Pitching Loyalty: How Ken Hicks, Dealer & Partner of Mariano Rivera Dealerships Is Driving Retention

This episode is all about solving real dealership problems—right from the service lane. I sit down with my longtime friend and mentor, Ken Hicks, Dealer Principal at Rivera Toyota and Mariano Rivera Honda, who shares how he tackled major fixed ops pain points by building his own software—Retention 360—a tool designed to drive loyalty, increase service-to-sales conversions, and help advisors win. > https://retention360.info/

Ken started as a salesperson and rose to become a partner alongside Yankees legend Mariano Rivera. Over the years, he saw too many missed opportunities in the service department:

• No process to follow up on declined service work

• No TO when customers said “no” to repairs

• Weak communication between BDC, service, and sales teams

• Lack of personalization and preparation before client visits

• No recognition of customer loyalty level at check-in

• Undertrained advisors struggling to convert service traffic into car deals

So, what did Ken do? He built his own tool. He developed software that identifies loyalty levels, tracks declined services, pinpoints advisor weaknesses, and gives teams everything they need to turn service clients into lifelong dealership customers. He even tied incentives and a triple-pay structure to service-initiated car deals. Now, he's giving YOU access—free for 90 days.

We talk about his team’s exact process:

• Reviewing customer records before the appointment

• Matching loaner vehicles based on sales potential

• Creating warm handoffs between service and sales

• Proactively calling service clients with equity or loyalty triggers

• Training advisors to read the CRM like a playbook

If you’re ready to stop leaking opportunity in service and start creating real retention, check this one out!

Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast | 🎧 https://apple.co/38lmHM1 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | [email protected] | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t  |  Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx

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