kind of feedback did heshare with you about doing
business with Vision?
Did he give you any differencemakers or anything that we've
done for him?
That's kind of you know, froman agency standpoint.
Jeremy Lindsey (07:58):
A lot of what I heard is kind of going back to
the same thing.
It's process.
It's him knowing that.
It's basically he has anextension of his management team
.
It's understanding that,whether it's Ross or anyone else
, I know Ross was in here beforeand he knows he has a team
there to support him forwhatever that they need.
(08:20):
So any of their new people thatare joining, whoever needs
additional training, they knowVision Management Group is going
to be there to help supportthem.
Where they're spread thin Imean dealerships are spread.
If you're a GM or an owner,you're spread very, very thin.
So it's very challenging foryou to give the time and
attention in every facet of yourbusiness and having a resource
(08:44):
like Vision Management Group Ithink gives a competitive edge
to those dealerships.
Steve Rosenvall (08:51):
Yeah, what was brought up to me was listening
and communication, because a lotof times we do come in and talk
a lot and share a lot ofinformation, but at the end of
the day, they're the guys on thefront lines, right.
So they're the guys that knowwhat the demand is, they know
what the consumer needs andwants are, and just not enough
praise to give you guys.
(09:12):
He says they actually listen,they actually follow through,
and that may sound so simple inour industry today, but just
knowing he can call Tony or anyof his people and they know
exactly who to call, who tocommunicate with and how to get
things done and doing the rightthing, yeah, so, yeah, I agree,
(09:33):
but I think the same thing goesback.
Tony Fiorillo (09:35):
It's reciprocal.
Yeah, we didn't get here todaybecause you guys don't run a
great organization, and that'swhat we're really very
appreciative of organization andthat's what we're really very
appreciative of.
And again, I'm very thankfulfor the fact that you allow us
to come in here and we use yourbeautiful facility and you guys
have your training roomdownstairs.
So a question for you guys whenyou guys are on the lookout for
(09:56):
, like a potential agencypartner, what do you look for in
partnering with an agent?
Jeremy Lindsey (10:03):
I think, first and foremost, it is those
aligned values.
We want to make sure that if wehave somebody out there
representing our products andour service, they reflect our
brand.
We've worked really hard toestablish that brand, as Steve
talked about, and so we want tomake sure it's not an individual
just looking for anotherproduct.
Those can be a dime, a dozen,but it's really an individual or
(10:26):
group of individuals, an entireagency that understands that
they're looking for a truepartner, not just a vendor, but
a true partner and someone, onceagain, who can represent and
communicate effectively ourproducts, our brand and our
service to each of thedealerships that they represent.
Steve Rosenvall (10:47):
Perfect, yeah, and for me it's understanding
the business to businessrelationship, because so many
times that gets lost incommunication.
And so, again, going back toaligning the agency with what
the service contract company orthe TPA can provide is crucial
for that dealership success.
And so if we have guys outthere that you know nothing
(11:08):
against a one-man band butthey're spread very thin and so
it's hard for them to give thesupport to their dealer network
the way that you know a biggeragency has, that has that
relationship, that support, thatstrength, if you will, to give
the dealership what they need,especially in their time of need
.
Right, that's how you canreally measure someone is are
(11:29):
you going to be there when theyreally need it?
And over time and time again,your agency has always been
there, and so we do look foragencies that are similar to
that caliber.
Tony Fiorillo (11:39):
Thank you you know you've, obviously you know
that this is for you, steve andJeremy.
You've been here 15 years andAlpha has been in existence for
Just over 20.
Yeah, 20 some years Go back intime.
You know you're beginning thisbusiness, steve, and you have a
vision and you know the visionit obviously you know you've
(12:02):
built to scale.
You've really scaled up yourbusiness and again, and I'm
going to admit, I I mean I'vemade a lot of mistakes along the
way.
So you know, what would you sayto a younger or a company
that's moving along?
What have you learned?
How did you keep your vision,keep it alive, scale?
(12:22):
And then I look at youremployee retention and you have
a lot of tenured people in theorganization.
So give us a little snapshot onhow you kind of put all those
things together.
And I realize a lot of it'slike Jeremy, hiring good people
that really understand thevalues and are able to continue
that sort of look.
(12:43):
But you had to start fromsomewhere.
Steve Rosenvall (12:45):
It was really you and your dad.
Yeah, I mean and that's aninteresting story because we're
both come from the 19th SpecialForces Group my dad was a Green
Beret.
Thank you for your service.
Tony Fiorillo (12:56):
Yeah.
Steve Rosenvall (12:56):
Yeah, totally.
My dad was a Green Beret.
He was my commander for a fewyears.
I was a radio operator and sofor lack of better term we were
the agency of two guys.
Right, we were the guys drivingaround in a car and our office
was our trunk.
And so there's, you know, asaying going around burn the
(13:19):
boats, right.
But I'll tell you right now, wedidn't have any boats to burn.
I'll tell you right now, wedidn't have any boats to burn.
And so, having that backgroundin the military, it was like
failure is not an option.
So, even though we felt littlefailures along the way, we
learned from them tremendously,right.
And so that fight and thatdiscipline not to give up was
(13:39):
crucial, because there werethose times we did not want to
go on and it was hard and it wasdifficult, but we just told
ourselves there's no otheroption, we're going to win.
We had those sleepless nights.
