HAUTE LIVING MAGAZINE
Driven to Succeed
By Chan Tran Huth on October 28th, 2010
They say never to trust a car salesperson, but they obviously haven’t met Brian Benstock, partner of Paragon Honda and Acura. During the crash of 2009, when many U.S. car dealerships were struggling, New York-based Paragon Honda jumped from No. 17 in the U.S. market share for Honda to the No. 1 New and Used Honda dealer in the state, nation, and world. In Acura sales, Paragon Acura shot up to No. 2. It only took them seven months, and so far at the end of 2010, Paragon Auto Group still owns the top.
What’s their secret? Evolution. “If you don’t change, you become a dinosaur,” says automotive pioneer Benstock, who joined the company in 1982 under the mentorship of Paragon’s late founder Paul Singer. Today, Paragon Auto Group is lead by Benstock; Edith, Singer’s wife; and Michelle, his daughter. Their hiring of a marketing company (Tier 10) as well as other vendors (vAuto, Car-mercial, Level 5, Team Velocity, and CallRevu) revolutionized Paragon’s business model. Out-of-the-box marketing and advertising strategies have placed competitors completely out of reach of Paragon’s supreme numbers in selling and leasing used and new Hondas and Acuras.
For example, Paragon has changed the way the world buys cars on the Internet in just less than a year’s time. The company has exhausted almost all channels of digital marketing, including search engine optimization, campaign micro-sites, pay-per-click searching, e-mail marketing, banner ads, and video search optimization, and has developed several thousands loyal followers (i.e., returning customers) on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter—all which have placed the dealership literally at the top of almost all Internet car searches.
“Eighty percent of our customers go to the Internet to find out where to buy a car,” says Benstock, whose next goal in targeted marketing is capturing 1 million relevant e-mail addresses. “A lot of dealers may not recognize the value of email addresses,” he explains, “but if you make a special offer to these clients, and only get a 2 percent response, it’s still a huge number.”
Yet, in today’s digital information overload, transparency is everything and, if you take on the old stereotype of a slick-haired, unsavory, sleazy salesman, the Internet will expose your dishonesty and unethical practices. Unless you’re Paragon, of course, in which case the raving customer reviews are driving in your sales. And if someone has a negative thing to say about the dealership, Benstock says he responds personally to each and every less-than-stellar review on the Web.
Their numbers are certainly there: Paragoncars.com boasts 20,000 unique visitors per month, and Paragon Honda and Acura are selling twice as many certified cars as their closest competitors. Even more, customers come as far away as 500 miles to the premier Honda and Acura dealership in Queens, according to Benstock. And why not travel the distance to the dealership that boasts the best selections at the best prices? With a flagship store spanning three city blocks, Paragon Auto Group holds the largest inventory of Hondas and Acuras in the New York market and positions their cars comparatively at the best competitive prices. “We’re making less per transactions, but we’re doing more transactions,” Benstock says.
Whether it’s leasing a new car or selling a certified used one, Paragon has both strategies covered. Their billboards advertise convincing campaign messages of $5 a day or $6 a day for leasing Civics and Accords, respectively. The auto group has its own Certified Pre-Owned program and a sharp vice president who knows all the different opportunities to out maneuver the competition. “These Hondas can last 200,000 to 250,000 miles,” Benstock makes his sales pitch. “You don’t pay 90 percent of the value— maybe just 60 percent. But you’re still getting 90 percent of its use.
Seen as a separate franchise, Paragon has allotted a stand-alone facility for the pre-owned Hondas and Acuras with its own staff and merchandising. “We’ve made the certified pre-owned building look like a factory facility to offer our customers the same experience as buying a new car.”
With 250 Paragon Auto Group employees, Benstock admits they overstaff themselves to reduce the wait time for their customers. “We’ve made it easier for people to buy a car with us,” he says. “We get people from start to finish, in and out, in less than an hour.” The company utilizes mobile technology, alerting customers via text when their car is ready from the service shop. “People don’t have to call us and get put on hold.” Text messaging has also reduced photo traffic to the dealership, allowing personnel to spend more time with the in-store customers.
The Driving Force
As the face behind Paragon Auto Group since Singer’s passing in 2006, Benstock has made himself one of the most recognizable names in the industry. The marketing company he hired has booked him interviews with the local press and landed him in stories from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and New York Post as well as other national media outlets. Search his name in YouTube and you’ll pull up 18 video interviews with the Honda “Dealer of the Year.”
But Benstock is not just showing face in the media. He’s at work seven days a week, 12 hours a day, much like his former partner and mentor. “To call Paul Singer a workaholic was an understatement,” Benstock explains. “His work ethic was second to none. I would arrive at the dealership at 9 a.m., and his car would already be there, even though he lives 1.5 hours from work. I would leave the dealership at 9 p.m.—12 hours later—and his car would still be there. The next day at 9 a.m., Singer’s car was there. And this was seven days a week. The man didn’t need the money; it was something much greater. It was passion.”
Benstock adopted Singer’s work habits as well as his hobby. Competing in his 13th marathon this November in New York City, Paragon’s VP runs for the man who taught him everything he knows about the trade. Singer and his doctor were both marathon runners and the goal was for him to beat the lung cancer and run the 2006 NYC marathon. When he didn’t, Benstock volunteered to run in his place. “We were partners,” he simply justifies.
With absolutely no prior training, Benstock ran the 26.2 miles in 4:35:35 (his PR, however, is 3:20:18). “I crossed the finish line crying like a baby,” he recalls. “I kept on thinking about all the things that man has done for me. He wasn’t there, but he was still guiding me. After that, I was hooked and signed up for the next.”
But even in running shorts and shoes, Benstock still maintains the mindset of a dealer. “Business is a marathon. There are miles you feel great, and there are miles you feel terrible. But the goal is always to finish and to finish it strong. We don’t ever stop.”
