Brad Jacobs has made a career of starting, consolidating, and growing whole industries. He did a trucking company. He did a warehouse company. He has a freight brokerage. He created an equipment rental company. His new venture, dubbed QXO, aims to reshape the big and sprawling market for building supplies, which can encompass residential, infrastructure and commercial real estate. And he has $4.5 billion of his and his investors' money to go out and buy and build. In this special episode of the Odd Lots podcast, recorded live at the Bloomberg Invest conference in New York City, he talks about where he is in the new process, and what he plans to do once he's made his acquisitions.

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Does it feel to you like society has gone crazy? Well, you're not alone. There's a general view that all around the world, in the realms of politics, culture, business, and so forth, a lot of people are losing their minds. So if this is true, what's the reason for it? On this episode we speak with Dan Davies, the author of the new book The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - And How The World Lost Its Mind. Dan talks about the field of study known as cybernetics, and the inevitable outcomes of systems that grow more and more complex. This complexity -- which describes many things in the modern world, and leads to what Dan calls "accountability sinks," or entities that basically exist just to be blamed for things that have gone wrong. Dan walks us through how these emerged in the modern world, where things are headed, and how the trend could theoretically be reversed.

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Neil Dutta, the top economist over at Renaissance Macro, has generally been sunny and optimistic about the economy over the last four years or so. But now he's warning of a possible mistake by the Federal Reserve. In his view, the central bank is waiting too long to get confirmation that inflation is coming back to target. Meanwhile, unemployment is starting to creep up in a meaningful way. As he sees it, if you're still worried about upside risk to inflation at this point, you need to have a theory about where that inflation is going to come from — and it's really hard to come up with an answer for that right now, given the general downward momentum in hiring and the overall economy. In this episode of Lots More, we catch up with Neil to talk about the risk that the Fed will blow the soft landing.

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 From cars to toys to clothes, we're just used to seeing the label "Made In China" on all sorts of things. But how did China become a go-to destination for manufactured goods in the first place? Who actually recognized that there was a huge opportunity to tap the abundant, low-cost labor to sell goods to Western consumers? On this episode of the podcast we speak with Elizabeth Ingleson, a professor at the London School of Economics and the author of the book Made in China: When US-China Interests Converged to Transform Global Trade. Ingleson traces the roots of the US-China trade relationship to a handful of US entrepreneurs in the early 1970s who first went into the country and recognized its opportunity as an export powerhouse. We discuss who these individuals were, the obstacles they had to overcome, and how they reshaped the entire global economy.

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The stock market has had a torrid run in 2024 despite the fact that interest rate cuts haven't materialized in the way people had expected at the start of the year. In fact, outside of a few blips here and there (like spring 2020), US stocks have been phenomenal performers for years. Tom Lee, the founder of Fundstrat and FS Insight has been bullish for a long time, having caught the correct side of this lengthy trend. On this episode, we speak to the former JPMorgan strategist about how he thinks about the market, what he sees happening right now in macro and demographic trends, and why he thinks it’s plausible that the market could roughly triple in the next six years.

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Everyone knows that the AI boom is built upon the voracious consumption of chips (largely sold by Nvidia) and electricity. And while the legacy cloud operators, like Amazon or Microsoft, are in this space, the nature of the computing shift is opening up new space for new players in the market. One of the hottest companies is CoreWeave, a company backed in part by Nvidia, which has grown its datacenter business massively. So how does their business actually work? How do they get energy? Where do they locate operations? How are they financed? What's the difference between a cloud AI and a legacy cloud? On this episode, we speak with CoreWeave's Chief Strategy Officer Brian Venturo about what it takes to build out operations at this scale.

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Virtually everyone, across the ideological spectrum, has the view right now that it's too hard to build things (or get things done generally) in America. New infrastructure is thwarted by red tape and permitting. New housing is thwarted by YIMBYism. Even something that doesn't require much new construction -- like NYC's attempt to impose congestion pricing -- is difficult to get done after years and years of wrangling. What is the core problem? And what can be done to address it? On this episode, we speak with John Arnold, who started his career as an energy trader at Enron, before going on to found a highly successful energy hedge fund. Now in his role as the co-founder of Arnold Ventures, he works on policy solutions to address these key bottlenecks. We discuss how he goes about philanthropy to affect policy change, the problems he's identified, and what solutions could be put in place to improve domestic development.

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Throughout history, financial markets have struggled with the issue of borders. Borders create friction, add cost and cause headaches for anyone who wants to spend money across them. On top of that, various national currencies can be wildly unstable.

