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Automotive News Brazil

Published : July 2011

Lisa Copeland and FIAT of Austin featured in Automotive News Brazil

Automotive News Brazil Article

Automotive News: When FIAT Met a Fashionista

Source: AutomotiveNews.com
Bradford Wernle
Published : June 6, 2011, 12:01 AM EDT

Tailoring the car-shopping experience to women has been manager’s lifelong goal.

AUSTIN, Texas – Lisa Copeland long believed there was a better way to sell cars to women. But it took her 25 years to get the chance to apply her theories on a big stage.

Not only is Copeland running one of the nation’s first new Fiat dealerships, she’s doing it out of a luxury fashion mall called The Domain.

She and her boss Nyle Maxwell conceived the mall location to put into action Copeland’s core belief — that women should love shopping for cars as much as they love shopping for clothes or shoes. A lover of high fashion who once aspired to be a dress designer, Copeland’s mission is simple: She wants to remove the fear and loathing that keep many women out of car dealerships, not only as shoppers but as employees.

She is a hyperkinetic, friendly woman who wants to train her young staff so they can avoid the trial by fire that transformed her from a young “Pollyanna” into a successful woman in an industry dominated by men.

Dose of tough love

Copeland’s career in the auto industry started with an accident that she compounded with a youthful mistake.

The story starts in 1986, when young Lisa Colegrove was a student at the Fashion Art Institute in Dallas, studying to become a dress designer. One day she slammed into the rear end of another car and totaled her 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham.

The pampered daughter of a wealthy family, she called the insurance company and said: “I wrecked the car. How about a new car?” Problem was she had been spending the money her father had been sending for insurance on clothes instead.

She appealed to her dad, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Bruce Colegrove, who responded with a dose of tough love. He told her she would have to buy a new car with her own money.

A friend named Jim Copeland, who would later become her husband, came to the rescue. He urged her to sell cars.

Desperate to earn money, she took a job with Jim Johnson Chevrolet in Dallas. She was one of two women on a sales staff with 98 men at what was then one of the nation’s largest single-point dealerships.

Her male colleagues did not welcome her, she says.

“I hated it in the beginning. I had never been in a place where everybody hated me. These guys thought, ‘What is this dumb girl doing here?’ I had to be resourceful, because none of them wanted to help me.”

Things hit a low point on her fourth day, when she opened her desk drawer to find a live baby alligator, placed there by a coworker.

She stayed only because she desperately needed to pay for the car. Her father was appalled at her career choice.

“He thought: ‘No daughter of mine is going to be a car salesman,’” she says.

But soon Lisa Colegrove learned the ropes and became a sales star.

“My first month, I made more money than I had ever made in my life,” she says. She soon carved out a niche for herself selling cars to groups of people the industry has historically neglected, including women and gays.

Though she forged a career as a supersaleswoman, not only in car dealerships but later in the mortgage business, Copeland never lost sight of her first love: fashion. And in late 2010, she got the opportunity to combine the two when Maxwell, 55, whom she had worked for in the 1990s, hired her back as general sales manager of all three of his Austin stores –two Chrysler Group dealerships and a GMC dealership.

Later last year, he asked her to help him put together a proposal for a Fiat franchise.

Chrysler Group accepted the proposal, and Maxwell made Copeland, now 45, the general manager. The showroom is in The Domain, a swanky fashion mall on the north end of Austin that just happens to be Copeland’s favorite place to shop for clothes.

The piece de resistance of the showroom is a gleaming white, 30-foot-long, 3-foot-high fashion runway built to resemble those in New York or Milan.

All who buy a Fiat 500 at Fiat of Austin take delivery via the runway in a little ceremony Copeland calls “The Finale.” Customers get their pictures taken, and the photos spread quickly via Facebook.

The runway illustrates Copeland’s belief that women want car buying to be a fun, celebratory experience, not a grim battle of wills. The fact that male customers like a little party, too, is a bonus.

Buying euphoria

Talking about the untapped power of female consumers, Copeland grows passionate. She has traveled the country speaking to female consumers and consulting dealers on the subject.

“We deserve that same experience, that same euphoria we experience when we purchase a new pair of shoes!” she wrote in her blog buyingcarsherway.com. “After all, this is typically the second-largest purchase we will make, and we dread it!”

Michael Jackson, former vice president of marketing and advertising at General Motors, agrees. Many women view dealerships as a “sterile, intimidating environment” filled with “pesky people and unscrupulous dealmakers.”

“It just doesn’t work,” says Jackson, who is now running Jackson & Partners, a Las Vegas-based agency geared to helping dealers improve their marketing.

