
Advertise on podcast: Dealer Talk With Jen Suzuki
Rating
4.8from
This podcast has
100 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Jennifer Suzuki, eDealer SolutionsExplicit
No
Date created
2020/12/08
Latest episode
2026/10/21
Average duration
27 min.
Release period
4 days
Description
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki is an Automotive Sales and Service Podcast and is a free educational series for Dealers, Managers, Sales Teams and anyone in the Auto Industry that has a desire to obtain information that will propel growth, lead the auto industry and invoke progressive strategies. We will educate on staying relevant, offer ways to improve vehicle sales and service, CSI and retention. Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki is an Automotive Sales and Service Podcast. Use #DealerTalkWithJen
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AI Can Make Average Employees Look Exceptional. But Are They?
2026/10/21
AI can turn three vague technician notes into a beautifully written repair story.
But here's the question dealership leaders need to ask: Does the technician actually understand what that polished documentation says?
In this solo episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, Jen tackles a growing challenge in automotive retail: AI is improving employee output at incredible speed, but is it improving employee capability?
From technician warranty documentation and diagnostic assistance to advisor recommendations, BDC communication, and manager coaching, AI is making dealership employees faster, clearer, and more consistent.
That's the opportunity. But there's also a risk.
When AI fills in the gaps, leaders may no longer recognize where their people need training.
Jen explores the critical difference between AI assistance and AI substitution, why a polished repair story doesn't necessarily reflect diagnostic expertise, and how dealerships can prevent employees from becoming dependent on technology they don't fully understand.
She introduces her Five-Minute AI Test, a simple way to reveal whether technology is strengthening employees or concealing knowledge gaps. She also shares practical ways to use AI as a coach that challenges technicians, advisors, managers, and BDC representatives to think more critically.
This episode is for dealership leaders who want more than impressive AI-generated results. They want knowledgeable employees who can think, explain, question, and take ownership.
Because AI should make good employees exceptional not make unprepared employees look exceptional.
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://bit.ly/4dv62Ef for a LIMITED TIME!
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 |
[email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
She's Built a Dealership Legacy. Now She's Helping Lead the Industry. | Sandy Fitzgerald-Angello
2026/10/19
Some leaders earn a title. Others earn the trust of an entire industry.
Sandy Fitzgerald-Angello started working in automotive at just 15 years old. Today, she's a respected dealer operator with Pohanka Automotive Group and a leader within the National Automobile Dealers Association. But what makes her story exceptional isn't how far she's climbed. It's how she's led along the way.
On this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, Sandy shares the principles behind her remarkable career, including her Seven C's of Leadership, her commitment to servant leadership, and why the best leaders take responsibility when things go wrong and give their teams credit when things go right.
She opens up about difficult decisions, developing future general managers, creating a culture where people feel valued, embracing AI, and turning business challenges into opportunities.
And don't mistake her people-first philosophy for a lack of competitive fire. Sandy is still selling cars, solving problems, raising expectations, and challenging her organization to achieve more.
This is a conversation about character, courage, accountability, and what it really takes to build a legacy through people.
Because great leadership isn't measured by how many people work for you. It's measured by how many people become better because you led them.
Listen in for an inspiring conversation with one of automotive retail's most respected leaders.
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://bit.ly/4dv62Ef for a LIMITED TIME!
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
Your Dealership's Newest Employee Is AI. Who's the Manager?
2026/10/15
Your dealership's AI is answering calls, scheduling service appointments, sending texts, and speaking with hundreds, sometimes thousands of customers.
But who's actually managing it?
In this solo episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, Jen tackles an emerging leadership challenge inside automotive dealerships: We're rapidly deploying customer-facing AI, but are we giving it the same attention, coaching, and accountability we'd expect from a human employee?
Jen shares real situations she's witnessed inside dealerships, including customers arriving and asking for an employee by name only to discover they've been communicating with AI. She also explores what happens when AI schedules an appointment that the service department can't fulfill, transfers a frustrated customer to a dead end, or creates expectations the advisor knows nothing about.
