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If your appraisals still start with a sharpie on a worksheet, this one’s for you.

Derek Hansen has lived in the deep end of dealer data—Manheim to vAuto—helping thousands of rooftops translate live market signals into real-world inventory wins. In this conversation with Paul and Kyle, he walks through the three-legged stool every modern dealer needs: superior data, purpose-built workflows, and performance management that respects each store’s strategy.

Translation: less guessing, more learning loops.

The discussion digs into where AI is actually working right now (pricing probabilities, instant merchandising, smarter appraisals) and where human judgment still matters (trust, context, and the “who” behind every vehicle’s next owner).

Over the next year, Derek’s challenge to dealers is simple: test everything. Small experiments create clarity, build confidence, and keep your team ahead of the curve.

Takeaways

0:00 — Why showing the real you is the best PR

2:26 — Derek Hansen’s path from Bain and finance to the world of dealer data

2:51 — What outsiders miss about 18,000 dealers and their wildly different strategies

6:18 — How software can serve everyone without serving no one

9:23 — The 3-legged stool: data, focused workflows, and hands-on performance management

10:30 — The AI adoption gap: why saying you’re using AI isn’t the same as doing it

13:15 — From guessing to predicting with probability-based pricing and smarter appraisals

15:07 — Trust at the booth: damage scans, recon estimates, and printouts that close deals

17:12 — The 12-month warning: if you’re not testing, your reputation will show it

18:39 — Low-lift testing: offers, anchors, and incentives worth experimenting with

20:21 — Avoiding the AI race to the bottom by remembering every buyer values differently

23:27 — Iteration in public: small tests beat big promises every time

Connect with Derek Hansen at https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-hansen-6a7a941/

Learn more about vAuto at https://www.vauto.com

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What if one number could cut burnout, fix your follow-up, and turn “lost” leads into lifetime service customers?

Kristine Lentz from Urban Science joins Auto Collabs for her first-ever podcast—and promptly makes everyone smile while talking about the least smiley topic in retail: customer defection. From starting in support to leading a team, Kristine lays out how dealers can spot where customers slip away, why our instincts often lie, and how to turn cold data into warm conversations that actually convert.

We get into the uncomfortable stuff—ego vs evidence, “those lead sources are trash” (spoiler: they’re often not), and why about 20% of the leads in your CRM may have already purchased elsewhere. The unlock? Use defection as your North Star to stop chasing ghosts, redirect messaging, and re-humanize sales. In a world racing toward AI-everything, Kristine argues that human is the new premium—and shows how to deploy people exactly where they matter most.

Timestamps

0:00 — First-Time Guest, Big Topic

2:12 — Salesperson to Data Sherpa

3:53 — The “Dealer Reality Check”

8:53 — Your North Star Isn’t Sales—It’s Defection

10:07 — Ego Off, Evidence On

11:20 — The Lead Source Myth

12:28 — The 20% You Should Stop Calling

12:57 — Flip the Script, Win the Relationship

15:57 — Human > Bot (Used Wisely)

18:45 — Human Is the New Premium

21:17 — Culture That Connects

24:50 — Action List for Dealers

Connect with Kristine Lentz at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristine-lentz-a2582910b/

Learn more about Urban Science at https://www.urbanscience.com

⭐️ Love the podcast? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your LinkedIn or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally!

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Apple Store energy meets Ford retail as JB Burnett builds a concierge dealership that actually fits how people buy.

Today’s guest, JB Burnett (GM at Preston Automotive Group), went from serving tables at 20 to running his first dealership at 23. He’s now opening what Ford calls the world’s first Signature 2.0 facility—a wide-open, concierge-style showroom where advisors work on iPads, coffee comes before paperwork, and financing options hit the screen in about a minute and a half. He’s betting big that the future of car buying isn’t one lane—it’s dozens—and the store should flex to match every guest’s journey.

We get into the “why” behind the build: Apple-like consult spaces, a barista bar that starts the experience, and tech (AutoFi) that connects online starts to in-store finishes without the dreaded “let me ask my manager” lap. We also talk team prep, culture shifts, and why experiential retail is resurging right as everyone debates online vs. in-store. Spoiler: a dealership isn’t just a place to transact—it’s a place people actually want to be.

0:00 — The Apple Store Feeling That Broke the Dealership Mold

3:54 — Meet JB: From Server to GM at 23 (and What Flipped the Switch)

4:37 — “I Wouldn’t Buy a Car From Me” — The Brutally Honest Epiphany

7:18 — Why Some People Need 8 Hours—and Others Want the Keys in 8 Minutes

10:12 — Inside Ford’s Signature 2.0: Barista Bar, iPads, and Zero Cubicles

15:45 — Weeks From Opening: The First Signature 2.0 Store in the World

18:37 — The 90-Second Finance Loop: AutoFi + RouteOne Changes the Game

20:49 — Open Lines of Sight = Open Trust: Service and Sales Merge

23:20 — Moving a Dealership a City Away: Why Environment Elevates Behavior

24:24 — From Salespeople to Concierges: Training the Mindset, Not Just the Tools

27:20 — Physical Retail Isn’t Dying—Bad Experiences Are

28:38 — Experiential Retail Wins: Make the Store a Place People Choose to Be

Connect with JB Burnett at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jb-burnett-14534626/

Learn more about the Preston Auto Group at https://www.prestonmotor.com/

⭐️ Love the podcast? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your LinkedIn or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally!

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