Could a borderless, global currency ease friction and enhance financial inclusion and stability around the world? Cryptocurrencies offer an intriguing possible solution to money’s border problem. And a particular kind of cryptocurrency, called stablecoins, could become a powerful medium of exchange for international payments - and offer people around the world increased economic freedom.

This episode is sponsored by Coinbase.

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For much of this year, the S&P 500 has marched steadily higher while measures of stock market volatility, like the VIX, have stayed pretty low. But looking at the headline index only tells you part of the story. Beneath the surface of the S&P 500, individual stocks have been moving up and down a lot. And of course, traders have figured out a way to make money on the difference between the quiet overall index and all that volatility happening in individual stocks. This is the dispersion trade that's gotten quite a bit of attention in recent months. But figuring out exactly who's doing it and how pervasive it is isn't that easy. In this episode, we speak with Michael Purves, CEO and founder of Tallbacken Capital Advisors, and Josh Silva, managing partner and CIO at Passaic Partners, about this new volatility trade and what it means for the overall stock market.

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A few lucky people have made generational wealth trading the ups and downs of the crypto market. And some finance professionals have shifted gears to focus primarily on the space. But what is it like to actually trade these coins day-to-day? How do people pick which ones to buy? How do they analyze the coins themselves? How do they get reliable information? And what is it like, emotionally, to trade such an infamously volatile asset? On this episode of the Odd Lots podcast, we speak with Julian Malinak. In his day job, Julian works in healthcare tech. But the rest of the time, he's looking on message boards for the next 100-bagger. At one point he had made enough to retire on. And then it all went poof. But he keeps grinding and trying to improve his craft. Julian — who we found on the Odd Lots Discord server — explains what he does all day, and how the market really works from a trading perspective. 

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In the newest installment of the Millionaire Car Salesman podcast, your host Sean V. Bradley, CSP, sits down with Greg Gifford, Chief Operating Officer of SearchLab Digital, and Shaun Raines, Founder of Dealer SuperHero. These two seasoned experts hold a wealth of knowledge in the automotive industry, particularly in the realm of Digital Marketing! They discuss the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing, specifically with Google AdWords and pay-per-click (PPC) marketing. 

Listen in as the Automotive Experts emphasize the importance of having a proper online marketing strategy and the need to avoid overspending on PPC without considering organic search engine optimization (SEO). Greg and Shaun also highlight the value of analyzing marketing spend and lead generation to ensure cost-effectiveness. The conversation then rockets into the discussion of the upcoming Ignition Automotive Conference, which aims to provide valuable education and insights to dealerships in a valuable, yet compact and affordable format!

Key Takeaways:

• Dealers should diversify their marketing spend and consider both PPC and SEO strategies based on their unique dealership and market.

• The value of marketing spend should be regularly analyzed to ensure cost-effectiveness and lead generation.

• Third-party providers, such as online classifieds, can provide immediate gratification in lead generation, but a holistic marketing strategy should include organic SEO and other channels.

• The Ignition Conference offers a one-day, affordable event focused on dealership education and value, featuring top industry experts and advanced marketing tips.

The Future of Automotive Marketing: Insights from Industry Experts

Welcome to the Millionaire Car Salesman podcast, the number one resource for automotive sales professionals, managers, and owners. In this episode, we have two subject matter experts in the automotive industry, Greg Gifford and Sean Reigns, who will be sharing their insights on the changing landscape of digital marketing in the automotive industry.

The Changing Landscape of Google AdWords and Pay-Per-Click Marketing

Sean Reigns, an expert in digital marketing, begins by discussing the changes in the landscape of Google AdWords and pay per click (PPC) marketing. He highlights the impact of inventory shortages and the need for dealers to adapt their strategies accordingly. With many dealers reducing their budgets due to the lack of new cars, Sean emphasizes the importance of running intelligent campaigns that focus on used vehicle acquisition, trade-ins, and fixed options such as service and parts. He advises dealers to diversify their paid search campaigns and consider the value they are getting from their vendors.

Greg Gifford, an expert in search engine optimization (SEO), adds that the proper strategy for dealers should be based on their unique situation. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, as each dealership and market is different. Some dealerships may have co-op money to spend, while others may not. Greg emphasizes the need to find a vendor that can customize their approach based on the dealership's goals and budget. He also highlights the importance of considering the entire customer journey, from pre-funnel visibility to bottom-of-the-funnel conversions.

The Cost of Digital Marketing and Lead Generation

Sean Bradley, the host of the podcast, raises a critical issue in the automotive industry – the cost of digital marketing and lead generation. He shares his experience conducting marketing audits for dealers and reveals that the average cost per lead is shockingly high, ranging from $190 to $300 per lead. He emphasizes the need for dealers to analyze their digital spend and identify the value they are getting from each channel. Sean suggests that dealers should consider a holistic strategy that combines third-party providers with organic and paid search efforts.

