With Next-Level Automotive Group you get more than experience; you get proven expertise in both Fixed Operations and Sales. Our leaders each have a long track record of building high performing teams and delivering measurable performance improvement results. If you’re looking for just an average consultant or trainer – that is not who we are.
All of us have helped literally hundreds of automotive dealerships bring their teams and their business to the next level. As a result, we are able to offer you time-tested guidance and proven solutions that have been refined over decades of real-world implementation and execution.
Don’t take our word for it, see what our clients have to say: Click here to see a letter of endorsement, or visit our Testimonials page.
You can learn more about each member of our leadership team below:
Dean Estep
Managing Partner
With more than 30 years experience, Dean Estep consulted with and was an integral part of Chrysler Corporations Fixed Operations Training and development. He has conducted over five hundred seminars and workshops, for not only Chrysler, but Ford Motor Company, Harley Davidson and AutoNation. As Director of Fixed Operations Training and Development at AutoNation, the world’s largest auto retailer, he managed a staff of up to 20 trainers and helped drive over 2 billion dollars in Fixed Operations sales annually.
Ken Gregson
Ken spent 10 years as a leader of Sales Operations and Learning & Performance for America’s largest automotive retailer. He develops teams that execute. He can do the same for your team. Consulting on strategic initiatives like Market-Based Pricing, Digital Retailing, staffing and compensation structures, bringing sales skills to Service Advisors and sales management skills to Service Managers or more operational results in Ecommerce, Phones, Sales Desk, Showroom, and Service Drive processes; Ken knows how to bridge the gap between simply having a strategy or process, and actually changing behavior. Providing learning that generates measurable performance improvement. Using data analytics to reveal what key drivers will produce the best results the fastest. Ken also has experience as a Toyota PRO, F&I Manager, Sales Manager and GSM as well as a Field Training and Performance Manager working with Sales and Service Departments to improve their performance.
Toni Mauro
Toni has an extensive background in automotive retail including Dealer partner, General Manager, GSM, Regional Training Manager with some of the largest public and private dealer groups in the country. She led a Toyota franchise with a team of 190 employees with sales averaging $221 million per year. For the last 4-years she’s shared her expertise as a Regional Trainer and Consultant for the Hendrick Automotive Group as well as a couple of other privately held groups. This passion allows her to stay abreast of innovation in the industry and help others achieve the success she has experienced.
Gregg Manson
A dynamic, driven, visionary fixed operations leader. Sixteen year successful track record with a FORTUNE 200 organization. Proven experience managing all levels of multiple projects including: strategy, business growth, process improvement, budgeting and administration with automotive fixed operations. Talent for motivating and leading people.
Jim Simpson
Jim has worked in the retail automobile industry for 45 years; starting as a part-time file clerk and progressing to the position of Vice President and General Manager. He managed 2 of the largest Chrysler dealers in the nation, each achieving annual sales over $100 million dollars. He also created a high-performance team to lead a troubled RV dealership to profitability and success. Jim is an internationally certified trainer and expert in the DiSC behavioral instruments. He uses these tools to coach individuals and teams to work effectively together to achieve extraordinary results. The DiSC surveys cover a variety of skills, including Effective Communication, Management, Leadership, Sales, Listening, Diversity, Stress Management and Team-Building.