Sept. 23, 2025

“I Want to Build It Even Bigger!”: The Dealer Turning Tragedy into Momentum — and Lessons Every Dealer Can Use | Whitney Yates Woods, President at Yates Buick GMC

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“I Want to Build It Even Bigger!”: The Dealer Turning Tragedy into Momentum — and Lessons Every Dealer Can Use | Whitney Yates Woods, President at Yates Buick GMC

Today I’m joined by Whitney Yates Woods, Dealer Principal at Yates Buick GMC & Yates Mitsubishi. We discuss how the loss of her father pulled her from a successful real estate career into leading a single-point dealership, her bold leap into social media to drive sales, the decision to build a new store for a struggling brand, and much more.


This episode is brought to you by:


1. CDK Global - - Managing inventory doesn’t have to be a grind. Backed by over 50 years of CDK know-how and powered by next-gen AI tools, you’ll price with confidence, merchandise like a pro, and move cars off the lot faster — all while boosting your bottom line. Learn more about the CDK Vehicle Inventory Suite @ https://www.cdkglobal.com/cdk-vehicle-inventory-suite


2. Lotlinx - Get the best possible market advantage on every vehicle transaction. Optimize operations and boost profits using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Learn more @ https://lotlinx.com⁠⁠⁠


3. CDG Dealer Consulting – The right tech can make or break your dealership—so don’t guess, and don’t go it alone. Backed by insights from 500+ dealerships, CDG Dealer Consulting audits your tech stack, recommends the right products and vendors, and secures guaranteed best pricing. Our team then guides rollout and integration, helping you avoid costly mistakes and hit the ground running. Discover dealership tech that actually works @ http://www.cdgdealerconsulting.com



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Topics:

00:26 How the social media journey started

01:44 Taking over family business challenges

03:25 Key lessons from early challenges

06:41 Improving sales and service how?

16:51 Best brand building strategies?

20:05 Most creative marketing tactic?

23:51 Effective social marketing secrets?

26:12 Best customer engagement ideas?

33:56 Biggest future goals and challenges?


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