Keep The People Who Make The Numbers.
Dealer association conventions, 20 group meetings, dealership all-hands, sales and service manager sessions, and awards banquets.
A dealership runs on people paid for what they produce, and the stores that keep them are the ones worth being led by. The service drive quietly decides whether anybody comes back, and the floor decides whether your best people are still here next year. Both are leadership wins available to any store. Chris Sund has spent two decades leading commission-driven people and building the kind of place they choose to stay.
People stay for the person running the floor. That is the whole retention plan.
My KC Live, KCTV5 Kansas City →A sales floor decides in about a minute.
Car people have sat through a lot of speakers and can smell a rehearsed motivational act immediately. Send a clip to your GM or your 20 group and let them judge. Chris has been on morning television in six markets and in Forbes, Inc., and the Midlands Business Journal, all collected in the media hub.
Five things a store uses this month.
No word tracks, no closing techniques, no desking philosophy. Your trainers and your 20 group cover that better than any outside speaker could. This is the layer underneath.
On what the dealership session is about
- Why people actually leave a store. It gets blamed on the pay plan almost every time and it almost never is. People leave when nobody noticed they were struggling and nobody noticed when they won.
- The stretch where nothing closes. Every salesperson has a month where the ups do not convert and the story they tell themselves gets ugly. Naming that from the stage in a room quietly having the same month is most of the work.
- The service drive is the whole brand. A customer forgets the negotiation and remembers the advisor who called when they said they would. That is teachable and it costs nothing. See the service session.
- Managers promoted for selling, not leading. Almost every sales manager and service manager in the building was the best producer on the floor. That is a different skill and nobody trained them in it. See manager development.
- One move, not a program. Every session closes on a single specific action, sized for people who are back on the floor at nine the next morning.
Eight ways automotive organizations book him.
Associations usually add a breakout to the general session. Dealer groups usually pair an all-store session with one for the management team.
Dealer Association Convention
General session for a state or metro auto dealers association annual convention or meeting.Dealership All-Hands
The whole store together. Sales, service, parts, and office in one room, built to work for all of them.20 Group Meeting
A room of dealers and GMs who have heard every operational presentation. Built as a conversation, not a deck.Sales & Service Manager Session
The highest-leverage group in the building. Promoted for producing, rarely trained to lead.Fixed Operations Session
Service advisors, technicians, and the drive. Where retention and repeat business are actually decided.Awards Banquet
Dealer of the year, president's club, and recognition nights. Sized to fit a program that is already full.Take Back Your Time With AI
A live working session. Staff bring the follow-ups and paperwork eating time they would rather spend with customers. Full details.Conference Breakouts
Repeatable concurrent sessions alongside a general session at an association convention.Built for stores and the groups behind them.
The framework holds across all of them. What changes is who is in the room and what opens tomorrow morning.
State Dealer Associations
Annual conventions, meetings, and member education days. See state association speaking.Dealer Groups
Multi-store and multi-brand groups running leadership meetings and manager development across rooftops.Single-Point Stores
Independent dealerships running all-hands meetings and year kickoffs.20 Groups
Dealer and GM composite groups looking for a session that is not another operational review.Fixed Operations
Service, parts, and body shop teams. See customer service speaking.Powersports & RV
Motorcycle, marine, RV, and equipment dealers running the same commission model.Truck & Commercial Dealers
Heavy truck and commercial vehicle dealers. See trucking and logistics.F&I & Vendor Partners
Finance and insurance providers, DMS vendors, and lenders running dealer client events.Women in Automotive
Women in automotive groups and dealer association councils. See women's conference speaking.Four movements. Ten principles.
Every session runs the same architecture as the book, which is what lets an all-store meeting and a manager session land as one message rather than two.
The Foundation
Ownership and time. What is inside your control when the inventory, the rates, and the traffic are not.The Breakthrough
The comfort ceiling and the inner voice. The section a twenty-year veteran goes quiet for.The Standard
Truth over praise, and the hidden gear. What a store does when somebody finally says the real thing out loud.The Purpose
Finishing, and leaving people better. The close, and what the work is for when it is going well.A copy for every person on the floor.
A keynote gives a store an hour. A copy gives the whole group the same ten principles and the same language, which is how a message survives past the week the banners come down.
You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self. An Amazon bestseller from Game Changer Publishing, with a foreword by Ben Newman.
Ten chapters across four movements, written plainly and short enough that somebody working six days will actually finish it. The free companion toolkit includes a discussion guide sized for a save-a-deal or morning meeting, a self-assessment, and a thirty day challenge. Nothing is gated behind an email address.
The feedback speaks for itself.
Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who understands the influence he carries. His message challenged me to think differently about how I lead, serve, and influence others.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
Chris consistently brings knowledge, insight, and practical advice. He led two impactful sessions and left everyone with tools they could use immediately.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our event. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized every moment.
His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped.
Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who understands the influence he carries. His message challenged me to think differently about how I lead, serve, and influence others.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
Chris consistently brings knowledge, insight, and practical advice. He led two impactful sessions and left everyone with tools they could use immediately.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our event. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized every moment.
His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped.
Events already on your calendar.
He kept people paid on production.
Chris Sund is the bestselling author of You Are Capable of More, a keynote speaker, and an executive leader.
As President and COO of Uniti Med, GQR Healthcare, and Nebula, he helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years and earn the number three ranking on the Inc. Regionals list among the fastest growing companies in the Midwest, while the organization earned Fortune Best Workplaces recognition and Great Place to Work certification three years running.
He is a father of three, based in Nebraska, a Maxwell Leadership Certified speaker, trainer, and coach, Vice President of the NATHO Board of Directors, and the founder of Amplify Speakers. He has never sold cars and will say so from the front. What he knows is how a leader holds onto commission-driven people who could be working somewhere else next week, which is the same job a GM has every morning.
Details your committee will ask for.
Dealers and association staff ask these.
He has never sold cars. Why does that work?
How much does an automotive keynote speaker cost?
Our people have heard every motivational speaker. Will this land?
Can you speak to fixed operations as well?
What about our sales and service managers?
Will this work for a 20 group?
Can he speak at our association convention?
Can we get books for the whole store?
How do we start?
Other ways organizations book him.
Same framework, built for the specific room you are filling.