We had those nights where wethought we didn't have enough
cash.
It was a dog fight.
We didn't hit any home runs.
It was taking one inch at atime and not giving that ground
(14:01):
up, and that's how we becamesuccessful.
Tony Fiorillo (14:04):
Awesome.
And then you started.
Obviously, as you scaled, youstarted building a team around
you.
How did you find the rightpeople to be in the right seat?
Steve Rosenvall (14:13):
So yeah, I mean it's a funny story Jeremy was
what our third hire.
We were all in college, so forJeremy this was probably a
stepping stone for him in hiscareer.
But as we worked together andwe were visiting dealers and we
were growing programs andcompeting more, we both found
out that we work really welltogether and we both had the
(14:36):
strong desire to keep learningand pushing and developing those
relationships.
And then along the way you findthose guys that when it's hard
and it's hard for them too,they're not leaving right.
They're right there with youalong the way, and so you can't
trade that for anything.
And so I've picked those guysup along the way and when you
(14:57):
find them, you don't let them goyeah, just to add to it, I
think steve did okay.
Jeremy Lindsey (15:03):
I have to give him a lot of credit.
I think he did a really goodjob of understanding his
strengths, which this businesswouldn't have started, it
wouldn't be where it is todaywithout him.
But he also looked at himself.
He looked at the company, helooked at what he wanted to
create and said I need to makesure I surround myself with the
(15:24):
individuals the Darrens, theJeffs, the Bryans, the Robs and
so many other people here whoare absolutely incredible, that
have a great skill set and, asSteve said, we've done a really
good job of trying to keep thatgroup together.
To your point earlier, I'vebeen here 17 years, I believe.
Jeff Robinson, our COO, hasbeen here 16 years, darren just
(15:48):
hit 15 years and we have so manyothers on our team that are
Brian Hawkinson and others whoare just a few years behind that
.
So I think keeping that coregroup of individuals together
and then making sure that wepass the vision along that was
originally created by Steve andCraig, it's really led to a lot
(16:09):
of success for our company.
Steve Rosenvall (16:10):
One of the most humbling things is having such
a talented team, Because thenyou know where all your
weaknesses are, right.
Oh sure, you look around theroom and you're like this guy
does this so well, he's so goodat this, and then I sit back and
go.
Those are all my deficienciesas a leader.
It takes a village right.
Tony Fiorillo (16:30):
What is it they say?
Your boat is only as strong asthe weakest link in a person you
know.
Yeah.
So you know, Steve as an ownerand operator, jeremy as the
president, I think you've done avery good job on basically
stepping I don't want to saystepping back.
It's like you've never taken ahand off the wheel.
(16:51):
But you're like myself, you'rean A-type personality.
Totally you want to be incontrol.
You always want to have yourhand on the wheel.
But I've seen you give far.
You know you've kind of letyour team run it, because they
have built that foundation andthat trust a little bit, a lot
of trust, yeah, the same waythat I have with our team.
It's like it allows you to worka little bit more on the
(17:12):
business than always working inthe business.
But how did that transition gofor you and what were some of
the emotions that you felt?
Steve Rosenvall (17:18):
Yeah, man, I mean I'm going to be 100% honest
.
It was really tricky.
I had moved down to Arizona soI was coming back and forth from
there to here quite a bit,which was great, but then COVID
hit.
Um, so kind of getting a littlebit of a taste of a retirement
during that time was really hardfor me.
(17:40):
I knew at that time I'm likethere's what we want this
company to be and getting thoseroadblocks out of the way,
(18:01):
saying hey, we can do this.
I mean, a lot of people know usas alpha, but really we are a
conglomerate of six differentcompanies that a lot of people
don't know about.
So we do have these otherverticals we go into.
That makes alpha, or what wecall the cadence organization,
that much bigger.
So being able to focus on otherareas of the business has been
(18:22):
really fun for me.
Tony Fiorillo (18:24):
And Jeremy.
Now I'm sure there are somethings that you want to possibly
do and maybe Steve doesn't, orSteve wants to do and you don't.
So how do you guys come to thatsort of?
Jeremy Lindsey (18:35):
common ground.
Yeah, honestly, I think that'sa healthy balance in a business.
If anything, there's certainlythose times where Steve and I
are like we got to go thisdirection.
We both 100% agree.
And then there's those othertimes where Steve says we go
this way and I'm like I think wego this way and I think it's
(18:56):
been a really healthy thing forour company as we've continued
to grow, because it challengesboth of us.
There's plenty of times where,at the end of it, I look and I'm
like, oh, you're right, this isa better direction, or he comes
over here, or it's somewhere inbetween.
We're realizing that we cantake some of the good from this
and some of the good from thisand blend it and go a direction
as a business that's reallypositive for us.
(19:18):
So, um, certainly those, thosethings are going to come up, but
I think it's a healthy balancefor us that we've been able to
find Um and it's led to somegreat success.
Tony Fiorillo (19:28):
Yeah, yeah, I would.
I would say, yeah, we're happywith it.
Absolutely Um questions for me.
I mean you guys, I mean you'vegot a great story.
I mean I know we know eachother very well, but is there
anything out there that you havenoticed, seen, or what have you
that we've done or not doing,that you guys can maybe give us
(19:51):
some help?
Steve Rosenvall (19:59):
Yeah, I would love to start with it I mean for
me.
