Turning a Local Nissan Dealership into a 40-Year Trust Machine with Geri Lynn

0:01John Lee Dumas:Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today we'll be breaking down how to turn a local Nissan dealership into a 40-year trust machine. And to drop these value bombs, I brought Geri Lynn into EO Fire Studios. Geri is a 40-year Nissan owner in Louisiana and is known for human-centered leadership, visible presence on the lot, and turning a once-skeptical car buying experience into a culture of trust and fun. So we'll talk about the dealer journey, how culture moves the needle, eliminating trust killers, and oh, so much more.

0:37John Lee Dumas:And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Jerry and our sponsors. Ready to make AI work for your business? With NetSuite by Oracle, you can put AI to work today. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, get our free business guide, Demystifying AI, at netsuite.com slash fire. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash fire. nestsuite.com slash fire. Stop duct taping your business together. High Level runs your website, your funnels, email, automation, scheduling, payments, and memberships all in one place. And when you sign up at highlevelfire.com, you get a 30-day free trial plus my exclusive bonus stack that includes weekly office hours with me and much more.

1:16John Lee Dumas:Visit highlevelfire.com, highlevelfire.com. Jerry, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What's up, Fire Nation? I'm going to share with you guys what I believe that a lot of people disagree with. And I believe that the customer is not always right. I've worked under that philosophy or that strategy in the past and living under the customer is always right belief has caused a lot of fear, a lot of insecurity, a lot of tears. And we lost a lot of employees along the way because of it. So as the dealer and the entrepreneur here, I feel like it's my job to make my employees feel safe and protected and loved and appreciated.

2:15And I want them to know that to me, they matter. Without my employees, I wouldn't have any customers. I can't do anything at this dealership by myself. I can't type deals, wash cars, repair vehicles, type paperwork. The employees are my business. And I believe that happy employees equals happy customers.

2:39John Lee Dumas:Jerry, that's such a great way to start the episode. I mean, Fire Nation, the importance of building a team, a family, trust. And that's exactly what we're talking about here today, turning a local Nissan dealership into a 40-year trust machine. And guess what? No, the customers are not always right. In fact, sometimes they're dead wrong. Sometimes they're bleep holes. Let's just be honest. We're not going to say the word, but you get what I'm saying. and you got to have the backs of those people who are your family, who are your team. And I want to talk about the dealer journey. So Jerry, how the heck did you get started and what led you to become a dealer in the first place?

3:18You know, that could be a whole podcast right there. Honestly, it's been a long journey, but the way that I became a dealer is kind of, kind of odd. I was 23 years old and newly married And my husband at the time was from a car dealer family. So he just decided not long after we were married, when I was still at LSU in chemical engineering and pregnant with our first baby, that he was going to buy a dealership. I thought that was pretty preposterous, honestly. I couldn't imagine buying a dealership. I didn't even own a car. I'd never bought a car. So my dad had given me a car the Christmas before.

3:58and I was over the moon about that Pontiac Sunbird. And somehow or another, he pulled it off and he bought that dealership. I stayed home. We signed the papers on that dealership a week after our baby was born. So I kind of birthed a baby in a dealership in the same week. And then I stayed home a year and stayed with my baby. And then I went back to LSU and finished my degree, which was a very high priority for me. When I graduated, I had to make a decision. I really wanted to be a chemical engineer. I worked so hard for that, to get that degree, but I couldn't bear to not be accessible to my son and my family.

4:43So I made the decision to kind of get my feet into the dealership, kind of tiptoe in. So I started working in service, and I really, really liked it a lot. I just liked being with the people. And it was fun. I would go talk to the techs, and we would figure things out, and it was really fun. And then I progressed and got into sales, and then my husband and I bought more dealerships. And ultimately, I became the face of the store along with my team that I advertise with to this day. We became the face of the store and we did funny commercials with Polly the parrot. And really, people loved us. And I really ran all of the stores.

5:24I did HR. I did sales, advertising. I even worked really hard in planning and constructing new dealership buildings. So I was involved in every aspect of the business. And then I ended up facing a very difficult divorce situation. and because I had been so, because of my involvement in the dealerships, it put me in a position to be able to become the dealer of a dealership and of the dealerships that him and I had, I was able to get the Nissan store.

5:57John Lee Dumas:And you are right, Jerry. This could be a whole episode in and of itself. So we will stop there for now because we're going to have a lot to talk about today around that topic because I want to move into culture because that's one thing you do so well And that really moves the needle for both you and your business, because you say that cultural choices impact performance, not just morale. So how do you, Jerry, intentionally design culture to drive results in a sales environment? You know, I don't think we designed anything. I think it just, we've been doing this for so many years. It just evolved.

