The automotive industry continues to evolve through digital advertising, automation, and changing customer expectations, but attracting buyers still depends on presenting vehicles in a way that earns their attention. During her appearance on the What the Fixed Ops?! podcast, Kate Beirowski, VP of Sales at Dealer Image Pro, shared how her experience across fixed operations, sales, and automotive merchandising has shaped her approach to dealership performance. With nearly 15 years in the automotive industry, Beirowski believes dealerships can improve their results by paying closer attention to the quality of their online inventory, investing in better vehicle imagery, and making sure their marketing efforts reflect the experience they promise customers.
One of Beirowski’s central points is that a dealership’s online showroom deserves the same attention as its physical showroom. Dealerships invest significant time and money into creating an appealing in-person experience, yet their websites do not always receive the same level of care. Vehicle photos, inventory listings, and the overall online presentation are often a customer’s first impression of a dealership. When those elements are incomplete or poorly executed, dealerships risk losing potential buyers before they ever make contact. Beirowski encourages dealers to think about whether their online showroom represents their business as well as the physical one does.
Vehicle photography is especially important because customers use images to evaluate vehicles and compare dealerships. Beirowski pointed out that shoppers are more likely to engage with listings that feature appealing, authentic images than listings with low-quality or artificial-looking photos. She described examples of vehicle images with distorted colors, unrealistic backgrounds, or vehicles that appear to be floating. These images can make a dealership’s inventory look less trustworthy and less appealing. Just as a dealership would not want its physical showroom to look unprofessional, Beirowski argues that it should not allow its website to create that impression either.
Beirowski also explained how effective merchandising can influence the return on dealership advertising. She described seeing a vehicle promoted through a Meta or Facebook ad that displayed a “coming soon” image instead of an actual vehicle photo. In situations like this, dealerships may be spending thousands of dollars to bring shoppers to inventory listings that are not ready to make a strong impression. Her point is that increasing an advertising budget does not necessarily solve a marketing problem. If the photos and listings behind the ads are not compelling, the dealership may be wasting money on opportunities it could have converted with better merchandising.
Automation can make dealership marketing more efficient, but Beirowski cautioned that automated campaigns are only as effective as the information and imagery they use. If an advertising system pulls inventory directly from a dealership website, missing photos can carry over into the ads themselves. She noted that dealerships may also have delays when their photography vendor only visits every few days, leaving vehicles online without complete images. Before investing more in automated advertising, dealerships should make sure their inventory is being presented properly and that the content feeding those campaigns is accurate and complete.
Her upcoming NADA workshop, titled Why Your Marketing Isn’t Working and It’s Not Your Ads, will address these challenges. Beirowski wants dealers to reconsider the assumption that they simply need to spend more on marketing. Instead, she plans to focus on practical ways to improve vehicle merchandising and make sure dealerships are putting their best presentation in front of potential buyers. She emphasized that her goal is not to deliver a sales pitch, but to give attendees straightforward solutions they can take back and put into practice.
Beirowski’s experience at Dealer Image Pro has also reinforced the business impact of improving the merchandising process. She shared that dealerships using Dealer Image Pro alongside PBS Systems saw improvements in time-to-sale, with vehicles selling five to six days faster. That improvement helped demonstrate the value of bringing merchandising and dealership management technology together. Dealer Image Pro was subsequently acquired by PBS Systems, a relationship Beirowski described positively because the companies shared an understanding of how their products could support dealership operations.
Beyond marketing and merchandising, Beirowski discussed the importance of building adaptable sales teams. She believes the fundamentals of selling have not changed as much as the expectations placed on salespeople and the way organizations hire. Rather than relying only on candidates with established sales records, she values motivated people who are willing to learn, take initiative, and figure out solutions when challenges arise. Strong salespeople should be able to adjust their approach when an email or outreach strategy is not working instead of waiting for a manager to tell them what to do next.
She also emphasized that sales leaders need to balance supporting employees with holding them accountable. Leaders should provide clear direction, communicate expectations, and give team members the resources they need to succeed. At the same time, employees’ actions matter more than their promises. Beirowski explained that she is willing to fight for someone who is putting in the effort, following the necessary activity measures, and communicating openly. However, when expectations have been clearly explained and the employee still does not follow through, leaders have to recognize when the situation is unlikely to improve.
Beirowski’s leadership perspective is closely connected to her own career journey and her involvement in Women in Automotive. She shared how networking and speaking at industry events helped her build relationships and ultimately led to her opportunity at Dealer Image Pro. Her experience taught her that career paths are not always straightforward and that professionals should not wait for someone else to recognize their ambitions. She encourages people to speak openly about their goals, ask for opportunities, and put their names forward even when they do not meet every qualification listed in a job description. In her view, confidence and a willingness to learn can open doors that might otherwise remain closed.
She also believes the automotive industry can do more to introduce women to the range of careers available within dealerships and automotive businesses. The industry is often portrayed through outdated stereotypes, which can make it difficult for students and job seekers to recognize the opportunities in sales, fixed operations, technology, and other areas. Beirowski pointed to the ongoing technician shortage as one example of why broader awareness matters. Helping more people understand the variety of career paths available in automotive could support dealerships as they work to attract and develop the next generation of talent.
Ultimately, Kate Beirowski’s perspective highlights an important lesson for dealership leaders: successful marketing begins with the experience a dealership puts in front of its customers. Advertising, automation, and technology can help generate attention, but they cannot compensate for incomplete listings or poor vehicle imagery. By investing in professional vehicle photography, improving online merchandising, and building sales teams that take initiative, dealerships can make better use of their marketing efforts and create stronger opportunities to sell inventory. As Beirowski’s experience demonstrates, the goal is not simply to spend more on advertising, but to make sure every part of the dealership’s online presentation is working toward the same result.
