The Team of Automotivaters

Dan has had a lifelong career in the Automotive Industry starting in 1975.

His knowledge spans sales, sales management, business office, fixed operations and dealer principal positions. He began his career as a retail automotive sales consultant in 1975.

In 1980, his brothers acquired an additional Toyota dealership location and hired Dan to open and develop the new location, which he operated for 16 years. The dealership’s growth was strong, consistently outperforming the market share numbers by up to three times the national average while maintaining exceptional used-to-new ratios.

The right people doing the right things make it happen. He credits his success to having a dedicated staff and the exceptional training provided to his team. “Being trained by Automotivaters was a game-changer. Our new structure gave us a significant edge over our competition. It allowed us to attain greater market shares with a significant increase in gross average and high customer satisfaction, developing a more professional approach and increasing our personal accountability for our performance.”

In 1996, Dan sold his interests in the dealership to family members and made a long-planned move to Vernon, BC. Dan was sought after by Automotivaters as one who believed in all the core philosophies and, indeed, walked the talk.  Dan joined Automotivaters in 1997 and then bought 50% of the company. He has been training and consulting in the automotive and financial services industries ever since.

In 2000, Dan and Warren Cederberg purchased 100% of the shares in ISI/PAL Automotivaters, which has grown the business internationally and continues its expansion today.

As a dealer focused on improvement, Dan and his brothers recognized the need for more effective floor traffic management systems. They co-developed software to meet the needs of the most progressive automotive dealerships. This was industry-leading software with a different way of measuring performance. It was designed, developed, and tested the software over a period of ten years.

After acquiring the software company with his son Riley in 2010, they continue to develop the platform under SalesSmart Systems Inc. Their understanding of customer database management and unique measurement systems significantly benefits the dealer, with staff skill development, effort management, and volume increases in mind.

Dan’s dealership knowledge is all-encompassing, and he provides leadership in sales, fixed operations, and all levels of management training. Dan is one of our most senior training consultants, working internationally with many of the highest-profile and most proactive dealers and financial institutions.

In 2021, Dan led the development of the Well-being in the Workplace program offered by the Fusion Performance Group. “Well-being in the Workplace is a game-changer and has been overlooked by many corporations worldwide. Our goal was to give people a solid understanding of accumulated stress at work and home and how they better take control of their outcomes. The knowledge and skills shared have positively impacted job enjoyment, staff retention and individual performance.”

This program has been launched internationally and is continually gaining momentum!

2024 has been a fascinating year with our newest developments in AI. Dan has headed up the platform assessment to choose the best possible tools for our industry and our clients.

This has resulted in ground-breaking usages for AI with interaction levels within a platform that has never been experienced before.

 Our tool sets are changing the way we share information and the way we help adult learners accelerate and retain critical knowledge and find information. This is going to change the way organizations look at training, education and rapid information Look-Up. The commonly used eLearning platforms and SOP guides are quickly becoming the new dinosaurs in technology!