Tony Fiorillo (20:02):
I would love to know what is the future vision
for vision.
Jeremy Lindsey (20:03):
That's a way to play on words.
Tony Fiorillo (20:05):
You know it's, in a nutshell, my vision for the
company and, frankly, it's notjust mine, it's our whole team.
We all share a very commonvision, very common goal.
I stay very transparent withthe team as far as revenue goals
, dealer goals, client goals anddifferent things along those
(20:28):
lines.
So it's basically been a veryopen book.
I really envision and be inevery state.
That's where I want to be.
I want to have representationin every state.
We have a proven process.
We have proven results.
We have an average of a 23%increase on dealer clients that
(20:49):
we start doing business with.
That's an average, which meanssome is higher and some are
lower, and what I always say isit's the adaption of the process
.
You, with your militarybackground, you have a chain of
command and you follow orders.
If you follow orders, youtypically have success, correct,
Correct, and it's the samething that we look at is we have
(21:09):
a process.
We have steps to the sales,steps to getting to a yes with a
customer without it being thecost of CSI or a customer having
a bad experience at adealership, and as long as that
process is followed, we havethat 23% increase.
So as we grow, you know and Iworry very much about our
culture.
So it's a slower growth becauseit's organic.
(21:33):
So would I love to be able togo out and hire 20 agents and
plop them in 20 states that wedon't do business and train them
up, and absolutely.
But it's just not physically orfinancially able to do that.
So we have to go out and dosome prospects and dealers.
Because I happened to be intown there for something that
(21:53):
was non-auto related or RVrelated, and one of the guys I
was there with he goes what areyou going to do?
Why?
Because they went out golfingand I said I'm going to drive
around town, I'm a fine cardealer, I'm going to find RV
dealers, I'm going to stop inand prospect.
(22:13):
And he goes the reason he goesjust spent an whole day with
this dealer.
Well, guess what?
You know we have an opportunityto.
He's at five stores, three inTwin Falls, two down in Arizona.
So now we have an opportunityto, you know, go in and present
to them and do an analysis anddo what we do.
Very cool, Because it's justthey don't have anybody like us,
Um, and we've been verysuccessful in that.
(22:36):
And so, basically, taking thatculture and try not to lose it
but grow it, you know.
But I can't do that unless newbusiness, it gets pushed to
Alpha and everything gets pushedto Alpha because of the people
like Jeremy, you know, DarrenDarren has, you know, pushing
hard and riding for the Visionbrand.
But I think again, thereciprocating is the fact that
(22:56):
you know we've been able toincrease volume, Because I think
(23:25):
, I don't think I know, but andyou can correct me if I'm wrong
our contract volume, probablyover the last year, two years,
has probably tripled.
Yeah, Tremendously, yeah.
So it's you know.
But that wouldn't happen if wedidn't have great partners like
you, because you guys have donethings that have helped us
(23:48):
accelerate that and given ussome options that we're able to
captivate and able to capturesome business that maybe
wouldn't not have captured.
Steve Rosenvall (23:56):
So yeah, the great thing is the retention
right, and so what we're doingon both sides of the house is so
important, because obviouslyyou're signing new business but
you're keeping it.
Yeah, and that's always achallenge for a lot of agencies.
Tony Fiorillo (24:10):
Yeah, very true.
No, it's true, and I always saythe business we lose is a
business that is sold or getsacquired by a big conglomerate
that we just can't.
Nobody does business with them.
They have their own internalprograms, right?
You know you're kind of eightsix you're out.
Jeremy Lindsey (24:27):
So I have a question for you.
You talked about this massivegrowth that that you're seeing,
and just even the over thecourse of the past few years.
As your team comes out here forthese agent trainings, the
annual retreat that you do, thenumber of team members continues
to grow more and more.
So, you know, I would reallylove to just better understand
(24:51):
what's really driving thatgrowth from your perspective.
Tony Fiorillo (24:54):
The way I see it is that the business today you
look at COVID and you thinkabout COVID, everybody was just
smashing it.
They're doing extremelyexceptional, high grosses, a lot
of sales, everything they hadthey're selling out of and
people forgot about what it waslike to sell.
(25:14):
And so now we get out of thatpost-COVID blitz and we have to
get back to reality and somedealers have been gotten back to
.
A lot of dealers didn't getback to reality but in the same
hand what came along with thatwas the inflation, with
increasing in interest rate,with some consumer uneasiness,
so our opportunities to sellautomobiles came down, so we
(25:37):
have less opportunities to dobusiness.
They come through the door butyet dealerships still have a
high overhead.
So that's been our success and Ibelieve it's like any downturn
in business is when weaccelerate because we're able to
get that 23% out of lessopportunities.
So it's like the dealer reallyhasn't felt that pinch because
(26:00):
we've been able to raise thatbar and bring that extra half a
million million $2 million tothe bottom line, because we've
been able to increase theirrevenue through our process.
And that's why I think when youlook at the market and I look
at other agencies.
You get some feels because youtalk to administrators and
different things and they saytheir agent business is either
(26:23):
flat or a little bit of adecline in bit.
You know, I feel we're really ona hockey stick because the
difference is what we're doingin these organizations and then
it's referrals and it's word ofmouth.
You know we've been, we've gotinto a 20 group and we took a
dealer from the bottom of thepage to the top of the page and
(26:43):
then the next 22 comes aroundand hey, go see this person.