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Hello everybody. I’m Russell Hill, I’m your host at WTF and that is what the fixed ops to all of you out there. And I’m joined today by. Hello everyone. I’m Charity, the co-host here and we’re really excited to have Kate Borowski back with us today. She’s the VP of Sales at Dealer Image Pro. Kate welcome back. It’s good to have you again. Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be back and see you guys. Yeah, we’re excited to hear what you’re up to. Yeah, I know, I was just before you begin, we were just talking about it and it’s probably not going to be released. So I’ll put it on here as we were just talking because we almost hired her a few years ago. For all of you out there she is. So all you folks at Dealer Image Pro that are watching this, you made one of the best decisions you could have ever made by having Kate. So anyway. I paid them to say that. Peter. Tell us who you are, Kate. So I am the VP of Sales at Dealer Imagepro. I’m a mom. I am busy in the automotive industry. I’ve been in the industry for almost fifteen years now and I have been mainly on the fixed side, but I have kind of crossed the aisle a little bit to working more on the sales side and merchandising, but still dabbling in fixed stops, helping the recon process, getting photos online faster so we can sell more cars. So I’ve, I’ve been in the industry, I’m in it for life. I’ve absolutely loved it. And I’m thankful for the relationships, like with Russell and Charity as the VP of sales for Dealer Image Pro. And you said the guy’s name is Peter, is that right? Peter’s r c e. Oh, yeah. Okay. Well, Peter, I gotta tell you what, uh, because this is what attracted you to this specific opportunity. And what, what what were you most excited about? Not that I’m trying to get her or anything. Peter. It’s okay. Just. It’s all right. So I’m gonna say that it’s funny. I can pick a business that’s going to get acquired. So here we go. Um, that every the last couple, I was like, I can pick a great product to work for their product really is there is no comparison. There is no competition like from a, from a final merchandising perspective. So that to me attracted me to that. And then also one of my good friends in marketing works for them, Roxanne douche. And they have been able to build a company really organically. And I was like, wait, if I can go and explode that and sell that and get our name out there further, like this is this is what I do is working for smaller companies and helping them bring to the next level, get that sales plan out there that I really was attracted to that. And we were actually acquired by PBS systems, the DMs out of very familiar with them. They’re they’re good people. Phenomenal people. Yeah. Um, I, I mean, I’m from the Midwest, so I say Midwest nice. Canada’s nicer since I’ve been there and I see why they, I asked the question like, why did they acquire dealer grow and because clearly I can pick a product that is going to get acquired within the first year of me working there that they purchased it in. An interesting story to share is that dealers that that had common customers. So they were dealer Mitch pro customer and a PBS customer that they looked at when they joined dealer Mitch Pro and the improvement on time to sale and that we were helping them sell cars faster by five or six days. And so that’s where they’re like, this is what my customers need from a DMs perspective of they want them to sell more cars and they want them to sell faster. So it is fascinating that like just what we’re able to do from a merchandising perspective for the dealerships. So I know, Jerry, but I gotta ask because I’ll have my ADHD and I’ll forget it. So you were there a year and then you went through a buy sell. You were acquired. Okay. Did you freak out on, hey, what’s going to happen to me? I’m just curious. So we’re just going to keep talking about Peter today, Peter said. My face was. We love you, Peter. Uh, Peter said. My face was. I didn’t hide it well. Like it was not a frozen face when I got notified because I had asked before I got hired if this was in the works, because I have been through some not fun myself. I have been through the scary ones. I will say that at first I was like wtf? Not what? The fixed ops. What’s going on here? Because it is uneasy. But as someone looking to sell any type of company is making sure you know the owners, making sure you know why. Because I think we probably could have been sold to a big. He had had multiple offers from probably the big guys out there, but it wasn’t the right move for. We’re a very family feeling company. And he sold us to a company that embraced that and let us run our like we’re doing phenomenal as a business. And that that was important to them. So this is the best acquisition I’ve ever gone through and I’ve been through a few. So at first, yes, to answer your question, I did kind of freak out. But then it really Peter sat me down. I asked a ton of questions and really he thought very all the way through all of these scenarios and it’s been great for our organization. Excellent. Thank you for sharing that. Absolutely. That’s awesome. Um, I think you would have done well here had we, we hired you. I really would have enjoyed working with you. Um, hey, if you want to sell, I can join now and then it’ll probably get sold in a couple months. I’m just kidding. Yeah, that’s my track record, people. That’s the recipe, right? Hire Kate and the company. You’re right. That is not my plan, though. Yeah, yeah. Now you know all the questions to ask, right? When you do go through a bypass, it’s scary. And most of them probably aren’t. Eventually it’s gonna. And it almost did happen to us. And the employees have to be taken care of. Period. It has to be something that works for everybody. If it’s just a acquisition to gobble you up, break it apart and use and manipulate. I’m really out on that. Mhm. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. It sounds like it was a good relationship, though. Like who bought you already understood your company and they already had a really good synergy with your product and they knew how their product worked with your product and it really worked well. So for many, many years ago, back in twenty two thousand and four, two thousand and five. So I was part of a CRM company called Car Research Car Research or car XR. M it became and I, I met the PBX people and they had this amazing technology that I, I helped them with a leg up with Group one automotive because that was one of my, my clients and I Ken, I remember he’s not there anymore. And I’m sure the company is just like huge now, but they were just starting to infiltrate their way into the US and they’ve made a tremendous mark. They’re doing a phenomenal job on the fixed side, I will say, and I, I don’t sell the PBS product or anything like that is not my forte. But I got to go to their PBS conference in Nashville. And I sat in and specifically having a background with reconditioning and working in the fixed ops area, they really, instead of, I feel bad for dealers that they have to buy EMS and IMS, and they have to buy all these different add ons just to run their