Sunset Chevrolet Buick GMC Goes All In on Service, Leadership & the Rhinoceros Mindset | Grapevine All in Podcast #3

[00:00:00] Secret AI Challenge

Allison: Here is my prompt.
Hello,
Allison.
You
have made it to
episode three.
have done so with flying colors.
Let’s see if that continues.
Today, today’s prompt, if you choose to accept it, is as
follows.
During
today’s episode,
you must mention these seven vehicle model names. The catch
is
they must be used as descriptive words, like an adjective,
and not
by
simply
naming the vehicle itself.
Vehicles to be mentioned:
Hummer, Canyon, Trailblazer,
Tahoe,
Encore, Envision, and Corvette
Hummer,
Canyon, Trailblazer, Tahoe,
Encore, Envision, and Corvette as an adjective, as an
adjective.
You cannot reveal the secret AI prompt until the episode is over.
Failure to comply with
this task
will result in the following
punishment from the AI overlords, also known as ChatGPT.
You
will have to give
a 90-second
TED Talk style
speech
on a randomly selected topic to be filmed and posted on Grapevine’s social media channels.
For
example …
ooh,
ooh, someone’s … Ooh. Why Missouri Tiger Athletics is the most superior program Rock
chalk.

[00:01:42] Podcast Welcome and Guest Intro
Allison: welcome to the Grapevine All In Podcast. I am
your host, Allison Imre. In 2026, we decided to give our own spin to AI and, um, make it more about what it means to us and beyond the veil of artificial intelligence.
So to us,
AI is going all in, and we’re doing this podcast to demonstrate how we go all in for our clients, our community, and, um, even ourselves. So we’ll feature one client
each month, their story, our relationship, their connection to the community, their zone of genius, so to
speak, and there will of course be, as always, a few s- fun surprises along the way.
Um, today we
welcome Mike
Freeman, the general manager of Sunset chevrolet Buick GMC,
[00:02:31] Sunset Chevrolet Buik GMC Intro
Allison: 1800 Bay Road in Sarasota, and the home of Guaranteed Credit Approval.
Mike, thank you so much for joining us
today.
Mike: Thank you, Allison.
Appreciate it.
Allison: We are very
happy to have you
here. And Mike, uh, how long do you think we’ve known each
Mike: Oh my.
Well past 20 years.
Allison: I think, I think it is over 20
years now. So Mike and I have a lot of
history. He has been
at the helm at, um,
Sunset Chevy Buick GMC, uh, for a very, very, very long time, leading an absolutely incredible team, and through some way or another, I just keep ending up on your shore.
Mike: That’s right. That’s right.
Allison: Okay. So, um, when it comes to the automotive
you and I truly both have a passion for it,
but you’ve made a very wonderful career and lead an incredible team doing it.
[00:03:21] Allison as a Customer
Allison: Um, also full disclosure, I am a client. I have a…
What’s, what’s my… It’s a Z something. I have a Chevy Tahoe
Z…
It’s fabulous. Z-
Mike: Z-
71?
Allison: Z71. We’ll go with that one. Thank you. The one that when you turn on the engine, it sounds like you just fired up 17 motorcycles. I mean, it’s got, it’s got some guts to it. The fancy
Mike: one.
Allison: And, and they gave me a really square deal. So ladies, if you’re listening, y- you can walk into the showroom and not at
all be intimidated.
The team is is absolutely fabulous.
[00:03:53] Mike’s Origin Story
Allison: Okay, so tell us a little bit how you got into the auto business to begin with.
Mike: Are we starting from the very, very, beginning?
Allison: Yeah, let’s go back. Many years. Let’s origin story this.
Mike: Oh my.
Well, I guess probably in, uh, if I start back when I was 15, 16 years old, um, at that point, uh, my father had a, a friend of his that had a, a body shop.
And, uh, so I, uh, I had the opportunity to work for him part-time. And, uh, so learning a little bit about the body shop business and, uh, and from cleaning up cars to sanding cars and working on my very first car, which ’76 Triumph TR7 with a lot of rust. So there was a lot of,
a lot of
mud put into that car.
Um, and so really when it came to detailing the cars for delivery for him after he was done, um, that was the kind of the lead in, was cleaning cars for delivery and then moving into, um, to that detailing cars. And I started my own, um, detail business when, uh, after I graduated high school. And so that, you know, was…
I was in Michigan and, uh, shortly after that my parents had moved to Florida. And, uh, so I was very, uh, aggressively, um,
uh, moving
into starting my own family at 18 years old. So me and my wife came to visit
my, my parents, uh, in Florida and, uh,
and that would be in December of 1988. So when we came down here in December, um- obviously there’s a
lot of, uh, a lot of snow flurries up in, in Michigan. So we realized that this was a much better place to live, and- And to raise a
Allison: family …
Mike: and to raise a family ourselves.
