Dealer Talk With Jen Suzuki

People hear me teaching every week. They see the energy, the passion, the coaching, and now AI innovation. But they don't always know where it came from. In this special interview, ASOTU Founder & CEO Paul Daly turns the microphone around and asks me the questions I rarely get asked. We talk about how I got started in automotive, why I built eDealer Solutions over two decades ago, what I've learne...

For nearly 30 years, John Inman, CEO McCurley Dealerships has helped lead one of the Pacific Northwest's most respected dealership groups. But this conversation isn't about awards or success stories, it's about what leadership looks like when the industry refuses to stand still. We talk openly about the pressure leaders face as AI reshapes retail, why execution is still harder than strategy, and w...

The best salespeople don't win because they know the most features. They win because they understand people. In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , we dive into one of the biggest mindset shifts in modern selling: customers don't buy logically... they justify their decisions logically after they've already made an emotional one. We'll explore why facts alone create price shoppers, how em...

What do AI data centers have to do with leadership in car dealerships? A lot more than most people realize. In this thought-provoking episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , Jen breaks down one of the biggest conversations shaping the future of business, AI infrastructure, and leadership… in plain English. No tech jargon. No fear tactics. Just real-world perspective from someone actively training...

Most AI conversations focus on the technology. This one focuses on the people building it. In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, I sit down with Tasso Roumeliotis, Founder & CEO of NUMA AI , for a candid conversation about leadership, change, AI adoption, customer experience and what dealership operators need to understand as artificial intelligence becomes part of daily operations. What...

The companies that win at scale don't become more corporate. They become more human.  Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about creating an environment where people can succeed. In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, I sit down with Dan Clara, newly appointed CEO of Asbury Automotive Group and one of the most respected operators in our industry. After nearly 24 years with...

This is a very simple strategy that is overlooked all the time! You will mprove your ELR at same time. If you're discounting before offering financing, you're doing it backwards. In this episode, Jen Suzuki tackles one of the biggest profit leaks happening in service departments every day. Advisors hear a repair total, feel a little customer hesitation, and immediately start shaving dollars off th...

If you're in automotive sales and you're celebrating appointment counts, we need to have a conversation. Because appointments don't pay you. Customers who actually show up do. In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, we're digging into one of the biggest blind spots in dealership sales performance: show rate. Too many salespeople focus on how many appointments they set while completely igno...

In this high-energy episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , Jen Suzuki gets brutally honest about one of the biggest mistakes happening inside dealerships right now… slow lead response. This isn't about cheesy auto-responses, outdated templates, or "just checking in" emails that customers ignore. Jen breaks down why speed alone is not enough anymore. Dealers must combine fast response times with...

What happens when AI enters a dealership… and your employees emotionally resist it? In this powerful episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , Jen dives deep into one of the biggest leadership challenges happening inside dealerships right now: anti-AI culture, fear-based resistance, and the emotional side of organizational change. After training inside dealerships every single week and working with...

Jen Suzuki breaks down AI in the most real-world, non-Silicon-Valley way possible. No tech jargon. No robot talk. Just honest insight from someone who trains inside dealerships every single week and is watching the automotive industry evolve in real time. In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , Jen explains what AI actually is, why so many people are either scared of it or pretending to u...

If you're leading a service department or responsible for fixed ops performance, this is one of those conversations you don't skip. In this episode, I sit down with someone I've known and respected for years, Mitch Kudler , COO of Simms Auto Group… a guy who didn't just study the business, he  lived every role in it. From technician to advisor to GM to executive leadership, Mitch brings a perspect...

If your write-up is weak… your paycheck is leaking. Period. In this episode, I'm going straight at one of the most overlooked, but most expensive breakdowns in your service department: the quality of your RO write-up. We're talking about the real impact of vague notes, rushed conversations, and missed questions and how they quietly destroy technician productivity, create comebacks, slow down appro...

If you've been in automotive for any amount of time, you already know the name David Kain and in this episode, we're going way beyond the highlight reel. This is a real conversation between two people who've been in the trenches, on stages, inside dealerships, and yes… technically "competitors" for years but never felt like it. We talk about what actually drives performance today (hint: it's not j...

In this episode, I sit down with  Paul Daly , co-founder of ASOTU (alongside Kyle Mountsier ), and let me just say… this conversation is fun, real and relevant. We're talking about what the best operators are actually doing right now… And spoiler alert… it's not chasing shiny AI tools or buying the next "magic solution." It's people. It's culture. It's leadership that actually develops other leade...

Dealers still ask me all the time, "Jen… what leads are the best?" And I always give the same answer… the ones already sitting in your database. In this quick class, I break down the biggest miss I see in dealerships everywhere. Salespeople are told to follow up… call for referrals… make birthday calls… but nobody really teaches them how to do it without feeling like a nuisance. So what happens? T...

Sales teams… this is the moment where deals are won or lost and most don't even realize it. In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , Jen  breaks down one of the biggest mistakes happening in dealerships every single day: quoting price too fast. Customers ask for price. You give it. Conversation over. But what if that one moment is exactly where you lost control of the deal? This episode is...

In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , Brandon Hardison, Executive Leader of Jim Ellis Automotive Group shares a powerful, real-world blueprint for solving one of the industry's biggest challenges: technician hiring and retention. With over 22 dealerships and a strong people-first philosophy, Brandon breaks down how proactive community engagement, partnerships with work-based learning pr...

In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , we shift the focus to where real dealership growth actually happens, the service lane. This is a straight, no-fluff conversation about customer retention and why it directly impacts your paycheck, your stress level, and your long-term success. We break down the simple but often overlooked behaviors that keep customers coming back, from how you handl...

In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , I sit down with Randy Kobat from LotLinx to break down one of the biggest shifts happening in dealership technology right now. We move past the hype of generic AI tools like ChatGPT and into what actually drives results on the ground. LotGPT is built specifically for dealerships, using real inventory, real market data, and real shopper behavior to d...

In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, we're getting real about one of the most important numbers in your service department, the MPI approval rate. This isn't just a metric. It's a mirror. If your approvals are low, it's rarely about price, the customer, or the car. It's almost always about communication. Jen breaks down exactly why customers decline recommended work and what service adv...

If your store is using AI, or thinking about it, this episode will challenge how you think about process, accountability, and what it really takes to win with modern tools. In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, we sit down with Seth Poplawski of Auto Lenders, he leads CRM, process, and AI strategy across a rapidly growing dealer group with 11 stores now. Seth has worked every role from s...

What if you could make more money every day without writing one extra car ? In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , I break down a metric many service advisors overlook: hours per RO . Hours per RO is the average number of labor hours sold on each repair order. A small increase can dramatically impact technician productivity, shop efficiency, and your paycheck. In this episode we cover: •...

If technicians are standing around waiting for approvals, the problem might not be staffing, it might be process . In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , I break down the difference between technician efficiency and productivity , and why service advisors have more influence on shop productivity than they realize. When MPI calls are delayed, write-ups are vague, or approvals take too lon...

If every day in the service lane feels chaotic, the problem might not be effort, it might be  capacity . In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki , I break down one of the most overlooked concepts in fixed ops: shop capacity . When advisors promise pickup times without knowing how many labor hours the shop can realistically produce, stress builds fast. Technicians get buried, customers start...