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While many of the industry's most successful
people are second or third-generation dealers who were raised on
car lots owned by their fathers, Underwood is one of eight
children who were raised by their single mother.
While many used car dealers have once worked at
franchise dealerships, Underwood once owned one.
And while many used car dealers quickly fell in
love with the business, Underwood hated selling cars for the first
several months he did it.
Despite the unusual origin and winding route, the
road led to Underwood being named the 2003 NIADA National Quality
Dealer of the Year at the association's Annual Convention &
Expo this past June in Las Vegas. He is the fifth winner from
Alabama.
NIADA officials, and Northwood University
representatives who evaluate and select the winner, lauded
Underwood for his devotion to running a quality operation, obvious
integrity and commitment to community involvement.
"It was a real surprise," said
Underwood. "To be recognized by your peers and by experts is
a real honor."
Background And History
Underwood owns and operates two dealerships in
Bessemer, AL, near Birmingham. Anthony Underwood Automotive
Pre-Owned Superstore carries approximately 140 vehicles in
inventory, most of which are newer, low-mileage domestic cars. The
second location, Guaranteed Credit Approval, keeps about 45
higher-mileage cars in inventory for sale to customers with lower
credit ratings.
In 1977, Underwood was 19, a new father, and
managing a record store when he heard how much money he might make
selling cars at the local Ford dealership. It was not love at
first sight.
But his fortitude was revealed as he persevered
despite his initial displeasure with his new job. The situation
wasn't helped by the fact that as a child, Underwood's family had
n8ever owned a car. When he began selling cars, he couldn't drive
a stick shift and had to have customers drive those cars off the
lot.
"I really didn't like it (selling cars) at
first, but I couldn't quit because I had a family. I was kind of
hoping I would get fired," Underwood recalled.
Instead, his boss related a statistic that showed
what it takes to make a sale.
"He told me 64 was the magic number,"
Underwood said. "If you make 64 contacts, you're guaranteed
to make a sale so I decided I would give it a try and at least if
it didn't work, I could say I did my part. At lunch I would put 65
business cards in my pocket and I wouldn't come back until they
were gone. It took awhile, but eventually it worked out."
In fact, Underwood said he began selling so many
cars that he dreamed of owning his own dealership. In 1989, after
completing the Ford dealer training program, Underwood opened his
own store in Talladega. But running a new dealership in a small
town during a slow economy soon overwhelmed him. When a tornado
damaged the dealership, he jumped at the chance to bail out.
"I felt like a failure," Underwood said.
"I had to go back home with my tail between my legs. It was
pretty tough."
Again, family obligations didn't leave him any
options and he shoved his pride aside to take his old job back at
the local Ford dealership.
"A lot of people are afraid to fail. And out
of fear, they don't try," Underwood said. "I was
fortunate that my responsibilities were greater than my
fears."
For
the next two and a half years, he worked at a series of jobs,
including used car manager, until the entrepreneurial bug bit
again. Underwood rented a small trailer on the lot of a used car
dealer, bought five cars and opened Dealers Trade Outlet,
operating under the slogan "If we don't have it, we'll get
it."
When
his growing business began to threaten his landlord, he was kicked
out of the trailer he was renting. Underwood then bought an old
service station and grew the business from 1995 to 2002. Last
year, coming almost full circle, Underwood purchased the old Ford
dealership property and opened his superstore. His second
location, Guaranteed Credit Approval, operates from the old
service station location. Despite just opening in early 2003, the
lot already is selling some 70 cars a month.
"You
have to know the market and find the unmet needs," Underwood
said, "but we didn't know what we had there."
Together,
Underwood's two stores employ 31 people and sell more than 200
vehicles a month. He recently added 10 service bays to the
dealerships. He considers himself an aggressive marketer,
advertising on all the local television channels. Another unique
aspect is his use of two greeters. They, and not salespeople, are
the first contact with customers. They get basic information from
the customer and then introduce them to a salesperson. For that,
they are paid $6.50 per hour plus $1 for each customer greeted.
Underwood said the greeters allow him to track customers and sales
performance.
Underwood
uses another unusual feature at Guaranteed Credit Approval. He
offers free "gap insurance" for customers who happen to
have accidents and aren't fully covered for the value. He said it
happens two or three times a month, but pays off in customer
loyalty.
Underwood
himself spends most of time traveling to auctions, buying some 150
cars a month. He prides himself on being able to evaluate a car in
less than a minute.
"Buying
a car is the most important thing in this business," he said.
"You make your money when you buy a car and realize it when
you sell it. It's just a matter of when."
OUTSIDE
THE DEALERSHIP
Underwood
is very involved in the Alabama IADA, serving on the board of
directors and as president of the membership committee. His
primary concern at both the state and national levels has been
with education.
"We've
made great strides toward better education of the dealer
body," he said. "We have a great association and I think
with more education we could be just as prestigious and important
as the new car dealers are with the NADA.”
Underwood
and his wife Joyce have two adult sons, Roderick and Broderick,
who both work at the dealerships. In the community, Underwood is
active in the Save The Youth, which targets at-risk young people
and he recently donated a 15-passenger van to the organization. He
has also been a proponent against teenage drinking and the dangers
related to driving intoxicated. He has also served on the board of
the American Red Cross.
He is
an avid reader of self-help and motivational books and said
winning the National Quality Dealer award is a testament to the
power of positive thinking and perseverance. He tries to include
at least one thing in each of his sales meetings that might
inspire or motivate an employee.
"My
mother raised eight kids in the housing projects and we never had
a car growing up," he said. "Now we have served
thousands of people with automobiles. It was a great feeling to
win this award, but we're moving forward and trying to do better.
We're asking ourselves, "Do we really deserve it?"
Obviously,
many think so. |
