Episode 200! Ford Keeping Used EVs, NFT.NYC

SPEAKERS

Kyle Mountsier, Paul Daly

Paul Daly  00:02

It was ever a day to put up a sticker of two dogs I five and today, because it's our 200th episode, and we got lots of weird crazy stuff to talk about. Let's go. People really want to know, the birthday cake going on the live streaming, if you can see it right now it's no need to repeat Kyle. I think we need to start the to show appropriately to start to enjoy the episode. If you're not watching, you're just listening. I was holding a sticker up to the camera. Kyle explain the sticker.

Kyle Mountsier  00:30

So my daughter this morning, I'm about to leave the house and my my family is always there just sitting there. I think their main goal is to figure out how to get on the next day's podcast like every night. It's like they're drawn something like Well, you talk about it on the podcast, what are you talking about? So this is actually this morning and my daughter runs over. They had to go to the doctor to take my my youngest to the doctor yesterday and the doctor gives stickers. And she runs. She's like dad Wait, grabs the sticker and goes, slaps it on me right on my chest. Right? I had to pull it off. And she goes, Look, it's you and Paul high fiving. I was like, this is perfect, just celebratory, like, you know, and then Paul, it's if you're not watching, it's actually so perfect. Because there's one dog that kind of is like tan gray, which is exactly what Paul is wearing today. And I'm in the all black. And so that's what the other dog it's just as

Paul Daly  01:26

pretty I wear this today too. Because typically it's I was like, I'm gonna change things up today for 200. I'm wearing a gray shirt. It's a big deal. It's a big deal. But we've been doing this dude for 200 episodes, we started in September of last year. And we literally to the best of my knowledge. I don't think we've missed a day, like a week. No,

Kyle Mountsier  01:45

we have not missed a week day. And it I'll tell you what, we've had some days where it's like, oh, no, what are we? I mean, last week was one of them. Oh, no, what are we going to do? And it's not, you know, there's kind of this ease, but unease about doing it every single day. And for you know, I look at Glen Lundy who put together 500 episodes and and other people that do this every single day are 1000s and do this every single day. And it is it's a it is a true grind. Like we wake up every day and we have to commit to to reading and being in the news and understanding the automotive industry and, and pushing and like pressing into the task that is getting this getting this out every single day. And then our team getting it out through all the other it is it is a it is a large part of what we do. And we you know what I think what what I love about it is we literally get to communicate. And even though that even though if you're listening or watching, we're not having a two way conversation, a lot of times we feel like we are just because this launches off other conversations throughout our day, or emails or comments and LinkedIn threads or anything like that. And so it's really our ability to communicate day to day with and among the automotive industry. And so that's why we just we're passionate about it, we love it.

Paul Daly  03:08

You know, just like everything in life, it's like there are no overnight successes, right? We're just getting started comes by doing it every day and little. Dave Meltzer told, you know, told us don't focus on what you should stop doing focus on how everything works together. So for us this show, it forces us to pay attention to what is going on, it forces us to everyday be in the news of automotive of business in general of technology of pop culture of NF T's of what the kids are into, it forces us to focus on those things, because we know the derivative of focusing on those things is is being able to spit at any moment, right? With an understanding spit is hip hop terminology for like, just give some words and some lyrics, some rhythm allows us to do that at any moment. So it really is like this constant level of preparation, but man it is sometimes it's a grind. And it is always rewarding. And sometimes it's just a pleasure and fun. Like today is one of those days. So we have some things to talk about today. But we would be so we're going to talk about a little bit of Ford's announcement yesterday what they're doing leased vehicles, we're talking about NF T NYC which is like the Super Bowl of NF Ts. We're also going to talk a little bit about keeping people engaged for more than 90 days when they're new hires and the effect that that has on longevity. So we're gonna give you a little bit of a wide variety as usual plus

Kyle Mountsier  04:29

flavors, just just some some flavors in the ice cream

Paul Daly  04:33

flavors in the ice cream today. However, we do have to talk about a soda con. Do

Kyle Mountsier  04:39

we have to it's literally

Paul Daly  04:42

because we're getting we're getting close. So here's here's the plan. If so we're having a soda con 11th through the 13th of September September 11 through the 13th you can pre register for tickets at a show to con.com. If you're an industry partner, we have very limited tickets. The only way you have the opportunity to get one is by being on that pre register. ration lists, we already have three or four times more people on that list than we do tickets available for industry partners. So please get yourself on the list right now, especially if you're in this community. The plan is this, we're having the big event, all the things are coming in motion, we're about to start announcing keynote speakers, and featured speakers and our collaborators, which are sponsors that we've outlawed the word sponsor, because we're like, if you're going to be part of this event, and yes, financially contribute, we're counting on you to collaborate with us, because that's our, that's the nature of what we're doing. We're doing all that we're about started announcing all those things. And then we have a 60 day content, ramp up up to the show, 60s, so this, yeah,