In Copeland’s view, dealers frequently misunderstand women.

“She’s your best friend or your worst nightmare. Women make more referrals than men. By cultivating that female market, your referrals increase exponentially,” she says. “Women are very relational. They want to know you. If you give them that, you have earned their loyalty and their referrals forever.”

To effect real change as dealership employees, women also need to aspire to management positions just as Copeland herself did. Copeland’s sales manager, Melanie Lopez, is a single mother of four. Copeland sees a little of herself in Lopez and wants to give her the opportunity to develop her natural talent.

Recording the happy moment

Getting top management to buy in is critical, Copeland says.

With the blessing of Maxwell, Copeland gets to practice some of what she preaches at Maxwell’s other Austin stores.

“I’m very lucky. I work for a man who lets me do it,” Copeland says. “He gets it.”

Says Maxwell: “Men like to win. But women like being taken on a journey, and they want somebody they trust and respect to take the journey with them. That’s how we train our salespeople.”

Sales have grown about 45 percent since Maxwell bought his stores back from Group 1 Automotive at the end of 2009. There are many reasons for that improvement, including Chrysler’s recovery, Maxwell says.

Asked if his dealerships have sold more cars to women since they started implementing some of Copeland’s methods, he doesn’t offer numbers but says: “Anecdotally, you bet.”

Grateful for father’s lesson

Copeland is now a member of Fiat’s Dealer Advisory Committee and talks regularly with Fiat brand boss Laura Soave. Copeland keeps up her blog and travels the country to consult and teach dealers and others how to sell to women.

Thinking back on what happened 25 years ago, Copeland is grateful for the tough-love lesson her dad taught her and the things she learned in her first dealership job. He died in 2007, and she wishes he was around to see her success today.

“I’m grateful it happened because it’s an amazing industry with a ton of opportunity, and women are really good at it. But you have to be able to get through the muck.

“But if I hadn’t needed that car, I never would have stayed.”

Remembering Fallen Service Men and Women

Source: Williamson County Conservative Examiner
Posted: 05/25/2011 8:16 PM

On Monday evening, just a week before we remember our fallen service men and women on Memorial Day, US Congressman John R. Carter (R-Round Rock) and the Georgetown Area Republican Women hosted an event called “Safe at Home” at the Dell Diamond. Forty-seven members of the US Army and their family were treated to a charter bus trip from Ft. Hood to the Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Upon arrival, they were served typical baseball fare of hamburgers and hot dogs in the United Heritage Center. Then, everyone enjoyed a Round Rock Express game, even though the Express lost the game, 9-7, to the Reno Aces.

The entire evening was free of charge for those from Ft. Hood due to the sponsorship of the event by various folks. Nyle Maxwell Automotive was the title sponsor. Former Round Rock Mayor Nyle Maxwell was there and warmly greeted the troops. Lisa Copeland, the manager of the local FIAT dealership in the Domain, just south of Williamson County, also welcomed everyone. Several FIATs were displayed the Wounded Warrior Project logo near the entrance of the center. Alan Babin, a local wounded warrior, and his family attended the event. The Babin’s have been very active in raising funds through the project. To learn more, go to Wounded Warrior Project.

Sean Rima of 98.9 Radio, The Big Talker, attended and talked to everyone, of course.

Proceeds from the fundraiser benefited the USO of Ft. Hood.

Several elected officials attended including Commissioner Valerie Covey, me, Williamson County GOP Chairman Bill Fairbrother and more. I was pleased to have Janet Wilson, a member of the Military Moms of Texas, as my guest for the evening. Janet really seemed to enjoy visiting with the soldiers and their families. It was a fun event!

Automotive News: Lisa Copeland and FIAT of Austin

Source: AutomotiveNews.com
Published : Friday, 18 Apr 2011, 12:01 AM EDT

Like Saturn, Fiat is trying to bring a new kind of customer to an old car company, with new ways of selling. Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealers with Fiat stores are employing Internet marketing, one-price selling and a special delivery experience that Fiat calls the “celebration.” Dealers are learning quickly to expect the unexpected. Lisa Copeland, manager of Fiat of Austin (Texas) says her customers include early adopters, Fiat fans, people who never heard of Fiat, Chrysler Corp. loyalists, Mini and Toyota Yaris shoppers and Italian-Americans. Read the entire AutomotiveNews.com article here.

Good Day Austin: How World Events Are Changing The Car Buying Process

Source: MyFoxAustin.com, Austin, TX
Published : Friday, 15 Apr 2011, 10:19 AM CDT

Lisa Copeland stopped by Good Day to talk about how world events affect the car buying process.

