Trevor Schmitz

As a Senior Trade Desk Consultant on a brand-new team, there wasn’t much of a roadmap early on for how things should be done or how we were going to find the most success. In my eyes, this was an opportunity to challenge myself and find my own way to be successful. Early on, I focused on brokering because that would be the most time-consuming portion of the job. To learn reporting and build those buyer lists, it took months to get the lists to a point where they were going to show results. As training continued, I still focused on building a buyer sheet—not only for myself, but for the entire ISS team. When I pulled reporting for buyers from the previous day, I was pulling it countrywide and putting it into a spreadsheet so the entire team would be able to use the buyer list, which would save the ISS team time when brokering. I focused on pricing conversations with clients and building strong communication with the field team, hosting bi-weekly meetings to go over my market learnings, what buyers are looking for, and what I need from them. Working with the field team and the Trade Desk has been one of the main drivers for my success in this position. I have been working on a Stretch Assignment for the Upside team over the past few months to drive more buyers to the sales every Monday, and I have been one of the highest performers on that team, along with being a high performer on the ISS team. I have been able to achieve a monthly average of 141% of my bid goal and 126% of my sales goal since starting on this team!

• Managed unit listings, handling expirations and collaborating with clients for field team inspections.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to implement process improvements enhancing operational efficiency.
• Developed reporting tools and strategies, enhancing team efficiency.
• Participating in a stretch assignment to boost buyer engagement in upside sales, increasing participation and results.

In my time as a CSS, I really thrived because I was able to come up with new ways to do things. I used a lot of what I learned as a Service Advisor and applied it to this position. Organization was the first thing I focused on, which resulted in a scheduling process that my manager adopted for the rest of the team. This resulted in more efficient scheduling and a higher workload for the inspectors. I worked on building relationships with my clients and becoming their go-to person for everything. This resulted in more units for wholesale and their trust in me to help them be their wholesale solution. In my first year in this position, I was able to grow client usage by over 75%, and by the second year, I was second in sales nationwide per territory. I maintained a 99.3% arbitration rating through my time as a CSS. This resulted in training and mentoring opportunities for new CSSs and new inspectors. I used the reports I built within Salesforce for client tracking, along with finding ways to pull Excel sheets from Listing Manager for client pricing to share with the team to help improve team efficiency.

• Grew client base by 75% in first territory, adding inspectors and implementing a scheduling method adopted by Michigan team.
• In second year, reached second in sales nationwide.
• Trained new team members on company systems and procedures, ensuring seamless integration into the role of Client Solutions Specialist and inspector.
• Managed client relationships and operations using Salesforce, fostering trust and sales growth.
• Collaborated with sales teams on growth strategies, boosting digital solution adoption.

While working as a service advisor, I was able to find success early on in the position by creating strong relationships with my team of technicians. Each technician had a different skill set, and I learned that through my relationships with them. I was able to delegate jobs that were catered to their skill sets, and that was reflected in jobs being completed faster and them having a higher appreciation for me. I was able to reach my monthly quota of $8,000 and usually exceeded it, often reaching somewhere in the $11,000–$12,000 range. Building trust and giving my techs the resources and workload to be the most efficient was a large contributor to my success in this role.

• Achieved weekly sales quotas of $10,000–$11,000, boosting dealership revenue.
• Educated customers on proper vehicle maintenance, fostering long-term relationships built on trust and loyalty.
• Managed multiple priorities simultaneously while maintaining strong attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.
• Coordinated effectively with technicians and management staff, ensuring seamless communication throughout the entire service process.

In this position, I started as a parts delivery driver and quickly moved up to a sales position in the parts department. This required me to communicate with other dealerships and customers for parts they needed, along with assisting my techs in locating the parts they needed for jobs and ensuring those parts would be there when they needed them. I was highly successful in this role and built key relationships with other dealerships, which really introduced me to the auto industry.

• Managed inventory levels to ensure timely availability of parts for service and sales departments.
• Assisted customers in selecting appropriate parts, enhancing overall customer satisfaction and retention.
• Collaborated with technicians to identify parts requirements, improving workflow efficiency in service operations.