Initial Ramblings – Winter 2019: Discover the Pod, Become the Pod
by JT Burkard
I discovered something that has been around for at least a decade and a half but I haven’t paid much attention to until recently; Podcasting. It’s kind of a throwback to the radio shows of yesteryear. Host or Hosts will talk about just about anything: Sports, cooking, crafts, self-help, fitness, music, etc. If you can think of it, and talk about it, it’s out there. Of course, automotive themed Podcasts are plentiful as well. Perfect for when you are driving or at the gym, as you don’t have to watch anything. Just go about your task while being entertained. I prefer them for long distance driving duties.
My first podcast I listened to was Spike Feresten’s Spikes Car Radio. A Cars and Coffee type of show brought to you by one of the writers of Seinfeld and his own TV show Car Matchmaker. I am a fan of Spikes and when he announced he was doing a p-cast, I looked it up and started listening. Each one is around an hour long. He has many guests from Jerry Seinfeld, to Kevin Neilson, Tom Papa, Tommy Kendell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Dick van Dike and a bunch of others. They talk about car-related things. Porsches are a big subject as Spike is a P car enthusiast. But they also speak of random things as well as fun things about the guests. The first time I listened, he had Richard Rawlings, of Gas Monkey Garage fame, on talking about how he got the show started. He pitched the show for several years until it was picked up. Learning the backstory to him pitching the show was the hook for me. Unfortunately, I just have a hard time dedicating 45 minutes to an hour to listen to them in their entirety, unless I’m on one of those before mentioned trips, or wasting time at my desk.
I am a Car Sales Professional, so it only made sense to see if I can find any podcasts on car sales. I discovered a great, although overly scripted show, called Be Less Typical Car Sales. The hosts, Patrick & Courtney Hennessey, opened the curtain of the industry that has such a bad rap and offer insights to what it takes to work in the world of car sales. They have various guests from different dealerships explaining their ideas to build their own brand, how to sell confidently and honestly, and overall positive sales ideas to improve the customer’s experience. Being in the business myself since 2000, I always look for ways to grow my own skills and learn new things. These are usually around 30 minutes long.
There is another great show I found about a week ago called Engine Noise, Hosted by Jeremy and Matt (no last names). These guys are on the lighter side of the car stuff. They are more random in their topics, from classic cars, to repairs and other car stuff. This one I find myself listening to more and more because it’s sort of a free for all, much like my column here. They don’t do as much research on their topics I’ve noticed. They just keep it organic and roll with it. You can tell these guys don’t have every word written out for them and their chemistry works. Overall, a good and entertaining show.
In the interest of this article I googled to see if there were any Bimmer-related podcasts. Sure enough, I found the BMW Pod with Fredo and Prop. They have 6 episodes at the time I am writing this article, and only debuted January 25th of 2019. I can expect more will be released by the time you read this. They are all between 10-16 minutes long, which I feel is the perfect length of time. They talk about all things under the hood, design, history, of BMW’s and Mini. Both of these guys are employed at BMW dealerships. One is a BMW Genius; the other is a Creative Director. Interestingly enough, they record their shows inside a BMW while driving it. So far I’ve listened to 3 shows. Two were inside a 5-series, and one in an i8. That’s good enough for me to continue to tune in. The audio isn’t as good as the others, as you expect from being recorded in a moving vehicle, but you can hear them clearly enough. I like the concept so I will continue to tune in.
So this now leads to my next adventure. I have car stories, and lots of them. As some of you who follow me on Facebook know, I am always posting my adventures in car sales. Well, I’ve been encouraged by some to start my own podcast to tell these stories. I am lucky that being a musician I have the basic equipment on my computer already to record a quality podcast. I’ve watched a bunch of videos from a guy named Pat Flynn, who is well known in the podcast world. He offers excellent YouTube videos on how to start making them, where to host, how to get sponsors, etc. Best of all, they are free. I have followed the plan he talks about and outlined a few shows already with topics. I even have a fellow car salesman friend of mine who is interested in being a regular guest. He also has a bag full of interesting tales from the sales desk. I am shooting for each solo episode to be around 15 minutes long. I think it’s a perfect time frame to keep interest and attention. The shows with guests would be around 30 minutes long, depending on how it goes, and how much gets edited out. We will see.
So what is the name of this podcast you ask? Initial Ramblings, Stories of a seasoned car salesman. You may not get tips on how to buy a car cheaply, but you will hear stories of people who tried… and failed. The whackos that want to do business in a doorway, without paperwork. The cryptic text messages, the good deals and the bad, and everything in between. With 19 years of doing this, I can tell you with certainty that I will not run out of material to talk about. The vibe will be fun and comedic. There are too many shows out there that are “how to” and “learn something”. I would love to use this platform to tell these tales to the masses, and perhaps give you a glimpse on what goes on behind the scenes from the salesman’s point of view. Stay tuned!
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