The problem isn't necessarily the technology. It's often the disconnect between the AI, the dealership's processes, and the people responsible for delivering the customer experience.
Drawing on her experience training dealership teams and working directly with automotive voice AI, Jen challenges GMs and fixed ops leaders to rethink how they measure success.
It's not just about how many calls AI answers or appointments it books. It's about whether the customer's needs were resolved, promises were kept, information was transferred accurately, and the human team was ready to continue the conversation.
Jen also shares a practical challenge every dealership leader can implement immediately: mystery shop your own AI with a complicated customer scenario.
Because the future of dealership AI isn't just about having better technology.
It's about developing better leadership around the technology—and making every interaction feel like one connected customer experience.
Watch Jen's latest CBT News interview on similar topic here - https://bit.ly/4dBUgZ1
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://bit.ly/4dv62Ef for a LIMITED TIME!
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
From Receptionist to CEO in 7 Years: Nikki Lawson on Earning the Right to Lead
2026/10/12
She walked into a dealership looking for a job. Seven years later, she's the CEO of a six-store automotive group.
How does that happen? And how do you earn the respect of experienced dealership leaders? And you didn't have family or successorship on your side?
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, Jen sits down with Nikki Lawson, CEO of Peltier Automotive Group, for a conversation about ambition, trust, humility and what it really takes to lead at the executive level.
Jen has known Nikki for years, long before she became CEO, and watched her earn the confidence of general managers and dealership executives through curiosity, consistency and a genuine commitment to helping people succeed.
Nikki shares her journey from receptionist and cashier to sales, inventory management, executive leadership and ultimately CEO. But the conversation goes much deeper than her career progression.
They explore the uncomfortable 360-degree leadership review that changed how Nikki communicates, why successful GMs can still create unhealthy dealership cultures, how she balances corporate consistency with GM autonomy and why developing future leaders matters just as much as producing strong financial results.
Nikki also reveals how she evaluates dealership chemistry, why treating every employee exactly the same isn't always effective leadership and what she's had to stop doing to become a better CEO.
For anyone looking to advance their automotive career, or already responsible for leading dealership teams, this episode offers a powerful reminder: A title gives you authority. Your actions earn you respect.
Inside Long Island's Luxury Auto Powerhouse: Rallye CEO Juliana Terian on Leadership & AI
2026/10/08
What does it take to lead one of New York's most respected luxury automotive groups when margins are shrinking, customer expectations are rising, and AI is changing the dealership business?
Jen Suzuki sits down with Juliana Terian, President & CEO of Rallye Motor Company, a premier Long Island luxury automotive group representing Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Acura, for a candid conversation about leadership, profitability, and the future of automotive retail.
Juliana shares how she's navigating today's challenging market, what she expects from her general managers, and why keeping employees motivated and engaged has become more important than ever. They explore the realities of running high-performing dealerships, the connection between employee culture and customer loyalty, and Rallye's thoughtful approach to adopting AI without sacrificing the personal relationships luxury customers expect.
From empowering leaders to protecting customer choice, Juliana offers a refreshing perspective on what truly drives long-term dealership success.
Her philosophy is simple: When your people thrive, your business thrives.
An insightful conversation for dealers, general managers, and automotive leaders looking to build stronger teams, embrace innovation, and compete at a higher level.
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://bit.ly/4dv62Ef for a LIMITED TIME!
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
17 Dealerships and Still Hungry: Inside Michael Brown's Leadership on Building Empire Automotive Group
2026/10/06
Michael's operation has grown to 17 dealerships, but what stood out to me in this conversation wasn't the size of Empire Automotive Group. It was how intensely he still talks about getting better.
Michael Brown joins me for a wide-open conversation about growth, leadership, accountability and what it actually takes to keep a large organization moving forward when the market gets tougher.