business. And PBS wants everything in one so you don’t have to. Well, you can drop our name anytime you want. Kate Hamm, reach out to me. Oh my gosh. It’s it’s wild to me. So they’re they’re they’re doing a lot of work on the reconditioning side and managing the service department. And I will say that it like I’ve seen all the competitors in the space I used to, I was selling that product for a long time and it is very well thought out. It is a phenomenal product. So. Well, hey, let’s change gears. Let’s talk about your keynote at Women in Automotive. Um, yes, let’s hear about that. What was it like to get up on stage and talk in front of all those ladies? And was the pressure high? Were you sweating? Uh, literally, I went on stage and I said I was like, I’ve never felt my my kneecap shake and my knee. Like I didn’t even know that was a thing. Like, I have never been so nervous. I’m fine. Public speaking. I’m fine talking with dealers and customers and getting in front. But I went on and shared a very personal story of myself, of. It’s funny, I’ve had so many in. So many men say, oh, like, did your daddy work for a dealership? Were you handed these jobs? Like what? That that attitude and I didn’t, and I grew up in a scenario where I maybe I wasn’t handed a lot of things. I wasn’t I was looked at as like, hey, I remember someone specifically said, and this was like the whole background of my keynote was, oh, I hope you go to college. And I was like, wait, what? Like I was always going to college. Like, I didn’t know people looked at me different because we didn’t have money. I came from a family with alcohol abuse and those challenges. And like, I didn’t realize people could look at you different than like what you thought of yourself. And like having that personal confidence is so important to getting to the next step. So I. And that basketball coach worked at the university I went to, and then I went and got my master’s from there. And like, I specifically did that because like, no, I’m not going to just stop with my bachelor’s. I have my master’s degree. And like, it was like a in your face type of thing. Like in my mind, I needed to accomplish that. And then like how I brought that into starting in sales and cold calling, doing that to joining an industry I’ve never been a part of and making friends and networking to. One of my goals on my vision board was a VP of sales role and being a keynote speaker and getting out of your comfort zone. So it was a wild experience. It was out of my norm. And now next year or next year, I’m speaking at Nada. Oh, I know, you know what, Kate? We’re going to talk about that more, but I looked everywhere on the nada website to find your name, because I saw you guys say you were speaking and I cannot find it anywhere. So I’m like, where are you? Are you is it a workshop? Is it a presentation? What is it? Yeah, I’m doing a workshop on going through. Why? And you guys are marketing like why, why marketing matters and why imagery matters. And just think like before, how much did dealers invest in their showroom? How much money? Like, I don’t even know, but tons of money to walk into this beautiful experience. Why isn’t your online showroom reflecting that same? They dropped the ball, don’t they? Absolutely. And just think like I, I was texting with a dealer friend that I know and it shows up on my Facebook ad image coming soon. And it said the image and then said the car underneath and I was like, we’re all in marketing. How much do you guys spend on ads? And you’re marketing a car that doesn’t even have a photo. So I’m going through like how to better merchandise, um, your vehicles and making sure it’s like, don’t, don’t just throw money at your meta ads or Facebook ads or whatever else you’re spending money on. You got to focus on the merchandising itself. Well, me being a workshop speaker in a day is, is been a, you know, it’s my forty first year in the business. So, I mean, just to have the opportunity to bring together a couple a few years ago and then she’s going back again, it’s amazing. But I mean, it’s like in the overall scheme of things, very few people really, unless, you know, we just don’t get that opportunity. I can’t tell you how many people submit and just don’t, ever, don’t ever get there to go twice or whatever, like, like charity. I’m just so excited and happy and proud for her and you. And you’ll be able to if you don’t already have it, you have it on your, uh, your, your bio on LinkedIn, you know, nada a workshop, speaker. That’s a that’s like a badge of honor. You know, I feel so honored. And it was funny. Um, we were flying through Dallas last week and or Austin and F1 was there. So it was all car people and a guy had an nada shirt on. I was like, oh, do you work in a dealership? He’s like, no, I actually work for nada. And I was a nerd. My husband was laughing at me. I was like, oh, I’m speaking this year. Like, I was so proud. Uh, my husband’s just giggling next to me, being like, you can’t take her anywhere. But it is a badge of honor to be able to speak and also, like, know that like, I’ve made it. I, I know something now and I can’t wait like to share and help the dealers and whether it’s me they end up using eventually or not. Like there’s just, there’s some things that are just basic, simple items that we can all do that’s very cost effective to just making sure that you’re getting in front of the right buyers and stuff. Like it’s just so important and so meaningful for the dealers. Yeah. Just with what you said earlier about the money they spend for this amazing experience. And and there’s I mean, all four of their profit centers are online too, yet they don’t really pay em. It’s like they drop the ball there, you know, even in fixed ops. Yeah. Like why are why are marketing. Yeah. It’s even worse yesterday. Oh I know, oh, I know, I mean, I got a random email yesterday saying, oh, you missed your appointment. And I was like, my appointment was two weeks ago and I was there and it’s just like, pay attention to the details. Just pay attention. I mean, that’s on marketing someone, someone’s setting up those activities. It’s pay attention to those details because as a customer, I’m like, nope, I didn’t. And like, it just doesn’t, it doesn’t portray the brand that is up on that dealership wall. And like, just think those owners care about that. It needs to flow through. But they’re thinking about it now, aren’t they? Mhm. Yeah, I hope so. Yeah, hopefully. Yeah. It’s, you know, it’s funny, um, our presentation is going to be on marketing as well. But like Russell said, we went together in twenty twenty three for both of our first time speaking on stage together. We didn’t really know what to expect. And we walk in, yeah, we’re going to need to talk so I know what to expect. Well, the room was massive. Russell. What was there like five hundred people? And then there was what we didn’t know is there was an overflow room that was full as well, with TVs up for people that couldn’t get into the main room. I was like, thanks for making me exhausted. I was concerned. Now I’m starting to sweat already. Oh, good. Are we going to have thirty or forty people in there? No, we had hundreds. And my biggest fear is, is