6:34In 1994, we put Polly the Parrot in the commercials. and I will tell you that was a hit. She did have some controversy. She did make national news and she did make controversy in our city but she became a staple at the dealership. She's still here today and she was a family pet. She was not something that I brought to the dealership for a commercial. She was a family pet and we were going to be advertising for the first time on TV and I just thought we need something people will remember us by. Just one of the meal commercials is just not going to do it. So I said, let's just bring our bird to the commercial.

7:17So we did, and she bit us, and she made us laugh, and she made customers laugh, and she became part of our Nissan and really our whole family legacy at the dealership. And she is still here today in our showroom. She's still a part of that. But, you know, I guess that kind of started taking us to fun and comical and energetic. And we started ringing bells and celebrating. So this has been happening over many, many years. And on top of that, my management team, which is Ron, Russell, Justin and Byron, we've been together. Us five have been together for so many years that we just know each other so well.

7:59We're just hand-knows-what-the-foot-is-doing. We can almost look at each other and know what's happening. So we have really good chemistry with the management team. And also, my service manager has been with me since the 90s, and we're really close to him too. On top of that, we do things together outside of the dealership. And some of us even have our own RV group together. So we're pretty like we're pretty connected and we enjoy our time together. We enjoy our work life together. And we also support each other through, you know, over the years we've had some some difficult situations such as my divorce, such as losing my parents.

8:46My co-workers have lost a couple of parents also. So we've been through some tough journeys. But we come into work and we ring those bells and we laugh and we hug and we love on our customers. And we just thank God for having a place to work and having each other.

9:03John Lee Dumas:Well, Jerry, I want to talk about eliminating trust killers. I mean, this is a big focus of you. So how do you first identify those trust killers? And then how do you remove them? Because you know they're silently sabotaging the buying process. So talk about that. Well, I think one of the things today we have to think about with trust is when you're handing over your personal information, when you come to a dealership and you're buying a car, you have to give us your identity. You have to give us your social security number, your driver's license, your driver's license picture, where you worked, all these things.

9:37And any of us could take that information and sabotage the customer with their identity. So giving us that kind of information is really, really an honor that the public trusts us to be able to do that for us. So we have to be very respectful of their privacy and very respectful of their information, and we have to take really good care of it. But I think running the dealership consistently and being here for so many years, and on top of that, we have something that you just can't imagine, a reputation score of 15 out of 18 ,000 in the nation. Wow. It puts us at the very just top in reputation.

10:22And J.B. Power, dealer of excellence, seven years in a row. When J.B. Power puts their stamp of approval on your dealership, and I just want to shout out to Greg London. Thank you so much, Greg London, for believing in us. We love you. J.B. Power puts their stamp of approval on your dealership. The public relaxes a little bit, And they don't expect us to do some of the, I guess, underhanded or some of the things that they might expect at a different dealership. I'm also a mom and a grandmother, and I'm nurturing and comforting. So when I get people in here that have first-time buyer jitters, financial issues, and loss, we deal with people that have lost spouses and unfortunately children and have some really sad situations.

11:10I love on them and comfort them and let them know we're going to do everything we can to take care of them. So again, I want the customer to leave here with the same feeling the employee has that they matter.

11:22John Lee Dumas:I mean, 15 out of 18 ,000, that is so fantastic. I mean, there's a lot we can learn from this Fire Nation and we will be talking about reimagining the human side of car buying and more when we get back from thanking our sponsors. If you've ever tried to secure a traditional bank loan for your business, then you can know the process is slow, complicated, and it rarely moves at the speed you need. In between increasingly strict lending requirements and a growing number of obstacles, you're often stuck waiting right when you need capital now. That's why I want to tell you about Revenued. Revenued is built for small business owners who need fast, flexible access to working capital without relying on your personal credit score.

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14:23John Lee Dumas:Stop piecing tools together. Start building momentum. Visit highlevelfire.com and start building your something today. Jerry, we're back and I want to talk about reimagining the human side of car buying. I mean, how do you redesign the buying experience to make it more authentic, more transparent, and more customer focused? First of all, car buying today can be almost all done at home on the computer. We want our customers to come into the dealership because we know that if they don't come in here, they're missing out. They're missing out with forming a relationship with us. We want them and we want to connect with them and we want to understand their needs.

15:09And when they tell us their story, sometimes we can tweak the vehicle to meet their needs. I had a customer the other day looking at a Rogue and they have two 95-pound dogs. And so I basically said, you know, I'm hearing you have two 95-pound dogs. Can we maybe upgrade you to a Pathfinder? I think that would better meet your needs. Just getting to know them and their situations helps us get the best possible outcome for their purchase. We don't want them to buy a car that is not right for them. We don't want that to happen. I had a customer the other day looking for her family with a van that had 250 ,000 miles on it.

