Dealer Synergy‘s Head of Business Development & Industry Relations, Tianna Mick, aka T Got Your Keys, had the honor of being sponsored to attend the Ally A-List Summit from Sunday, October 16 through Thursday, October 20, 2022! Tianna received a ‘full ride’ scholarship from The National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) for a full scholarship to the exclusive Ally Financial Bank Dealer Academy – The Ally A-List Summit!
The Ally A-List Summit brings the nation’s top automotive dealers together with the industry’s most elite trainers to deliver star power, brain power, and earning power. Ally offers various learning opportunities on various subjects that can be used to leverage, build, or supplement the dealership’s in-house training.
Continue to get an insider look at this year’s annual A-List Summit from, Automotive’s very own T Got Your Keys… Featuring special keynote speakers Danny Koker and Kevin Mack from Count’s Kustoms!
What is The Ally A-List Summit?
Before jumping into the Summit, you need to know who and what Ally is! Ally Financial Inc. is one of the largest car finance companies in the U.S., providing car financing and leasing for 4.5 million customers and originating 1.4 million car loans annually. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States by assets and has 2.0 million depositors.
Ally brings leading dealers from across the country together with award-winning instructors for four days of training designed for times like these! Their interactive, customized courses are designed to help dealers plow through obstacles, thrive in the face of adversity, and fill every corner of the dealership with confidence and certainty.
Dealers and attendees will experience majors and electives covering leadership, full-scope dealership operations, management, property & casualty (P&C), and human resources, all designed to help them keep their dealerships growing and improving.
Because now, more than ever, if you’re leaving your store, it has to be worth it. Furthermore, when you go to the Ally A-List Summit, you’ll bring home Ally Intelligence — knowledge built on a century of automotive experience with innovations designed to take your dealership into the future of automotive retail.
The Ally A-List Summit is back! And it’s not just better — it’s more important than ever.
Who is Tianna Mick aka ‘T Got Your Keys’?
Tianna Mick, aka ‘T Got Your Keys,’ is globally recognized for her award-winning TGotYourKeys.com website, which was voted #1 Personal Website in the Automotive Industry. She was consistently the top-grossing salesperson, averaging 20+ units and generating $9K – $10K each month in personal income at only 19 years old! Tianna is now fresh off the showroom floor, focusing on Business Development and Industry Relations for the Automotive Industry’s #1 Training, Consulting, & Accountability Firm: Dealer Synergy.
Additionally, Tianna is a NADA 2022 Speaker, Multi-time Digital Dealer Speaker, Internet Sales 20 Group Speaker, and voted/awarded #1 Influential Female Car Salesperson of 2019, published in Digital Dealer Magazine in November 2020. Recently, General Motors invited Tianna to speak on behalf of major Automotive OEMs on the importance of Diversity, LGBTQ+ Communities, Realities, & Economics in the Automotive Industry. Tianna, aka T Got Your Keys, is a known industry name for being an expert at showroom sales, lead/referral generation, customer satisfaction, and personal/business branding.
Ally A-List: Welcome Reception
The day started by landing in beautiful, radiating Arizona (a huge temperature jump from chilly Philadelphia!) All Ally A-List attendees were met by personal drivers sent from the Ally team to transport us to our educational haven and home for the next three days: The Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa At Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch is amidst flowering cacti and framed against the majestic McDowell Mountains; their Arizona destination resort is surrounded by adventures and miles from the ordinary. From romantic dinners, special celebrations, and Automotive Conferences, experience the luxury amenities that define their Scottsdale resort and spa.
The night was filled with gourmet meals and drinks to prepare us for our next couple of days of immersive dealer education! Joining us was a cute furry friend, Bonita! She passed drinks around as all of the attendees bonded over the Live Music and Arizona night sky. We were ready for whatever lay ahead!
Ally A-List: DAY 1
Starting off the day, the A-List Academy Attendees all filed into a conference hall to listen in to this year’s special guest speakers. To our awe, we were met with ‘Counting Cars‘ Reality TV Show Stars: Danny’ The Count’ Koker and Kevin Mack from Count’s Kustoms!
Count’s Kustoms, is a one-of-a-kind hot rod and chopper customization/ restoration shop located in the heart of Las Vegas. Metal on metal, mild to wild, the Count’s Kustoms’ team puts great pride and care into every one of our projects, no matter how big or small. Using only the highest grade parts available, they customize their vehicles to fit each customer’s particular tastes and desires.