Allison: Nothing against So
Michigan …
Mike: we, um, I,
uh, started looking at possibly, job opportunities at a Pontiac thinking that owning my own business in, um, in Michigan wasn’t quite as, uh, attractive as working in sunny Sarasota, Florida.
So believe it or not,
we, made that move very quickly to Florida. And at that time in December of 1988, started working um, back then it was Stinnette
Pontiac
which was later purchased by, Mr. Geyer. Mm-hmm.
[00:06:27] Career Growth at Sunset
Mike: So the Sunset Automotive Group came about shortly after, and that was my beginning journey with Sunset. From there,
went from the Pontiac store to Sunset Chevrolet, early probably like ’96, I think 5, ’96. went from, um, worked in the back end of the business,
um, from detail.
Started as a, obviously as a detailer there. Um, worked through, um, part of the body shop, body shop management, service, service advisor, service administration.
And, uh, so once I worked through the
back end of the business,
that led me into getting into sales.
So then I got into sales and, uh, then I went from sales to used car management, new car management, then finally general management.
when I went to, when I went from Chevy, I went from Chevy to Cadillac in Bradenton- Mm
in 1997. So I got an opportunity there, and so I spent the next 15 years in Bradenton at our, back then it was called Tropical
Cadillac. Mm-hmm. So that was pretty exciting, and it was a lot of, a lot of learning there and different clientele. And we also had a Saturn store that was next, for those that remember Saturn.
Allison: Oh, I
do remember Saturn.
Mike: So Saturn, um, I got an opportunity, besides running the Cadillac store, to run the Saturn store until 2008, 2009, when a little bit of ugliness in the car business came about.
Allison: Mm.
Mike: And then, uh- I think every
business
Allison: was ugly at that
Mike: time Yeah. So, um, so then, uh, Saturn went away. and obviously in that turmoil time period, remember Oldsmobile?
Allison: Oh, yes.
Mike: So originally Tropical was Tropical Cadillac Oldsmobile. So we had Oldsmobile in that mix
for a short time
period, and then of course, Oldsmobile got phased out. So-
Allison: Every summer growing up, my grandparents were down in Fort Myers, and we would drive from
Kansas City, me, my two sisters, and both my
parents, in an old Oldsmobile that had a TV
and
Mike: Oh, wow.
Allison: And that we would,
yeah, we wouldn’t stop.
We would listen to Kenny Rogers 19 hours
straight
and lay down in
an Oldsmobile diesel- to come to Flor- oh
my gosh. I haven’t heard Oldsmobile referenced
in a long time. So, o- it’s, it’s
been nearly four
decades
Mm-hmm …that you’ve been working down here with the Geyer family and the Sunset Group in some way, and you have done literally every job, front of the house, back of the house.
And to this day, you and Mr. Geyer, your offices are what? 10 steps away from one another?
Mike: 10
steps away. Yeah, it’s kind
of funny. When I was in obviously, in Bradenton, you know, yeah, you’re 30 minutes away from him.
Allison: Right.
Mike: And when I was asked to come back to Sunset Chevrolet as the general manager there, that was the only thing that was
man, I surely, you know, I’m 35 minutes to now 10 feet away from him.
But, you know, he’s been, you know, a wonderful man to work for. And, uh, yeah, but now he’s 10 feet away, so. Yeah.
Allison: Well, let- let
It’s great … let
me, let me ask you this.
[00:09:49] Giving Back Quietly
Allison: So the, the, Sunset Auto Group,
you know, you are, you are so fantastically because you are still family-owned and so many individuals in the family still work there.
And, and you guys are so quiet about how generous you are. So I’m, I’m jumping around
a little bit here, but,
-you know, I’m, I’m, I gotta give you kudos. I mean, look, the, know, Easterseals, Safe Children Coalition, what I’ve seen you guys do,
even specifically
locally and very personally with SRQVets, I mean, can you, can you speak a little bit about
it’s just in your DNA as a, as a group and as, as humans to give back?
Mike: They, I don’t think
that, that people really understand how much the Geyers themselves gives or the organization
Mike: I had went back and printed out the pages, which is, and it’d be about that thick, of all the different foundations that they’ve given to. And all the dealerships
at the end of the year collectively, um- You know, create a
fund that, that, we go through and and donate, you know, tens of thousands of dollars, um, to multiple different funds across, you know.
