Ep 157: Great Culture Doesn't Happen by Accident with Sam Freeman and Amber Wright

0:00Think about a business owner. What got you somewhere for 10 years is not going to get you where you need to go in the next 2 years. Preach. Right? It is a mindset shift. You're listening to the Limitless Leadership Podcast, the podcast designed to help automotive repair shops learn how to lead, coach, train, and manage their team better by sharing proven techniques and thought-provoking interviews from industry leaders.

0:26Are you ready to transform your leadership skills by tapping into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results? Let's get ready for liftoff. It's time to go from great to greater. Here's today's episode. Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Limitless Leadership Podcast. Before we get started, don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, do all the things you need to on social media to help this podcast impact people and build leaders, just like the leaders we have sitting in front of us today at Tectonic 2026, presented by Techmetric.

1:02Techmetric, of course, is one of the podcast sponsors. Promotive is also a podcast sponsor, and we are blessed to be joined by a team member from each organization today. We're joined by the partner manager, Sam Freeman, of Promotive. Did I get that right, Sam? That is correct. Okay. And the— and the VP of Business Development of Techmetric Amber Wright. Thank you for, for being here.

1:26Thanks for having us. Thanks for being here. Of course, and thank you for having us. And, uh, and for those listening, uh, you of course can watch this episode, uh, on YouTube at The Bearded Leader. Uh, I also have an incredible leader co-hosting with me. I think I'm actually the co-host. Brett, you're the host today. Brett Beitler is also joining me. Um, I'm gonna pass the mic to Brett, and as I do that, if the two of you would each share who you are, what you do, and how you do it.

1:50Promotive is tackling one of the toughest challenges in the automotive industry: finding and hiring great technicians. Their team is built from people who know the aftermarket, understand technician roles, and recognize what actually makes someone a strong long-term fit. Promotive builds recruiting pipelines for the shops they support. They uncover talent you won't find on job boards, run intentional and structured screenings, and guide candidates through interview prep and communication so shops can make confident decisions.

2:16Shops choose Promotive because their process creates consistency, momentum instead of waiting, clarity instead of guesswork, and a partnership instead of a transaction. If your shop is hiring or preparing for growth, head to gopromotive.com. You can schedule a discovery call, submit your openings, and see how Promotive supports shops nationwide. All right, folks, as you know, great leadership isn't about doing everything the best.

2:40It's actually about having the right partners in your corner to build your shop's success. It's about putting the right team in place, It's about choosing the right vendors to make you a pro, making pro moves. And when I think about the pros, I think about Shop Marketing Pros. The know, like, and trust factor, that's a real thing, and Shop Marketing Pros understands that.

3:00That's why I wanna recommend Shop Marketing Pros to become your marketing partner in your shop. They get to know, like, and trust you and your business to then help your audience get to know, like, and trust you too, and bring your shop to the next level. So when I talk about making pro moves, this is the kind of move I'm talking about.

3:18This is the kind of standard-setting partnership that's going to elevate your shop. So if you're ready to become a pro in your shop, visit shopmarketingpros.com and partner with the best. Amber, you go first. Oh, so fun. Okay. So, uh, Amber Wright, I am the VP of, uh, business development at TechMetric. So, uh, I lead now a team of 16, uh, the last time we talked.

3:44It was much smaller, but we are continuously growing and evolving. But we, we do work primarily— my team works primarily with our partners. So we talk about vendors, but we talk about how we go to market together to drive mutually beneficial opportunities for companies, ultimately with the goal of getting TechMetric into shops to help them be as successful as possible, but focusing on the results that each individual shop is trying to achieve.

4:12And then how do we get them to the next one? So Uh, my team, I work primarily to drive the strategy, also looking at like what's the next evolution of business development, right? The relationships, how can we get involved in the industry? And so there's more to come on that. So that's, that's what I do, and I have a pleasure to work with an incredible team.

4:32I understand you guys got across the threshold of 15,000 shops served now. Yeah, almost fell off my chair when I heard that. He announced it this morning. I was like, oh, come on, it's pretty incredible. It, it's, uh, humbling. It's humbling. I think we, you know, couldn't do it without the customers that we have, but it's also the team and the product.

4:54So, yeah. So over 15,000 rooftops and over 350 team members within Techmetric now. Yep. Wild. Such a fast-growing organization. And you guys are incredible at what you do. Passing the mic to you now, Sam, who you are, what you do. That's a tough act to follow, right? Man, you use so many words just now. No. So I am Sam Freeman. I am the partnership manager with Promotive.