• The earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan has affected the auto industry
• Pre-owned cars are now priced higher
• Dealers are experiencing a decline in sales
• Your trade could be worth more

Project 19

Buying The Fiat 500…

Detroit Free Press | Saturday, February 19, 2010

Everybody loves the Fiat 500, but nobody’s bought one yet. The car has charmed journalists, analysts and window shoppers with its style, handling and value. “The Cinquecento should be easy to sell,” said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics. Cinquecento — pronounced “ching-kwa-chen-toe” — is Italian for 500. If the car catches on, the name will be on a fast track to enter the American lexicon, like cappuccino, pizza and pasta… READ MORE

Firing on All Cylinders, Lisa Copeland

She was 22 years old, a fashion major and working at the mall. Then, one day, she rear-ended some guy’s car… READ MORE

Pieces In Place For March 1 Opening of Fiat of Austin

The construction work is winding up. The staff has been hired. The first orders have been placed. The initial shipment of cars is poised to head this way. In short, the pieces are pretty much in place for Fiat’s return to the Austin market…. READ MORE

FIAT of Austin

Car Tips For Women

Austin, TX – Many business experts say women are the most powerful consumers out there. So, why are they so timid when it comes to buying cars?  Lisa Copeland, of Nyle Maxwell, stopped by Good Day to talk about the issue…  READ MORE

Maxwell to open Fiat dealership in The Domain

Italian automaker Fiat will open its first Austin dealership at The Domain as part of its re-entry into the U.S. market after 30 years, which includes upping its stake in Chrysler.  Nyle Maxwell, a longtime Central Texas businessman with three other dealerships in the area, said he won the contract Thursday morning for exclusive rights to sell the Fiat in Central Texas…  READ MORE

Austin Fearless Woman Award at Maggiano’s

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, August 28, 2010

What a thrill to enter a room full of dauntless women. At a banquet hall inside the vast, dark Maggiano’s in the Domain, several dozen crisply dressed leaders from the Austin Chapter of EWomen Network had gathered Thursday to give out the Austin Fearless Woman Award…  READ MORE

Nyle Maxwell Family of Dealerships Honored by WomenCertified

By Brad Stutzman | Saturday, April 6, 2010

The hand that rocks the cradle also writes the checks. Sometimes a lot of them. With American women spending an estimated $7 trillion annually, the leader of a nationwide consumer rights organization believes businesses serve their own self-interest when the people who work there relate well to female customers…  READ MORE

The Power of Pink

By Lisa Copeland| The White House Project | Saturday, January 27, 2010

The Power of Pink has taken on a completely new meaning to me as of today. My friend and founder of The White House Project, Marie Wilson, was just named one of the “10 women to watch in 2010“.  What an honor! Marie has had an incredible life and career.  She founded the “Take Your Daughter To Work Day” program, The White House Project and has the ear of the most powerful women in the Nation…   READ MORE

Women’s Leadership, Voting Tour Kicks Off In Austin

By Mary Tuma | November 4, 2009

City and state officials, community members and local leaders stood on the Texas Capitol Building’s south steps Tuesday to commemorate the upcoming 90-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Hosted by the nonprofit Project 19 Foundation, the kick-off event marked the group’s first stop on their “Don’t Stop Believing Tour,” a nationwide road trip through 19 cities ending in Washington, D.C…  READ MORE

Texas Women Launch Program to Encourage More Women to Run for Office

By admin | Category: Politics & Campaign Stories | October 28, 2009

The Project 19 Foundation launches a nineteen-city nationwide tour called the Don’t Stop Believing Tour, celebrating the 90-Year Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The Tour will begin at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas November 3, 2009 at 10 AM…  READ MORE

Tribeza Style Week – Domain Fashion Street Party

By Cheryl Bemis Fashionably Austin | September 25, 2009

The Tribeza Style Week ended with The Domain opening it’s doors for a fun fashion street party. Nieman Marcus served a wonderful vodka/cucumber drink…not a typical drink I would like but it was wonderful. Shoppers enjoyed a light shopping atmosphere with music and cordial staff attending to our every need…  READ MORE

Kay Bailey Hutchison Campaigns For Governor In Round Rock

Community Impact News | Feb 18, 2009

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, was in Round Rock Feb. 17 to take part in a Republican steering committee meeting urging citizens to get involved with her campaign for Governor in 2010.  Approximately 50 Williamson County leaders and citizens attended the meeting, which was hosted by Round Rock resident Lisa Copeland at her home…  READ MORE