Beyond The First Pencil
By Kathi Kruse and Mike theCarGuy Correra
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Category: Management
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Episodes: 131
Description
Beyond The First Pencil is where dealership operations meet financial reality.
Hosted by Kathi Kruse, of Kruse Control and Automotive CFO-To-Go™, this podcast is for dealers, OEMs, GMs, and controllers who want more than surface-level advice. You’ll get straight talk on financial statements, internal controls, cash flow, and the operational gaps that quietly erode profit.
From gross to net, from process to profit, each episode delivers real-world insights on how dealerships actually make money… and where they lose it.
Because selling cars is one thing. Keeping the profit is another.
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
Is Social Media Still Worth It for Car Dealers?
|
Jun 03, 2025 |
|
Ego: The Hidden Expense Killing Dealership Culture
|
May 20, 2025 |
|
Desktop is Not Dead (and other marketing musings)
|
May 13, 2025 |
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Likes Are Not Leads for Car Dealerships
|
Apr 29, 2025 |
|
You Can’t Spell Tariffs Without FFS
|
Apr 15, 2025 |
|
Maximizing ROI in a Tightening Marketing Budget Era
|
Apr 02, 2025 |
|
The High Cost of Brand Betrayal
|
Mar 25, 2025 |
|
Does Great Customer Experience = More Car Deals?
|
Mar 11, 2025 |
|
New Study Reveals Car Dealers’ SEO Blind Spot: Google Business Profiles
|
Dec 20, 2024 |
|
Is Social Media Still a Smart Investment of Your Time?
|
Dec 12, 2024 |
|
Car Buyers Stick with the Brands They Love
|
Dec 04, 2024 |
|
Hey, Have You Heard About Video?
|
Nov 27, 2024 |
|
Social Media: Whose Feed Is It Anyway?
|
Nov 22, 2024 |
|
This Had to Be Said About Automotive Influencers
|
Oct 30, 2024 |
|
Prabhakar Raghavan Killed Google Search As We Know It
|
Oct 23, 2024 |
|
AI Mods, Restomods and The Beverly Hillbillies
|
Oct 16, 2024 |
|
Building a Customer-First Culture in Car Dealerships
|
Oct 09, 2024 |
|
Facebook Ads Support Black Hole: Where Help Goes to Die
|
Oct 02, 2024 |
|
How Car Dealers Are Failing Customers
|
Sep 27, 2024 |
|
The Approaching Wildfire of Car Loan Delinquencies
|
Sep 18, 2024 |
|
Google and Facebook: Diluted and Polluted
|
Sep 04, 2024 |
|
Unsung Heroes: A Case for Service Advisor Appreciation + Training
|
Aug 29, 2024 |
|
She Knows Cars: Insights from a Female Service Advisor w/ Laurie Down
|
Aug 16, 2024 |
|
We Are Pretty Sure Facebook is Messing With Us
|
Aug 15, 2024 |
|
From Spam to Showroom: Email's Role in Car Sales and Service
|
Aug 07, 2024 |
|
Are Dealers Wasting Time on TikTok While Sales Suffer?
|
Jul 31, 2024 |
|
From Klout to Clicks: Navigating the Evolution of Dealership Digital Marketing
|
Jul 24, 2024 |
|
When Google Search Fails, What Do We Do?
|
Jul 17, 2024 |
|
Are Leads and Sales the Only Metrics?
|
Jul 10, 2024 |
|
The CDK Fallout and Who It’s Falling On
|
Jul 03, 2024 |
|
The CDK Cyber Attack Debacle Did Not Have to Happen
|
Jun 27, 2024 |
|
Gaining More Control Over Online Ratings
|
Jun 20, 2024 |
|
Has Google Lost Its Mind?
|
May 31, 2024 |
|
How To Welcome Female Customers Into the Service Department
|
May 15, 2024 |
|
Buried in Your Trade, And You’re To Blame 🎵
|
Apr 30, 2024 |
|
Genuine Care and Kindness Leaves a Lasting Impression
|
Apr 17, 2024 |
|
Spring Forward: Refreshing Vendor Relationships, Sprucing Up Operations and Financials
|
Mar 26, 2024 |
|
Social Media Login Security + Website Traffic Study
|
Mar 13, 2024 |
|
Running on Empty
|
Mar 05, 2024 |
|
An Introvert Walks Into a NADA Convention
|
Feb 14, 2024 |
|
AI Oh My: Practical Uses for AI in Car Dealerships
|
Jan 31, 2024 |
|
Everything Still Comes Down to Customer Experience
|
Dec 22, 2023 |
|
Ten+ Years Later: Value of Building Online Profiles
|
Dec 08, 2023 |
|
Twitter is Dying, What’s Next?