5:19We are a full staffing agency. We help find and place automotive professionals from entry level all the way through to second in command, really on the front side and also on the back side of the shop. What I do here, I manage the partnerships, but I also have grown through the team. So I came in primarily as an account manager. And understanding that process and how we were managing our clients and how we are delivering to them.

5:45And now I am going over to the partnership side where it's actually my background. Um, so being able to work with our partners like Techmetric or— and also the podcasts that we sponsor, um, and also figure out how we can really supply a demand that is a high need that everybody has. Sure. Hiring is one of the biggest things that Everybody struggles with, and we're stepping up to the plate and saying, let's figure it out.

6:12One of the things that, uh, Amber, go ahead. I was just gonna say, it's such a need. Leading a shop can be isolating, especially when you're trying to grow and still take care of your people. The good news is you don't have to piece it together alone. Techmetric is the all-in-one platform built for shops and growing operators who want less chaos and more clarity.

6:29Shop management, integrated payments, and built-in marketing all working together in one place. No bouncing between tools, no syncing issues, no missed opportunities, just a cleaner operation, a stronger customer experience, and a business that's built to grow. See how it works at techmetric.com or use the link in the show notes. It's no secret in our industry that speed of service sells. As our world moves faster, instant gratification isn't a want, it's an expectation.

6:54It's proven that the faster you communicate with your guest after they hand over their keys, the higher your close ratio and ARO is. This critical window is called your golden hour. And let's be real, it's hard to achieve when you're buried in essential tasks. That's where Golden Hour Garage comes in. By partnering with their team of industry professionals across the US, you can truly own your golden hour.

7:13Golden Hour provides a virtual estimate building, extended warranty, fleet claim processing, loaner advisors, and hands-on partner support so your team can focus on the guest experience and profit growth. Book a discovery call today. Limitless Leadership listeners receive 10% off their first 3 months. It is. And it's an incredible thing that you guys have done in such a short period of time. It's hard.

7:34I mean, it's, I say all the time, this is the hardest job I've ever had. And I've like run companies, I've run development teams, I've run things, and I'm like, I can't control these two pieces. Like, we can't control shop owners. All we can do is coach them and guide them and pray to Jesus that they listen and that they, you know, are responsive and do the things that we recommend.

7:52And also on the technician and the advisor side, we can't control them. All we can do is guide them through. And again, it's like matchmaking. You don't know if it's going to be a marriage, but we're going to try. So for listening audience, um, they're resonating with what you're sharing because there's a lot of things that are outside of our control that we're trying to get a handle on.

8:12It feels like everything's a fire and we're part-time firefighter because this is a fire, that's a fire, everything's a priority. But if everything's a priority, nothing's really a priority. So for listening audience who is feeling this way, Um, I know how important it is to focus on what we can control or can impact and try our best not to worry about what we can't control.

8:33What advice would you give to someone who is going through this and feels like they have to have control over everything and they just are keeping their head above water? And when it comes to the hiring piece of it, we don't take over the control piece. We actually work with— I tell everybody all the time, I don't work for you, I partner with you.

8:49And that's very important because we are— it takes both of us to be successful. The shop has to be responsive and they have to do their part. They have to do the interview. They have to take accountability. We are doing the front, front-load pieces, that bottleneck. We are getting in front of the candidates, we are screening the candidates, and we're submitting them over.

9:06So, it's like a, what is it, a triathlon? What is— oh my gosh. Triathlon? That one. I can't say that word. Close enough. Yeah, but we're passing the baton at that time. Our goal really is to help them be more efficient. We are utilizing all the tools we can. So we utilize AI with our AI screener that we launched recently, which is magical, by the way.

9:27She just hit 500 screens in one week. That's incredible. Wow. 500 screens. Like, that is— that's crazy. She being the AI person, correct? Yeah, I caught that. I was going to ask that, but what's her name? Her name is Paige, and it's an ongoing joke that she's hot. Um, it's— that's my wife's name. Is she blonde? I'm so proud. I would be so proud of this.

9:48Please tell me if she's blonde. She's a redhead. Thank you. I love redheads. I know, it was hilarious though, because we were at an offsite meeting and, um, we were coming up with the concept and we, um, Lisa's wife actually named her and it's Paige because P-A-I-G-E. You get it? Um, but they're like, so what does she look like? And I randomly was like, well, she's blonde and she's hot.

10:12And it just became a slogan that we use internally, and it's now becoming outside. But she does the screening pieces, and we take that and submit that over on that side of things. But we're also utilizing automation to speed up the process because time kills everything. So, so I want to go back to something you just mentioned. You said it's hard, like going out there and recruiting is hard, but it starts internally.