anyone going to show up? Yeah. So guys, if you’re around, come show up. No, but I learned some things about breathing that helps. And then, uh, you know, because I get real nervous too, and I don’t mind. I’ll speak in front of anybody. But something about nada. There’s something about it. So then I told Jerry. I don’t know if she’ll do this or not, but when I start really like freaking out? I pinch myself on the thigh so all my attention goes to that pain threshold real quick. And I get it’s like a balance or I refocus. I’m not cutting myself. Don’t take that the wrong way. It’s just a pinch. Do we need to talk about after this? Russell, are you okay? Yeah. No. We can. And charity too. She’s been through it and I’ve listened to her, and there’s three of them. There’s three women executives in the automotive field and they’re all it’s going to be it’s going to be amazing. I’m going to be your biggest cheerleader. She already knows it anyway. It’ll it’ll be so much fun. I hope to make it to yours too. And, um, yeah, I did the math on the presentations. I looked there was, let’s see if I can remember exactly. Yeah. Fifty or so workshops at Nada. Forty of those are given to people who work at Nada. Maybe they have like a dealer talking with them or something, but it’s nada. So that leaves only it was something like fourteen for the general public. So if you’re able. And then they have like over four hundred submissions and you’re one and charities one that is speaking at twenty twenty seven in a day, I get goosebumps. I’m just so happy for both of you. It’s so exciting. Well, now I’m even more excited. I feel more honored now. Well, I mean, it really is to accomplish all that I’ve accomplished in my life with some of the same obstacles that you had growing up, etc. and it’s like, it’s not like your life is over, you’ve arrived. But that’s, that’s a badge that is a tremendous badge that everybody worldwide knows. And that’s not just us. That’s worldwide. Nada. Wow. So happy for you. So now you’re, now you’re freaking out. Peter. Peter. Peter’s back in the conversation. I’ll be good. I’ll be good. You. You’ll be fine. But you know, you you got some practice back at women in Automotive. What did you want the women there to walk away with after your presentation? At that point. Good question. I wanted them to know that no matter the obstacle, no matter how you get to where you are, the road isn’t the same for each person that like you might have to sidestep and take a year off to take care of a baby. And it might look different to one person. And it’s not just a straight ladder to climb, and that we are darn superheroes for what we do. Balance on a day to day from. I had a sick kid this week to managing a team to everything to seventeen soccer practices, but then also making sure that like I have my career and my forefront or I do want to accomplish. And a big piece I talked about was my own vision board and I. And again, I shared my very, very personal goals out there so people could see it of like, yes, VP of sales being a keynote speaker. Those were two things. I also put my weight. I wanted to be healthy and focus on getting to. It was one hundred and fifty pounds and guess what? It was accomplished. And like I was saying, like, you just need to put that out there and making it public and like having a cheering section. And if anything, the automotive industry absolutely has that. And Women in Automotive has done a phenomenal job of creating that culture. I love going to their events. It was more fun going this year because I wasn’t worried about speaking and getting to see friends and everything, but it’s awesome because I actually ended up hiring someone from one of the sessions that I went to when I met, and actually that’s how I got my job at Dealer Pro was through Women in Automotive. They saw me speaking at Women in Automotive and shared my story and ended up getting my VP of sales job. So you said you have ADHD, so do I. Russell. I’m getting sidetracked, but I really wanted women to know that their path isn’t always straight and that you have to set goals out. And you’re not a selfish parent mom out there by setting goals for yourself. And I have dealt with all the mom guilt and making sure someone’s always your husband watching your kids. I was like, no, he’s parenting my children with me. And like, I do work, travel. I do do all these things, but like, it doesn’t make me less of a mom. I’m showing my daughter that she can be a badass too. And like, that’s okay to do that. And I think I’m doing okay. We watched the Barbie movie and she’s like, but mom, real life isn’t like that, is it? I’m like, girl, I’m doing a good job that you don’t know that there’s like specific gender roles that she didn’t know. That’s how the world typically looks because dad does laundry at home too. I do more of it, I will say, but like dad does pick up and drop off and he’s a teacher and like, we have very opposite roles, but like, that’s okay. And like, doesn’t make me less of a mom because of that. No, it does not. And kudos. Yeah, people need to hear that. And especially to women like you and charity and executive roles like that. I mean, that’s, that’s an automotive. I don’t even know all the the obstacles, but I know enough to know that it’s not easy. I’ve been in so and, and, and I’m in so many different rooms where I hear some of the challenges and trials. And I’m not that way with women, but there’s a lot of male egos out there that still are. And it’s like, oh, you can’t do that. I tried that, that won’t work. But it seems like you interrupted those who just did. So good for you. You know, talking about your vision board. I know a few different women who do that, who set goals and create vision boards. How many of your accomplished goals can you really trace back to that board and putting them on paper? Oh, a lot of them. I being a sales girl myself, I am motivated by Items too. So like I, I even have items on there, but I also was really focused on. It’s funny. I made a mistake on it. I put fifteen years of marriage that I wanted to accomplish by when I turned thirty five this year. And then my husband’s like, well, that’s impossible. We’re going to be married thirteen years. I was like, like, you make mistakes. But like it was, it was more funny than anything because he’s like, yeah, you still don’t know when we’ve been married, but that’s okay. Hey, guess what? We’re still married. We are still married. And that was the intent of it, of having a healthy marriage and relationship and like having him as my supporter. But I have like my sisters on there. I lost my parents when I was eighteen, and then my dad at twenty two, and my sisters are my two humans. And like, so I had like a sister picture on there of like making sure that they continue to be my rocks. I put volleyball on there because that’s like my fun thing to do is like still taking time for myself. So like there was things that aren’t necessarily like, hey, I want to hit this, but I put Lasik eye, Lasik eye surgery on there. Oh my gosh, life changing, life changing, I did, I accomplished that. I put a Louis Vuitton bag on there. I did hit my sales goal to like earn me it, but I still couldn’t buy