|
Oct 20, 2023 |
|
Have We Lost All Focus on Customer Delight in Automotive?
|
Sep 29, 2023 |
|
Listen to Your Customers Before They Listen to Your Competition
|
Sep 14, 2023 |
|
Stuck in Neutral: How Resisting Change Shackles You
|
Aug 31, 2023 |
|
Pitfalls to Avoid with Social Media Vendors
|
Aug 24, 2023 |
|
When Shady Comes to Shop: Dealing with Tricky Customers
|
Aug 18, 2023 |
|
Creative Content Ideas for Dealership Service Depts
|
Aug 03, 2023 |
|
ABC: Always Be Connecting
|
Jul 27, 2023 |
|
Empathetic Ears: The Power of Listening to Your Customers
|
Jul 22, 2023 |
|
Imposter Syndrome: The Struggle is Real
|
Jul 14, 2023 |
|
Threads is Here!
|
Jul 07, 2023 |
|
Is It Time for a Workforce Workout?
|
Jun 29, 2023 |
|
Do’s and Don’ts of Using ChatGPT for Social Media Posts
|
Jun 23, 2023 |
|
Old Habits Die Hard in the Car Business
|
Jun 08, 2023 |
|
Summer Camp Recap + More w/Kelly Wilson
|
Jun 01, 2023 |
|
Thriving in an Era of Rapid Change
|
May 26, 2023 |
|
Telling Stories on Social is Still Your Secret Weapon
|
May 18, 2023 |
|
A New Pair of Running Shoes Leads to Sole-Searching Insight
|
May 12, 2023 |
|
Oh Facebook, Why?
|
May 04, 2023 |
|
Seasonal Shift
|
Apr 21, 2023 |
|
Spring Cleaning and Google Lighthouse
|
Apr 08, 2023 |
|
Buying a Car Online w/Anielka Gallo
|
Mar 31, 2023 |
|
Twitter Rants: The Ultimate Cardio Workout
|
Mar 24, 2023 |
|
Conferences, amirite? w/Bill Playford
|
Mar 17, 2023 |
|
How to Make Automotive Social Media Fun!
|
Mar 10, 2023 |
|
Go See Cal, Go See Cal, Go See Cal!
|
Mar 02, 2023 |
|
Accountability Finally Comes for Tesla
|
Feb 16, 2023 |
|
Using Social Media to Buy Cars
|
Feb 09, 2023 |
|
AI and the Car Business
|
Feb 02, 2023 |
|
Google Business Profiles? Yes, Please!
|
Jan 13, 2023 |
|
New Year, New [Old] Social Media?
|
Jan 06, 2023 |
|
What Will 2023 Look Like For The Car Business?
|
Dec 29, 2022 |
|
Building a Community to Increase Sales (Guest: Bill Playford)
|
Dec 23, 2022 |
|
Are You Building a Community or an Audience?
|
Dec 16, 2022 |
|
Have You Ever Thought About Speaking at a Conference? (Guest: Brent Wees)
|
Dec 08, 2022 |
|
Real Life Social Media Tips
|
Dec 01, 2022 |
|
A Brand Is Not Just a Logo
|
Nov 24, 2022 |
|
What is "Modern Retail?"
|
Nov 17, 2022 |
|
Is TikTok Safe to Use?
|
Nov 10, 2022 |
|
Google Analytics 4: Resist the Scare Tactics
|
Nov 03, 2022 |
|
Episode 48: Google and Facebook Disappoint…Again.
|
Oct 28, 2022 |
|
Episode 47: Are You Listening to Your Social Community?
|
Oct 21, 2022 |
|
Episode 46: It’s Conference Season, How Do You Celebrate?
|
Oct 14, 2022 |
|
Episode 45: Does Facebook Know What’s Best?
|
Oct 06, 2022 |
|
Episode 44: What Exactly is Automotive Social Selling?
