Although there are various parameters characterizing the quality of leadership, there are two essential factors which lay the foundational stone to leadership. These are trust and responsibility. Guiding the team during difficult times is a rigid task, but trusting the members with all responsibilities and faith is the most essential of all. Anchoring with utmost trust and faith in his employees, Len Short (CEO and Chairman) has been steering LotLinx towards the paths of success.
Len has been at the forefront of the company and spearheading it through all sorts of hindrance as a pioneering leader. With inclusive and collaborative approaches, Len has been cultivating growth in the company by bringing forth new ideas and innovative business strategies on the table. Prior to founding LotLinx, he was the founding CMO of product (RED)—a charitable organization created by Bono with support from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has also fulfilled several leadership positions at several notable corporations such as Executive Vice President, Brand Marketing at AOL/Time Warner, and Chief Marketing Officer for Charles Schwab & Co.
Established in 2012 in Peterborough, New Hampshire, LotLinx is an automotive inventory marketing technology company that helps dealers sell cars in a smart manner by aligning marketing strategies to sales objectives with unparalleled efficiency and precision. It provides several channels— including third party inventory listings sites, ad placement on key consumer sites, Facebook, SEM and retargeting— to merchandise inventory at the VIN level. Since its inception, the company has grown quickly and consistently. Being one of the founding fathers and guiding leaders of the company, Len harbors proliferative visions for the company and has been contributing to its growth by nurturing the company’s diverse workforce.
Mirror Review had the opportunity to engage in a conversation with Len Short and gain keen insights about Len’s leadership traits, services offered by his company, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath, and more. Here are some snippets from the insightful conversation.
What services are offered by your company?
Enabling a cloud-based connected lot, LotLinx empowers automotive dealers and forward-thinking OEMs to automate their retail inventory merchandising with unparalleled precision. We leverage unmatched data and network assets which are coupled with advanced AI and machine learning to unlock margins through automated VIN-level demand and pricing management. Currently, thousands of top successful dealers utilize LotLinx’s advanced data and analytics capabilities to create unique and valuable solutions which drive execution of effective, VIN-specific campaigns developed through dynamic market awareness.
As an automotive company, how would you like to remark regarding the work environment of your company?
LotLinx consists of incredibly talented individuals possessing years of unique experience across multiple fields. Because of our diverse workforce, I have great faith in our employees’ talents and trust them all with great responsibility. This approach allows for maximum innovation, while our leadership team focuses on cross-team alignment, keeping everyone motivated to work towards common goals and solutions.
Can you highlight how your team has assisted you throughout the course of your leadership?
Throughout the years, we have a diverse executive team of leaders from varying backgrounds in automotive, tech and marketing that offer perspectives that all align with our evolving company goals. The pandemic allowed our team to become closer than before. It is crucial for us to have open communications and transparency across all teams. We conduct weekly team meetings to discuss the latest trends, quotations and new formats of supporting both prospects and clients with our tools. It helps the team stay synchronized on new product launches and updates, collaborate on effective sales strategies, and work through any obstacles faced by new members.
What were the impacts of COVID-19 on the industry?
Dealerships are no longer confined to consumers walking through lots searching for specific vehicles. During the COVID-19 pandemic, dealerships quickly implemented digital retailing processes to adjust to customers’ online purchasing behaviors, while market uncertainty drove dealers to cut expenses from possible areas. However, as demands skyrocketed, dealers sold just as much–if not more, than they did pre-pandemic, despite cutting marketing spend.
With continuous changes, dealers must evolve in how they promote inventory and find customers. Today’s dealers don’t have the bandwidth to consistently manage integrated pricing, inventory, and marketing strategy. To stay competitive, automation is needed to successfully manage across all media channels, data points, and VINs. The industry has reached an inflection point where humans can no longer keep up and manage effective strategies – utilizing technology is non-negotiable.
How has the company dealt with these impacts?
Unlike conventional approaches, LotLinx has built an automated, AI-driven technology platform that simultaneously processes complex market factors to score and match inventory with market demand to generate the appropriate action. It can sense dealership data and provide predictive technology to solve these marketing inconsistencies.
Our proprietary data allows continuous expansion of our comprehensive package of innovative applications and continuous revolutionization of the industry while forging a path for the future of inventory management.
What all upcoming services are you anticipating in the future?
LotLinx is committed to innovating automotive retail and will continue to expand our revolutionizing product suite that forges the path for the future of inventory management. This summer, we are rolling out an enhanced version of our VIN View Optimizer. The VVO accounts for the digital presence of every car on a lot by leveraging a VIN-by-VIN breakdown of inventory VDP exposure.
Earlier this year, we released TURNx— a free browser extension that brings pricing, demand, and competitor data right to a dealer’s desktop—powered by AI. It leverages in-market data to provide VIN-level insights on any internet site hosting a VIN, including Vehicle Details Pages and Search Results Pages, intended to aid dealers throughout the acquisition, pricing, and marketing processes.
Len Recommends: Rounders
Also Read: The 10 Inspiring Leaders in the Automotive Industry, 2023