it. I, I had the money for it, but I was like, I still couldn’t drop four thousand dollars. It’s okay, but it motivated you, but I but I’m gonna say I accomplished it because I said, if I hit this, I’m going to do it. And I didn’t, I didn’t do it, but I earned it. So like, I felt good. I put travel on there and like, those are the things that like, I, I’ve always had it pinned up by my desk of knowing like, what do I want in there? And it was like a good motivator. And I think it’s good for salespeople too, in general, but I really wanted to keep the core things like I put cards on there. My husband and I play a ton of cards and dice games and like, that’s, that’s like our foundation for our marriage and like making sure I’m keeping that, but then also having VP of sales on there. So like, it’s the balance of both and making sure you don’t lose sight on accomplishing one thing. But no success at work is worth failure at home and like making sure my marriage is still there. And that’s great. That is awesome. You’re connected with all kinds of women in automotive and, um, you’re very recognizable face. What are people talking about right now? What are the conversations about among those circles right now? Russell, you said like you’ve always been open to hiring women, promoting women, all of that. I am still shocked by the amount of challenges women run into, um, in these circles of, and I think a lot of it has to go back to the female confidence of making sure the job description says X, y, z. Can I actually accomplish that? Versus a man will be like, well, I can get two out of two out of ten. I’m going to still apply. And like that confidence of you put me in the room and I’m going to get it done. I’m gonna figure out how to get it done. If anything, women are figureoutable is like a really funny word to say, but we’re gonna figure it out. And a lot of times I was like, just throw your hat in. Throw your name in. Let yourself be known. It’s the most important thing. And did I check every box? Have I been a VP of sales before? No. But was I confident I could kick ass at it? Yes. And like, it’s something I wanted. And have I done all of these items before? Absolutely not. But I knew I could push myself. And I have a circle of people who I know I can call out of the blue. I texted Russell not long ago saying, hey, do you know this person so you can make a connection? My old bosses. I know for a fact I can pick up the phone call and call and ask questions to. When I was negotiating my salary for this role, I called and talked to my old boss for forty minutes about how do I ask for more money? And like, there’s those things like you have to have a circle around it and you just need to, you need to jump in because guess what? Like women, we will figure it out. Men do the same thing and men throw your hat in. You should. If you’re not, it’s for anyone but going and just trying it and figuring it out. You will land on your feet. I love that scrappy confidence. The fact that I may not know what I’m. If I can do it, yeah, but I’m going to try as hard as I can, right? Or I feel like there’s a lot of men who they’re like, I don’t care if I can do it or not. I’m just gonna go for it and get the job. Like, and maybe they aren’t as successful at completing those tasks. They’re not. They’re there. They there, there may be good, which is getting by, but I equate what you both do to great at what you’re doing that breeds success, not just getting by good. You’re successful because what you do everything and you do it with all the gusto that you can muster. And I think that separates you. Everybody’s probably heard this, but the ninety five from the fives, that’s the way I think about any industry, particularly the car business. but every industry out there, ninety five percent of the population, unfortunately, they get their information from the same ninety five percent of the population that has what they have or less than what they have. And they wonder why they don’t have any more. Because they’re there. They’re listening and talking and reading or not at all to the wrong people who said, oh, you can’t do that. I tried that. That won’t work. And I think that’s what separates the five from the ninety five. And you’re one of those. And when you get into any position, nobody knows how to do it. Everybody starts in the same place at the beginning and you just go after it. And I mean, you, you just you’re a VP and like, you’ve had all this VP experience before. No. Well, you do now. You’re getting it. You’re learning it. I’m figuring it out. Yeah, yeah, I love it. I’m excited. I’m just I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it. It’s exciting. It is. Was it as hard as you thought it would be? Was it as challenging as you thought it would be? Were your expectations a little bit overblown? You’re like, this is way more reasonable than I really gave myself credit for. I’m gonna say like a little of Peter’s listening. Be careful. Yeah. No, I’m gonna say a little of all of it because I could have ask better questions from the get go. I learned a lot of I made assumptions, and I will tell anyone, don’t assume anything. Like you got to dig in to all of the details. So like, I definitely like, I kind of made assumptions for the first three months and I was like, oh crap, we gotta break down some more barriers because they’ve never had that outbound, um, the sales organization. And so I ended up kind of doing some rework on some things, but I think that’s with any role is like, I wish I could have asked better questions. And now going forward, I know what questions I should should be asking, but there’s been so many better things about it. And then there’s some things that I want to do I haven’t had a chance to do yet, but that’s also the the life of an exec is what’s going to take priority and what are we doing. And you just got to prioritize it. There’s never enough time in the day, but eventually you need to make those priorities in front. So it’s been hard, but it’s fun. I love it. Do you think the automotive industry has really changed for women, or do you think women have gotten better at navigating the challenges? That’s a great question. I think I want to say a little of both. I think that women have gotten better at navigating it and now have proven it to change the mindset of others. So I think getting around and then now that we see women in the leadership roles, they actually do know what they’re doing. I have an employee who loves to say, actually, that was really helpful. And I was like, actually, I know what I’m doing. So I say that to someone all the time. I was like, wow, this is why I’m the VP of sales. But I think that women have navigated it, proven it, that now people are being like, they know what they’re doing or, oh, they’re really good at this. And just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean it needs to be treated differently. I think there’s still a very large gap, though, between fixed ops and women in leadership and fixed ops and female customers. Yep. I still feel that. And I, I was just in the dealership a couple weeks ago picking up a car. And it was interesting because they got to hear from someone who knows what they’re