|
Sep 30, 2022 |
|
Episode 43: You Can’t Expect What You Don’t Inspect
|
Sep 22, 2022 |
|
Episode 42: The Car Business Doesn’t Need Car Bros™
|
Sep 16, 2022 |
|
Episode 41: Google and Facebook Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
|
Sep 08, 2022 |
|
Episode 40: Humor is Not For Amateurs
|
Sep 02, 2022 |
|
Episode 39: Facebook Video Results from a Real Time Test
|
Aug 25, 2022 |
|
Episode 38: Marketing Budget Concerns During Downturns
|
Aug 19, 2022 |
|
Episode 37: Which is Better: Being Famous or Building a Community?
|
Aug 11, 2022 |
|
Episode 36: Metaverse Schmetaverse
|
Aug 04, 2022 |
|
Episode 35: Three Punks Walk Into a Dealership w/Josh Friedman
|
Jul 28, 2022 |
|
Episode 34: The “I can’t find anyone who wants to work anymore” Myth
|
Jul 21, 2022 |
|
Episode 33: Social Selling with #FordVideoGuy
|
Jul 14, 2022 |
|
Episode 32: Facebook Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes…Again.
|
Jul 07, 2022 |
|
Episode 31: How to Be Better Than Everyone Else on Social Media
|
Jun 24, 2022 |
|
Episode 30: Let’s Talk About EVs, “Autopilot” and Safety
|
Jun 09, 2022 |
|
Episode 29: Digital Advertising and Data Privacy: What’s Next?
|
Jun 02, 2022 |
|
Episode 28: Social Media & Personal Branding
|
May 27, 2022 |
|
Episode 27: Using Video to Educate, Empower and Entertain
|
May 21, 2022 |
|
Episode 26: One Dept’s Markup is Another Dept’s Opportunity
|
May 12, 2022 |
|
Episode 25: No Fresh Ups: the Intersection of Car Sales and Technology
|
May 07, 2022 |
|
Episode 24: Employee Influencers: Mega Opportunity or Minefield?
|
Apr 28, 2022 |
|
Episode 23: The Metaphoric Meteor for Automotive Dinosaurs
|
Apr 22, 2022 |
|
Episode 22: Automotive Social Selling Really is a Thing
|
Apr 08, 2022 |
|
Episode 21: Helping Customers in a Digital World
|
Apr 01, 2022 |
|
Episode 20: Good People Are Hard to Find
|
Mar 18, 2022 |
|
Episode 19: Does the Factory Really Want to Become Retailers?
|
Mar 05, 2022 |
|
Episode 18: Marketing Maelstrom Dead Ahead!
|
Feb 18, 2022 |
|
Episode 17: Love The Sinner Hate The Sin
|
Feb 11, 2022 |
|
Episode 16: The Looming Customer Service Debacle in Automotive Retail
|
Feb 04, 2022 |
|
Episode 15: Let's Get Visual
|
Jan 28, 2022 |
|
Episode 14: Auto Retail’s Market Adjustment Adjustment
|
Jan 20, 2022 |
|
Episode 13: Automotive Social Media Culture Shift?
|
Jan 10, 2022 |
|
Episode 12: Goodbye 2021, Hello Market Adjustments
|
Jan 05, 2022 |
|
Episode 11: Cars, Coffee and Google Business Profiles
|
Dec 24, 2021 |
|
Episode 10: Social Media DIY Gone Wrong
|
Dec 15, 2021 |
|
Episode 9: Social Media Fails and 80’s Music Tales
|
Dec 09, 2021 |
|
Episode 8: Will Build to Order Take Hold? And What About Lemmy?
|
Nov 24, 2021 |
|
Episode 7: "Social Media champions", GMB gets a new name and music events gone wrong.
|
Nov 11, 2021 |
|
Episode 6: Are Your Digital Assets Safe?
|
Nov 08, 2021 |
|
Episode 5: More Transitions, But What About Company Culture?
|
Nov 04, 2021 |
|
Episode 4: Supply Chain Issues, New Auto Retail Models, We'll Get the Hang of This!
|
Oct 16, 2021 |
|
Episode 3: It's All About Having Fun And Getting It Done!
|
Oct 11, 2021 |
|
Episode 2: Humor, Selling Cars, Google My Business
|
Oct 09, 2021 |
|
Episode 1: The First Pencil, Our Maiden Voyage!
|
Sep 30, 2021 |