Kyle Mountsier  05:39

that's going to be probably the most exciting part for me, because I'm just excited to have all of the conversations, all of the content, I'm literally amped up, because you and I have been talking, we're not going to be able to be in every side stage, every every single content piece that happens at the event, but we're gonna be able to get to know all of these people, whether it be dealers, or speakers outside of our industry or, or industry partners, all the way leading up to the event. So I'm actually excited about the pre event because I get to be a part of a lot of that. And, and we just get to share those conversations with everybody from podcasts to, you know, to, to pre preview content, and blogs, and all that type of stuff. And, and I think it's gonna be really energizing for our industry just to get that level of thought and conversations going.

Paul Daly  06:29

That's right. So if you can be there, we really want to see you there. If you can get a ticket, we totally want to see you there. If you can't be there, for whatever reason, we're looking forward to spending the next 60 days with you. Starting like mid July, we're going to kick that off. And everyone gets to learn everyone gets the benefit. Everyone gets to have a little community. All right, let's get into some news. So Ford made a massive, the more I thought about this announcement, the more I'm like, But what about that, but what about that, but what about? So Ford has announced that if you buy a few lease and Evie from them for through Ford credit, you no longer have the option to purchase it at the end of the lease, you can only renew your lease do that. You can't buy it. So the residual, honestly, the residual doesn't matter. They're like, we want it back. And they say they're doing this because their plan for you know, they say that battery materials on the battery, right? Yeah. And they're saying like, look, we have to keep those materials in the 40 ecosystem, so we can recycle them and put them in the new. So they really are drawing a circle around their own battery supply. And they're saying like, we're kind of like keeping it in the family, which creates a ridiculous amount of complexity for the way things have been done.

Kyle Mountsier  07:46

I mean, one comment that I saw, yes, it's like, people can't trade it. No longer can they take advantage of equity? No. Right?

Paul Daly  07:54

There's Oh, there's so many things. No, there's so many things. So it's like, if you're leasing, we're having this I'm having this conversation right now with a dealer who I'm helping with it with a transaction. And they're like, Well, you can finance it, or you can just bliss it and then buy it at the end of your lease. If that's not an issue, like that option is no longer on the table. So basically Ford saying, we're taking the Evie used car supply. And we're keeping it remember, was it just two weeks ago? We're like, well, maybe, you know, where were we? Oh, I think we were a va da we're like, well, maybe maybe the OEMs are like, well, we'll sell the new cars and the dealers will sell the used cars. And we were like, we were like, we're like, I don't think any OEM is gonna do that. And yeah, actually, this is a step in the opposite direction where they're saying, we're already moving to secure our own used car supply. Yeah, so comment, Chris. No, my lighting. Yeah,

Kyle Mountsier  08:45

that is what since I've read this, I've been quite speechless. That I mean, the trend over the last year, especially in inventory screens has been to no longer allow lease returns or trades to happen at anything other than the an OEM branded franchise, right. So a lot of manufacturers have moved to that level of change within a lease. And now to go, oh, actually, you have no rights to the vehicle at the end of the lease. I mean, that is

Paul Daly  09:16

it's a seismic change. I mean, if you think about the ways we talked about yesterday, the way we buy phones, my phone's over there. I can't, right? Yeah, so the iPhones, right, we upgrade to the latest technology, and we just keep cycling those through, right and then Apple takes those back and they do something with it. But a car is a totally different thing, right people have an attachment to a car there's equity situations that we're in right now that you know, Ford would be on the winning end of this you know, by far however, you have to finance through Ford credit in order for this to be the deal so it's like I think incentives for other banks to get involved and be more aggressive on leases. With for EVs. However, I mean, you know, Ford's gonna bring the house, they're gonna come and be like, if you lease I mean, they're going to be giving all types of incentives and offers and make it really great. So in the end like this is going to create a level of competition for financing that I we've never seen before. And because the battery is so important to keep inside the four family

Kyle Mountsier  10:12

hearing in my head, I'm hearing Brian benstock in early 2021 on clubhouse saying these words,

Paul Daly  10:21

trade way home, I get to say like, you have to say like Brian benstock If you're gonna do that,

Kyle Mountsier  10:25

I'm not good at that. But I'll try. Okay, he's like, I'll tell you one thing, it's pretty good. Apple has it down. Trade cycle management, right? And like, that's my best price. But it's not great, right? It's just a little higher intensity level. But, but trade cycle management is, that's the key to loyalty. And we keep talking about the subscription model and getting people in brand loyalty and understanding how to maintain loyalty within a new car brand, which is constantly been a struggle for manufacturers and dealers. And this is just like, required trade cycle management. And I just don't know if that's the best thing for the consumer, because that actually I, I'm a firm believer that it's actually not the best thing for the consumer.