doing. And I gave some very honest feedback. Good for you. Good for you. Yeah, I get I can see like on the vendor side, they’re definitely becoming more comfortable with women. But when you walk through the door of the dealership, especially into the back, into the service and parts, maybe, maybe they’re less familiar with having as many women around. I could not agree with you more. I have it’s very rare. Even I was just in Chicago two weeks ago going into dealer visits, And I went into ten, saw Joe Chambers, I saw Roger, I saw zero females the entire time. Besides for me and my sales rep. Zero time. I mean, maybe like the receptionist, but like, that’s the typical dealer. Yeah. I said, you know what, the women that I’ve seen that are advisors and even the techs, they’re very proficient and, and outperform them in. That’s just my personal experience from what I’ve seen. Mhm. Do you feel like dealers are just having a hard time in general, especially on the fixed up side, keeping and getting enough employees in general, let alone women, you know, to fill fill the back. I mean, absolutely. I mean, finding technicians is where I joined the business and still great friends with it’s a s now, but purchased French way again. Told you guys I can pick a product and they are the technician shortage is no joke. I think that there’s a lack of education on the automotive industry to know that there are careers in this and that like, I don’t know, I didn’t grow up and be like, oh, I want to work in a dealership. Like that was never that was never a thought in my mind that I don’t think females even understand that there’s opportunities in this space from high school, from I mean, they have no idea. So I think that’s going to be I think women need more education on that. I know the university that does a lot there, the university. And yeah, I know it’s right on the tip of my um, yeah, I know they do a great job educating that there’s automotive jobs out there and there’s vendors and like, you can go to school for sales, but like that, there’s an entire complex industry behind it. And I don’t think women know that. Yeah. And I can say growing up, the automotive industry, it wasn’t given a good reputation for me growing up like a used car. Salesmen are like the gross dirty dudes, like that is what that’s what TV portrays. Yeah, the bottom of the bottom. Yeah. Nobody strives for the bottom in high school. You know, they’re all shooting. Some of them might end up there anyway. So I’m medical sales and like all these high class or lawyers and like, all the fancy sales outfits and stuff. I don’t know. I think about outfits. I’m a girl and you know what? Yet you cannot have a college education. You can make more in automotive on either side, variable or fixed than somebody with a four year degree. Absolutely. Excuse me. Still paying off three hundred thousand dollars in debt. I’m sorry. It’s just I. Hey, I paid I paid cash for my master’s. But guess what? Every month, I’m still paying for my undergrad, which is wild to me. And I’m thirty five. It’s. Yeah, it’s a whole. And you know, my husband is starting, he started, um, an Hvac company and we’re looking at the money put into that and the money put into my school. And we’re like, which one paid off more? And mine paid off right away. I didn’t have to go, you know, build anything. So we’re kind of like, I don’t know, so far, I’m still in the lead, but give it a year. We’ll see what happens. But it’s going to be great. He’s going to do a phenomenal. Let me ask you about building and leading sales teams. Has anything changed about the way you lead people today versus five years ago, ten years ago? Has your leadership skills changed? My leadership skills have definitely changed from an adjustment standpoint, but I think it’s funny when I talk to people, they’re like, you’ll see all the time, like cold calling is dead. Doing like doing outreach like that is dead. And the actual sales process itself hasn’t changed. I, from a sales leadership perspective, I think the hiring has changed. I think who are in these seats have changed quite a bit. I think people are much more likely to jump ship now than what they had in the past. So like the loyalty part of it has changed. I still will say I love hiring a young go getter that wants to make money that I can mold all day long. Then typically someone with a proven record, I put that in quotations and not in really. It’s just talking the talk. A salesperson can sell you in an interview like. And that’s you get stuck with that. I’ve encountered a few of those. Yeah. Yep. Been there, done that. It’s not fun. So it is absolutely a challenge. But I think I’ve adjusted to what has worked is like making sure like you pay someone fast, they, they’re motivated by money. You’re making sure you’re hiring someone who is adaptable. I’ve worked for companies that are in the building phase of their sales orgs, and making sure that they can make a decision without me is wildly important. Not sitting there waiting for me to tell them what to do next. It’s trying, being able to trial things, making sure that they know, hey, if this email doesn’t work, you don’t have to use it. Try something else. Like let’s figure. We got to figure it out, but not wait for me to tell you to figure it out. Um, that to me is powerful. You know, where they don’t think, oh, my God, I’m gonna get fired? No. Encourage that. Yep. Um, versus I’ve had people from very stable sales organizations that might have says that they’re just sitting and demoing and closing. That is a skill that’s a great skill to have. But for me, I wanted the hunters to figure it out. The not needing mom to give direction. Um, sometimes I feel like mom and that’s, that’s not a fun task when I’m, I always I’m I’m mom twenty four seven. Um, but being willing to try something to figure out when things are hard sales is fun when it’s easy. But when you have the down months or a lot of dealers, like if you look at what the top dealer groups are doing, like it, the trend is not great. And right now that means they’re going to be cutting costs. They’re not going to be looking to add things to your business. A good salesperson is going to figure out how do we how do we work through that? Not just throwing the towel. And you have to be able to manage to that and let them see that vision. There’s definitely a skill in building a sales organization and there’s different types. There’s, you know, the, the cold callers or the, you know, the, the, the ones that I’m only comfortable if it’s already set up and everything’s ready to go. And you tell me exactly the ten steps to get from A to B, um, and then, but you’re more in the bucket of the go getters, the hunters, the, the go the street fighters. Yeah, yeah. The street fighters, I love it. And I think a lot of sales leaders make the mistake of keeping people too long. And I, I’ve been known to do that of you should know. I mean, you you have a gut feeling thirty days in. You do. And I don’t think that God has ever been wrong for me. But I have been like, well, did I do enough? Did I set them up for success? Did I provide them with everything they needed? So then I drag it out to ninety days and it’s like, did I need