So we get it to try to be very fair because there’s a ton of very, um, of,
of multiple, of, of funds, different foundations that are very worthy to be able to give to. And, um, so-
Allison: But I love that what you’re saying. Like
there’s, there’s, I mean, we are an extremely philan- philanthropic community, and there’s a lot of organizations-
Mike: Yeah
Allison: just in our backyard. There’s a- Like 2,000 plus 501[c][3]s in the- Yeah …like the two county, three county area. But, but I think what I heard you say, and I know this
to be true, you guys
look at everybody and- Yeah … you give your money to the people who are just a couple folks donating their time to, to make a difference with their nonprofit to the, the bigger operators who, who serve a
larger constituency.
And I think that that’s so important and so
appreciated in this community, and
the fact that you do it so quietly is admirable.
Mike: Yeah. There’s a certain percentage of business ev- of profits every year that goes back into a fund that is then distributed back
Allison: into those- So it’s really formalized to that degree?
That’s a big deal. That’s a big deal. You should feel good about that, and I know you do.
Okay. Um,
your operation, Sunset Chevy, Buick, and
GMC, is an absolute staple in the area. I mean, I think at, before I said 1800 Bay Road jokingly earlier, I bet a lot
of people when they hear Sunset Chevy Buick GMC 1800 Bay Road, Sarasota,
it’s just you’re, you’re such a, um, you’re a landmark in the area, I’d say.
[00:12:38] New Dealership Vision
Allison: Um, so tell us a little bit about, um,
the, the vision for the dealership, ’cause you went a bit, a little bit into the history, so we know the evolution of, of, um, the dealership over the years and 1988, you coming in and, and the, the Geyer family buying it.
What’s, what’s the next phase? What’s the next chapter?
What’s in store
for the dealership?
Mike: Well, we’ve, um, what we have on the horizon is, um,
we’ll end up getting a completely new facility. So It’ll be a brand new landscape.
So over the next, it’ll probably be about a four-year phase, four and a half, three and a half, four and a half years, that we’ll end up with,
completely new showrooms.
Allison: Oh.
Mike: So we’ll have three and four car showrooms.
So we’ll start at the, basically at the back of the, I’m gonna say the
south end of the property.
We’ll end up with a, um, a new body
shop, and-
Allison: State-of-the-art …
Mike: state-of-the-art body shop and a parking garage on
top, and then the service department with parking garage on top at the south end of our
property.
And then the buildings, um, once those are set back, then the showrooms will be put back. And then, so at the, the north end of our
property,
it’ll allow us to bring all the inventory towards the front.
Allison: Nice.
Mike: And so, but j- Right on the
Allison: road
so you can zoom by and- So- …shop
Mike: at
the same- Yes. So that landscape will all be, you know, set up where it’s, it’s a cleaner, fresher…
And the new, when General Motors came out with their new facility image, everything is all fresh, clean, very transparent glass. So it’s all full glass frontage, which is a lot of the imaging
a lot of the new- Mm-hmm …manufacturers Um, so that’s all. We’ve, we’ve signed up, we’ve committed to it, we’re in the middle of drawings, we’re in the middle of just
finalizing interior plans and stuff like that.
So we’ve worked on it for quite a bit. So that is all moving forward. Um, so we’ve, we’ve remodeled as much as we can.
Allison: Yeah.
Mike: Now it’s time for a complete rebuild.
Allison: Well, I, I have
a, I, have a, what may be a really ignorant question, but I’m gonna ask it anyway. So when you’re going through with General Motors, like the, the OEM level, um, and you’re talking
about
what
the, the new showroom is gonna look like, is it like building a custom house where they’re like, “What color cabinets do you want?”
And, “What are your flooring gonna look like?” Do they give you color swatches or is it just-
Yeah,
Mike: with General Motors it’s, they they dictate
a lot.
Allison: Of course. You know? So- Of course, Of course. But is
there, do, I mean, can you color outside the lines at all? Is there anything… I just wanna- Not a
Mike: whole lot …
Allison: I, 20 years from now when my kids are in that dealership buying a car, I want them to be like, “Oh, Mike, Mike chose that paint color.”
There’s n- There’s none of that?
Mike: They
might give you,
like, two shades.
Allison: Okay.
Mike: Two shades of
blue. So there’s something. This blue. and then this same shade
of blue.
Allison: But it feels like it’s your
idea.
Um, okay.
[00:15:43] Biggest Changes Over Time
Allison: So since you have been
at the, with the group, and let’s, let’s say specifically Chevy,
Buick, GMC, um, from ’88 to
2026, 38 years later, what’s the biggest change you’ve experienced there?
