Bill Howell is the president of Billy Howell Ford. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Bill grew up around the auto industry. His father, Billy, worked for Ford Motor Company. At the age of 10, the family moved to Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit just minutes away from the birthplace of Ford Motor Company. The family lived there until Jan. 1, 1976, when they relocated to Roswell, Georgia, where they found a community that the entire family calls home to this day. His father opened Billy Howell Ford that same year.
Bill attended Georgia State University while working for U.S. Steel. Upon receiving his accounting degree, he planned to continue working for the company and was on a management track. At the same time, his father needed to replace the controller at his dealership, and Bill, at the age of 20, decided to join the family business. He started with the title of vice president and filled in as the interim controller.
The dealership had been purchased under the Ford Dealer Development program which comes with stringent controls — Ford has a redbook, and everything has to be done according to their plan. Bill revised the accounting department to plan and got it back on track. Shortly after that, a need arose for someone to fill the parts manager position. Bill rose to the occasion, took on the position and learned what he needed to do so the department could continue to run smoothly. All this happened before Bill turned 21 under the careful guidance of his father.
Because of his lack of experience and young age, Bill had to prove himself to some of the long-time employees and management. Working in the parts department did just that; he earned their respect and found his place in the company. From there, Bill worked in every department, learning, gaining experience and eventually, he took over the business.
Today, Bill’s son, Matthew, is a third-generation dealer. He is learning under his father’s tutelage and working in every department, just like Bill had done. Bill’s sister, Brenda, also works at the dealership. It’s fair to say that Billy Howell Ford is a family affair.
“When I first started working with my father, he was my dad who then became my partner, my best friend and ultimately, my mentor,” Bill recalled. “Our relationship is quite special. We’re very different individuals. I’m very driven and hard-charging; he’s very laid back and the most compassionate person I’ve ever met. We complemented each other fantastically. I thought it could not get any better, but then my son came in and we had three generations working here. Now, I’m the mentor, the father and the partner. It is fantastic.”
Family means everything to Bill. “I am pretty fortunate that my immediate family lives literally within a few short miles from each other — my mother, Cecilia, whom I speak with almost every day, my father, two sisters, all my nieces and nephews, my grandniece and grandson,” Bill said. “The relationships I’ve built with my family are my biggest career and life accomplishments.”
Acquiring and training a great team is key to any success. Bill’s motto is the same as the day he started, “When you come in to work, you sell cars, make friends and have fun. And if we do that, we’ll make all the money.”
Bill encourages his staff to do their jobs purposefully and be passionate about them. “The enemy of great is good” and “Walk with purpose” are sayings that can often be heard within the walls of the dealership. Along with the daily encouragement to be better, Bill believes in having fun and can often be found in the parking lot having foot races with his employees or playing a game of basketball with them. Bill is proud of the camaraderie his staff has formed through all of the hard work and fun.
Recently, Bill and his wife, Jennifer, took a trip to Palm Springs. While there, the hotel they stayed at offered guests the opportunity to check out a puppy for an hour or two, just for fun. This got Bill’s curiosity up, and he started asking the hotel management questions. The answer inspired Bill to try something new at his dealership: Partnering with the Humane Society, puppies are fostered at the dealership and made available to guests to play with, go for a walk or just snuggle, and hopefully, if all goes well, an adoption — the puppy gets their “furever home.”
“Buying cars can be stressful, and spending time with a dog is calming. I want our customers to have that option,” Bill said. Billy Howell Ford has a fenced-in grass area that can be seen from Bill’s office and a doghouse in the showroom where customers can get to know the furry friend.
The hotel that inspired this idea has helped hundreds of dogs get adopted, and Bill hopes that this will achieve the same results. How fantastic is that?
Even with the many challenges facing the industry today, Bill stays steady. “I’ve been doing this since 1986 and the issues today are the same issues we dealt with back then,” he said. “We all want to increase volume, increase customer satisfaction, grow revenue, decrease expenses and ultimately make more money. It is just that simple.”
Bill is a huge advocate of the franchised system. “We are still selling cars 95% of the same way we have since I started in the business, and the reason why is that it works,” Bill stated. The recent push from manufacturers to have more control of the customers is a concern, but as Bill astutely states, “These are our customers, we live with these people, they are our friends and neighbors. Manufacturers are experts at building cars — we are experts at taking care of the customers and retailing them.”
Bill wants to protect the traditional way of doing business. Being involved with GADA is an important part of protecting the franchised system. Billy Howell Ford has been a member since 1977, and Bill is on his second round of serving on the board. GADA takes an active role in advocating for dealers and protecting the franchised system. “A few years back, Rivian had plans to retail directly to customers in Georgia, which would have been bad for the franchised system and consumers. GADA stood up and fought for dealers and consumers, and they won,” Bill recalled. “That is just one of the many ways that the association helps.”
The fellowship of being a GADA member and a dealer is an honor reserved for a few. “I wish that all car dealers would realize that we’re all in this together. This is the world’s greatest fraternity, made up of a very small group of people, and together we are stronger,” Bill said.
