The Dealer Playbook

The Dealer Playbook is the podcast for serious automotive professionals. The ones who think beyond the transaction.Hosted by Michael Cirillo, now in its 12th year, The Dealer Playbook delivers straight-talk conversations with the dealers, operators, and leaders who are actually building something.If you run a store, lead a team, or are building a career worth having, this is your show.New episodes every week. Follow so you don't miss one.

The Dealer Playbook is a business podcast hosted by Michael Cirillo, with 701 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Michael Cirillo hosts The Dealer Playbook, a business show with 701 episodes published.

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  The Dealer Playbook

  "Absolutely Cancerous" - The Biggest Problem In Retail Auto and How To Solve It | Michael Cirillo, CEO at FlexDealer

  Aug 18, 202631 min

  Most people assume the biggest problem in retail auto is inventory, rates, or competition. But every time I walk into a dealership, I see something else at the core of the struggle. It isn’t obvious on the surface, but you can feel it in the turnover, the burnout, the “busy but not fulfilled” pace that too many teams are stuck in. In this week’s solo episode, I share what I believe is the biggest problem holding retail auto back, and how you can solve it. It’s the same framework my team and I use in my companies, and it’s made all the difference in how we lead, how we serve, and even how I show up at home with my family. I think you’ll find it both challenging and hopeful. Timestamps (00:00) Ethical Fading Warning (00:35) Episode Sponsor: FlexDealer (02:05) Legacy Matters (06:46) Why Teams Feel Stuck (10:25) Defining Ethical Fading (13:14) Reset With Values (16:30) Guiding Principles Exercise (19:50) Six Genius Types Explained (24:18) Action Steps And ROI (27:18) Using GPT As Chief Of Staff (30:24) Final Thanks And Subscribe

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  The Dealer Playbook

  “What’s the Next Move” — How Top Car Sales People Stay Ahead of the Market | Andrea Anderson, Cadillac Sales Consultant

  Aug 11, 202635 min

  This week Michael talks with a Cadillac Sales Consultant at Andrews Cadillac in Brentwood, Tennessee, who spent years ranked in the top 100 nationally before ever posting online, and then built 150,000 followers in a single year without her numbers dropping. She walks through the moment she realized being good at her job wasn't enough to stay on top. She needed more people to know it. That's the shift that started everything, from her first clumsy videos to a system that now brings buyers in already trusting her. She also talks candidly about a cancer diagnosis during pregnancy, why she stopped tying her worth to whether she sold a car that day, and how she holds firm boundaries (home by 5, no Saturdays) while still outselling reps working six days a week. You can find her as AndreaSellsCadillac across platforms, or reach her directly through Andrews Cadillac in Brentwood. Michael's takeaway: the top of your market isn't a finish line, it's the point where you have to ask what got you here won't keep you here, so what's next. Timestamps (00:00) Rapid Growth Setup (00:49) Sponsor Message (04:05) Early Sales Lessons (06:55) Fitness To Dealership (08:31) Abundance Mindset Origins (11:20) Cancer Perspective Shift (16:25) Why Social Media Started (19:59) Hooking Viewers Fast (22:46) Reps And Authenticity (26:22) Cost Of Top Performer (29:23) Why Customers Choose Her (31:36) Boundaries And Balance (34:36) Connect And Wrap Up

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  The Dealer Playbook

  "1.8% Of Clicks Are Paid" - The Traffic Every Dealer Is Leaving On The Table | Matt Copley, Co-Founder & CRO of Hrizn