Mike: What’s the biggest change in
Allison: It could be your career, it could be how the dealership is, it could be what they sell, it could be the team
Mike: I think probably the biggest difference is in people and employees and culture. I think the biggest difference is the way that you
manage,
because how you
manage people today is completely different than how you could manage 20 years ago,
30 years ago. I
mean, completely different.

Allison: Automotive, I think there,
there’s- there’s certain transactional stuff, but people expect a relationship- Yes …with somebody they trust, somebody they
respect.
Mike: So from
the customer expectations are completely different. Um, but I think employee,
employee
expectations are different. Employees expect a certain work-life balance and- Customers expect now.
I mean, they- Mm-hmm … expect a
certain level of- They
Allison: want it yesterday. What are you talking about?
Mike: Um, but
it’s, So it’s, yeah, it’s, it’s different.
[00:17:27] Meeting the Moment in Auto
Allison: Well, then let’s talk about, ’cause th- you know where I’m going with this, I think.
What does
it mean to you to meet that moment and
be a rhinoceros?
Mike: Well, I think that you can’t be complacent. There’s no part of your career where you can wake up and just think that you’re gonna come in and, and
just mosey along.
That, that isn’t how it works.
And if you think that you’re gonna whine about your job, then the car business
isn’t for you. If you’re gonna complain about the fact that your customers are upset, it’s not…
This job isn’t for you.
There’s
Allison: a certain degree of psychology, uh- Yeah … on that, in that showroom because you- Yeah
you’re you’re helping people with a huge investment, and there’s,
you know, vulnerability with that.
Mike: mean, people are,
when you’re, depending if whether you’re… You have to understand two sides.
Mike: If you’re in the back end of the business, people are coming to you because either their car was in an accident and it needs to be fixed, or it’s broke down and it’s in service and it needs to be fixed. So you’re there, it’s a service-oriented business, so you’re there to help somebody with a problem, to fix their problem.
Allison: And you really do have a- And- … a servant mentality.
Mike: And, and
they’re
they’re struggling. They’re not necessarily mad at you, but inside their life is
in turmoil.
Allison: Mm-hmm.
Mike: So it’s not your position there to try to be sensitively upset about maybe their tone. That’s not your place at that moment in time.
On the sales side,
the same thing. Nobody, most people that come into an, a car
dealership to buy a car are petrified that it’s gonna be a bad experience, someone’s gonna rip ’em off, because they’ve heard more bad scenarios than good scen- scenarios. So if you already know that, then why wouldn’t you be the salesperson or sales manager that tries to overcome that right out of the
gate?
[00:19:37] Mobile Service Plus Explained
Allison: Well, and I’ll tell you
one
thing that you’ve done to really put your money where your mouth is in that respect, meeting people where they are and creating conveniences
and breaking down barriers and building trust, is with the, how you’ve really embraced the mobile
service plus.
And it, I mean, if, I don’t wanna speak too much about it, but essentially it’s, you know, GM owners, anyone’s eligible, but certainly your
customers,
know, if they’re,
i- if you’ve got a sick kid or if you’ve got a busy schedule or if you’re, you know, preparing for a court
case, mobile service plus provides service
at their location. They don’t have to come to you and, and get the loaner and, or wait and work on your wonderful wifi in the service area. But speak a little bit about mo- mobile service plus and how you’re really leaning in that to create those conveniences for your customers.
Mike: we, invested heavily into having two of the, the BriteDrop vans, which, you know, obviously they can do the biggest part of the
servicing,
whether they’re, you know, replacing tires, you know, balancing tires, you know, and so forth.
You know,
brakes, oil changes, the full deal.
that part, when it comes to convenience, you know, that’s the, the, toughest part where people when, get frustrated when they w- have to come in for an oil change that seems like it should be a simple, fast process.
Allison: Mm-hmm.
Mike: But it’s not simple to have an oil change.
You, you can’t do an oil
change in, in, 30 minutes. 15 years ago, 10 years, when they talked about 10-minute oil changes, it’s the worst thing we could have ever done to the community is start bragging or, you know, saying that we could do 15-minute oil Mm-hmm. Cause y- it’s, that’s wrong. And so now when we can set out the convenience
that you, we can do it mobile, it’s not just about doing it at your house, though.
Yes, we can come to your house, but we can also come to your place of business. And you know what?
it can make it an event to where, you know, if someone was working in an office that, set it up to where we can do your vehicle and a couple other peoples’. It can be in a, an event where people can sign up.
It
It’s,
it can be something that, can incorporate more than just, you know, one person,
Right.