10:39Your team has got a magical recipe of creating a type of culture that I believe people are obsessed with, right? Which compels them to want to do business with you. So can you talk about your culture and how you guys start internally driving that so you can go serve others? Well, I mean, it's, it's actually pretty funny, um, and some of the things we want everybody to be all hands on deck, and we have a bigger picture here.

11:05We want everybody to understand that We are actually impacting people's lives. Like, it's not— yes, it's hard, but it also is so fulfilling when we have that success because we're talking about shop owners that have bays that they rely on those bays to turn numbers so they can provide for their families, their communities. We're talking about technicians and advisors that they need to find someplace that is going to respect them, that is going to support them and grow them.

11:28So, we are not playing with little domino pieces. We're actually playing with real people, and it takes that core understanding And it also takes that grit in that you get hung up on, it's like cold calling every day. And even with people that know who you are, we are in an industry right now where conflict, technicians don't want it, so they avoid it.

11:49They ghost. They don't want to tell you, "Hey, I accepted another offer." They just ignore you. And it's not just us, it's the shop owners deal with this all the time. And then we flip it around and say, "Well, you're ghosting them as well." because when the candidate doesn't meet your expectations, you're not calling them and letting them know. You're not telling them what they need to do to get better.

12:07You're just not reaching out to them and they're like, okay, well, I'm going to write you off. So, we're burning bridges on both sides. And I think that's the big part where Promotive is coming in is jumping in and saying, okay, we're going to communicate and we're going to help this. And I mean, the team, Lisa says it all the time, if you're not committed, she'll pay you to leave..

12:27And I mean, it's harsh, but it's also where we are. We want people that— it's not a 9-to-5 job. I tell her probably weekly, this is the hardest thing to do. Because when candidates are applying, you have to be responsive. When they're available, you have to be available. So it is not a 9-to-5. I'm pretty confident that our team, they work weekends and not the whole day.

12:49We want, we do respect time and family time. We do. That's a thing. But we also wanna make sure that we're striking while the iron's hot. I think Cody Sanchez also said exactly what you are saying right now on main stage. She, she was talking about hiring and you can go on LinkedIn, you can go on Facebook, you can go on Google Ads, like all of those things, but you always have to be doing more.

13:11Mm-hmm. One of the things we talk about, uh, so much is that you should always be interviewing. Like there should never be a time that you are not interviewing somebody. It should always be happening and it should never come off. And the cool thing that you guys are doing though is yes, maybe that talent isn't going to be right for one shop, but now you've created this pipeline to be able to help support.

13:33And it is like you, you said it so well, Sam, you are supporting not only the shop owner, but the, the new people, the next generation that are coming into this industry. And so you have the opportunity to set the tone of what this industry is and the culture that we are creating here. So it's pretty cool. Thank you. My goodness, you're so good at talking.

13:52I know. You know, some people say I have corporate jargon. So she, Cody Sanchez also said that. I'm like, I've gotta stop with the corporate. No, it just flows. Well, and Cody is Lisa's like favorite human. She's so mad she couldn't be here. And, um, I, she said a lot of things, but the big thing for our industry is not running away from AI.

14:11Like that was, I stood up, I was like, I can't sit down anymore. I need to stand up. Um, because she— I felt like half of that presentation was needed to be sponsored by Promotive. It was talking about the automation, it was talking about hiring, it was talking about continuing to do that, utilizing all the tools and being fast. I can't tell you enough how many times every call I have with everybody, I remind them, speed.

14:34Yeah, you have to be fast. Yes, these technicians, they're applying to on average 11 to 15 jobs at a time, and they're only responsive to roughly 3 to 5 of those those shops that engage with them. And when they're done with those 3 to 5, if they don't get an offer, if they don't like them, they don't go to the remaining ones that they already applied to.

14:52They go back and they apply to 11 to 15 more. Yeah. And they start it all over again. So having that speed component and being in front of them quickly is what made us actually start with the automation. So we text them immediately when they apply, no matter where they apply from. If it's through our page platform or our, our team, we're automatically texting them.

15:14If it's 9 o'clock at night, they're getting a text. Well, for a lot of folks who are listening, they're gonna say, well, I, I, I can't reply or respond that quickly because I don't have time, right? Time is our biggest enemy. And I'll throw that in air quotes, but that's what Promotive does for shop owners is we, you give them the gift of time.

15:32We have two offerings for that reason. Not everybody needs our full service piece. So they don't need us holding their hands. They don't need us outbounding and turning over the rocks for them. They don't need us scheduling the interviews for them. I mean, some do, like there's a good market for that still. Sure. But there are some that just want us to do a screening.