So we go see that person and wesign them up and then we bring
them from next to the bottom ofthe page to just under them and
then next thing you know is wehave seven or eight dealers in
this 20 group because they'reall like well, every time they
start doing business with thiscompany their numbers go up.
So we've been very successfulgetting referrals just out of
(27:08):
our 20 groups.
Steve Rosenvall (27:09):
Yeah, I mean just helping those dealers keep
the lights on.
With that extra operationalcash flow you're never going to
lose on.
Tony Fiorillo (27:15):
Yeah.
Jeremy Lindsey (27:16):
No, and it's huge.
Yeah, just to that point.
I was just.
You brought up inventory levelswith the decline that we saw
during the pandemic.
That's a massive challenge andI don't think most dealers in
that time were thinking how do Ireally grow my business?
Of course they want it to, butwhen you have less inventory and
you're trying to make everydollar count, you're looking for
(27:39):
whatever you can, and so if youhave somebody coming in you
talked about doing more withless that's able to actually
produce at that level that's amassive find for that dealership
.
That's a massive value for adealership to be able to get
more value from their agencypartner during a really
challenging economic time.
Tony Fiorillo (28:00):
It's true, but I think that just builds legendary
relationships, and that'sreally what we're after, I mean,
and that's the way I feel thatwe have here Now.
You guys may not feel the same,but I feel we have a very
legendary relationship, but it'sbuilt on trust and it's built
on really, it's built on deeds,and your results is the way I
(28:21):
see it.
That's all Well said, anyways.
Well, gentlemen, I just trulyappreciate the time.
Thanks very much, yeah, andlooking forward to really what
the future is going to hold forthe both of us Absolutely Always
appreciate it, tony.
All right, thank you.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
Thanks for joining us on the Driven by Vision podcast
.
We hope today's insights willfuel your success.
Remember to subscribe, leave areview and visit visionmgroupcom
for more resources.
See you next time and staydriven by vision.
Hello, I'm Tony Fiorillo with Vision Management
Group and I am honored to behere today with Steve and Jeremy
, who are the principals ofAlpha.
Steve started this company backin his late 20s, maybe when I
first met you Early 20s Early20s yeah, it's been that long.
And Jeremy's been here 15, 16years as the president of the
(00:24):
company and we've had thepleasure and the honor of doing
business with these folks forit's been 10, 11, maybe 12 years
.
Yeah, that we've been doing so.
Today, guys, I just I reallyappreciate you taking time to
sit and talk to me and I justwhat I want to do is really talk
about you know your business,our business, but how we've
(00:44):
aligned real well together yourculture.
I mean, I noticed when I walkedaround your office you have a
core value up there of alwaysdoing the right thing and funny
thing is is that's one of ourcore values.
And I look at my experience,obviously, working with you and
your team.
It seems like at every turnthat we've come into any kind of
a situation or any kind ofsomething we've tried to build
(01:06):
or that you guys have alwaysdone the right thing.
And you know, tell me,basically, how do you instill
that in all of your employeesthat work here.
Steve Rosenvall (01:19):
Yeah, I mean, I think it started from the very
beginning, right?
So my dad and I, havingmilitary backgrounds, we were
always very heavy on just do theright thing, things will work
out.
We were always the long-termplay.
We were never the short-termgratification guys.
And so even our story beganthat way, where my dad was
working for another warrantycompany who took reserve money
(01:41):
and disappeared, right, and thenI stepped in with my deployment
money to cover it all.
Right, and that's how westarted by doing the right thing
.
So from day one we've justinstilled that into everybody.
Then, obviously, jeremy camealong and did a much better job
at growing the culture.
And then when we met your wordsI don't want to take them out
of your mouth, but these youngwhippersnappers and as we sat
(02:04):
down and talked about doing theright thing, that really
resonated with you and probablywhat was about six to eight
months later, you gave us anopportunity.
Tony Fiorillo (02:14):
No, which is true .
I mean, it's amazing how lifeintersects with one another and
how business intersects with oneanother.
And, frankly, having the chanceto meet you I know you you
probably remember, don'tremember, but we met way, way
back when, had a kind offriendship right and you had a.
You had a table there and Ithink my former business partner
(02:35):
had a table and and I'm lookingover there going, what's this?
You know, he's a guy.
He's like 20, man.
I'm like buddy, look you lookso good.
He's like 20, man.
I'm like buddy, look you lookso good.
You're just dressed so sharp.
And it's funny how years laterwe connect and then we end up
doing business and it really is.
It was that's what attracted mereally about what you working
with you guys.
A number one you were young,innovative, but your culture
(02:59):
that you already were startingit had.
Jeremy Lindsey (03:03):
And just the fact that you always did the
right thing.
I think the important part isreally finding the right people.
I notice you guys are verydeliberate about the individuals
you bring onto your team aswell, and that's a real focus
for us as well.
I think it's that deliberatecheck to make sure that each
time you're bringing people thatreally reflect your values and
your culture.
Otherwise you're not going toget to the do the right thing,
(03:26):
you're not going to be able topresent that consistently to the
marketplace, but if you findthe people that understand that
your business really reflectsthat value.
Tony Fiorillo (03:37):
I agree 100% and, like I said before, my
experience and our experienceand really as our team, our
employees and everything else,is the constant positive
feedback that I get, the factthat you guys do always step up,
you always find a way to find asolution to an issue.