We get into why he believes hunger is the quality that separates exceptional leaders from average ones, why confrontation can actually strengthen a team when trust and accountability are already there, and how Empire continues developing its next generation of leaders instead of waiting until a leadership position opens to start looking for one. Michael shares how their internal leadership program exposes future leaders to financial statements, outside coaching, accountability and the realities of running a dealership. Pasted text
Then we get tactical.
With affordability pressure changing the business, Michael explains why Empire is concentrating on the things it can actually control. That includes technology utilization, vendor relationships and a major focus on fixed absorption. One example: they stopped treating Saturday service like a shortened workday and redesigned staffing, scheduling and technician availability around the opportunity. The result? Michael says it has created a meaningful new revenue opportunity. Pasted text
We also talk acquisitions, overnight service, what he looks for before buying another dealership, adversity, raising daughters and why, after all the success, Michael still believes passion and purpose matter more than simply chasing the next win.
This is one of those conversations that reminds you that growth doesn't come from finally figuring everything out.
It comes from refusing to believe you're finished.
🔥 Check out our sponsors! 🔥
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://bit.ly/4dv62Ef for a LIMITED TIME!
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 |
[email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
Just Google Us Book: Jay Mealey, Top Dealer on Trust, Leadership, and the Next AI Revolution
2026/10/02
What does it take to build a dealership confident enough to tell customers, "Just Google Us"?
Jen Suzuki sits down with longtime client and friend Jay Mealey, author of Just Google Us, for a candid conversation about transforming a family business through transparency, customer trust, and leadership.
Jay Mealey is a high-performing Mazda, Subaru and Chevrolet dealer in greater Orlando, FL!
From the early internet lead days to today's AI shift, Jay shares how public reviews changed his dealership culture, why he removed pay-plan components that encouraged the wrong outcomes and the challenge of bringing his team along when he sees change coming.
They also discuss the principles Jay inherited from his father, the story behind Mazda's Masahiro Moro writing his book's foreword and what people should do with the time technology gives them back.
For dealership leaders navigating change, this conversation asks a practical question: How do you keep evolving the business while protecting the relationships that make it work?
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://bit.ly/4dv62Ef for a LIMITED TIME!
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
The First 90 Seconds: What GM's & Service Managers Should Be Coaching
2026/09/22
What if one of the biggest opportunities to improve CSI, service retention and work approvals happens before the MPI is even completed?
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, I'm breaking down the first 90 seconds of the service experience and why service managers should be paying a lot more attention to what happens when an advisor first walks toward that vehicle.
Customers pull into the service drive with uncertainty. How long will this take? What's this going to cost me? Is something expensive about to be wrong with my car? Before they trust the recommendation, they're deciding whether they trust the person making it.
That's where great advisors separate themselves.
We'll talk about how curiosity, preparation, body language, better questions and clear expectations can completely change the customer experience. I'll also give service leaders a simple coaching exercise they can use right on the drive: stand back, watch the interaction and ask yourself whether you can tell which advisors genuinely enjoy helping people.
This isn't about teaching your team another script. It's about helping advisors slow down, pay attention, reduce uncertainty and become the person customers actually want helping them make decisions about their vehicle.
Because when we win the first 90 seconds, everything that happens next gets easier.
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://www.edealersolutions.com/try-matador for a LIMITED TIME! Mention this show!
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 |
[email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
Stop Calling Internet Leads Before You Do This
2026/09/16
What if the biggest mistake with an internet lead happens before you even say hello?
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, I'm breaking down why I want salespeople to take 60 seconds before making that first call not to wait, but to investigate.
Where does the customer live? Have they done business with the dealership before? What's sitting in the CRM? What might they be comparing? Those clues can completely change the conversation.
We'll get into why curiosity beats jumping straight into the vehicle, how to make an appointment actually worth showing up for, why more options can create more customer confidence, and how texting and video can help customers remember YOU not another walkaround of a car they've already seen online.
The car isn't the differentiator anymore. Information isn't either.
Your ability to understand the customer, make their life easier, and give them confidence in the next step is.
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://bit.ly/4dv62Ef for a LIMITED TIME!