15:49They just want us to be able to write the job ad, um, respond to the candidates, get them screened and send over the information and they run with it. You can give them the resources. It's up to them to be resourceful. Yes. And that's, that's the biggest opportunity a lot of folks are not capturing is they, they want everything done for them because we don't have time and It's just like, there's just so many things happening, right?

16:07All those fires that I talked about, but we've got to be resourceful with the information that we get. Otherwise, like, knowledge without action is just information. And we can't just sit on information. Something that you just shared, Sam, a few minutes ago is how challenging this role has been for you. But I'm not hearing you say like you're not afraid of it.

16:26Like you're not turning your back to it. Um, when you say— I'm one of 7. No, I don't run away. Well, you know what's interesting? So, Amber, in the interview that you and I had back at the ASTA Expo last year, you talked about how TechMetric is the most challenging but also equally most rewarding job you've ever had. I'm hearing you say the same thing, Sam.

16:47Can either one of you speak to that? So I want to go back to 2 things that I've heard. You asked about control. We control things because of fear. Because we don't want to do something, right? Uh, or it's the unknown. And so I— there is a means to where I'm going with this, but I— Techmetric has— what got me here, what got me to Techmetric, the success that— and I don't want to make it about myself, but like, I just think as leaders— this is your show, Amber.

17:16But like, as leaders, right? Uh, think about a business owner. What got you somewhere for 10 years is not going to get you where you need to go in the next 2 years. Preach, right? It is a mindset shift. And it's a— I— so Techmetric has given me this journey, uh, to be challenged, to go into the uncomfortable. I always say, like, Olaf is my favorite little character because I watched Frozen way too many times, but he says, uh, I think it's a song, but change mocks us with its beauty.

17:52Right? Like, uh, at Techmetric, because we are continuously evolving and growing, but as leaders, it starts from the top, right? Sunil, Andrea, the entire leadership team is always pushing to learn, to grow more. And so as you do that, there is so much, uh, pain through that, but growth comes. And so it's just— that is why I said that it has been the most rewarding and challenging thing that I have ever done, and I would do it all over again.

18:20And there are days where I sit— like Cody was saying, I don't mean to keep beating the dead horse, but like there are days I wake up and I'm just like, I gotta do this again. But I gotta do this again because I'm sitting in fear of— I don't know how to move the needle. But the only person that's in my way is myself.

18:40Yeah, that's good. And so it has been every day I've been able to challenge myself, but not challenge myself and make it about me. It's now about how do I get people around me to be on the same mission with the vision that we set forth and have success. And so like now it's not like I, I said what got me here is not what's going to move the needle in the future because it's not about me, it's about our people, it's about our customers at the end of the day, and ultimately it's about our customers' customers.

19:10And so it's, it is totally reshaping, uh, the way that I think about business. But again, like Michael said earlier today on stage, it's the why. And so, so quickly you can get into the outcomes, and that's where fear and control comes into play, and you forget about the things that you have to do every single day and the reason why you're doing it.

19:32So, uh, I still stand by those words, Josh. I think it was, uh, yeah, ASTA was pretty quickly, uh, one of the first events that I went to as a Techmetric employee. Um, so it's It's been the most amazing year so far. By the time of this recording, the AST Expo would have been about, let's see, 7 months ago. Yeah. Think about the growth that you've experienced in the last 7 months.

19:56Yeah. Personally and professionally, a lot, right? Yeah. And it's because you have done some advice that General Robert Neller shared in a keynote this morning, which is embrace the suck. Oh yeah. You know, it's hard every day. It's not— it's not pretty. No, it's never gonna be perfect. Yeah, perfection is reserved for God, but you embrace the suck. We don't have to do this, we get to do this.

20:16We get to do this to make a difference, to make an impact. We're doing it through the Vestal Automotive Repair. I think when you, you go through struggles, right, uh, right, trusting somebody who doesn't have a limp, there's so many things like nuggets. Um, it's that faith that you have that you've gotten through it before and you will get through it again.

20:35Whatever it is in the future, that thing, you know that you can get through it. Right? But you just have to believe, and you just have to put one foot in front of the other. Like, that is truly, uh, I feel like when you freeze and you don't move, that is when you fail, and you have to keep going forward. So anyone listening to this podcast knows that Brett and I are believers.

20:54It's a faith-based company, Limitless Leadership. And biblically, in the Bible, I mean, we, we hear about, um, God's word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. And it's about that one step. It's not the, like, I don't even call it a leap anymore, a leap of faith. It's a step. It's a step of faith. Like, if, if you were to walk into this huge warehouse in one door and across this massive warehouse, you can see the door at the under, uh, at the other end, but it's pitch black, but you have enough light to take one step.