Paul Daly  11:12

I'm thinking I'm sure I'm trying to go through my head, like what options consumers will have. Right? So Ford credit is going to come to the table with massive lease incentives, right? They're gonna get a great price if you lease it through Ford credit, and either in cash back, or interest rate, basically. Yep. And other banks are gonna have to step up and do that. But they don't have the leverage to say the battery is worth X to us. But maybe they will. I don't know. Well,

Kyle Mountsier  11:38

and we missed the conversation this week on on evey readiness, but one of the big questions on the Eevee readiness is, are we ready to appraise and valuate vehicles that have like battery life, battery life? And I think honestly, Ford it, it is it is a massive, just kind of like an it's a massive understatement to say that dealers have the upper leg on vehicle valuations, they just do dealers have been better at valuing vehicles in the marketplace than any third party, including KBB, including Edmonds, it's just they know the market better than any automated system. And so for an OEM to say, we're not just going to be better at that, but we're going to be better at that in a whole new ecosystem of battery lifecycle management. I mean, that it's a, it's a bold proposition for an OEM to say, like, we can do this better, especially with a whole new matrix of like, requirements in vehicle valuations based on technology, or software, all that type of stuff. And I don't know, I mean,

Paul Daly  12:50

it's a wild proposition, it is a wild proposition, but like taking myself out of like my franchise retail dealer seat for a minute putting it on, if I know that battery supply and materials is going to be the most important constraint, without it three years from now, that's the only thing that really makes you make a move like this this early on, you're like, that's going to be so critical to getting more vehicles out that I'm willing to disrupt all these other things. So maybe they just know something that we don't, or they're just, you know, like everybody else, they're taking gamble. They're putting their chips in on that. And we'll see, I mean, we'll see if that pushes people more towards just financing, right? I mean, right, there's an obvious other option, right? Well, I'm just gonna buy the car. Right, and we'll try to get more funding. We'll see what financing terms do residual values do around but either way, there's some trouble brewing

Kyle Mountsier  13:40

guys here like yesterday, we're talking about you know, the ability to short term lease or rent a car and Evie today we're talking about this, this new story it is if you haven't figured out in the last two years, that the retail market is literally the wild wild west every single day and so heads up boots on ground at the same time is more necessary than ever Well,

Paul Daly  14:05

let me keep rollin beat you in the wild wild west. Segue. If you are an investor in crypto currency, you understand that you could be shot at any moment. The Wild Wild West anyway, I'm trying to write that's what the wild wild west was. You never know you're gonna like bust through the doors and it's over. But an event just happened in New York City. It's called NFT. NYC and it's basically the Super Bowl of NF T's you should know what an NF T is by now, if you've been around here, it's a non fungible token is basically a digital version of a collectible or some item or token or something that gives you access or maybe just a piece of art. So this event droops. 15,000 people and lots of digital creators and ft creators, you know, popular artists like The Chainsmokers and Madonna actually showed up. And so let me let me separate these two things for you for a second. If cryptocurrency is is about payment, right? There you go, right. This is how we tend or this is how we transact NF T's are about building community. It's an item that you have, but it only has value because there's another community of people around that item or those things that say they have value. Think about it, like trading cards, think about it, like fine art. Think about it, like, I don't know, a sports team, right? The sports teams only have value because there's a community of fans that say, I love the Philadelphia Eagles. Just don't use that one.

Kyle Mountsier  15:32

So very few people. So there's the

Paul Daly  15:35

mood the morning, a couple of couple of people. So the mood was obviously a little different. Because we're in the middle of the crypto winter, right? Crypto is down $2 trillion. However, the optimism around the brand building value of NF TS is higher than ever, because the application to the real world will like I was thinking about a Kyle community is like one of the basic primary human instincts.

