Riverhead Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is a family-owned and operated business on Long Island, New York, started by Tony Strollo, Jr. in 1976. Two of his children, TJ Strollo and Jane Millman, joined the family business about 20 years ago. The dealership is enjoying rapid growth and will be expanding into a new facility in 2019.
Jane is the secretary-treasurer at Riverhead Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. She graduated from Plattsburgh State University, in Plattsburgh, N.Y., with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing. After graduation, she moved to New York City to work in telecommunications. Jane eventually found her way back to the family business and started on the showroom floor selling cars. Around 2000, she was promoted into her first management position at the store. In June of 2019, Jane was sworn in as the GNYADA chairperson, making history as one of three women dealers holding leadership positions in the association.
In the following conversation, Jane shares her thoughts on the biggest challenges facing dealers, why she believes retail automotive is a great career choice for women, and how to best address the industry’s service technician shortage.
Dealer Magazine: As the new chairperson of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA), what would you like to see the organization focus on during your tenure?
Jane: Clearly, education has always been and will continue to be a huge priority for the industry. We’re currently facing a shortage of technicians, which is only going to get worse in the years ahead, unless we address the problem. One of my priorities is to focus on reducing this service technician shortage.
Dealer Magazine: How do you plan to meet this challenge?
Jane: One of the ways we’re addressing it is through the efforts of our association president Mark Schienberg. He’s been working closely with Governor Cuomo and the state legislature to solve this problem. As a result, the governor announced the creation of a new task force to help develop training programs for auto technicians. The goal is to train New Yorkers for jobs in auto retail, including high-paying service technician jobs. That’s one way we’re doing it.
GNYADA already has the Center for Automotive Education & Training, a state-of-the-art facility that costs nearly $30 million, to help train our workforce. In addition to fully qualified service technicians, the industry can always use more sales personnel and managers.
We’re also working closely with other vocational settings and colleges to add retail automotive to their curriculum. Education is something the association has been working on for years.
Dealer Magazine: A key responsibility of GNYADA is helping to ensure dealers are protected. What are the top legislative priorities for the organization?
Jane: Strong franchise bills, of course. We’ll be working with state legislators to help them understand the many benefits our industry brings to the local economy. Our association represents more than 400 dealers in downstate New York. The legislative session starts in January, so we will be working to identify more specific ways to strengthen our industry on behalf of consumers.
Dealer Magazine: Women are making great strides in retail automotive leadership positions. Why do you think this is happening now?
Jane: That’s true. The industry has changed over the last decade where we’ve seen more women coming into the auto business. With more retail brick and mortar stores closing, it makes it easier for us to pitch auto retail to those workers as a career choice. More women work in the retail market than ever before. Think of a department store, where women are asked to work long hours, on weekends, and even over holidays. The auto industry becomes an opportunity they hadn’t considered before. We provide longevity and sustainability and careers with much higher pay. Women are making more money working in a dealership than they made at a typical retail store. It’s a clean, safe environment with great income and job growth potential.
I believe men and women bring different perspectives to the workplace, as do different nationalities and backgrounds. And I believe the potential of such diversity is what makes retail automotive a strong career option.
Dealer Magazine: You are joined in your leadership role by two other businesswomen, marking the first time that women business owners have held three of the top leadership posts at GNYADA. How significant is this for the future of the industry?
Jane: Very significant. It shows how any people of any background or gender has the ability to hold any position they so desire and achieve their goals. It opens doors. I hope more women will see and take advantage of the opportunities our industry offers.
Dealer Magazine: From the future, I’d like to now go back to the past. Riverhead Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is a family operation, and you are currently the Secretary-Treasurer. Please fill us in on your background.
Jane: I’ve worked at the family store since I was 11, at first detailing cars and so on. I sold cars when I came home from college during the summer. But I didn’t consider a career in the family business at the time.
After graduating from college with a business degree, I found a telecommunications sales job in New York City, took it and worked my way up to sales manager. I liked what I was doing, but the hours were long. I was working something like 60 hours a week.
Once I got married and moved back to Long Island, my father suggested I come back to work at the dealership. I was already accustomed to working long hours, so I thought if I’m going to work like that I might as well work for myself and my family. That’s when I joined the family business. My father bought the dealership in 1976, and he has been a great role model. It has been my good fortune to be able to work with my family.
As those of us in the business know, the recession hurt our industry as much as any business. We thought we might lose our franchise when Chrysler filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Instead, we added Chrysler and Jeep to our rooftop. That was a turning point for our store. Last year we retailed 504 new and 198 used vehicles.
The uncertainty surrounding the recession made me realize I needed to be more involved in what it means to be a franchise dealer. I wanted to know what was going on in order to better protect our family franchise investment. So, around that time, I became more active in the Greater New York Auto Dealers Association.