21:25And what you don't see is all the challenges, all the obstacles, all of the suck that you're gonna need to embrace. And instead what you're doing is, because if you turn the light on and you could see everything, you'd be like, nope, I'm gonna go out this door that I came in. I turn around, right? But, but I'm gonna, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna turn the light off.

21:41Yeah, I'm gonna light my lamp enough to take one step, and I'm gonna take another step, another step. And we know that when, uh, where there's faith, there's also fear, otherwise there wouldn't be a cause for faith. And so I love the fact that you're talking about, um, embracing your faith amidst the amidst the suck. Yeah. Um, it's, it's critical. It's critical because too many of us, we quit in the dip.

22:02And the dip is that J-curve that I've talked about before where we quit in the dip. It's just too hard, it's challenging, it's not working. The easy thing to do is to quit. Yeah. But you fall down 7 times, you get back up 8. Yeah. My husband tells me— I love him, we— I, I will say it on this podcast every single time, but there's times where I walk to him, like, I, I think we all do this to our spouses, right?

22:21We go back and we just like talk, we want to vent. Um, he either tells me when I'm making something hard, it's because I'm making it about myself and not about the person. Please elaborate. I love this. Uh, so when I have meetings with people, like, we all have hard meetings with people that we— I mean, humans are messy, right? Just like, I'm a messy person.

22:41I'm not perfect, although I think I am. Uh, uh, we're just messy. And so if I go into a meeting already stressing about a meeting or having a hard conversation, it's because I'm making it about me and I'm not serving that person. And so, uh, you have to remove that. It's also the one-minute manager, right? You have to remove the emotion out of it.

23:06So there's two things that are going on in those moments. And I will say that the people aspect of leadership is always going to be the most difficult and challenging thing because there's ego involved. There is the reflection of yourself, uh, the things that you're walking through. We're all human beings. We walk through those things. Um, but ultimately Uh, yeah, Tyler tells me that all the time.

23:29Yeah. How do you get through that? Like, like, people are gonna people. Yeah. So how you, how you gonna manage people? How you gonna lead people? What's your first step? Um, my first step, uh, when we're in business, okay, so like there's, there's people and there's, there's business. So there's kind of like a, it's a black and white thing to me sometimes, right?

23:50Uh, I have to get the business objective and ensure that we're always moving forward and marching in that way. We're all on the same ship. But at the end of the day, I have to understand the people that I'm leading, and they're all different. Um, and so I think just like, as long as you are being a good human being and you're trying to support them, um, that's ultimately how I go about it.

24:18Goes to my basis. Yeah, I'm a big believer in treating people the way you want to be treated. Like that's my number one thing. And so what my kids, they can't stand it, but I'm a big believer in treating people the way you wanna be and be treated and also being a good human. Uh, my husband actually, which I also love him by the way, I went and shout out to both these husbands.

24:37Husbands. Oh, he's amazing. Um, Lisa actually said, if anything ever happened to you, I will take him. I'm like, wrong team, buddy. But that's funny. Um, in reality, I get frustrated because I expect more from people and they let me down. High bar. And he reminds me all the time, why are you getting frustrated? They already showed you who they are. You need to understand who they are and don't be surprised every time.

25:01So set the expectation to what their abilities are and not what your, your expectation of them is, and then grow them. Maya Angelou once said, when people show you who they are, believe them the first time. Oh, could you have told me that like multiple relationships ago? Same. Great. Hey, I learned this not too long ago. I do think there's an expectation, like, I also think that there's a setting a high bar with people, right?

25:24Like, there's also this expectation and having people to be held accountable. Some people that you lead and are on your team aren't always going to be there with you, right? And so I think that there's also— those conversations are hard, and you want to do what's right, but not everybody's going to follow, and that's okay. So I agree, like, there's a, there's a point where we have to lead, we have to lean in, But it's also, until somebody's ready to change and do those actions, you can't make them, right?

25:54And so that's something, it's just like, hey, I, I have really high expectations of the people that are on my team. I don't want to micromanage you. I don't, right? But if I have to, I will. And I, in a certain way, to lead. But it's also just like, hey, I have a high bar for people that we hire. It's a blessing to know without any kind of reservation, not everybody deserves to be on your bus.

26:18Yeah, right. Because you two ladies and your companies have amazing cultures. Yeah. That people are drawn to, which allows you to thrive at the levels that you're thriving at right now that you've already shared with on this podcast today. So when you talk about protecting that culture, name a, a thing or two that you're most proud of when it comes to protecting that bus and not letting everybody on it.