Right. Um, that type of convenience makes a big difference for everybody. And it, and if someone- How
Allison: can
it help
someone like me who also drives a a GM
Mike: Well, there’s other maintenance items besides just oil. Doesn’t matter if it’s just having filter changes or if someone has, when it comes to, you know, there’s a lot of just
programming that has to be done. And if somebody gets, you know, any updates that have to be done. We have an Equinox vehicle that’s easy, that’s mobile, where sometimes it can take 45
minutes,
um, in, what they’ll call a recall or any type of upgrade- Mm-hmm
like that, programming. Where if you came into the dealership, you could be there an hour and a half.
That can all still be done mobile.
Allison: So I am selfishly thinking of myself, like with- Mm … the Tahoe and
How can, how can we- So-
like, two birds,
one
stone, mobile service. While I’m
swimming in the backyard with my kids.
Mike: When it comes to the mobile service and people talk about, If I’m paying for a, a membership,” and you know, even when
we, we,
[00:23:09] Mobile Service Value
Mike: right now we’re offering to pay for half the membership.
It’s $200 a year. so that’s 100 bucks.
But
Allison: people- It’s worth, worth anybody’s
time.
Mike: but people pay, you know, $100 a year for a Walmart, you know, membership- Mm-hmm … to have groceries delivered, but then they still pay, 15 or $20 every time someone delivers their groceries, you know, as a tip.
You don’t tip a mobile service driver, to come to your house. But every time you have DoorDash or somebody come to your house, you’re paying another 15, $20. Sometimes people have those deliveries done a couple times a week. So in-
Allison: It’s worth investing in convenience.
Mike: Yes. Mm-hmm. So it all, it all makes sense.
So it’s worth a shot
[00:23:49] Fleet and New Car Perks
Allison: I, I, I love that you’re doing it, and I love that
you’re, you’re really leaning into it and
having the largest
fleet of the mobile
Mike: service. In our new cars, anytime you buy, on the cars that we’re ordering now, they’re gonna all end up coming with three years mobile service.
That membership comes with a
new car.
Allison: That’s awesome.
Mike: So.
Allison: That’s awesome.
[00:24:09] Rhinoceros Mindset
Allison: Um, I, I feel like I, I glossed over the, the rhinoceros part. So I wanna go back
to rhinoceros ’cause a lot of people,
the rhinoceros success book model, a lot of people may not be
familiar. So as we’re talking about creating those conveniences for clients, customers, understanding what is going to solve their
problems or, or address their pain points or make them happy, doing that for not only your
customers but for your team.
Like, I, I, as long as I’ve
known you, This has been a part of who you are, teaching people how to have that, that motivation and, and take things in stride. And so talk about what it
means to be a rhinoceros. Like, what, what, what does this book really mean?
Mike: So I- We’re
Allison: selling
books today …
Mike: you know, and it, it’s, uh… You know what the thing is, I know that some people will think it’s corny and, and funny and, and-
Allison: Then those people can turn off this podcast …
Mike: but, but,
I’m not afraid. Good. I’m not afraid to be
laughed at on
this because I, I came across this book in 2011, 2012, and, and it’s, I… The reason why I brought the book today is because I wanted people to see how thin it is.
Right? I mean, it, it is this thin. And so it’s an easy read. It’s a light read. It’s, it’s funny. It’s silly. Um, but it gets a point across that if you’re trying to engage a group of people to, to understand something, and this is the, the concept of understanding, what is the difference- between A lazy cow sitting in a field chewing its cud
Allison: Waiting to go to slaughter.
Waiting to become a cheeseburger …
Mike: watching the world go by, and you can visualize it. Or the rhino chasing down what it wants, charging through the forest. That’s
easy
f- for me to- Mm-hmm … to be able to visualize, see, and feel when I say it,
right? And if you use that and feel about that in your life, if you want, if you know what you want, you charge down, you go after it. You’re a rhinoceros. You got two-inch thick skin, right? As, as the torpedoes are being shot at you, they’re bouncing off of you ’cause you got two-inch thick skin. And you know what? Just like I said, I don’t care if someone wants to laugh at me if they think the book is funny. I don’t care ‘ cause it’s gonna bounce right off, and I’m gonna keep charging after it because I know that it means something.
If you read about the book, and you think about it, and you s- kind of see some of the analogies, and you can use them in your everyday
life, and you map out what you want, you
write down what you want, you think about your goals, you go after your
goals, and you prioritize, then
it’s that simple.
Allison: You are
a rhinoceros.
You’ve done every job under that
roof, and you’ve gotten yourself to the point where you have this prestigious dealership in this town that is getting ready
to
enter into its next chapter, and you’re picking out blue paint You… But no, it, it really is impressive. I’ve always
known you to be someone who pushes forward and insists that you bring everyone along by your side.
So I’ve, uh, I admire that very much. Very, very Um, okay.