I mean, we all know in thisbusiness not everything is
perfect, not everything iscovered, and then we have my
(03:58):
capital failure, but it's really, it's what happens after an
issue arises.
Is really the?
I think the proof.
Steve Rosenvall (04:07):
Yeah, I mean, I'm glad you brought that up,
because we are all human, wemake mistakes at time and so
when we recognize that we doeverything we can to make it
right, you guys own it and youguys do the same thing.
Tony Fiorillo (04:19):
We own it.
You have to own it and that'sjust part of I think, really I
think, running a good soundbusiness.
And speaking of running a goodsound business, I look at you,
where you guys started yourbuilding into where you are
today and obviously you can onlysee a very small backdrop, but
you've built this verysuccessful company and what's
been really nice is the factthat you've shouldered up with
us and we've had suchincremental growth and it's
(04:43):
really been heavily on the alphaside.
I mean, you guys are ourpreferred or go-to TPA because
of the relationship and thefacts of your culture and how
well we align.
What do you see reciprocatingas far as that with why?
Vision, why have you guys likedvision?
(05:03):
Or what have you seen that wedo?
That's maybe different fromsome of the other TPAs that
you've been associated with orknow of, and kind of some of the
things you hear from them about, some of their experiences,
yeah, I think an important thingis that we don't go off of
price.
Steve Rosenvall (05:22):
Right, we're not going to be always the
cheapest guy or the lessexpensive option in the market,
but along with that comes abetter service, a better quality
, a better understanding of whatthe consumers need.
And we've talked about thismultiple times, because we have
to appeal to three differentpeople, right, the dealer, the
agent and the end consumer.
(05:42):
And if we aren't hitting allthose boxes, we're failing you,
right, we're failing otheragents.
But as we partner up with guyslike you that have that full
picture, you're not missing anypuzzle pieces.
The training, the people, theknowledge of the program, the
industry, your relationships Imean that's everything you need
(06:03):
to have a successful business.
And so we think the same way,and that just compliments each
other so well, to the point thateven in a down market, we're
both growing tremendously.
Jeremy Lindsey (06:16):
Yeah Well, and I think Steve hit on something
important.
He talked about the fact thatyou guys do a lot of training,
and it's not something that wesee consistently across the
board.
Some are great at that, but youguys are very process driven,
and I know what BenjaminFranklin said process is the
foundation upon which success isbuilt and you guys do a great
(06:39):
job of ensuring that your teamunderstands your process and
implements that directly withthe dealerships that you work
with, and I think thosedealerships see the value of
working with your agency, andthat's a massive advantage for
the vision management group.
Tony Fiorillo (06:55):
I appreciate it.
I believe so too.
I think we do have a slightedge in the marketplace just
because of the way that we do it.
But, again, what powers us isreally you, the fact that I know
with confidence that when I goin to speak to a dealer or to a
prospective dealer, that therubber can always meet the road.
(07:17):
I'm never flinched by beingable to put and install your
guys' product, because I knowwhat you say you're going to do.
You do and I can't say thatabout a lot of other third-party
administrators or othercompanies that are out there,
because they don't all seethings the same way Right, you
know, I think that's again atestament as far as why I
(07:38):
believe you guys have had thegrowth and again for us, why
we've had the growth.
You know you mentioned earlierdealers.
I think we have one of ourclients that stopped in, but
what kind of feedback did heshare with you about doing
business with Vision?
Did he give you any differencemakers or anything that we've
done for him?
That's kind of you know, froman agency standpoint.
Jeremy Lindsey (07:58):
A lot of what I heard is kind of going back to
the same thing.
It's process.
It's him knowing that.
It's basically he has anextension of his management team
.
It's understanding that,whether it's Ross or anyone else
, I know Ross was in here beforeand he knows he has a team
there to support him forwhatever that they need.
(08:20):
So any of their new people thatare joining, whoever needs
additional training, they knowVision Management Group is going
to be there to help supportthem.
Where they're spread thin Imean dealerships are spread.
If you're a GM or an owner,you're spread very, very thin.
So it's very challenging foryou to give the time and
attention in every facet of yourbusiness and having a resource
(08:44):
like Vision Management Group Ithink gives a competitive edge
to those dealerships.
Steve Rosenvall (08:51):
Yeah, what was brought up to me was listening
and communication, because a lotof times we do come in and talk
a lot and share a lot ofinformation, but at the end of
the day, they're the guys on thefront lines, right.
So they're the guys that knowwhat the demand is, they know
what the consumer needs andwants are, and just not enough
praise to give you guys.
(09:12):
He says they actually listen,they actually follow through,
and that may sound so simple inour industry today, but just
knowing he can call Tony or anyof his people and they know
exactly who to call, who tocommunicate with and how to get
things done and doing the rightthing, yeah, so, yeah, I agree,
(09:33):
but I think the same thing goesback.
Tony Fiorillo (09:35):
It's reciprocal.
Yeah, we didn't get here todaybecause you guys don't run a
great organization, and that'swhat we're really very
appreciative of organization andthat's what we're really very
appreciative of.
And again, I'm very thankfulfor the fact that you allow us
to come in here and we use yourbeautiful facility and you guys
have your training roomdownstairs.
So a question for you guys whenyou guys are on the lookout for
(09:56):
, like a potential agencypartner, what do you look for in
partnering with an agent?
