Brandon Honda Chosen One of Honda's Top 50 Dealerships Nationwide

John Marazzi is pleased to announce that Brandon Honda, a Morgan Auto Group dealership, has been named as one of the nation's top 50 Honda dealerships in its elite, new Masters Circle program. The prestigious Honda Masters Circle program was first launched in 2014 among a selection of Honda's highest volume dealerships across the nation to lead the way in raising customer satisfaction and growing sales volume.  

"I applaud Morgan Auto Group, John Marazzi and the entire team at Brandon Honda for their extraordinary performance in 2014 and am honored to recognize Brandon Honda as a member of our first ever Honda Masters Circle," said Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Honda Division, American Honda Motor Company. "We appreciate your commitment to building volume and to meeting the needs of each customer."

"This is a huge accomplishment for Brandon Honda to have been named to Honda's short-list of best dealerships in the nation," said Larry Morgan, President of Morgan Auto Group. "We bought Brandon Honda only three years ago, and John Marazzi and his team have boldly raised the standards of the industry and lead other dealerships in performance measures month after month. We couldn't be prouder of Brandon Honda's consistent growth and extraordinary accomplishments." 

“It’s an incredible honor to be chosen among Honda's top 50 dealerships, and we will work even harder to continue to build volume and deliver exceptional customer experiences," said Brandon Honda co-owner John Marazzi. "We have the best customers anywhere—and we're extremely appreciative of their generous, positive feedback and loyalty year after year."  

Brandon Honda strives to improve every aspect of its customers’ approval and satisfaction with its sales and service operations throughout the year. Its internal program of “Continuous and Never-ending Improvement” empowers employees to continually seek dealership and process improvements to maximize customer satisfaction.   

Brandon Honda is a division of Morgan Auto Group. It is located at 9209 E. Adamo Drive in Tampa, FL 33619, one mile west of I-75 on Route 60. For more information, call 813.664.1234 or visit http://www.BrandonHonda.com.

Sam Raabe, GSM at Brandon Honda achieves Automotive News "40 Under 40" Designation

We want to congratulate our own Sam Raabe who has been designated in 2014 by Automotive News as one of just 40 Automotive Professionals to watch under the age of 40.

This is a fantastic achievement for Sam and as you can see from the Automotive News article below, well deserved.  Click here for the full article. On behalf of our GM John Marazzi and the entire Morgan Auto Group we toast to you Sam!

Great picture Sam and a fantastic job! Success at 33!

Taken from the July 14, 2014 issue of Automotive News: 

Sam Raabe was sick of working nights as a bartender, with no direction to his career. So he started selling cars at Kendall Kia in Miami. It was a way for a guy without a college degree to get a good-paying job and advance quickly.

Within a few years, Raabe (pronounced "Robbie") had risen to finance manager at Honda of Ocala. Now, he's general sales manager at Brandon Honda, a President's Award-winning Tampa dealership.

Raabe's sales tactics require managers to get involved early, "roaming the floor, not sitting at their desks," greeting customers early in the process. After a test drive, that same manager will handle any price negotiations after the first exchange of numbers. That speeds the deal process greatly, Raabe said.

"When the boss comes out, you know you are near the end of the deal, plus it gives credibility to the deal," Raabe said. "It's always the same guy as before the test drive, not some scary new guy."

Raabe also likes hiring sales staff who have never sold cars before. At his store, 70 percent of the staff is new to car retailing.

"They don't have bad habits. They only know our process and don't take shortcuts," Raabe said. That process includes daily inspections of recent trade-ins and inventory older than 60 days, as well as a daily one-hour training session by a manager to teach employees all facets of the business.

The tactics are working. In the six months of 2012 before Raabe took the general sales manager job, Brandon Honda sold an average of 174 new and 110 used cars a month. In 2013, that soared to 242 new and 151 used sales a month. Profits rose 42 percent.

Brandon Honda also is the top-rated Honda dealer in Florida on DealerRater, scoring a 4.9 out of 5 from more than 1,200 customer reviews, in a cut-throat metro market. There are nine Honda dealers within a 45 minute drive of Brandon Honda and four within 30 minutes.

Raabe is not satisfied. His target is 350 new and 250 used sales a month in 2015, with profits up 25 percent this year and 15 percent next year.

Raabe thanks Brandon managing partner John Marazzi for his mentoring and "never give up" attitude. Marazzi's best lesson, says Raabe: "No matter how tough it's going, you can never be afraid of taking risks. You need to take as many risks as possible."

-- Mark Rechtin (taken from Automotive News) 

TAGS: Sam Raabe, Brandon Honda, Honda in Tampa, FL, Brandon Honda, John Marazzi, Honda of Brandon, Tampa Honda, 40 Under 40, Automotive News