It was inspiring to hear long-time TV Stars in Automotive facing similar challenges as all other dealerships in the country are facing during these trying times.
After feeling inspired… our first class began!
Out of the Top Main 4 Major Tracks, my main course track was ‘Growing Strategically.’ In this education path, get ready to immerse yourself in a simulation-based dealership operating report to identify and analyze needs and opportunities. This course gives you the ins and outs of all dealership operations, which, in my case, was what I was looking for!
In this Major Track, we learned and discussed: the independence and interdependence of each dealership department, the workings of all funding allocations in each dealership department, and completed a full AI Simulation as if I took over ownership of a dealership and needed to bring the business ‘back to life’!
After hours of expense reports and supplement sheets, I gained a new understanding and appreciation for the higher-level thinking and management of dealership operations from a Sales and Service perspective.
Ally A-List: DAY 2
Starting the day off we kicked off the day with a team-building challenge! Together we built over ten wheelchairs that will be immediately put to use for lower-income individuals and those without proper medical insurance. Then before being sent to our second class, we witnessed Ally make a colossal charity donation of $5,000 to the local health center for those without financial assistance.
The second class, titled ‘Dealership Forecasting’, was an intuitive course that taught skills to improve business results in all dealership areas through a focus on consistent and accurate forecasting! During this time, the class identified vital components for generating a monthly financial forecast, demonstrated the ability to populate a monthly forecast for New Vehicle Sales and Used Vehicle Sales, and overall assessed the completed forecast and determined appropriate actions to achieve the desired dealership results!
Using forecasting, projections, and predictive models in business enhanced my ability to properly evaluate a dealership’s current status/situation and forecast future actionable steps to take to reach their dealership’s specific benchmarks and goals.
The night ended with a beautiful outdoor dinner where we basked in the Arizona moonlight.
Ally A-List: DAY 3
The final day of the Ally A-List Summit was loaded with two educational dealer elective classes: ‘Management by Strengths’ and ‘Cash Management’.’ Both courses were micro-lessons to full classes that the Ally Academy holds; however, the Ally A-List 3-Day course only gives a taste of the entire lesson.
Management by Strengths was interesting on a psychological level. This lecture focused on harnessing the power of individual strengths to optimize consumer interactions and enhance dealership teamwork! Before class began, all attendees took an ‘MBS Personality & Strengths test which grouped each individual into 1 of 4 main categories of ‘Strengths’.
- Red = Directness: The focus of the Direct person is getting results, being in control, and solving problems.
- Green = Extroversion: The Extroverted person focuses on people/relationships and teamwork/team building.
- Blue = Pace: The Paced person focuses on timing, helping, and cooperation.
- Yellow = Structure: The focus of the Structured person is the small details, being correct, and “doing the right thing”.
I’m a ‘Red’. I thrive on being in control of the situation and getting results no matter the means. It was interesting to discover how my and others’ minds work, then understand the different ways to communicate with team members and customers. After identifying multiple temperament traits in ourselves and others, we applied techniques for more effective communication and interactions to better ourselves, our dealership/business, and the overall experience our organization provides to its employees and customers.
Cash Management brought me back to college accounting; in this class, we better-understood dealership Cash Flow and how to manage it properly. We learned how cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, especially in automotive, and how dealerships making a profit can still have cash flow issues. Once understanding that concept, we discovered dealership cash needs and where cash is used within the dealership.
By using cash planning, calculations, and forecasting, we were able to uncover ways to help improve dealership cash and capital management. These lessons will aid my path to consult and help other dealerships on this array of topics here at Dealer Synergy.
Conclusion… Or Should I Say ‘Graduation’!
I could not believe the summit was already over! Throughout my time at the event, I consistently learned and networked with Automotive Dealer Principals, General Managers, General Sales Managers, Sales Managers, Finance Managers, and Sales Professionals from around the country! As a group, we graduated, and each walked across the Ally A-List Summit stage to accept our Ally Award of Graduation.
If you’re thinking, “is this worth attending” the answer will be a ROARING ‘Yes’! Ally brings together the top automotive educational trainers and courses to bestow priceless knowledge to each automotive representative.
I’m looking forward to continuing my career with Ally as my ally!
