NADA and Getting Your Dealership Ready for 2025

Tony Carroll is Lead Area Sales Director at JM&A Group for the South and Midwest markets. With automotive industry experience spanning over two decades, Tony has a diverse portfolio. Keep reading to discover how his career has prepared him for his current role and how National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show 2025 is going to look with JM&A Group. ?

My automotive journey has been a lot of fun. While I began my career selling cars at a small-town dealership, I’ve been blessed with serving in a variety of roles within the industry including Sales, Marketing, and F&I. One of my passions is gaining a deeper understanding of how modern consumers behave, what their expectations are, and how we can work smart to meet them when and where they wish to be met. At JM&A Group, we have an obsession with understanding the consumer, the modern F&I landscape, and driving performance for our dealer partners.?

What really drew me to JM&A Group was the opportunity to help dealers build tailored solutions to fit their F&I and reinsurance needs. I've always had a curious mindset, and sometimes that means some self-education through webinars, podcasts and auto publications. This mindset helped bring me to where I am today, and it’s part of why I love NADA so much – this event is a great opportunity for dealers and others within the industry to learn from subject matter experts, glean insights from leaders in the industry, iterate, and find ways to improve their own teams and business operations.

Heading there later this month? Here’s what to expect with my team:?

What can dealers look forward to seeing at our NADA booth??

While I'm excited about certain things like our Virtual F&I demonstrations, live recordings for JM&A Group’s The Walk Around podcast, and Fixed Operations support offerings, what excites me the most about our booth is simply the JM&A Group associates themselves. We are a diverse set of industry experts who all come from retail, and who help support almost 4,000 dealers across the country. Come by, shake hands, and grab a coffee. We’re also giving away several great service upgrade offerings, so make sure to book a time to meet with us at our booth!?

How is JM&A Group supporting the dealership of the future???

The modern consumer landscape has evolved significantly in recent years. JM&A Group is investing in people and technology to innovate and serve the customer when and where they want to be served. This requires a fresh perspective about how we offer great products to customers who may not be sitting in front of the F&I manager. We have also completed over 40,000 Virtual F&I deals since 2018! If you are a dealer today, you should come by to learn more about why this is important.?

What trends do you think we may see in the auto industry in 2025??

Two things come to mind. First, one of the most impactful things happening in the auto industry is the unprecedented consolidation. There has been record buy/sell activity over the last few years and this means many dealers have experienced explosive growth. While that's exciting, it often comes with growing pains as dealers try to manage more rooftops with less resources. Second, new car margins continue to be under pressure. This means that F&I and Fixed Operations must find ways to drive more profit and find efficiencies. Fortunately, JM&A Group can help you do both!?

What are you excited to experience at NADA this year? How might it be different than other years???

Well, I'm a sucker for Cajun food, so I'm happy we are going to New Orleans this year. Las Vegas is great, but I'm looking forward to walking through the French Quarter and eating a lot of great food!??

Last year our industry rallied together after cyber security issues impacted many dealerships. I’m interested to hear more about how we can all protect our operations from cybercrime. It’s a space that impacts us all.?

Want to discuss how your dealership could improve in every department? Message me and let’s connect! If you’ll be at the NADA Show, you can pre-schedule a demo with my team and we’ll show you performance enhancements that are tailored to your own unique dealership needs and business goals. Plus, we have great giveaways for those who complete a demo!?

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