26:42We talk about hiring a lot, uh, as a leadership team. Actually, we just did an, uh, SLT offsite and hiring was the majority of the things that we talked about. And so, um, one, ultimately we wanna make sure that, um, the people that we bring on have a level of urgency as everybody else at the company, as Techmetric. Um, one of the things that I'm just gonna paraphrase is we don't wanna hire jerks.

27:12Mhm. And so there's certain things that we look at and interview, um, whether somebody makes excuses, right? Uh, we don't, we don't want excuses. We want people that are going to push forward. Yeah. And, and take ownership into whatever comes their way. Um, we look at people who have high integrity. Integrity is a big portion of our interview process. I personally, and I know a lot of other leaders, we have— we're really focused on our values.

27:45So we have 5 values, and so I incorporate that into my interview process, and I either ask them for a historical view of how those specific values have shown up into their professional and personal lives, or I ask them to look at, like, once you have this role, if you get this job, how do you see these being incorporated into the job as you know it thus far.

28:11And so, there's just a lot of ways, but I think we want to make sure that anybody that we bring on has a really good work ethic and are good human beings, right? I think those two, you can't teach being a good human being. Yeah, absolutely. I think on our side, we actually are a small company and we're still growing, and we are actually pretty, as you would say, blessed or pretty fortunate that majority of our hires are referrals from people that already work there or that we know personally.

28:41So we already have one of those lovers of what Cody said earlier, you know, are they known? So we already have one of those pieces checked already because it's typically a referral and we're looking for people that are going to proactively come and understand what the job is that they're interviewing for and be ready to provide some level of solutions for it.

29:01If you're hiring for Or if you're applying for a marketing position within our company, I would love the fact that you researched our company and that you have already identified things that are issues. Yeah. Opportunity. And, or opportunities to come to the table. Like show that you wanna play. Like you, I mean, we do a lot of sports analogies, uh, our place and you're not that redshirt.

29:22You wanna come, you wanna show up to practice. You wanna actually say, all right, I'm gonna shout at you. My daughter is in cheer and stunt and she's like, I want all 6 of these routines. So, I'm gonna learn them all. And that's before she even gets the opportunity to try out for those spots. That's awesome. Preparation goes a long way. Um, Sam, let's stay on the, on the culture piece for a moment because, um, if, if anyone is listening or watching this episode, again, I don't know, I think I shared this earlier, but if not, YouTube @TheBeardedLeader, you can watch the episode.

29:51If anyone of you listening or watching has attended any automotive repair conference, you probably know Sam Freeman because she is, uh, a just a bundle of energy. Yeah, I mean, just like the, the life of the party. Always have a smile on her face, always giving people hugs. Selfie Sam, I like to call you Selfie Sam. It's actually my Instagram handle. Is it really?

30:10So, wow. Um, Lisa's idea. So let's talk about the way that you show up at these conferences. Sam is incredible. Um, it's, it's important for everyone at this conf— at the conferences to recognize the value that we can bring as vendors, as partners, as like every role counts. Can you speak to the value of a vendor and how it plays into the trade shows side of, of the conferences?

30:40Absolutely. And I'll tell you a really, really quick story on that whole Selfie Sam thing. Sure. So my first trade show I ever did, this was a million moons ago, it actually feels like. And I noticed that every shop owner that was walking through was doing the same thing. They were going to the booth, they were giving the same info at shop owner, company name, email.

31:00They weren't either actually interested, they were just doing it to check the box to have the person stop talking to them. And I never want to be like somebody else on that. Like, I need to be unique for me. So I started taking selfies, and then I'm like, oh, let me send it to you. What's your cell phone number? I'll text it to you right now.

31:19And then I would text it. So while everybody else is calling— sales 101— yeah, when everybody else is, is emailing— you did that with me. I did, actually. I mean, I do it still to this day. It's not the same reasons now, but, but I had the cell phone number. I had an item to trigger the memory on who I am all before they walked away from me.

31:40So when I did follow up— and I also am very respectful of following up, I'm not calling you right away let you digest the world. Um, but when I did follow up, they knew who I was. And working these shows and understanding kind of the value of what we are bringing as vendors primarily is we're all here because we have something valuable for the attendees.

31:58We have some piece of that puzzle that is going to get your shop to the next level, whether it's a duplication of something. So there's a lot of marketing opportunities here. You got, you know, what are the— Kukui, you got Oh my goodness, I'm drawing a blank on them all, but Limitless Leadership is one. That's, that's, that's a good one too. Nice slide.