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | https://apple.co/38lmHM1 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
Would Your Customers Wait Until You're Back?
2026/09/14
What makes a customer call the dealership and ask for YOU?
It's usually not one incredible service visit. It's the little moments that stack up over time.
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, I'm talking directly to service advisors about what separates the advisors who simply write repair orders from the ones who build a loyal book of business.
The goal isn't just to win today's repair order. It's to become the advisor that customer wants again next year.
Remember something personal. Protect their time. Call when you promised. Find legitimate ways to save them money. And sometimes, tell them they can wait on a repair when that's truly the right recommendation.
Those moments build confidence. Confidence builds trust. Trust creates habits. And habits create loyalty.
Because the strongest advisors eventually stop spending their careers chasing repair orders. Their relationships start bringing the repair orders back to them.
One customer. One conversation. One memorable moment at a time.
Before you leave work today, ask yourself one question:
Did I give every customer one reason to come back and ask for me?
Check out our sponsors! >>>FREE OFFER!
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Go To https://bit.ly/4dv62Ef for a LIMITED TIME!
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approval
Customers Don't Buy When They're Convinced. They Buy When They're Confident.
2026/09/09
Customers don't buy when they've been convinced. They buy when they feel confident.
After listening to thousands of dealership calls, Jen Suzuki has noticed a pattern: average salespeople focus on getting the appointment, overcoming the objection, or defending the vehicle. The best salespeople focus on something entirely different reducing uncertainty.
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, Jen breaks down the overlooked skill that influences whether customers respond, keep appointments, make decisions, and ultimately buy. You'll learn how to identify a customer's "confidence gap," ask questions that uncover what they're really weighing, and respond to "I need to think about it" without creating more pressure.
Jen also challenges one of the dealership's favorite measurements: appointments set. Because setting an appointment doesn't mean much if the customer never became confident enough to show up!
If your customers keep disappearing, delaying decisions, or shopping multiple dealerships, the answer may not be a stronger close. It may be a better conversation.
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Text me directly so I can make it happen for you today - 954-873-8029! LIMITED TIME!
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
She Mortgaged Her House to Buy a Dealership. Here's What Ivette Built.
2026/09/07
What does it take to keep growing when automotive retail is becoming more complex not less?
Ivette Dominguez Drawe began her career selling BMWs. When the opportunity came to become a dealer, she and her husband mortgaged their home, opened credit cards as a backup plan and stepped into ownership during one of the industry's most uncertain periods. Today, their organization employs approximately 700 people, continues to acquire dealerships and remains deeply invested in its employees and communities.
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, Ivette shares what she looks for when evaluating an acquisition, why good people matter more than a quick operational overhaul and what leaders underestimate when introducing major technology changes. She also gets candid about changing a DMS and payroll platform within weeks of each other and what the experience revealed about communication, accountability and team buy-in.
We also explore the growing affordability problem, preparing the next generation to enter a family business, the danger of treating technology like a magic bullet and why innovation sometimes requires trusting your instincts before all the proof exists.
But the heart of this conversation is bigger than dealerships. Ivette believes leadership means developing people, recognizing their contributions, celebrating wins and giving back without expecting something in return. Technology can create efficiency, but empathy, accountability, difficult conversations, recognition and community relationships still belong to human beings.
This is a conversation about taking courageous risks, staying open to change and building a business that means something beyond the numbers.
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Text me directly so I can make it happen for you today - 954-873-8029! LIMITED TIME!
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
Customers Liked You. So Why Didn't They Show Up?
2026/09/03
Have you ever finished a conversation with an internet future buyer and thought, "That went really well" only to never hear from the customer again?
Here's the harder question: What did that customer actually gain from talking to you?
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, I'm digging into the heart of how I teach sales: Every customer should leave a conversation with more clarity, confidence, convenience, or useful direction than they had before it.
Customers can find inventory, specifications, pricing, reviews, and vehicle comparisons everywhere. Information is no longer rare. Judgment, experience, and personalized guidance are.
