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Hosted by Unknown Host · 🇺🇸 US · EN-US · 131 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
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.
Unknown Host hosts Beyond The First Pencil, a business show with 131 episodes published.
👉 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 tryi
👉 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, un
👉 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.
👉 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 t
👉 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, invent
👉 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 furthe
👉 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” pol
👉 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 int
👉 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 add
👉 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
👉 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 have
👉 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: Sales
👉 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
👉 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 spe
👉 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 tra
👉 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 Facebook/Me
👉 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 buy
👉 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 story/updat
👉 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. We
👉 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 delin
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Beyond The First Pencil is hosted by Unknown Host. The show is categorised under business (management) and has published 131 episodes.
Beyond The First Pencil has published 131 episodes.
Beyond The First Pencil regularly covers business, management, entrepreneurship. It sits in the business category, with a management focus.
Beyond The First Pencil is accessible for guests with genuine business expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
Beyond The First Pencil hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
Episodes of Beyond The First Pencil average 49 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
Our data rates Beyond The First Pencil's guest bar at 80/100 (Premium tier). Established thought leaders with verified media credentials. Sign in to PitchCentric to see how your own Pod Score compares against this show.
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