What I really love about the car business is the chance to talk to so many people. I love selling cars, especially when it leads to a long-term customer relationship.
Dealer Magazine: If a woman asks you for advice on whether to work in the industry, what would you say?
Jane: I would tell them to try us out. You don’t need any unique or special skills. All dealers are willing to train. You must have a passion and desire to work, as well as be a team player. You can enjoy a career path for a long time with a well-paying job. Our industry provides stability, growth, good careers and financial stability.
Dealer Magazine: Would you describe yourself as a hands-on or hands-off manager?
Jane: I’m definitely more of a hands-on manager. We’re a small dealership with 32 employees, so I’m always still here dealing with all kinds of issues at the end of the day. We’re a tightly knit dealership, which is one of the benefits of working here. I believe effective leadership requires speaking directly to employees and having them feel you have integrity. It’s also giving direction so they can succeed, as well as asking and listening to their ideas for how improvements can be made for the betterment of the team.
Dealer Magazine: What specific skills do you look for when hiring new talent?
Jane: Communication. Enthusiasm. And a desire to work. If they have those skills, we can teach them the car business. We have regular hands-on training with our staff. We also utilize the association’s seminars, which provide a vast array of educational support for dealers.
Dealer Magazine: I’d like to shift to marketing. What is your dealership’s marketing strategy, and how involved are you with social media?
Jane: We do a mix: some TV, newspaper, and digital. We work a lot with our in-house database, applying analytics and intelligence for targeted e-mail marketing. We market on social media, using Facebook and Google ads. We also take advantage of marketing through the manufacturer. Texting is an important communication tool for us, and we use it quite often through our CRM system.
Dealer Magazine: Which CRM and DMS products do you use?
Jane: We use VinSolutions for our CRM and Reynolds & Reynolds for DMS. Certainly, every system has hiccups. But we’re pleased with both. We’ve been running Reynolds & Reynolds as our DMS for more than five years and VinSolutions for about seven months.
Dealer Magazine: What single piece of technology has made the greatest difference to your dealership?
Jane: Hands down, the internet. Simply put, the internet has revolutionized the way dealers do business. We are looking to further expand our presence on mobile platforms as well.
Dealer Magazine: What are the biggest challenges facing the retail auto industry today?
Jane: I keep going back to the issue of finding qualified employees, especially attracting service technicians, because it is a huge problem for the industry.
Another challenge is legislative. The legal requirements put on dealers are tremendous. So, the association is trying to find ways to streamline regulations that can hinder business or take up a lot of a dealer’s time.
We also have product challenges. Fortunately, GNYADA runs the New York Auto Show, the largest and oldest auto show in North America; more than a million visitors attend the show each year. This year marks our 120th anniversary. Because of the show, we get to see all the new vehicles coming in. Electric vehicles, for instance. From today’s vantage point, these EVs are the wave of the future, and we have to embrace it.
Dealers are in the transportation business. Specific technology is not going to change the need for transportation. Instead, what will change is how we meet our customers’ needs. Most of the country does not have access to mass public transportation, yet people still need to get from one place to another. That’s why I believe auto dealers will remain present in the economy. I think the ridesharing concept is great for individuals in their 20s, say, if they want to go out for dinner. But most people are going to require an automobile if they want to pick up and go to the grocery store whenever needed.
That said, I think electric vehicles are the future and a good way to go, especially since it will help the environment. Dealers will be the ones to sell and service those vehicles. So, I don’t see EVs as a radical change.
Dealer Magazine: What are your thoughts on attracting more millennials as both customers and employees?
Jane: The truth is, millennials are the same as any demographic, and they’re going to have to work someplace. They’re going to have to find a profession. As long as we communicate with them about the benefits of working in our industry, we will have no problems attracting millennials. I think it has to be done mostly on social media. Also, by promoting the benefits of our industry as a career choice in high schools and colleges.
Auto tech training should be very appealing to young people. These are essentially life-long career tracks and are really high-tech jobs. Today’s technician has to be technical and a problem-solver, two skills many millennials already possess. Vehicles are much more about logical problem-solving than mechanical skills–you’re not taking apart a transmission anymore. A service technician is a tech job.
One of the other ways the dealer association attracts younger individuals into our industry is through scholarships. Since GNYADA’s scholarship program began, we have raised more than one million dollars to attract students, including post-secondary education in the auto industry. This year, we raised $20,000 in scholarships. The money was raised through the generosity of auto dealerships and other business connected to the industry, such as Reynolds & Reynolds, for example.
Dealer Magazine: How about Riverhead, what’s ahead for the family business?
Jane: We’re putting up a brand new 31,000 square foot facility because of the growth we’re experiencing. In addition to the new facility, we’re going to be doubling our staff. The future is looking fantastic, not to mention bright.
Dealer Magazine: What one word or expression best describes you?
Jane: Motivated.
