I Auto Consultants was founded by Kim Clouse in 2006. Originally, I envisioned the company to be a stable of professionals that I know personally and professionally from around the Southeast region to assist car dealers and the automotive industry. In general, offering services like; making the correct vendor decisions that aligned with the dealer’s current process and policy, assisting with F&I processes, training of new hires,  attending round tables and discussions. At that time I was still at Scott Crump Toyota in Jasper, Al. and we were selling a lot of cars for a store in a small town. After the fourth or fifth request from other Internet Managers in surrounding states to visit us to learn for 2 or 3 days, I started realizing how fortunate I was. When I started selling cars, the Toyota store belonged to Scott Crump’s father John Crump and Scott was the GM. I have told the story before how I had been trained until I was ready to explode. Six weeks on $250.00 a week training pay was not the ticket and I demanded to sell cars or go home. After I had proven that I could back the numbers out of a deal to the top line sales price I was “cut loose” to sell. It was about two days later that I sold my first vehicle and I realized suddenly all I wanted was to be back in training. Yep, we had a GMC franchise at that time as well and the first thing I sold was a 5 speed manual Sonoma. Green, I think Emerald Green Metallic 240 days in stock. Full sticker of course, with a $500.00 bonus; I was a green pea but I was bad to the bone yes sir; until later that afternoon when my customer called me from the side of the road. He was on his way to work 2nd shift at a bakery in Birmingham and according to him, the oil light was on and it had just ‘ locked up’. That’s right, my first sale and then bad to the bone was sick at my stomach. All I could see was $500 sinking into the sidewalk as I tried to find a manager, searched my mind for some procedure that I had surely just learned, but there had been no training for “locked up” and where are all the managers damn it? Still on hold for what seemed like five hours to me, I picked up the extension and went with the management decision. “Mr. Customer, I have no idea what is wrong but you wait where you are and I will bring you another new truck.” “Will the other one you test drove work?”  I went to the keyboard, got the keys and left with the automatic Sonoma that was exactly like the 5 speed he had bought, met him on the road and now I realize, I have the locked up vehicle. I jumped in, turned the switch, nothing. About now my cell phone starts to ring. It was the sales manager I couldn’t find an hour ago wondering where I was and asking about the automatic Sonoma that was traded to another dealer. Had I seen it? Dt’d, there was no training for dt’d! All I could say was, I need a wrecker and I am on highway 78 halfway to Birmingham what is dt’d? All he said was I am going to kill you, dealer transferred and when I get you back your transferred, home. That was my first sale 15 years ago and if you keep visiting this site, I swear to finish the story one day. I want to thank John and Scott Crump at the Toyota store along with Jim Cannon and Tommy Fowler at Carl Cannon Chevrolet for making training mandatory, and the rest of you who helped train me and continue to help me learn now. I Auto Consultants so far, for me has been the giving back, maybe the training for “locked up” or “dt’d.” That is why I say “Learning Never Stops” or as some of you prefer that are just well, anal; “Never Stop Learning”. I have sold and still do sell cars. I can teach people to sell cars with these new tools. But I will always struggle to teach; “You must want to or be willing to learn.” Always.

Thanks,

Kim Clouse

Managing Owner at I Auto Consultants and Carfolks.com