I'll show you how to move beyond answering questions and immediately asking for an appointment. You'll learn how curiosity uncovers what actually matters, how to turn vehicle information into customer-specific guidance, and how to create a next step that feels helpful instead of pushy.
Because customers can get the car almost anywhere. What they can't get everywhere is someone genuinely committed to helping them make a great decision.
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships. Want 30-Days FREE? Text me directly so I can make it happen for you today - 954-873-8029! LIMITED TIME!
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
Your Managers Hold Meetings. But Can They Actually Train?
2026/09/01
Have you ever walked out of a morning meeting thinking, "Damn, that was a great meeting" only to watch everyone return to the exact same behaviors by lunchtime?
That isn't a meeting problem. It's a behavior problem.
Dealerships ask sales and service managers to train their teams constantly. Improve the appointments. Strengthen the phone calls. Personalize the follow-up. Build more customer confidence. Increase repair approvals.
But here's the question we need to ask: Who taught the managers how to train?
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, I'm sharing the practical framework I teach in manager workshops and at NADA Dealer Academy: ONE OBJECTIVE → SHOW IT → DO IT → DRIVE IT.
This isn't about packing five priorities into a 45-minute meeting nobody remembers. It's about selecting one behavior, showing what great looks like, practicing it together and driving it until it becomes part of how the team operates.
You'll learn how to turn real calls, texts, videos, appointments, repair orders and customer interactions into short training sessions that build confidence and how to use contests, observation and recognition to keep the behavior alive after the meeting ends.
Because attendance isn't the scorecard.
The real question is: What behavior changed because of the meeting?
If your dealership wants stronger trainers not simply managers who hold more meetings—this episode gives you a framework you can use tomorrow.
The Invisible Work Behind Higher Approvals
2026/08/28
Two service advisors can work in the same dealership, see the same customers, recommend the same repairs and get completely different results.
Why? It may have very little to do with the estimate itself.
After training with so many service advisors, I've noticed that customers often begin deciding whether they'll approve the work long before the MPI is complete. They're paying attention when the advisor greets them, remembers their name, asks about their plans for the vehicle, explains what will happen next, provides updates and keeps every promise.
Each moment either deposits trust into the relationship or withdraws it.
That changes the way we should think about selling service. The recommendation is not the beginning of the sale. It's the moment the advisor discovers whether enough confidence was built to support the recommendation.
In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, I break down how high-performing advisors make small relationship deposits throughout the customer experience, why thoughtful questions make recommendations more personal and how trust affects approvals, retention, CSI, referrals and income.
You'll also hear one question that can completely change the recommendation conversation: "How long are you planning to keep your vehicle?"
The practical challenge is simple: before presenting the repair, make three intentional deposits. Use the customer's name. Ask a question that reveals what matters to them. Explain what happens next. Then notice how differently the recommendation conversation feels.
Here's the question worth debating: When a customer declines necessary work, are we too quick to blame the price—or should we examine the experience we created before presenting it?
Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t | Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx
🔥Check out our sponsors!🔥
LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability.
Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships.
Reynolds and Reynolds is a leading automotive DMS platform that helps dealerships run more efficient, connected, and customer-focused sales and service operations.
ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals.
Podcast reviews
Read Dealer Talk With Jen Suzuki podcast reviews
Cdub Dealer 2025/10/04
Dealer talk
Good podcast but why are you yelling at me! I’m glad you’re excited but whoa.
Burton Jean 2024/05/15
Sales Appointment Training
I’m literally in her appointment training class right now gaining so much knowledge. Such an amazing experience!
Thank You
Baby Boomer 1956 2021/03/27
Joey Mesa Neighbor
Joey Mesa’s been my neighbor now for over five years it’s great having him as a neighbor and he shows all of these traits at home and family life also...
Eagles62! 2020/12/15
Simply the best!
There is no one more knowledgeable about automotive digital retailing and phone skills than Jennifer Suzuki. She talks the talk and walks the walk! Am...
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