I got into the car business shortly after high school, when a friend asked me, “What are you doing, Jon? Why don’t you get into the car business?” So I did. Since 2003, I’ve been in the car business or right next to it, working my way from sales to floor manager, finance manager, general sales manager and general manager. Along the way, I also owned a direct mail agency and served as marketing director for another.

Today, I head up new client acquisition at Digital 1. I work closely with Chris and a few key partners, and all of our growth comes through referrals. We work with single-point stores and large auto groups, and the beauty of what we do is that we can work with any franchise or independent dealership. I’m always building new dealer and agency referral partnerships, but what I love most is getting into the grind with our dealer partners to help them keep growing.

When it comes to results, I care about dealer performance. We don’t sell cars, but our dealers’ performance means everything to us. Doing our job exceptionally well makes their path to success a little less bumpy. Let’s not kid ourselves: the car business isn’t easy, no matter how good the messaging to the public is.