15:50And we told them, don't buy this vehicle. This is not the right vehicle for you. This would be a good vehicle for somebody who wants to work on it or you want it for a work vehicle. But this isn't a good vehicle for your family. And the customer left without buying anything. And that's okay because that's what we're here for, to make sure that they get their needs met. and when I can deal with them personally, I can love on them, pray with them. If they're freaking out, I'm like, do you want a glass of wine? It might help you. I just want them to feel safe and happy. And also, we answer our own phones.

16:27We don't have AI or voicemail. And so the reason that is important is because if somebody has a, let's just say you're at work and you get a notice that your trade wasn't paid off, you're going to be pretty upset and pretty helpless because you're at work. You call over here, we answer the phone, and in 10 minutes we have whatever wasn't taken care of by your lender. We have them on the phone, and I can tell you it was the lender's mistake. And we pay off all our trades, and our paperwork is flawless. And my office is phenomenal. There's a lot going on here besides sales. We have just fantastic.

17:08The fact that we have tenured sales, we also have tenured office. We have tenured service. But I don't want people to be in a panic and then get on a phone in here. Press one. Tell us more. We want to help you. Tell us more. And you can't get a human on the phone. You get a human on the phone here and sometimes it's me. so I don't want people losing sleep at night. I will give out my cell phone and I don't want people panicking and not able to get in touch with us. We're very accessible. Just walk in the store and you'll see us. We're right there.

17:47John Lee Dumas:I mean, Jerry, these are some great lessons for dealers and I actually want to dive deeper into this. I mean, from your experience, what are the most important lessons every dealer should take to heart to succeed today? I would say what I have heard for 40 years is, you're the dealer? I never met the dealer before. They can't believe that the dealer is out on the sales floor. They can't believe that I'm introducing myself to them. Most dealers, I will tell you from what I hear, are in their offices. And I hear it from my customers. I also hear it from my sales reps. I hear it from my insurance people.

18:25I hear it from everybody. It's so weird that you're out on the floor. I can't imagine not being out on the floor, but this is what I would say. Customers get so excited if I meet them out on the lot on the golf cart or if I bring them a bottle of water and I work their deals. I tweak their deals. And what I would say to dealers is what's more important than our customers and our employees, go hang out with your people. How are they going to know what you stand for and what you want if they can't see you and see how you function and what you want? Get out of the office and get onto the floor. You'll be fine.

19:01John Lee Dumas:Jerry, you've been dropping value bombs all day here. And I know a lot of people are taking lessons, even if they don't own a car dealership, if they run a business, these are lessons that permeate through the verticals, the niches, the different industries. So for the entrepreneurs listening, what would you say is one mindset they should commit to, to transform the trust, the culture, and the performance of their business? Healthy employees, loyal employees, longevity of your employees creates loyal customers. And I'm selling to grandchildren from grandparents now. I sold to a customer the other day.

19:44He said, my grandfather bought cars here. My dad bought cars here. Now I'm buying cars. And I sent him with three bottles of wine, one to the first generation, one to the second generation. generation and went to the third generation. If you want that kind of following, we have to be consistent. We have to put out quality professional work, and we have to love the people we work with and love what we do. I will tell you this, this is a lively, energetic, fun, funny place. We have our wiener dogs running around the dealership, and you have to make your business stand out and be different. If you look at our website, it's all about the wiener dogs and we're a car dealership.

20:29But you know what? If you want to click on a Sentra, you're going to have to click on a dog bone. You're not going to get a normal website here. We ring bells, we open champagne, we take pictures, and we have crazy fun where the employees love working together and the customers love buying cars. And that's Sherry Lynn Nissan in Houma, Louisiana.

20:50John Lee Dumas:I mean, I love the full circle. We started by talking about the power of putting your team first, putting your employees first, putting your family first, and that's how we're ending. So Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with GL and JLD today, so keep up that heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type Jerry, G-E-R-I, in the search bar, and the show notes page will pop right up. and Jerry, thank you. I can't thank you enough. This is so exciting for me and such an honor. Thank you so much.

21:28You're so awesome.

21:28John Lee Dumas:Jerry, you're awesome too. And we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Jerry for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we're now accepting applications for EO Fire. So to learn more, visit eofire.com slash guests and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Ready to make AI work for your business? With NetSuite by Oracle, you can put AI to work today. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, get our free business guide, Demystifying AI at netsuite.com slash fire.

22:05John Lee Dumas:The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash fire, netsuite.com slash fire. Stop duct taping your business together. High Level runs your website, your funnels, email, automation, scheduling, payments, and memberships all in one place. And when you sign up at highlevelfire.com, you get a 30-day free trial, plus my exclusive bonus stack that includes weekly office hours with me and much more. Visit highlevelfire.com, highlevelfire.com.