[00:27:37] Why Local Partners Win
Allison: So this year our
goal as an organization is to go all in for our
clients and really, you know, walk the
walk
and not just talk the
talk So for example, this
podcast is to give, um, some of
our clients a little extra love and
attention, attention, uh, where it’s so greatly
deserved, so we can shine,
like put the spotlight on you,
make sure you shine, and brag about you a
little bit.
Um, so let me ask
you, turning that spotlight back on us,
um, what does it mean
to go all in with us? Like, do you feel like we’re going all in?
Mike: Yes, I can tell you that when I think back over the past many, many years,
back through Tropical and the different dealerships,

back at one time, we had agencies that… And they were wonderful
people,
but agencies that were based out of Fort Lauderdale.
And even back then, I’ve been a big direct mail guy, and I had certain direct mail companies that were
not local, whether in Tampa, Sarasota areas,
and then at times I’ve had
some that were out of state. And
that never really works. There’s never the right connection.
Because there’s never the same connection, the same heart isn’t there. They don’t have the same understanding for your market. And the one thing with you, with Grapevine, is that you guys have shown a vested interest in the true success of our organization, of the Sunset Automotive Group, of us truly at Sunset Chevrolet.
And you also have a real understanding of our market area, of Sarasota, and what’s going on. So for us, when I can see that and have trust in you,
then that’s why you guys handle whether it’s our TV, our radio, our marketing, and you handle all of it.
And I don’t think twice about it, and it’s been brought up over the years if someone says, “Well, why don’t
You
know, if we go to, NADA stuff, and they’re like, “Well, do you have someone this or that?” Or, “Why don’t…” I would never split it up I’m not interested
in just trying something different for just the sake of, oh, here, let me taste something different, unless something’s broke.
Producer: Mm-hmm.
Mike: So I think you guys do a wonderful job, and the fact that you guys are so embedded in the community, to where you know and
have your thumb
on the community and know what’s going on,
that just gives me a sense of confidence
in what you’re doing.
Allison: Well, good. Well, Good. That’s nice to hear. And I’ll tell you what, um,
as an agency,
we’ll deal with people who are out of
our community and they’ll say things like, “Oh, I,
I need to do
beach activations in Orlando.” It’s not on the beach. It, it,
Producer: Yeah …
Allison: so people sometimes who are out of
our community don’t really understand the opportunities,
the way you can effectively communicate and build relationships here.
And what you guys do is build relationships, ’cause I’m sure you have
customers who are not only coming back for their second, third, fourth car, but probably their children and grandchildren too.
Nice. Well, that’s–
I’m glad that you are a good partner who actually gives a darn.
That’s our goal.
[00:31:29] Video Shoots and Team Trust
Allison: Um, so when it
comes to video
production, social media, online branding, et cetera, how important is it that you have that
consistent open communication? Do we hear you fully? Do we address things? Do we come to you proactively?
Mike: Yeah, and I think that, what, what I like to see is
even when, when you guys,
when you guys come on site and we’re
doing,
like
for instance some of the videos with the salespeople. Yeah,
that regular monthly
video shoots which,
for instance, Aaron will tell you, like, I make sure that I do my best to get my
point across very- specifically the,
team, that when they’re there it’s important
for the salespeople to understand that that’s their time to be able to make their mark, right? ‘Cause that message that they have, it’s their opportunity. They don’t pay for it. It’s free. Right? For the salespeople to get their name out there, to do their videos, do their intros, or a product video.
Allison: Sure.
Mike: Um, and those are, and they, You guys do a great job.
I’m always surprised, and obviously I don’t, I’m not looking over their shoulder when they’re out on the lot shooting them, so I get surprised when I see them on social. Everything works out really well, and
all the little details come together.
Allison: I love that, and I love that you do give that encouraging nudge for your team. Yeah. ‘Cause it’s all about, you know, when you, when you walk into a car dealership, you wanna, you wanna recognize somebody, you wanna feel comfortable, and, um, you wanna know somebody who, uh-
someone who has earned your trust or has the potential
to earn your trust, led by somebody who
insists that that be the standard.
That’s a good thing. Um, local agencies like Grapevine don’t often
compete with national agencies, um,
that offer dealerships various, you know, uh, ease of
access kind of thing like you were talking about. Like, “Oh, we’ll make
this easy and we work with,
1,500 dealers nationwide, and we can do all that.”
So it, it’s a shortcut. I mean, it’s, it’s the, it’s the path of least
resistance. So there’s a point.
here. Um, while those partnerships can seem attractive, um, you’ve consistently chosen
to, to work with our
team
And for those of you who are, are watching this, Felix is the guy he was talking about, who’s on the camera right now, who comes to the dealership and cajoles all those
folks to be on camera.
