Director of Business Operations
When I left college, I never thought I would end up here. I was a fresh-faced college graduate with the world at my fingertips. Then real life hit. At the time, it was difficult finding work as my degree was pretty much useless where I lived. In order to make ends meet, I took a job at the local Honda dealership in town. I had no idea what I was in for.
Working at the Honda dealership was difficult. They let me loose without much training, and it wasn’t pretty. It took some time to sell my first car, and I was shocked when the buyer said yes. I had good months and bad months. I was eventually fired from the Honda dealership, but I ended up at the Lincoln/Subaru store next door. I developed more as a salesperson and met Andrew Long, who was the Internet Manager. After about a year, Andrew recommended I move from the floor to a BDC position, where I answered leads from inception to appointment. It was in this position that I learned the importance of proper follow-up schedules, setting appointments, and working with websites.
When Andrew left the dealership for an automotive software company, I was promoted to Internet Manager at the dealership. A year later, I received a call from that same automotive software company, offering a position as a Field Performance Manager. I learned more than ever in this job. In working with dealerships, I noticed very few had internet departments or even a process for working with internet customers. A lot of my time was directed towards helping stores effectively work with customers inquiring online, and I became passionate about helping dealerships develop better processes.
On my way back from visiting my family in Texas, I receive a phone call from Andrew and Ross offering me a position at Upstream. The next day I put in my notice and two weeks later I joined the team. Working for Upstream allows me to put what I’ve learned traveling the mid-Atlantic to use helping dealers nationwide develop more effective processes.