to do that? And I think a lot of sales leaders struggle with that because it is the human side of things. I, I have told my team, I take it so very personally to have their career in my hands, that it’s my job to help them develop and that I’m here to support them and give and set them up for success. So taking away their income, their livelihood is a really big deal and something I don’t take lightly at all. But also their actions speak louder than their words and salespeople can sell. They can come up with a million excuses. But what are their actions say? And I, I think sales leaders, and I’m also doing some self-talk right now, need to look at actions speak louder than words. Yeah. So I kind of, you know, sorry I interrupted you again. Russell. No. How do you know? Um, when it’s time to cut the cord? Like if you have a sales person that maybe, maybe hasn’t sold anything, but but they’re given more leniency because it, you know, it’s more difficult. Uh, they’re, they’re trying to reach a higher barrier or something. But how do you know when it’s time to cut the cord? The actions will tell you if they’re working their butt off and they’re doing the KPIs, they’re working, they’re communicating with you. You know that they’re actually trying. I will fight tooth and nail for that person to stay and figure out, how do we get them to get a close. Let me help you. If I’ve given the direction on multiple occasions, I’ve made sure my communication has been very direct and I. You can’t hint at things. It’s I need this, this, and this from you. And if they still don’t do it, then that’s not on me anymore. No. And that’s where you will see. If they don’t respond to it, then it’s most likely it’s not going to work. Because just think, what am I going to have to repeat this every month? AM I going to have to have this conversation for the next six months of my life like that. That’s not my job. We’re adults. I love it. Is there any career advice that perhaps you would. Once upon a time, have given. But not anymore. I think I used to say, like, just work really hard. It will come. And I do not believe in that anymore at all. Someone will notice when I go to sleep at night. I’ll be honest, I’m not fond of sleep thinking, how am I going to get my team to the next level? I might be falling asleep thinking you should be thinking about how am I going to get myself to the next level. I think that before I’d be like, just work really hard. Someone will notice. And I am very much like, you ask me for the opportunity. You want something, ask me because I’m running a million different directions. I might not think of it. You want to make sure that your name is in every hat and in every room, and ask to be a part of it. Ask to be in it. So I think the squeaky wheel gets the grease in this situation. I think I would definitely have changed my tune on that, because I think I used to work really hard and hope for it versus being forward and asking. I like that it’s an inside job that manifests itself out, not the opposite. If I didn’t outwardly say I want to be a VP of sales, I wouldn’t have been approached for the job. Nobody’s going to know your dreams. You know they’re not going to. Can’t read minds. So you’re going to have to go out there and say it, you know. Yeah, you gotta say it. Absolutely. You gotta speak it into existence. Whether it happens at this opportunity or the next opportunity. People don’t know. They don’t know. And you, you spoke it into existence. You’re a force to be reckoned with. Yeah. And before we run out of time. I want to hit a little bit more on your presentation at nada. Oh, let’s do it. Tell us your title. Uh, what’s the, you know, the marketing blurb. Tell us a little bit about your description. Um, what do you have planned? Yeah. So the title is wire marketing isn’t Working and it’s not your ads. So that I think is absolutely a loaded statement of dealers think like, okay, I need to spend more on marketing, I need to spend more. And I know charity, you run your marketing and you always are probably asking for more marketing budget. But if you are marketing out a crappy ad, a crappy photo of getting it in front, and there’s so much competition in all of these markets for fixed stops, for sales, for everything. What are they going to click? Are they going to click what’s pretty or what’s not? I think of it from Amazon. You can tell the weird CGI photos. And I was like, oh, this is probably going to be a cheap, crappy shirt from China. Or I see it and they have the real actual yeah, models wearing it. And I know it looks cute or I’ve seen an influencer talking about it and that you, you, you’re more apt to purchase. It’s the same thing for. Okay, it looks like a good service department. It looks like I want to be a part of like they’re going to take care of me. Or in my case, if the photo looks good and we’ve all looked for cars, Does it compete with the one next door? Right now there are cars floating in the air. They look like the background is so fake. The colors are distorted. I hate that. It’s just I hate it. It’s like, why are you like, this is your showroom. You wouldn’t let your showroom look like this. Why are you letting your website look like it? Yeah, and it blew my mind earlier when you said they were running a meta ad with no photo at all. Like, put image here. Literally said photo coming soon. You guys would be shocked of how often I see that people make decisions based upon that real quick. And they’re automated. And that’s the thing is automation is great, but you can’t. You. I mean, just think of the thousands of dollars. I mean, it’s a big group. I’m talking about the thousands of dollars in meta ads that they’re wasting to do that, and they’re not paying attention and they’re not even noticing it. Yeah. So that’s where it’s like great automation. You can buy a system that automates your ads, but if it’s pulling from your website, no photo because you have a photo vendor showing up every five days. You’re not selling cars. That’s. That’s for darn sure. No, but you’re definitely making Facebook and Meta a little bit much. I mean, maybe they got a lot of stock in it. I have no idea. Well, apart from your presentation at Nada. And let me ask you, did you, um, submit your presentation just like the rest of us and get, um, chosen? Congratulations. And I just blew through the stuff we submitted quite a few, um, quite a few ideas. I think I submitted three different ideas, so I was excited to get one selected. That’s awesome. Yeah. And congratulations again, because statistically it’s very unlikely that you’re going to get one of those. And you got one. So good. I’m so excited. Well hey look at you guys going up there again. So that’s exciting. I could be wrong. And I think Jerry and I were talking about this, but I sensed a little hesitancy when she told me because she submits several as well with me, me, me and her, etc. if she comes up with these phenomenal ideas that one of them will catch. And it didn’t catch me, it caught her. And and it’s like, maybe I’m wrong, but I sense a little hesitancy. Well, you know, I’m I’m speaking in a day. Well, you got three executive women. Uh. Hell yeah. You got chosen. That’s freaking amazing. Over, over