Master the Job in Front of You, Teach the Job Below You: Chase Vance on Climbing the Dealership Ladder

Chase Vance has a resume that is almost unheard of in this industry. He started on the parts counter in 2008 and worked his way up through every single seat in the store. Sales, finance, general manager, regional director, managing partner, and then National Director of Business Development at RideNow Powersports, the largest dealer group in the country. He recently stepped into a new chapter as Director of Operations at the Zia and Lonestar Powersports Group. This is one of the most complete career conversations we have done on the show. We pull a lesson from every seat Chase has held, get into what actually breaks when you scale a dealer group, and have an honest talk about growth, burnout, and building a career you can sustain in this industry. If you are trying to climb the ladder, build a team, or grow a group, this episode is a roadmap. **What we cover:** - The one thing Chase wishes he knew on day one behind the parts counter - Why the parts department is about problem solving and personalization, not just handing someone a battery - The CARE framework: Create A Rare Experience, and why it is the ultimate retention tool - How to compete with Amazon and RevZilla through human interaction and the art of the follow-up - Why the toughest thing Chase had to learn was the CRM and the discipline of follow-up - What separates a good salesperson from an average one, and the Ken Griffey Jr. lesson about mastering the basics - Why new salespeople fail when they try to get too cute and cut corners - The F&I lesson: you have to know and believe in the product, and why packaging beats a laundry list - Why the needs assessment matters more than product penetration in the box - The biggest shift moving from one department to running the whole store: time management and selective urgency - Why departments cannot operate in silos and how sales sells the first one but service sells the next four - What breaks when you scale from one rooftop to many and the power of a 30,000 foot view - Why standardizing your tech stack matters, and how MotoHunt across a group lets operators phone a friend - The honest advice on scaling: if your store is broken now, a second one will only stack problems - Why being able to step out of a store is the real telltale sign of a well-run dealership - The candid story of stepping out of operations and why Chase calls it a step forward, not a step back - The Clay Wallace philosophy: master the job in front of you, be a student of the job ahead, be a teacher of the job below - Why the number one thing blocking your growth is not having your replacement ready - The mindset for a long career: keep the little kid excitement every time you put the key in the door - Chase's work with Veterans Xtreme Adventures and why it matters to him Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@dealershipfixit Connect with Chase Vance: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-vance-7685b4148/ Veterans Xtreme Adventures: https://www.vetsxtreme.com/ Connect with Jacob: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-b-berry/ Follow the Fixit Online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/dealershipfixit MotoHunt for Dealers: ⁠https://dealers.motohunt.com⁠