From the May issue of UCD
By John Dismukes
In this month’s “Conversations about Cars,” I had the pleasure of talking with Mark “The Deal King” Wilkins, a former colleague of mine and now dealer principal of Deal King Auto Sales in Fayetteville and Lumberton, North Carolina. We will discuss his journey from answering a help wanted ad to sell cars to owning multiple rooftop locations.
John Dismukes: Let’s start at the beginning. How’d you get into car sales in the first place?
Mark Wilkins: I was serving tables at Cracker Barrel. My wife at that time had seen an ad in the newspaper that Dunn/Benson Ford was hiring salespeople. I went in there and interviewed. The hiring manager said, ‘I don’t think you got what it takes.’ I said, ‘Follow me. I’m going to sell you a car.’ And I walked around the car and explained it and everything. He said, ‘Well, I don’t know, man, we’re still taking applications. We’ll call you.’ So, I called every day. And then, like the third day, he said, ‘Come on, you got the job.’
JD: What was it like getting started in the business? I know the thought of selling cars can seem good until the rubber hits the road and you’re trying to figure out what to do.
MW: The dealership hired three of us, and I was the only one who stayed longer than a week. At first, they would have meetings and they’d tell me, go out and watch the lot. We’re having a meeting. So, I’d watch the lot. Now, keep in mind there were five salespeople who had been there 15 years. Everybody who came to the lot was their customer. I had to really fight to build my customer base.
JD: How did you differentiate yourself from the veteran car salespeople in those first few months?
MW: My first month in business, I sold 32 cars. The top guy, who had been there 15 years, sold 16. I doubled what he did the first month I was there. The difference between us was that I went and got the customer. I didn’t wait for them to come inside. They let them walk around the lot. And if they were interested, they’d just come inside. I’d go out there with them.
I’ve always been taught that if there’s a customer out on the lot, you walk with them. If they try to shoo you, say, well, look, I’m here to answer questions. And that was the thing. That was the difference. These people had come up to the car lot so many times that they didn’t really take them seriously. But then to me, not knowing them, they came to the lot, I took them seriously, and they actually bought from me. Could you imagine that?
JD: Did you know early on that you wanted to run a dealership one day, or is that something that came a little bit later on?
MW: It came a little bit later on.
JD: What was the turning point when you decided that you were going to start your own dealership?
MW: I hate to say it this way, but whenever I wouldn’t get the money that I deserved, the money that I had worked for. More so, there comes a time when you know that there’s a better way of doing the business and that you can help folks better. It was around 2008 when I realized. So, I’d been in the car business for four years. I got into the car business in 2004, so I’ve been in the car business 21 years.
JD: What were the biggest challenges to making that transition from salesperson to business owner?
MW: I think the biggest issue that I had was never the money. You find money as you put yourself out there. I think the biggest issue was just finding competent people to help you. I couldn’t do it all by myself. I realized that I had to have competent people to help me. You can’t be in two places at one time. So that’s the biggest challenge is finding help. Finding competent help.
JD: How do you do that?
MW: Well, a lot of it is word of mouth and referrals. Social media platforms are a way of finding folks. Of course, job boards and Indeed.
JD: Let me ask you this. Are there any key mentors or influences to help guide you when you were getting started?
MW: Just like you, I was blessed to have Steve Matthews from Matthews Motors as a mentor. Steve was a big influence. Steve and I spent so much time together that he would tell me everything that went on. The ins and outs of the business. That prepared me greatly to become a dealer principal myself.
JD: What early mistakes did you make, and what did you learn from making those mistakes?
MW: I think the biggest mistake that I made was falling prey to a customer. Because I’m the one who does anything I can to help, I can lose some money, but I can’t lose my reputation. That’s what I’ve always done. The mistake that I always made when I was getting started was giving the customer too much. I’d be too considerate of them to the point where it would sometimes make nothing. The deal wouldn’t be profitable. When we’re talking about a $10,000 car and you start painting it, you start trying to make it new again, next thing you know, you’re not as profitable. I had to learn.
JD: What are the biggest misconceptions that you had about owning a car dealership?
MW: That’s when you open a dealership and everybody’s just going to start coming in there. That’s not what happens. I wish I had known that. You always think that. They’re like, hey, I’m opening up a dealership. Everybody’s just going to start coming. That’s not what happens. You have to advertise. You have to put stuff out there. You have to spend money to make money. And that old saying is true. It’s 100 percent true. I spend $12,000 to $15,000 a month in advertising right now, just my two locations.
JD: What advice would you give a young salesperson who wants to follow in your footsteps? Maybe somebody who’s just getting into the business and has big dreams of owning a dealership one day.
MW: My advice would be to study all you can study. Don’t rely on your dealership to train you. Become a professional. Train every day. Train every day to get better. Get a good circle around you and realize that you’re there for the full game, not just one quarter. It takes all four quarters to make a game. Don’t just go through the first and second quarter, and you’re not where you want to be. The third and fourth are still left. Think long term.
JD: Looking back, what are you most proud of as far as the journey that you’ve been on and what you’ve accomplished?
MW: The freedom I have with my kids. Freedom with your kids. Because that’s one thing that people don’t understand. When you work for yourself, you’re able to go make that ballgame. Before, when I worked for another dealer, if I had anything to do, I had to put my kids off. Now, if I need to take off, I can do it because I’ve got people who are competent enough to run the business while I’m not there. My freedom means a lot. It’s good to make money, but if you don’t have your family time, what good is it?
Let’s keep the conversation going. Let me know your thoughts, email me at john@niada.com