  Aug 4, 202636 min

  Most dealers are fighting over a sliver of traffic while the majority goes unclaimed. Matt Copley, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Revenue Officer of Hrizn, joins Michael to unpack it. With over 25 years across media, adtech, and martech, including a decade working inside retail automotive itself, Matt's built a career watching how dealers show up online, and now builds the platform to fix it. They dig into a number pulled from SparkToro, Datos, and Semrush: paid clicks only account for 1.8 to 4.9% of all clicks after a search. The rest is organic, and it's where the real opportunity sits. They get into why chasing hundreds of keywords through an outside SEO vendor is a losing fight, how a simple wearable AI note taker can capture a service writer's or product specialist's knowledge with zero extra work, and a mistake already live on plenty of dealer sites right now: unchecked AI-generated vehicle descriptions. Connect with Matt Copley on LinkedIn, or head to Hrizn.io for their resource library on content and search, open to anyone whether they're a customer or not. Michael's takeaway: stop fighting for the 2%. The 98% is already there, and it's free. Timestamps (00:00) Stop Chasing Keywords (01:13) Sponsor Message FlexDealer (02:38) Content Lives In Store (03:30) Outsourced Content Problem (07:12) Capture Expertise With AI (09:10) Search Everywhere Strategy (14:48) Paid Vs Organic Flip (20:08) Social As Infrastructure (23:09) People Over Brands (28:54) Fight AI Content Slop (35:38) Podcast Outro

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  The Dealer Playbook

  “Ten Cars Does Not Work” - The Habits Behind Higher Car Sales | Raul Tomsa, Client Advisor at Motor Werks

  Jul 28, 202657 min

  Average production has a cost, and it usually shows up long before someone notices it in their paycheck. After 18 years in automotive retail, Raul stepped away from the general sales manager position and returned to the showroom floor as a client advisor. He wanted to reconnect with the customer experience and find out what separates someone selling ten cars a month from someone consistently producing 20 or more. Raul explains why average producers often wait for perfect deals, avoid low-gross opportunities, and talk themselves out of transactions before the customer ever does. High performers keep stacking deals, serve every customer well, and understand that one additional sale can unlock thousands of dollars in volume bonuses. He also shares why personal presentation matters, how helping coworkers strengthens the entire store, and why operating like an owner can make you more valuable regardless of your title. The conversation moves into social media, where Raul breaks down how educational content creates real business. One video about the G-Wagon market led to a factory order, an interim lease, and a referral who purchased another vehicle. Raul is a client advisor with 18 years of dealership experience and the creator behind Vincierge. Connect with him on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook at @vincierge Michael’s takeaway: Average is expensive. Stop waiting for better opportunities and become better at serving the opportunities already in front of you. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:48 Dealer Playbook Support 02:10 Why He Returned 08:41 Can Connection Be Taught 15:37 Play by the Rules 19:39 Leadership Advantage 26:52 Money Versus Meaning 29:03 From 10 to 40 Cars 35:00 Service First Selling 40:56 Social Media Reality 42:06 Content That Sells 49:29 Authenticity Over AI 51:48 Right People Not Viral 55:25 Wrap Up and Connect

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  The Dealer Playbook

  "From CPG to 17 Rooftops" — The Real Playbook Behind Running Dealership Marketing at Scale | Gary LaDue, Marketing Dir., Modern Auto

  Jul 21, 202645 min

  Gary Ladue spent eight years in corporate CPG, managing paper and planning brands at Mead, before making the jump into automotive retail nine and a half years ago. Today he runs marketing and technology across a 17-store dealer group, and this conversation is about what actually transfers when you come into this industry from somewhere else. Gary and Michael talk through what it takes to run marketing at scale across that many rooftops: the notebook-and-highlighter system Gary still prioritizes his day with, how his team built a six-month content pipeline using part-time shooters paired with an AI editing partner, and the simple effort-versus-payoff filter every new initiative has to clear before it gets resources. Gary's also candid about where AI still gives him pause, not the possibilities, but making sure it never gets pricing, inventory, or availability wrong in front of a customer. You can connect with Gary on LinkedIn, he's easy to find by name. Michael's takeaway: the best person to run your operation at scale isn't always the person who's been in cars the longest. Sometimes it's the person who learned discipline and systems somewhere else first, and had the sense to bring it with them. Timestamps (00:00) Intro (00:31) Show Support and Free Book (01:58) From Paper Brands to Career (07:19) Digital Tools vs Efficiency (10:49) Practical AI Across 17 Stores (12:47) Scaling Social Video with AI (20:18) Optimize Vendors and People (23:47) Value Still Wins (24:24) Defining Good Human (24:54) Respect And Listening (30:41) Longevity Through Uncertainty (33:29) Consent And FTC Compliance (36:14) AI Adoption And Fatigue (37:28) Responsible AI Guardrails (42:08) Connect With Gary (44:05) Final Thanks And Outro

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