Episode 36: Brad Brotherton

Leading With Lease 

"Leasing gives our salespeople a differentiator. Having a captive that's committed to leasing as well helps improve the customer experience.”

Brotherton Cadillac sits in the middle of a heavy credit union market. Brad and his GMF team often strategize to think outside the box when it comes to staying competitive in this landscape: “There’s a handful of different interactions you can have to better run your business and flooring, and GMF has optics into that.” GMF’s industry-leading lease loyalty rate, combined with elevated service from Cadillac Financial, boosts the overall customer experience: “There’s data that shows that if a customer is satisfied with their vehicle and it’s been a good purchase experience, a good payment experience, the likelihood of them coming back to that product is something like 90%.”

What you can do: Don’t shy away from leading with lease. Sales team not comfortable with presenting a lease? Check out GMF Lease Training and see how lease can boost your deals.

Early Adoption in the EV Market

"Cadillac is playing in the space of early adoption in this EV, high-tech market. It's pretty cool to see.”

Brad knows a little something about evolution. His family has been in the industry since 1916. Now, spearheading operations in Seattle, a green, technology-focused community, means Brad is leveraging Cadillac’s impressive lineup of EVs to serve this unique customer base. “To offer the Cadillac LYRIQ  and all the future products  that are coming in the electric lineup and having that commitment really speaks to our community,” he says. Being an early adopter and boasting Cadillac’s legacy of luxury means Brad is seeing vehicles like Tesla Model 3s being traded in for LYRIQs: “Tesla Model 3 is the No. 1 selling vehicle in the area. Cadillac is in that space now. We’re taking a ton of Teslas in on trade. We’re seeing Rivians come in. People are interested in our products.”

What you can do: Lean into GMF’s exclusive benefits, including floorplan rate reductions for select Cadillac EVs, to better serve the early adopters at your stores. 

Creating a Luxury Experience

"Cadillac Financial's commitment to the customer experience creates loyalty to our brand and to Cadillac.”

Brad’s mission across his dealerships boils down to one key element: the customer experience. In fact, his great-grandfather’s motto was, “If you treat your customers like family, you’re unbeatable.” Brad’s trust in GMF from floorplan to financing has allowed him to provide a luxury experience while also increasing sales: “We ask questions to the GMF team like, ‘How could we have done that deal better? Why did we turn this deal down, and how can we turn this into a win for us?’” Trusting that the Cadillac Financial team is supporting his customers with the same high-level of attention to service and excellence that his store is known for allows Brad to focus on the little key wins, “and, when you boil it all down, it just comes down to the customer experience.”

What you can do: If retention is a key part of your strategy, GMF and Cadillac Financial are here to provide tailored, luxury support for your customers. Consider GMF for every deal to keep your customers in the GM family.