Lessons from NADA 2025

Navigating Change, Chasing Failure, and Managing Decision Fatigue

Every year, the NADA Conference offers a fresh perspective on the motor trade, and 2025 was no exception.

This week I'm sharing my key take aways from NADA, and why I attend year on year.

Despite snowstorms and flight cancellations delaying the start, I walked away from NADA this year with more than just new contacts and a packed notebook.

I left with ideas that could shift how we approach sales, leadership, and resilience in the motor trade. Here’s what stood out.

Why We Keep Coming Back to NADA

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“Why do you go to NADA every year?”

It’s a question I get asked a lot.

And to be honest, it’s a fair one.

After all, the logistics alone—flights, hotels, carving out time from a busy schedule—can make attending the NADA conference feel like a massive undertaking.

But NADA isn’t just another conference.

It’s where the pulse of the motor trade beats loudest.

And this year, despite snowstorms and flight cancellations delaying the start, NADA 2025 in New Orleans reminded me exactly why I keep coming back.

The Aha and Oh Yeah Moments

Every NADA trip serves up two kinds of moments:

1. The Aha Moments — new ideas or tools that make you think, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
2. The Oh Yeah Moments — simple truths you already knew but somehow stopped practicing.

This year had plenty of both.

For instance, I had a major aha when revisiting the concept of "decision fatigue" in sales managers. It hit me, how often are we overloading our managers with choices, leading them to make hasty or suboptimal decisions?

And on the flip side, there was the classic oh yeah when speakers revisited the importance of guiding customers through their purchasing journey, something so fundamental, yet often neglected in the chaos of day-to-day operations.

Chasing Failure with Ryan Leak

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One of the most talked-about keynotes this year came from Ryan Leak , a speaker who’s built a brand around embracing failure as a stepping stone to success.

He encouraged attendees to actively pursue challenges they’re likely to fail at, not because they enjoy falling flat, but because pushing beyond comfort zones is where real growth happens.

He told stories of reaching out to NBA teams for tryouts, knowing full well he wasn’t making the roster, but recognizing that the experience alone was worth the effort.

"Chasing failure took me further than chasing success ever did."

In the motor trade, we often play it safe.

We chase incremental improvements, optimize existing processes, and shy away from big, bold moves that might not pan out.

Ryan’s session was a powerful reminder that sometimes, the biggest opportunities lie in the risks we’re too afraid to take.

Joe St. John & Kerri Wise

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The breakout session with Joe St John and Kerri Wise was another standout.

They dove deep into the digital evolution of the dealership showroom, focusing on one key idea:

Friction kills sales.

Joe shared a stat that stuck with me:

Back in 2015, the average customer spent 187 minutes in a dealership from the end of a test drive to closing the deal.

Fast forward to 2024, and that number only dropped to 172 minutes.

Despite all the tech advancements, the process still drags on too long.

Why? Friction.

• Endless back-and-forth between salespeople and managers.
• Long waits to get pricing or financing options.
• A negotiation process that feels more like a battle than a conversation.

Joe’s solution?

Empower salespeople.

In his view, sales teams should be able to present full deals, including financing options, without needing constant manager approvals.

It speeds up the process, reduces decision fatigue for managers, and improves the customer experience.

Kerri added another crucial layer: transparency.

Today’s customers expect to know what they’re paying, why, and how every fee breaks down.

In the age of Amazon and Carvana, they’re used to streamlined, clear buying experiences.

Dealerships that can replicate that level of simplicity will win more sales.

The Hidden Cost of Decision Fatigue

One concept that kept popping up across sessions was decision fatigue, a psychological phenomenon where making too many choices leads to worse decisions over time.

In the context of dealerships, think about your managers.

Every day, they’re asked to:

• Approve discounts
• Set trade-in values
• Navigate financing options
• Mediate customer complaints
• Juggle staffing issues

The result? Burnout.

And not just for managers.

Customers feel it too.

A stat shared during the conference: Customers who spend more than 20 minutes alone in a dealership are 70% more likely to leave without buying.

It makes sense. No one likes sitting in silence, watching the minutes tick by while waiting for a salesperson to “check with the manager.” Yet this happens every day in dealerships around the world.

The solution:

• Reduce decision points.
• Streamline processes.
• Empower sales teams to make more decisions on their own.

Personal Reflections: Why NADA Still Matters

I’ve been attending NADA since the late '90s, and I’ll be honest, there were years when I questioned whether it was worth it.

The travel, the time away from the business, the inevitable pile of emails waiting back home.

But this year reinforced why I keep coming back.

• NADA is a reset button. It pulls you out of the daily grind and forces you to think bigger.
• It’s about the conversations. Some of the most valuable insights don’t happen in sessions but in hallways, over coffee, or during post-event dinners.
• It’s a chance to work ON the business, not just IN it.

This year, I walked away with new contacts, fresh ideas, and a ton of inspiration.

I also left with a renewed focus on one simple but powerful question:

How can we remove friction, from sales processes, from customer journeys, and even from our own workflows?

Because at the end of the day, selling cars isn’t rocket science.

It’s about making it easy for people to say yes.

See You at NADA 2026?

If you’ve never been to NADA, I can’t recommend it enough.

And if you’re already a regular, I hope this year inspired you as much as it did me.

Las Vegas is hosting NADA 2026 next year.

I’ll be there, notebook in hand, chasing my next aha moment.

Hope to see you there.

— Simon