So Felix,
that compliment Um, majority, uh, oh, sorry, sorry.
Uh, you consistently have chosen to work with a local
agency for a majority of your advertising. Um, what do you see is the biggest advantage for that approach?
Mike: it’s that local feel and touch. You know? It’s, you know-
I guess when it comes to cost control, if you had an endless budget you could hire anything at any crazy level, I mean, sure- Right … you could throw some money at it. I think for understanding our market, having what you guys give us, yeah, it fills every corner of what
we’re doing. I don’t know that anything a national marketing team’s gonna come in
and,
and change would be any different, right? With what we’re trying
to do, and the budget that we have to offer, you guys maximize it.
Allison: Thank you. Well, and I’ll tell you what, it makes it a lot easier for us to do our job for
you, knowing that we can actually
give you business back and be customers of yours, and really understand that what we’re saying to the community recommending you, creating those strategic communications channels, uh, we believe it.
We’re, we’re inviting them just as much as you’re inviting them because we believe in what you guys do
So now here’s
[00:35:57] Going All In for Customers
Allison: the big question
for you. Yeah. Um, we’ve talked about, uh, your opinion on how we go in and if we go all in, the way we
think we
do for you as a
partner. So now, how is it that you and your team, you go all in for your customers?
Mike: I think that if I was to best answer that, going all in is by creating a long-term relationship. It’s not just a one-transaction dealership.
dealership. It’s about the fact that, you know, a lot of times we’ll share with the salespeople that when you, when you sit down with a customer, you wanna be able to create a scenario where they understand that you wanna be their car guy, their car gal, right? Where when, when when you’re creating such an impression with them, then when, when they’re done and they go home that evening and they’re having dinner or they’re talking with their friends, that they wanna be able to share with their friends that, “Hey, by the way, you know what? my Tahoe is fantastic, but if you ever need anything, you wanna go back and talk to Tyler because he is fantastic.
He’s my car
guy.
And if you ever need
anything or if you just have a question, you wanna talk to Tyler.” And that’s the type of impression that you wanna, you wanna leave with your customers. And, And, that’s how you create a retention in the business, where your salespeople stay and they’re there for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years.
And that’s how you survive and you’re not a dealership that’s only selling, you know, 15, 20, 30 cars a month, where you’re selling two, 300 cars a month. It’s that, that repeat and referral business. That’s what you thrive on. That’s what your service departments thrive You know, we’ve got service advisors that have been there for, you know, 20 and 25 years.
And you don’t get… N- that doesn’t get created unless you are going all in by creating relationships. So we wanna be able to give our, our customers also, you know, a host of, you know, opportunities. You know, us being a Chevy, Buick, GMC brand, you know, there’s… and with a wide variety of used cars, we now have started keeping all kinds of used cars.
It doesn’t matter
if
they’re a $6,000 used car or it’s a $106,000 used car. Whether they’re certified or not certified, we started keeping everything so we can, you know, we’re there to service all your
needs.
Allison: Mm-hmm.
Mike: And so, you know, those type of, you
know, things that we can do as far as what we offer in products, offering a host of…
like when we talked about mobile service- Right … whether it’s mobile, whether it’s here. So we’re here to be able
to go all in in helping them in every angle that we can. But I think the most important part is how can we separate ourselves and be different from every car dealership. And that is really down
to the relationship.
You
know, being
a
car salesman shouldn’t be a
dirty word.
Right. You should
be, you should be proud, and you should be comfortable. As a, as a, a consumer, you should feel comfortable and confident walking into Sunset Chevrolet Buick GMC and, and sitting down, having a cup of coffee, and talking to us about buying, whether it’s a new car or a used car, and knowing that we’re gonna help guide you through the best buying experience that you can.
That’s our job. So we would hope that that’s us going all in
to making
you feel comfortable. And laugh. Look, life is not meant to be a war. This is supposed to be a play, so let’s laugh along the way. That’s what it’s supposed to be about.
I’m,
Allison: I’m gonna embroider that on a pillow for
you. W- “Life is
not meant to be a war, it’s meant to be a play.”
“It’s meant to be a play.” So let’s laugh along
Mike: the way.
I,
Allison: That’s …probably the best thing I’ve ever
heard.
Mike: All right.
Allison: Um,
sh- “Life is not meant to be a war, it’s
meant to be a play. Let’s laugh along the
way. that is,
that is, I’m gonna journal about that
tonight. Okay, so
[00:40:06] Suncoast Superlative Seven
Allison: now it is time for our
Suncoast superlative seven, where we get to
brag on some of our local favorites.