Kyle Mountsier  16:01

It absolutely is community and connection. And I think that the people that are winning the most in the NFT space are creating really, really strong communities. You know, we follow Gary Vee, like, his whole NFT perspective is how do I build community around this? Right? There's a whole discord channel and it is creating community with events and and how you take, you know, this, this NFT there's not an end just launch into how do we have a community, you know, and and it really like, for me, I'm starting to see this next layer of social media, right, that the NFT is actually the the Crafter of how do I say like, here's the center, it's like the better Facebook group almost. But with ownership stake

Paul Daly  16:48

proof of ownership right there no longer can't be bought in NFT ownership, right? It's got to be it's like a deed to something. So that's why they call like crypto and blockchain technology web three, right web one was websites, right? We remember those web two was social media. It was when everything became deployed on social media platforms. And that obviously became the math of most amount of traffic. Web three is blockchain technology, which is executed via smart contracts and NFT communities. It's executed, it does integrate with website just like social media, right? Integrated with web technology. Well, Blockchain is going to do the same thing. And again, the element of NF TS is the fact that you can build community around the certain set of beliefs. And basically the phrase that Seth Godin coined people like us do things like this. So if you are in retail, automotive, learning more about this and paying attention to it, not just passing it off as something that kids are into, because as we also have talked about recently, Gen Z is becoming the massive buying demographic. And guess what, they all know what's up with an NFT they actually all desire the exclusivity of having it they exist desire the community that comes with it. So look, we're not saying to like launch a Metaverse thing unless you're Bryan Kramer, like launch a Metaverse thing so people can come and join and all that, that that'll come but understanding and learning a little bit more about NF T's today, and now will much more prepare you for what is coming in the future. And it helps

Kyle Mountsier  18:14

I'm gonna say this real quick. Like, hey, here's here's, here's the sin right now, is the best community is like it's not created because of an NFT. That's right. It's exercise better when an NF T kind of comes in because there's ownership stake. So even if you don't create an NF T or have any any way of of engaging your community around blockchain, like start creating community now, yeah, learn how to build community now around a brand around a center around the thought and idea of people, people like this do people like me do things like this? Right? If you do that right now, in your business in your community? The the like transition to web three is easy, right? You don't just like enter web three and be like, Oh, now I forget to guess I have to build community. Yeah. So community, it

Paul Daly  19:03

was the same principle social media, right? All of a sudden, you know, the people that like, you know, wearing big red hats could find each other, right. And now all of a sudden, they're going on a bus trip somewhere because they found each other on social media. And they use that to coordinate it. Same principle, just you know, for something you don't understand yet because you're old. Okay. So the next the next story. Like, yeah, obviously. Okay, I read a really interesting article. We wanted to talk about it today. It was in the Wall Street Journal. It wasn't like a news article. But it was like a longer form article about the importance that employers are putting on a 90 day period from hire to 90 days and saying if we can nail that 90 days, that that person is going to stay for much, much longer. Obviously with turnover being very high. It's a more increased focus. And, you know, in automotive, this has been a conversation we've been having for a number of years recent in recent memory, the last three or four yours about the onboarding process and its importance to employee retention.

Kyle Mountsier  20:05

Yep. Well, and so that 90 days is extremely important and and recognizing that, that not just the onboarding, but that that initial kind of conversation of how are things going? Are you engaging? Well? are we engaging you? Well, do you feel confident in your job role is really the it's the launch point for do we get past this? Actually, it was really interesting. We, when I was at the auto group that I was at, before I left at Nelson, this was a real intention, we had a very low turnover rate. And thankfully, our HR department had a real intentionality around this 90 day window. And we actually set up a series of meetings around the 4560 and 90 day timeline to make sure that people made it there. And actually, the majority of our people came in through employee referrals. And the way that we incentivized employees was on the day one start date, and the 90 days to say like, Hey, as someone that's referred someone, it's also your job to make sure that they make it 90 days. Great, right? And so like it was this team effort of making sure that that person was trained up, engaged, ready to go like the, hey, how are you doing, because that they wanted that incentive referral, at the 90 days, not just when they started. Because it is it's not just about getting people, it's about keeping them at this point. Because if you can lower turnover, you don't have to worry about the job market. 

Paul Daly  21:30

Now you think about the amount of effort it takes to do what you've said, versus the amount of effort it takes to find interview, screen, hire onboard somebody else, it is a ridiculous disparity in the amount of time and energy is to put into just making sure you touch base and do a good job at assimilation, which is merging them into your population, right. So in the article, a couple of things Carrier Corporation, they pair new hires with a buddy, right, who understands the company and who's going to encourage them along that's great, because they'd said data shows that if they stay for 90 days, they were likely stay more than one year. One company in the article hired somebody to focus on onboarding and reduce turnover from 37% in January to 16% Currently, right? So it's all about connection. It's all about, you know, the company's trajectory, making sure someone at least knows that they have what they need and that they made a good decision. Adam Robinson from hydrology says this US people either go home on the first day of work and they say I made the best decision of my life or I think I made a mistake. There's no There's no in between there. So the takeaway is a little more intentionality goes a really, really long way. We went a long way today. We can talk for an hour every morning, but we talked a little too long today. Thanks for celebrating our 200th episode. We got 200 More, at least in us at least. But until then we'll see you tomorrow and get 201

‍