At a time when most dealers are doubling down on tech stacks and automation, Fabiola Mathis is reminding the industry that people still matter most.
The details: As Director of Learning and Development at Principle Auto Group, Mathis is making sure culture scales right alongside the rooftops.
❝
“Business is great,” she told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D’Arc and Uli de’ Martino. “We just had our grand opening at our Hyundai of Boerne store, which is fantastic, especially since the Hill Country area is growing pretty quickly.”
Her concern: Expansion only works if the people inside it grow, too.
-
That’s why every new hire at Principle starts with a culture index test, which is a personality-based tool that helps leaders understand how each person thinks, communicates, and fits within a team.
-
From there, the results are printed right on name tags, as colored dots that represent traits like leadership, patience, structure, and social drive.
It’s simple and low-lift, but she says it helps everyone understand each other faster, and keeps communication (something most stores still struggle with) from becoming the bottleneck.
❝
In her words: “All relationships in your life are gonna fail if you don’t learn to effectively communicate with them. That includes inside the dealership.”
Plus, she’s seen what happens when that kind of communication doesn’t exist.
As she shared on the show yesterday, back when she started selling cars, she remembers being thrown onto the floor with almost no direction, like, “just go get a customer.”
So now: She says her goal is to make sure no one at Principle has to figure it out alone.
-
That’s why she built a ten-day onboarding program for all new client advisors, designed to create structure from day one.
-
Each day is mapped out hour by hour, starting with introductions and ending with real customer interactions.
-
And by the end of week two, every new hire has taken an up, handled a phone call, and worked an internet lead.
❝
“Doesn’t matter if you’re the receptionist and you have a big smile or you’re selling a car or you’re an ASM, the first impression is everything,” Mathis said.
To maintain that standard: She meets with store leaders every Monday at 10:30 to review onboarding checklists and ensure every new hire is getting what they need.
And has each trainee fill out two daily questions:
-
What do you feel confident in today?
-
And what do you find challenging?
❝
“It keeps the manager accountable, too,” she said. “It’s your job to train them because the salesperson doesn’t fail because of themselves. They fail as a combination of both.”
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
No-BS insights, built for car dealers. Free, fast, and trusted by 55,000+ car dealers.
Worth noting: Mathis said some veteran salespeople push back on this structure, and she gets why.
❝
“Hey, if you’re selling 15 cars, you do you, boo boo,” she said. “But…if you’re tapped out at 14 cars, and you can’t get past that, maybe anything that I will say in the next day or two will help develop you into that 15…16 car person. So, constant development is actually something that everybody should seek.”
She argues that the same goes for leadership roles.
-
Some dealer principals still think of training as a nice-to-have, not a growth lever.
❝
Her take: “If you guys are willing to invest in having snacks and water bottles for your guests, why won’t you invest in having a coach side-by-side with your team? Because I guarantee…if you’re not constantly a GM that is walking through the service department, walking through technicians, walking on the sales floor, you’re gonna miss something.”
A quick word from our partner
Want insider knowledge on today’s auto retail trends?
The Haig Report® is the industry’s longest-published, most-trusted quarterly resource on dealership values. Since 2014, it has delivered insights on performance, market shifts, and franchise desirability—helping leaders spot opportunities and risks.
Each edition includes exclusive insights on valuation trends, brand outlooks, and blue sky values.