32:17Yeah, just, just one of the vendors available. But you have— there are some competitive pieces out there, and you also have ones that you've never tried. I mean, recruiting itself, when I first came into the industry, again, million moons ago— it's been over 20 years, by the way, just for the record— um, the first call I ever made, he's like, I don't need marketing.

32:36I need somebody help me find technicians. Well, 20 years later we're doing it and now it's, it's like, oh no, I'm gonna run away. I ask everybody all the time, are you fully staffed or you need technicians? Oh no, we're good. Are you sure? Because I know underneath that, like, that's like not real. Well, what we can do is, I mean, you're identifying the problem and we are the problem solver, right?

32:58So if you're, if you're a vendor at a trade show, the, the expectation is that you're you don't want to necessarily be looked at like a salesperson per se, but you're a problem solver, and we all have some kind of business problems, and this is where the problem solver comes into play. I think a big part as well is these shows. I mean, the shop owners that are coming, they have dedicated trade show time for a reason, because they would like you to go and talk to these vendors.

33:24They would like you to explore other opportunities, be open-minded. I think Sunil actually mentioned that on his ecosystem, like, we all play a part here. Um, the other piece is when we're here, we're taking time out of our family time. Like I have 5 kids, I have a husband that I actually like, 3 dogs and 2 cats. It's like a farm there.

33:45Yeah. But I don't just wanna come here. Throw some chickens into that one. Checkmate. You win. You win. But I'm coming here for a purpose because I wanna, I wanna help. I want to, if somebody has a problem, I either wanna be able to solve it or I can help direct you to where somebody can. I pretty much know all the vendors.

34:02Um, but we are all a big team here, and when it comes to those puzzle pieces, I say we're the pillars of that success. You're the shop owners, you're the shop management system. You guys bring the podcast, the information, that leadership component of things. You also have a great beard. You scared the crap outta me, by the way, on your April Fools'.

34:21Don't ever do that again. That was good. I actually, you had me for a minute. No, it did not have me. ChatGPT really did me dirty that day, and, and it was just a good reminder that if that's really what is hidden underneath the beard. I'm just gonna always keep the beard. Yeah, it has been— no, I was like, such a lie, such a lie.

34:37Yeah, I think like, look, I— the one thing that I think is so important about coming to these events, you came for a reason and you obviously have something in your business that you're hoping to, uh, move forward or change. And just like, like, think about— at least for me, I think about— I'll come back to the vendors when I, I run.

34:59And so I grew up in a really small town in Peachtree City where we have golf cart paths everywhere. And I made it a point to make sure, like, if you really watch people when they're walking, what are they doing? Like, when you pass people on the streets, looking down, they're looking down and they're on their phones, right? And then there's a whole world out there that you just don't even know what's going on.

35:23You don't know the connections that you can make. You don't know what a single conversation with somebody is going to lead to. And so thinking about trade shows, you've come and yes, maybe vendors are out here to sell you. Totally. We're all running businesses, right? It's how you do it, um, I think is, is the big piece. But what I would encourage shop owners, service, service advisors, technicians that do go to these shows, you're there for a reason.

35:53So do go visit the vendors because you don't know what they may be able to do to help your business. In the back of my head, I was just saying, you don't know what you don't know. You don't. And I've made some of the most amazing friendships with talking to people. Half the people I've never even sold. Yeah, I just, I, I genuinely enjoy talking to people and understanding what drives them.

36:12And what's your problem? Let's go talk to this person, they can help you. Yeah, but you never know unless you step foot in there. I mean, people are constantly trying to avoid the trade show time. And I'm like, why would you do that? Well, I will say this. I know, Brett, you're— it looks like you're— but I will say, just putting on— I— my background actually was in corporate events, so I used to run it for a NASDAQ company.

36:34I used to globally run events. And so makes sense. Um, that was, that was a thing. Uh, these events would not be possible without sponsors. Um, so it does take a lot of resources. It takes a lot of, uh, financial investment, uh, time. And so I would say that if anything, it's thanking the people that are here that have sponsored these events, every single event, not just Tectonic, but, uh, at the end of the day, they are part of the ecosystem that helps shops run their businesses.

37:11And so that is what is important, uh, because there is a shop that they are helping in some facet. And so it's super important. So you ladies, going a little bit further and talk about the abundant mentality, right? Um, we're talking about building community. Josh and I are focused on this, like laser focused on building this type of community that does think in terms of abundance on top of it, right?