Jeremy Lindsey (10:03):
I think, first and foremost, it is those
aligned values.
We want to make sure that if wehave somebody out there
representing our products andour service, they reflect our
brand.
We've worked really hard toestablish that brand, as Steve
talked about, and so we want tomake sure it's not an individual
just looking for anotherproduct.
Those can be a dime, a dozen,but it's really an individual or
(10:26):
group of individuals, an entireagency that understands that
they're looking for a truepartner, not just a vendor, but
a true partner and someone, onceagain, who can represent and
communicate effectively ourproducts, our brand and our
service to each of thedealerships that they represent.
Steve Rosenvall (10:47):
Perfect, yeah, and for me it's understanding
the business to businessrelationship, because so many
times that gets lost incommunication.
And so, again, going back toaligning the agency with what
the service contract company orthe TPA can provide is crucial
for that dealership success.
And so if we have guys outthere that you know nothing
(11:08):
against a one-man band butthey're spread very thin and so
it's hard for them to give thesupport to their dealer network
the way that you know a biggeragency has, that has that
relationship, that support, thatstrength, if you will, to give
the dealership what they need,especially in their time of need
.
Right, that's how you canreally measure someone is are
(11:29):
you going to be there when theyreally need it?
And over time and time again,your agency has always been
there, and so we do look foragencies that are similar to
that caliber.
Tony Fiorillo (11:39):
Thank you you know you've, obviously you know
that this is for you, steve andJeremy.
You've been here 15 years andAlpha has been in existence for
Just over 20.
Yeah, 20 some years Go back intime.
You know you're beginning thisbusiness, steve, and you have a
vision and you know the visionit obviously you know you've
(12:02):
built to scale.
You've really scaled up yourbusiness and again, and I'm
going to admit, I I mean I'vemade a lot of mistakes along the
way.
So you know, what would you sayto a younger or a company
that's moving along?
What have you learned?
How did you keep your vision,keep it alive, scale?
(12:22):
And then I look at youremployee retention and you have
a lot of tenured people in theorganization.
So give us a little snapshot onhow you kind of put all those
things together.
And I realize a lot of it'slike Jeremy, hiring good people
that really understand thevalues and are able to continue
that sort of look.
(12:43):
But you had to start fromsomewhere.
Steve Rosenvall (12:45):
It was really you and your dad.
Yeah, I mean and that's aninteresting story because we're
both come from the 19th SpecialForces Group my dad was a Green
Beret.
Thank you for your service.
Tony Fiorillo (12:56):
Yeah.
Steve Rosenvall (12:56):
Yeah, totally.
My dad was a Green Beret.
He was my commander for a fewyears.
I was a radio operator and sofor lack of better term we were
the agency of two guys.
Right, we were the guys drivingaround in a car and our office
was our trunk.
And so there's, you know, asaying going around burn the
(13:19):
boats, right.
But I'll tell you right now, wedidn't have any boats to burn.
I'll tell you right now, wedidn't have any boats to burn.
And so, having that backgroundin the military, it was like
failure is not an option.
So, even though we felt littlefailures along the way, we
learned from them tremendously,right.
And so that fight and thatdiscipline not to give up was
(13:39):
crucial, because there werethose times we did not want to
go on and it was hard and it wasdifficult, but we just told
ourselves there's no otheroption, we're going to win.
We had those sleepless nights.
We had those nights where wethought we didn't have enough
cash.
It was a dog fight.
We didn't hit any home runs.
It was taking one inch at atime and not giving that ground
(14:01):
up, and that's how we becamesuccessful.
Tony Fiorillo (14:04):
Awesome.
And then you started.
Obviously, as you scaled, youstarted building a team around
you.
How did you find the rightpeople to be in the right seat?
Steve Rosenvall (14:13):
So yeah, I mean it's a funny story Jeremy was
what our third hire.
We were all in college, so forJeremy this was probably a
stepping stone for him in hiscareer.
But as we worked together andwe were visiting dealers and we
were growing programs andcompeting more, we both found
out that we work really welltogether and we both had the
(14:36):
strong desire to keep learningand pushing and developing those
relationships.
And then along the way you findthose guys that when it's hard
and it's hard for them too,they're not leaving right.
They're right there with youalong the way, and so you can't
trade that for anything.
And so I've picked those guysup along the way and when you
(14:57):
find them, you don't let them goyeah, just to add to it, I
think steve did okay.
Jeremy Lindsey (15:03):
I have to give him a lot of credit.
I think he did a really goodjob of understanding his
strengths, which this businesswouldn't have started, it
wouldn't be where it is todaywithout him.
But he also looked at himself.
He looked at the company, helooked at what he wanted to
create and said I need to makesure I surround myself with the
(15:24):
individuals the Darrens, theJeffs, the Bryans, the Robs and
so many other people here whoare absolutely incredible, that
have a great skill set and, asSteve said, we've done a really
good job of trying to keep thatgroup together.
To your point earlier, I'vebeen here 17 years, I believe.
Jeff Robinson, our COO, hasbeen here 16 years, darren just
(15:48):
hit 15 years and we have so manyothers on our team that are
Brian Hawkinson and others whoare just a few years behind that
.
So I think keeping that coregroup of individuals together
and then making sure that wepass the vision along that was
originally created by Steve andCraig, it's really led to a lot
(16:09):
of success for our company.
