Beyond The First Pencil is where dealership operations meet financial reality. Hosted by Kathi Kruse, of Kruse Control and Automotive CFO-To-Go™, this podcast is for dealers, OEMs, GMs, and controllers who want more than surface-level advice. You’ll get straight talk on financial statements, internal controls, cash flow, and the operational gaps that quietly erode profit. From gross to net, from process to profit, each episode delivers real-world insights on how dealerships actually make money… and where they lose it. Because selling cars is one thing. Keeping the profit is another.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
25%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchBeyond The First Pencil is where dealership operations meet financial reality. Hosted by Kathi Kruse, of Kruse Control and Automotive CFO-To-Go™, this podcast is for dealers, OEMs, GMs, and controllers who want more than surface-level advice. You’ll get straight talk on financial statements, internal controls, cash flow, and the operational gaps that quietly erode profit.
Recent episodes include "Is Social Media Still Worth It for Car Dealers?" (3 June 2025, 53 minutes), "Ego: The Hidden Expense Killing Dealership Culture" (20 May 2025, 51 minutes), and "Desktop is Not Dead (and other marketing musings)" (13 May 2025, 44 minutes).
Beyond The First Pencil publishes roughly every two weeks, with episodes averaging 49 minutes across 131 episodes.
Booking probability for Beyond The First Pencil is 25%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Beyond The First Pencil requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Beyond The First Pencil's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Beyond The First Pencil are Car Dealers. Beyond The First Pencil has a business audience.
Beyond The First Pencil is a business podcast with 131 episodes published.
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Episode #8
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Social media isn’t dead—but it’s definitely not what it used to be. In this episode, we dig into the shifting landscape of social platforms and what it means for car dealers...
Episode #7
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 In this episode, we dig into one of the most overlooked threats to dealership performance: ego-driven leadership. From plummeting morale to costly turnover and stalled growth...
Episode #6
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Dealership marketers, buckle up—things are shifting again. A new study reveals that desktop usage is making a surprising comeback, throwing a wrench in mobile-first assumptions...
Episode #5
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Many dealerships pour time and money into chasing likes, comments, and shares — but what happens when all that engagement doesn't move a single unit? In this episode, we unpack...
Episode #4
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Let’s talk about the scary stuff—aka uncertainty . If you’ve been in the car business for more than a minute, you’ve seen your share of storms. We’ve weathered recessions...
Episode #3
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Marketing budgets are getting tighter, but the pressure to bring in leads hasn’t let up. In this episode, we break down how dealerships can stretch their marketing dollars...
Episode #2
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 What happens when beloved brands make moves that contradict their core identity? In this episode, we dive into Southwest Airlines’ quiet removal of its “First Bag Flies Free”...
Episode #1
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 We are back from hiatus and Mike’s got a new job! Kathi shares a story to introduce today’s topic around customer experience. Mike tells us how one simple relationship turned...
Episode #33
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 This week, we circle back to a subject that is near and dear to us: Google My Business, aka Google Business Profiles. These profiles are super helpful in local SEO/search and...
Episode #32
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Instagram's recent decision to remove the ability to search by #hashtags marks the end of an era for social media users. In this episode, we reflect on the impact of losing this...
Episode #31
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 How does a manufacturer create and sustain a vehicle brand that customers love? Kathi and Mike discuss manufacturer brands and re-branding (ie: Jaguar + more) and how others...
Episode #30
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Kathi and Mike are happy that more dealers are talking about the power of video, even if it’s nearly 15 years after we began urging dealers to welcome it. Mike’s blog post...
Episode #29
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Kathi returns from a great Used Car Week conference and shares a few tidbits. Then, we spend most of our time discussing this trend of companies forcing their staff to share and...
Episode #28
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Kathi and Mike take a detour from our regular topics to call out hate. Neither of us can stand what we witnessed at Madison Square Garden over the weekend and we feel we must...
Episode #27
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Both of us are sad. The open web is no longer and while it’s not just his doing, Google’s Head of Search, Prabhakar Raghavan was certainly the catalyst to its demise. Organic...
Episode #26
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Kathi and Mike discuss the latest issues with Threads’ AI moderation, which has gone “CRACKERS” and rings the same bell as the experience Kathi continues to have with...
Episode #25
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 What did we do before social media to build a customer-centric culture? How did we get potential buyers to know about how unique the dealership was...and why customers should...
Episode #24
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 We promised you an update in the ongoing Facebook ads issues that Kathi (and others) are having and while it’s utterly disappointing, you won’t be disappointed in the...
Episode #23
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Not only are some dealers failing customers but they are failing themselves. The things we are witnessing now - the behaviors and lack of oversight - can only lead to trouble...
Episode #22
👉 Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter here 👈 Kathi shares her experience fresh from evacuating the horse rescue after the Airport Fire got too close for comfort. Then, we talk about the concerning data around car loan...
Recent guests on Beyond The First Pencil. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
journalist, author, curator of Where's Your Ed At and host of the Better Offline podcast, Media Relations and Primary Research
Author 'If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury', The Everywhereist
Serial entrepreneur and SEO expert, SparkToro & Snackbar Studio
former Division I T&F and XC star, passionate non-diet dietician, retired farmer, Alex’s better half, Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business
PitchCentric classifies Beyond The First Pencil under these industries. Guests from them are the closest fit, and each links to the best podcasts in that industry.
Shows with the most semantically similar episode content. Pitch one, pitch all; producers cluster.
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Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast
The Dealer Playbook
Down Payment: The Podcast for Used Car Dealers
"It's The Car Business"
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