an old fogey like me. I think it’s great. And she knows I’m very supportive of that. And I get that I, I feel that a little bit too, of like I, because I know other people had made submissions. I was like, oh, I feel bad you didn’t get chosen, but I did. And like, I get that feeling of like, I’m sorry. Like, I didn’t mean I didn’t want to take your spot. Like I didn’t want to compete against someone in my own company. So I get that. But, but I didn’t think that at all. Not at all. Because she’s representing us anyway. And, and what we’re doing and the things that she’s learned and what she’s brought to the table, I’ve seen. Just like you. I’ve watched you grow since I met you in two thousand and two. I mean twenty twenty two when that first you were working for Jay and yeah, I mean, that would have been even, right? Didn’t we meet up before Covid? It must have been after kind of been. But I’ve been on SDL since Covid time ish, like when that started. So I mean, it’s been years and charity, I just just watching the people grow over the last six or seven years because our company just turned seven years old this month. That’s amazing. It’s exciting, it’s exciting, it is exciting. And, um, you know, and that’s really the benefit when it comes down to is when you get a presentation at Nada, you’re representing your whole company. So your, your company has representation. I know you guys have a booth too, which is fantastic. Um, what else are you looking forward to? Yeah, nada. Twenty twenty seven Disney World, Disney World. Uh, my kids are jealous, I am excited. I may or may not be saying a day early or late to go ride a ride that I get to choose. I don’t have to follow my kids around that. I get to choose where I go. Very excited. But no, I, I’m excited for the team atmosphere part of it like it is. It’s a salesperson’s dream to like, be on the floor to like close deals and celebrate like all together because we all work remote. So like I, that time with my, my sales team is huge bonding experience. Yeah. And then also seeing current clients come up in like, say how much they love us. Like that is just like the conviction that sales people need to know, like you need conviction to sell and knowing that, like so many people love our product like that, that’s something I always look forward to. But really, I, I’m excited to hang out with my team. Like they’re, they’re a hoot. And they’re, and like, we hit awesome numbers last year, like the best nada our company has seen in like now. Challenge accepted. Like I gotta beat it like that. That is me in a nutshell of like, I have a big goal I want to hit. And like, that’s what motivates me. And then maybe I’ll buy myself a Louis bag. Who knows? Yeah. Do it. We want to hear next time we talk to you. We want to hear that you got that Louis Vuitton bag? I don’t know, I could have I want to hear it. I want to see it. I just don’t want to drop the money. Oh, that would be a pinch for me, too. I’d be like, I like it. It’s like I want it, but do I really want it? Yeah, maybe eBay second hand. Maybe I’ll do that. So what do you what do you hope to bring to nada to the audience you’re going to talk to that they haven’t heard a hundred times before. Like just a solution, like something that they can take home and just like execute on like, I don’t want to do a fancy sales pitch. I don’t want them to be like, oh, I gotta like, I want something simple and easy, like here. Like, let me actually solve your problem. Like that’s what I’m looking most important to because and that’s kind of the design of our product we’re selling is like, we don’t need dealers to be hands on. Like, let us just like solve the problem for you. And like, you just run your business. Like you go focus on all the other like cool things you saw. This doesn’t need your involvement. And we’ll just, we’ll fix it for you. And like that, that to me, like it’s something I really enjoy is like not making it hard, hard to work with, hard to do that. So like I, and like also just, I like learning, I like learning from all the dealers and hearing their scenarios and being like, okay, we don’t have a solve for that yet, but like, let us solve it. Like, let us figure it out. Your, your, your body language, your voice inflection, your enthusiasm and your excitement is, is it, it’s very attractive to people. And that’s going to be what that’s going to be, what resonates. That’s, that’s your, that’s who you are. Okay. I can’t sell a product I don’t believe in. I can say that all day long. Some can and some can’t. I can’t either, I can’t either. No, Because you know what? My words won’t match my actions and people pick up on that. I’m pretty transparent when it comes to that. And I think you are. I’ve got these dark eyebrows. You can read exactly what my face says, like I can’t hide anything. Like people know like again, when Peter and I’m sure I was like, well, what’s next? Kate? Um, you got nada coming up. You guys are exhibiting, you’re speaking, you’ve had keynotes at women. We’re hiring, um, and growing the sales team. And my goal for next year is to get to more conventions and actually apply for more speaker roles. You’ll get them. Right? Yeah. I can’t wait to see the same thing happening with charity for charity too. That’s not on my vision board, though. Speaking. You know, speaking of speaking, Russell’s been speaking a lot. He’s been at mud. He’s been just about on every show you can think of. You know, he’s just I love it, but I’d be scared to death get back on stage in a day. But I would do it in a heartbeat. Yeah. And maybe it happens again. Maybe it doesn’t. But I know that there’s a lot going on in automotive. And there is. And what both of you are going to be bringing to the table and it’ll be promoted, uh, in a big way. Okay. Uh, up and coming. When your episode releases, then people need to come and see you and, um. Mhm. Yeah. And you’ll see dealer image pro on all the banners when you walk in, you’ll, you’ll see I get to meet Peter a loud statement this year. So. Well, I get to meet Peter. Absolutely. He’ll be there. Peter, I’m going to come meet you and shake your hand. I might even scare you half to death because I’m a hugger. I just don’t know. He’s a hugger. He won’t scare him. He’s still a phenomenal company. And it’s gonna be so much fun. So. And we’re in. We’re in a good spot. You’ll find us right away. So I’m excited. It’s going to be an awesome show. Awesome, awesome. Well, with that, we’re out of time. Russell, you’ll have to wrap us up. Boom. Well, okay. Usually. Okay. Are there any questions that we didn’t ask that you wish we did today? No, I don’t think so. Okay. Well, then all of you out there that follow WTF? Yeah. What the fuck stops? Kate Borowski, VP of Sales and Dealer Image Pro like a lover. Share it. Ask your questions. Reach out to connect. Find out everything you can about Dealer Image Pro. Make sure you support her at Nada on her keynote. Visit the booth. Find out all you can because she is a stud stud stud stud. Anyway, this is a wrap for WTF. What the fuck stops another phenomenal episode. Thank you so much Charity and Nathan for the producing that you’re doing. And Kate, we love you. Yeah, thank you so much Kate.