So if someone is visiting the area, this is according to Mike Freeman of Sunset Chevrolet Buick GMC- Uh-oh … at 1800 Bay Road. These are
these are his favorite, uh, spots
and what he recommends. And, uh, we’re gonna go. Favorite restaurant for lunch
Mike: Gotta do both. Lunch, Walt’s. Dinner, Ophelia’s.
Allison: Okay. So
now next question, follow-up to that. If you are driving to Walt’s or Ophelia’s,
are you taking a Hummer, a Canyon, a Trailblazer, a Tahoe, an Encore, an Envision, or a Corvette?
Mike: Holy moly
Let’s just take a Hummer.
Allison: Nice.
Um, best beach
Mike: We’re gonna be quiet. We’re
going to Turtle Beach.
Allison: Oh, I like that. That’s a good
one. It’s, And now it’s the whole world’s gonna start going to Turtle. If you’re going to
Turtle
Beach, are you taking a Canyon, a Trailblazer, a Tahoe, an
Encore, an Envision, or a Corvette?
Mike: Um, let’s probably take a Canyon.
Allison: Let’s take a Canyon. I like it.
Best local car wash?
Mike: Johnny’s.
Allison: Johnny’s all the way. I love it. So if you’re taking your car through Johnny’s, is it a Trailblazer, a Tahoe, an
Encore, an Envision, or a Corvette?
Mike: We’ll let them
handle the Corvette.
Allison: Corvette. Best local secret spot that’s not Turtle Beach?
Mike: All right, so this is kind of crazy, ’cause if it’s just gonna be a secret spot, it means nobody even knows it.
Allison: Is it
gonna … Is it your poker room?
Mike: No.
Because Aaron knows that I, I’m addicted to bread. I have to say the Bread Bandit.
Allison: good. The …I’ve
even bought their special knife
Mike: for
slicing
Allison: the bread.
‘Cause
nobody even knows where they’re at. Do you break into their warehouse? I…
Mike: No.
Allison: Okay. They have a store.
Okay. We’ll look up Bread Bandit. If you’re going to Bread Bandit, are you taking a Trailblazer, a Tahoe,
an Encore, or an Envision?
Mike: Trailblazer
Allison: for sure. Trailblazer.
Mike: Tough parking.
Allison: Okay. Best community event?
Mike: Eh, you just gotta go to the farmer’s market.
Allison: Waterside or downtown Sarasota?
Mike: Uh, Downtown Sarasota.
Allison: Oh,
Nice. Tahoe, an
Encore, or an
Envision?
Mike: Encore.
Allison: Encore.
Mike: Easy, easy
Allison: I like it. Best part of living here?
Mike: The fact that
within 20 miles, 20, 25 miles- You can go from a horse farm to
the beach.
Allison: That is a real… And who is it in your family that absolutely loves horses?
Mike: my beautiful wife.
Allison: Yes. Yes, indeed. And did you make some, some modifications at your home for the sake of her affection, affinity
for horses?
Mike: Yes, I did.
Allison: Excellent. And did you hurt yourself doing it,
Allegedly. Um, okay. So, uh, owning, uh, a, a car that will take you easily
from a horse farm to the beach, is that a Tahoe or an Envision? Tahoe. Best car
to cruise around Sarasota in? Envision … yourself doing it. Very good. Okay.
Is,

Um,
okay.
[00:43:30] Wrap Up and Thanks
Allison: That is a wrap
on this episode of our All In podcast. I wanna give a special
thanks
to my friend and someone who I admire very greatly, Mike Freeman
of Sunset Chevrolet Buick
GMC, 1800 Bay Road in Sarasota.
And you are an incredible human. Thank you so much for doing this with us.
Mike: Thank you.
Allison: Uh, and for t- full transparency, before you got here, I was given a challenge today, and my challenge today I don’t know if I did it, but man, I tried, um, was to throw in
Tahoe, Envision, Canyon, Hummer, Trailblazer, Encore, and Corvette.
I think you did. But I couldn’t use them as the car brands. So I… Did I do it? I did it to you. There, I got it. Okay. Oh, good job. So if I
hadn’t done it, they were gonna make me give a TED Talk on how my mortal college nemeses- … the Mizzou Tigers, were the best
athletic program.
So you just helped
me dodge a bullet. So, um,
thank
you thank you, thank you again very much to Mike Freeman. Thank you to off-camera,
we’ve got Jay on sound, Felix on filming, and Ty just sitting here and laughing at me the whole time.
Um, tune in for our next episode of the All In podcast, and go see Mike and his team
at Sunset Chevrolet Buick GMC.
Mike: All right.
Allison: Thank you, Mike.