37:34There's plenty to go around for all of us, and we need to help each other win, right? Yeah, because business gets passed between who do you know, like, and trust. Yeah, right. That's why we have something on it. I see a word coming out. Let's go. I mean, that kind of goes back to before I was here. I was doing DBI service, and I helped bring DBI to the market with, you know, other great DBI platforms.

37:54I would start out all of my presentations in— can I cuss on here? Let's find out. No. Okay. Oh, Amber said no. Yes, you may. You can clean it up. Jesus. Okay, um, I would actually start every one of my presentations with, I don't give a shit what you're using for DBI, just use it. And I meant that wholeheartedly because the impact that utilizing something like that, that was doing for the industry and for the consumer's understanding of our industry was bigger than me.

38:21And I say the same thing for this. I don't care what they're using as long as they're doing something to always be recruiting. And if you get to a point where it's a hurdle or you're not being able to do it, it's okay. You're not like lesser than a human because you need to outsource that piece of it. You still have the control.

38:37You're still the one making that decision at the end of the day. But it is— you can't grow holding everything on your back. You cannot do that. And I'm actually learning that myself. Lisa's like, you gotta let go of some stuff. I'm like, uh, but I'm a control freak. At least need to proofread stuff. It's hard. It's hard. It's hard to let go.

38:55It's hard to trust the people that you've put into place, but that's ultimately why you've put them in the positions that they are in. To give those things over to them. And they also have to experience failure or messing up and moving forward. That's how they grow. I mean, we as a company, and I haven't been promoted for a million years, but I've obviously been a part of it since the part of the infancy of the conversations, who we were 7 months ago, a year ago, that is not who we are today at all.

39:26And we are constantly growing. We are constantly understanding What our clients are needing from us. I mean, I talk to people that are happy. I'm like, okay, but what doesn't make you happy? Like there's something that we do that we can fix. What is it? I need that feedback. I rely on it. Um, and I've always been, when I like ran development teams, I am that person that speaks to the, the end user and I'm like, all right, let's understand this and communicate it back so we can fix it.

39:50We're, our whole page component of our platform was built based off of feedback that what the market needed was that bottleneck support. I love this conversation, but for sake of time, um, we do need to begin wrapping up. I'm going to ask for each one of you to just give a plug for each one of your companies. If, if I'm a shop owner who is for whatever reason not with Tekmetric right now— Amber, I mean, God bless you, but I mean, I don't know what, like, what are you doing with your life if you're not with Tekmetric?

40:20What can I do? Where can I go to learn more about Tekmetric? Yeah. Yeah, well, obviously our website, you can go to our website and learn, learn more about TechMetric to get a demo. So we have account specialists that will walk you through a specialized demonstration of TechMetric. But what that call will do is really focus on your, your result. What is the result that you are trying to achieve as a business, whether that is, are you trying to make more money, bring in more cars, create a better customer experience?

40:50And so we start with that. Conversation first to really understand how we can help support you, because we know that if we can't get you to your first result, then we aren't really helping you at all. And so that conversation is going to be specifically tailored to what you as a business owner are trying to achieve first, and then we will show you how the product can get you there.

41:12So ultimately, go to our website at techmetric.com and we will be in touch with you, or feel free to reach out to me, Amber, or awright@techmetric.com, and I will make to support you and get you in the hands of somebody else who can. Excellent. Thank you, Amber. And Sam, same for you. If I'm looking for recruiting needs, how can I get in touch with Promotive?

41:33First I would say is everybody should be looking for recruiting needs. Amen. You should always be hiring. You should always be doing that piece. And realistically, it's not something that is easy done on your own because it does take time. But you can go to gopromotive.com and we have a lead form on there that you can reach out to, fill it out, and we'll be in contact.

41:52Our big thing on that is really just, if somebody has somebody that is, they have an HR department already, they have somebody in-house that is hiring, that doesn't mean that we're replacing them. We are helping them. We have something set up for everybody at this point now that we've been doing it for a good amount of time. It never hurts to talk and understand what the options are.

42:14Yeah. These calls are complimentary. Demos are complimentary. Reach out to Techmetric, reach out to GoPro— sorry, reach out to Promotive at gopromotive.com.. And since I shared your website, I'll say it again, techmetric.com. Uh, thank you for— thank you both for being on the show. Um, this will not be your last time. So Amber, you— I know you're already a returning guest. Sam, you'll be back as well.

42:34Uh, so thank you both for being here, and thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Limitless Leadership Podcast. As you know, we look to transform our leadership skills by tapping into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results. So thanks again, everyone. Have a great day. Don't forget to smile today. Don't forget to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.

42:51I'm Josh Parnell, and here's Brett Beitler. Okay. Reminding you to keep leading well.