Steve Rosenvall (16:10):
One of the most humbling things is having such
a talented team, Because thenyou know where all your
weaknesses are, right.
Oh sure, you look around theroom and you're like this guy
does this so well, he's so goodat this, and then I sit back and
go.
Those are all my deficienciesas a leader.
It takes a village right.
Tony Fiorillo (16:30):
What is it they say?
Your boat is only as strong asthe weakest link in a person you
know.
Yeah.
So you know, Steve as an ownerand operator, jeremy as the
president, I think you've done avery good job on basically
stepping I don't want to saystepping back.
It's like you've never taken ahand off the wheel.
(16:51):
But you're like myself, you'rean A-type personality.
Totally you want to be incontrol.
You always want to have yourhand on the wheel.
But I've seen you give far.
You know you've kind of letyour team run it, because they
have built that foundation andthat trust a little bit, a lot
of trust, yeah, the same waythat I have with our team.
It's like it allows you to worka little bit more on the
(17:12):
business than always working inthe business.
But how did that transition gofor you and what were some of
the emotions that you felt?
Steve Rosenvall (17:18):
Yeah, man, I mean I'm going to be 100% honest
.
It was really tricky.
I had moved down to Arizona soI was coming back and forth from
there to here quite a bit,which was great, but then COVID
hit.
Um, so kind of getting a littlebit of a taste of a retirement
during that time was really hardfor me.
(17:40):
I knew at that time I'm likethere's what we want this
company to be and getting thoseroadblocks out of the way,
(18:01):
saying hey, we can do this.
I mean, a lot of people know usas alpha, but really we are a
conglomerate of six differentcompanies that a lot of people
don't know about.
So we do have these otherverticals we go into.
That makes alpha, or what wecall the cadence organization,
that much bigger.
So being able to focus on otherareas of the business has been
(18:22):
really fun for me.
Tony Fiorillo (18:24):
And Jeremy.
Now I'm sure there are somethings that you want to possibly
do and maybe Steve doesn't, orSteve wants to do and you don't.
So how do you guys come to thatsort of?
Jeremy Lindsey (18:35):
common ground.
Yeah, honestly, I think that'sa healthy balance in a business.
If anything, there's certainlythose times where Steve and I
are like we got to go thisdirection.
We both 100% agree.
And then there's those othertimes where Steve says we go
this way and I'm like I think wego this way and I think it's
(18:56):
been a really healthy thing forour company as we've continued
to grow, because it challengesboth of us.
There's plenty of times where,at the end of it, I look and I'm
like, oh, you're right, this isa better direction, or he comes
over here, or it's somewhere inbetween.
We're realizing that we cantake some of the good from this
and some of the good from thisand blend it and go a direction
as a business that's reallypositive for us.
(19:18):
So, um, certainly those, thosethings are going to come up, but
I think it's a healthy balancefor us that we've been able to
find Um and it's led to somegreat success.
Tony Fiorillo (19:28):
Yeah, yeah, I would.
I would say, yeah, we're happywith it.
Absolutely Um questions for me.
I mean you guys, I mean you'vegot a great story.
I mean I know we know eachother very well, but is there
anything out there that you havenoticed, seen, or what have you
that we've done or not doing,that you guys can maybe give us
(19:51):
some help?
Steve Rosenvall (19:59):
Yeah, I would love to start with it I mean for
me.
Tony Fiorillo (20:02):
I would love to know what is the future vision
for vision.
Jeremy Lindsey (20:03):
That's a way to play on words.
Tony Fiorillo (20:05):
You know it's, in a nutshell, my vision for the
company and, frankly, it's notjust mine, it's our whole team.
We all share a very commonvision, very common goal.
I stay very transparent withthe team as far as revenue goals
, dealer goals, client goals anddifferent things along those
(20:28):
lines.
So it's basically been a veryopen book.
I really envision and be inevery state.
That's where I want to be.
I want to have representationin every state.
We have a proven process.
We have proven results.
We have an average of a 23%increase on dealer clients that
(20:49):
we start doing business with.
That's an average, which meanssome is higher and some are
lower, and what I always say isit's the adaption of the process
.
You, with your militarybackground, you have a chain of
command and you follow orders.
If you follow orders, youtypically have success, correct,
Correct, and it's the samething that we look at is we have
(21:09):
a process.
We have steps to the sales,steps to getting to a yes with a
customer without it being thecost of CSI or a customer having
a bad experience at adealership, and as long as that
process is followed, we havethat 23% increase.
So as we grow, you know and Iworry very much about our
culture.
So it's a slower growth becauseit's organic.
(21:33):
So would I love to be able togo out and hire 20 agents and
plop them in 20 states that wedon't do business and train them
up, and absolutely.
But it's just not physically orfinancially able to do that.
So we have to go out and dosome prospects and dealers.
Because I happened to be intown there for something that
(21:53):
was non-auto related or RVrelated, and one of the guys I
was there with he goes what areyou going to do?
Why?
Because they went out golfingand I said I'm going to drive
around town, I'm a fine cardealer, I'm going to find RV
dealers, I'm going to stop inand prospect.
(22:13):
And he goes the reason he goesjust spent an whole day with
this dealer.
Well, guess what?
You know we have an opportunityto.
He's at five stores, three inTwin Falls, two down in Arizona.
