Stephanie Thompson Intro

Hey all-so yes I thought I'd do a quick Q & A with myself as I haven't done anything in a long time introducing myself. As you can imagine this was a really fantastic interview!

Stephanie Thompson

Sr. Account Manager

The Direct Mail Diva

Q. Just what makes you the Diva of Direct Mail?

A. I've been consulting dealers here at Tri Auto for the past 5 years. During that time I've literally worked with well over 200 dealers myself. After working on close to 1,000 different direct mail campaigns to date I've learned what works and doesn't work. More important than that, is while experiencing markets all over the country I'm in tune with what is helping dealers TODAY. Not six months ago, or worse, 2 years ago.

Q. Where is your favorite place to be?

A. I'm a pretty simple gal. My husband and I really enjoy traveling, but my favorite place is our backyard with Andy, our two four legged girls (yes they are dogs we haven't procreated mutants), and a glass of white wine at sunset.

Q. How do you see this new dedicated account team making the client's experience even better?

A. I see it helping in so many ways. Now instead of me and Katy part time (in the past she's worked with other reps in addition to me), there are three brains completely devoted to coming up with new ideas and ways to help our dealer partners. On top of that we are all very skilled in different areas so there will always be an expert on hand for whatever the client needs.

Q. How will your role change in the team environment?

A. Honestly not a whole lot. I will continue to consult with clients and dealers who are looking for guidance on direct mail & marketing, along with putting together unique marketing campaigns. Katy will be doing some of the daily communication with clients that I currently handle and Ashley will be helping with our team marketing, and doing initial research for new partners and current clients. Don't worry--I'll still be writing the Diva blog! :)

Q. What was your first job?

A. When I was 13 Mom & Dad informed me if I wanted a car at 16 I'd have to pay for it. That summer I started detasseling corn. I detasseled for close to 10 years-even showing up for a few years during college. A lot of the leadership & sales skills I have now I learned in a corn field "motivating" jr. high kids to put in a full day of work in 100 degree weather.

Katy Peat Intro

Katy and I have been working together since the day she started three years ago. She's always been the go to girl when it comes to zip codes, art changes and all the little details I seem to miss. She's now taking on a new role within our team as she explains below.

Katy Peat

Account Executive

Q. What is your favorite part of working at Tri Auto. I love my co-workers. A. I enjoy the friendships I’ve made as a result of working here as well as the ability to laugh away stress with some extremely funny people. Q. Tell us about your first car? A. My first car was a ‘91 Accord handed down from my mom, to my brother, to me. It was maroon which also happened to be one of my high school’s colors. We’d take “Zippy” to all the football games, decked out with painted windows, window flags, and all my friends in our jerseys. Q. What will your primary new role on our team be – how is it different than what you were doing? A. My primary role now will be account management. I’ll will be keeping in touch with our existing client base and consulting on future promotion ideas. The biggest difference for me will be adding in more consulting from the beginning as opposed to now, where I consult after a majority of the decisions have been made. Q. If you have the day off what are you most likely doing? A. Spending time with family or friends that live out of town or that I don’t see very much. I’m sure some kind of shopping is involved too! Q. What do you consider your areas of expertise when it comes to dealer marketing? A. I stay pretty in tune with what pieces and hooks are working. I will be the first to say, “Don’t take that off” if it’s a hook I feel strongly about. In addition, I understand how important it is to target the right customers in a market, while taking into consideration being able to hit the best zips without constantly hitting the same homes.

BEWARE-Cash For Clunker Websites

Immediately following the release that this bill was becoming a law "official websites" have popped up claiming to help consumers get in touch with an "approved dealer" or helping dealers become "approved." I was even duped by one & posted it two days ago (it has since been changed). I've been digging into this for the past 2 days and www.cars.gov seems to be the only official site with government information on it. These other sites are looking to collect dealership & consumer info to then sell to marketing agencies. I'll keep you posted as I find out more on the details behind how to get your dealership on the list. Beware of impostors! :) Happy Tuesday!