Greg agrees with Sean's assessment and adds that many dealers are not doing the math to determine if their digital spend is actually working for them. He shares an example of a dealership that was paying a vendor to post the same blog post on 600 different dealership websites, highlighting the importance of finding a vendor that provides customized and effective services. Greg emphasizes the need for dealers to take off their dealership blinders and consider the experience of potential customers who are in the early stages of the buying process.

The Importance of a Holistic Marketing Approach

The conversation shifts to the Ignition Conference, an event organized by Greg and Sean to provide dealers with valuable education and insights. Greg explains that the conference is designed to address the shortcomings of traditional automotive conferences, which often lack value and are filled with thinly veiled sales pitches. The Ignition Conference focuses on dealership education and features hand-selected speakers who are experts in their respective fields.

Sean shares that his session at the conference will focus on the small things that dealers often overlook in their marketing plans. He emphasizes the importance of service departments and customer experience, highlighting the impact of service advisors on customer loyalty. Sean also discusses the need for dealers to prioritize customer experience in the service department, as losing a customer in service can result in a permanent loss of business.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

In conclusion, the future of automotive marketing lies in a holistic approach that combines organic and paid search efforts, third-party providers, and a focus on customer experience. Dealers need to analyze their digital spend and ensure they are getting value for their money. The Ignition Conference provides a unique opportunity for dealers to learn from industry experts and gain valuable insights to improve their marketing strategies.

As the automotive industry continues to evolve, dealers must adapt their marketing strategies to meet the changing needs of customers. By staying informed and embracing new technologies and approaches, dealers can position themselves for success in the digital age. The Ignition Conference serves as a platform for dealers to gain the knowledge and tools they need to thrive in the competitive automotive market.

The future of automotive marketing is bright, and with the right strategies and insights, dealers can drive success and profitability in the years to come.

About Greg Gifford

Greg Gifford is SearchLab’s Chief Operating Officer. He’s one of the most popular speakers in the SEO industry and presents all over the world on topics related to Local SEO. There’s hardly anything at SearchLab that Greg isn’t involved in. He helps to steer the SEO process, oversees all SearchLab marketing efforts, and helps to promote SearchLab at conferences, on industry publications and training videos. You can follow Greg’s popular weekly video series, Local Search Tuesdays, for some of the best and most actionable Local SEO tips. 

Greg lives in Dallas with his wife, three children, 3 dogs, and 3 cats. He’s obsessed with movies (obvious to anyone who has seen one of his presentations) and has tattooed much of his body with some of his favorite movie characters. He snowboards and geeks out on Disney and Star Wars during his spare time.

About Shaun Raines

Shaun wanted to be a rock star playing drums to the delight of thousands. Turns out, he became a digital marketing rock star teaching, coaching and helping automotive and motorcycle dealers reach their potential. He has 20+ years of experience in sales, digital marketing, websites, SEM/PPC, SEO, social media, branding, management, leadership and team building. He is a highly sought after speaker at industry events due to his contagious, entertaining presentation style. 

His first motorcycle was a Honda ATC70 and his first four wheeled vehicle was a 1979 Chevy Luv. In 1998 his career forever changed as the internet was steadily growing in user audience. Shaun was blessed with the opportunity to work with the Reynolds and Reynolds team that launched Microsoft Carpoint and Automark Web Solutions. He has also held director positions with ReachLocal and DrivingSales. Shaun is the former Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at DealerOn and currently works with a broad collection of companies as the Founder of Dealer SuperHero.

Resources

Dealer Synergy & Bradley On Demand: The automotive industry’s #1 training, tracking, testing, and certification platform and consulting & accountability firm.

The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast: is the #1 resource for automotive sales professionals, managers, and owners.  

Join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today! A connected community with over 26K Automotive Professionals and Members to engage 

Win the Game of Googleopoly: Unlocking the secret strategy of search engines.

The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast is Proudly Sponsored By: 

Bradley On Demand: Automotive Sales Industry’s #1 Interactive Training, Tracking, Testing and Certification Platform. With over 7,500 training modules, our platform has everything you and your dealership need to sell more cars, more often and more profitably!

Money Mind Mapp (M3): Visit MoneyMindMapp.com for help in revolutionizing your business to help you sell more cars by tracking, projecting, and forecasting your personal sales goals!

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A question we frequently get is “Are Facebook users declining? The short answer is yes. In particular those under 25 who only represent about 15% of active users. But before you pull the fire alarm, it’s still the most used social media platform out there. So, let's look at some exciting developments and how they could impact the next evolution of digital marketing.