So now we have an opportunityto, you know, go in and present
to them and do an analysis anddo what we do.
Very cool, Because it's justthey don't have anybody like us,
Um, and we've been verysuccessful in that.
(22:36):
And so, basically, taking thatculture and try not to lose it
but grow it, you know.
But I can't do that unless newbusiness, it gets pushed to
Alpha and everything gets pushedto Alpha because of the people
like Jeremy, you know, DarrenDarren has, you know, pushing
hard and riding for the Visionbrand.
But I think again, thereciprocating is the fact that
(22:56):
you know we've been able toincrease volume, Because I think
(23:25):
, I don't think I know, but andyou can correct me if I'm wrong
our contract volume, probablyover the last year, two years,
has probably tripled.
Yeah, Tremendously, yeah.
So it's you know.
But that wouldn't happen if wedidn't have great partners like
you, because you guys have donethings that have helped us
(23:48):
accelerate that and given ussome options that we're able to
captivate and able to capturesome business that maybe
wouldn't not have captured.
Steve Rosenvall (23:56):
So yeah, the great thing is the retention
right, and so what we're doingon both sides of the house is so
important, because obviouslyyou're signing new business but
you're keeping it.
Yeah, and that's always achallenge for a lot of agencies.
Tony Fiorillo (24:10):
Yeah, very true.
No, it's true, and I always saythe business we lose is a
business that is sold or getsacquired by a big conglomerate
that we just can't.
Nobody does business with them.
They have their own internalprograms, right?
You know you're kind of eightsix you're out.
Jeremy Lindsey (24:27):
So I have a question for you.
You talked about this massivegrowth that that you're seeing,
and just even the over thecourse of the past few years.
As your team comes out here forthese agent trainings, the
annual retreat that you do, thenumber of team members continues
to grow more and more.
So, you know, I would reallylove to just better understand
(24:51):
what's really driving thatgrowth from your perspective.
Tony Fiorillo (24:54):
The way I see it is that the business today you
look at COVID and you thinkabout COVID, everybody was just
smashing it.
They're doing extremelyexceptional, high grosses, a lot
of sales, everything they hadthey're selling out of and
people forgot about what it waslike to sell.
(25:14):
And so now we get out of thatpost-COVID blitz and we have to
get back to reality and somedealers have been gotten back to
.
A lot of dealers didn't getback to reality but in the same
hand what came along with thatwas the inflation, with
increasing in interest rate,with some consumer uneasiness,
so our opportunities to sellautomobiles came down, so we
(25:37):
have less opportunities to dobusiness.
They come through the door butyet dealerships still have a
high overhead.
So that's been our success and Ibelieve it's like any downturn
in business is when weaccelerate because we're able to
get that 23% out of lessopportunities.
So it's like the dealer reallyhasn't felt that pinch because
(26:00):
we've been able to raise thatbar and bring that extra half a
million million $2 million tothe bottom line, because we've
been able to increase theirrevenue through our process.
And that's why I think when youlook at the market and I look
at other agencies.
You get some feels because youtalk to administrators and
different things and they saytheir agent business is either
(26:23):
flat or a little bit of adecline in bit.
You know, I feel we're really ona hockey stick because the
difference is what we're doingin these organizations and then
it's referrals and it's word ofmouth.
You know we've been, we've gotinto a 20 group and we took a
dealer from the bottom of thepage to the top of the page and
(26:43):
then the next 22 comes aroundand hey, go see this person.
So we go see that person and wesign them up and then we bring
them from next to the bottom ofthe page to just under them and
then next thing you know is wehave seven or eight dealers in
this 20 group because they'reall like well, every time they
start doing business with thiscompany their numbers go up.
So we've been very successfulgetting referrals just out of
(27:08):
our 20 groups.
Steve Rosenvall (27:09):
Yeah, I mean just helping those dealers keep
the lights on.
With that extra operationalcash flow you're never going to
lose on.
Tony Fiorillo (27:15):
Yeah.
Jeremy Lindsey (27:16):
No, and it's huge.
Yeah, just to that point.
I was just.
You brought up inventory levelswith the decline that we saw
during the pandemic.
That's a massive challenge andI don't think most dealers in
that time were thinking how do Ireally grow my business?
Of course they want it to, butwhen you have less inventory and
you're trying to make everydollar count, you're looking for
(27:39):
whatever you can, and so if youhave somebody coming in you
talked about doing more withless that's able to actually
produce at that level that's amassive find for that dealership
.
That's a massive value for adealership to be able to get
more value from their agencypartner during a really
challenging economic time.
Tony Fiorillo (28:00):
It's true, but I think that just builds legendary
relationships, and that'sreally what we're after, I mean,
and that's the way I feel thatwe have here Now.
You guys may not feel the same,but I feel we have a very
legendary relationship, but it'sbuilt on trust and it's built
on really, it's built on deeds,and your results is the way I
(28:21):
see it.
That's all Well said, anyways.
Well, gentlemen, I just trulyappreciate the time.
Thanks very much, yeah, andlooking forward to really what
the future is going to hold forthe both of us Absolutely Always
appreciate it, tony.
All right, thank you.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
Thanks for joining us on the Driven by Vision podcast
.
We hope today's insights willfuel your success.
Remember to subscribe, leave areview and visit visionmgroupcom
for more resources.
See you next time and staydriven by vision.
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