Raymond Helfrich:
Driving the Doan group into the top ranks

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When Raymond Helfrich was 16, he applied for a job as a lot man at Schreiber Buick through his school’s co-op program.
Helfrich was the only one among 17 applicants who wore a suit–and he quickly was offered the job.
He toiled for the next couple of years, performing a range of less-than-glamorous tasks.
“A lot man does all of the maintenance around the building, moving cars, straightening cars, cleaning cars, making sure that everything’s ready for delivery,” Helfrich explains.
His plan had been to enlist in the U.S. Air Force after high school, with the dream of becoming an airplane mechanic.
When the 18-year-old approached his boss, Dean Doan, to say he was leaving to join the Air Force, Doan was not pleased.
“He talked me out of it and gave me a couple of positions throughout the dealership, and I’ve worked my way up since,” Helfrich says.
Eighteen years after he appeared at Schreiber Buick (precursor to Doan Dodge) dressed in a suit, Helfrich is Dean Doan’s partner and vice president/general manager of operations for the entire Doan group.
At 34, he still is a standout among his peers, admittedly much younger than others in his position. When asked what enabled him to advance so quickly, Helfrich is modest.
“A little bit of luck and a little bit of hard work,” he says. “I’ve surrounded myself with good people, but it’s probably been a lot of luck.”
The Doan Family of Dealerships, which ranked No. 1 on the Rochester Business Journal’s 1998 list of auto dealerships, includes five new-car dealerships: Doan Buick, Doan Dodge, Doan Lincoln-Mercury/Nissan and Doan Chrysler on Ridge Road in Greece, and Doan Infiniti-Kia in Fairport. The group also operates a used-car lot, Michael’s Motors, on Ridge Road in Greece, and a collision center, Doan Collision, on Manitou Road.
John Lyboldt, president of the Rochester Automobile Dealers Association Inc., has known Helfrich for nine years and thinks luck has little to do with his accomplishments.
“He has a very keen business mind,” Lyboldt says. “He’s also a people person, and many times when someone has a good business mind their people skills suffer.”
When asked what he likes best about his job, Helfrich replies, “Working with people, employees and customers.” The only drawback of his job, he jokes, is not knowing which car he will drive home each night.
Helfrich’s business philosophy can be summed up as doing the right thing.
“It’s important to us to make sure not only (that) we sell the car, but we service it, and when the customer needs or wants something we take care of it,” he explains.
“A happy customer in the service department will sell us more cars than a great deal up front.”
“(Ray’s) big saying is ‘Do the right thing,'” says Michael Daeschner, sales manager for Doan Infiniti-Kia.
“In the car business it’s easy to get caught up in everyday issues and forget you’re there for the customers,” he adds, “but for Ray, that’s always in the forefront.”
For Helfrich, even difficulties offer learning opportunities.
From 1989 to 1991, he ran Doan Chevrolet in Massachusetts. It was a bad time for the economy overall, but auto dealers in New England were hit especially hard. Many credit unions there failed, making it extremely difficult for many people to finance car purchases.
The store was undercapitalized, Helfrich says, and Doan eventually decided to close the location.
“At the time I thought it was terrible,” Helfrich says, “but looking back it was a great experience for me. It really taught me a lot.”
After his stint as a lot man, he worked a variety of jobs at the dealership, including assistant mechanic, service writer, service manager, car salesman and sales manager. In 1993, Helfrich took over as general manager of the Buick store, and bought into a partnership with Dean Doan in 1995.
William Ryan has worked at Doan for 12 years and today is general sales manager for Doan Dodge.
“As a manager, (Helfrich is) very proactive, very involved, but at the same time he lets people do their jobs,” Ryan says.
Daeschner agrees.
“(Ray) is the type of individual who allows his managers to their jobs,” he says. “He gives them the leeway to make decisions, but at the same time plays a very supportive role.”
Since 1991, Helfrich says, the car business has grown steadily each year. He predicts sales will remain steady for at least the next few years.
“I don’t think we’ll see the peaks and valleys like the car business has seen in the past,” he explains.
Downsizing at major local employers hurt sales in recent years, he notes, but the community has become less dependent on larger businesses.
To stay current on industry trends, Helfrich reads trade magazines and is a board member of the Rochester Automobile Dealers Association Inc. He also participates in a group of 20 dealers throughout the country who meet several times a year to exchange ideas.
One of the biggest changes in the automobile industry in recent years, Helfrich says, is the number of people who lease vehicles.
“Prices of cars have made it difficult for the average person to buy one retail without stretching the term out too long, and leasing has been an effective way to keep a low monthly payment,” he says.
From the dealer’s standpoint, it makes no significant difference whether a car is bought or leased.
“It’s just another way of taking payment,” Helfrich says.
The Internet also is bringing changes to the car business. Doan has had a Web site since 1994, at www.doangroup.com, and Helfrich says the Internet in general has had a positive impact on car sales.
“The Internet has helped with consumers being more educated. When they come in, they have more background information, so it’s made (dealing with them) easier,” he says.
Doan has sold a few cars off its Web site, but Helfrich says it is more of a research tool for prospective customers.
Some Web sites offer a car-buying service, through which consumers can type in specifications and then receive the name of a local dealership at which to buy the car.
Doan subscribes to a number of these, Helfrich says, but the substantial subscription fees and lack of a local feel are drawbacks.
Strong community ties play an important role at Doan. The business participates in local causes through various means. In addition to sponsoring baseball teams and high school drug-free nights (Helfrich estimates the company spent some $100,000 on these events in 1998), Doan began donating a car a month last year.
“We tried to come up with some ideas to become involved with the community and get a bunch of employees together,” Helfrich says.
“We’ve since developed a team, two employees from each store and six charities that we deal with. They bring to us people they feel from their charity or organization who are needy,” he explains.
Doan’s team then reviews the candidates and decides which one is most deserving of a car. The team has given away seven cars, and each one comes with free maintenance for a year.
“We have been fortunate enough where we’re in a position we can give a car away,” Helfrich says. “It’s a good-quality used car. (These are) people who try to better themselves, and a car helps them do that.”
Although he is very supportive of Doan’s involvement in this program, Helfrich takes little credit for it personally.
“The employees have really embraced it and taken it to the next level,” he says. “I have almost no involvement other than seeing who they give the car to.”
Although he always wanted to be an airplane mechanic, Helfrich–a Greece native who graduated from Greece Olympia High School in 1982–says the only regret he has about his career path is not going to college.
Today, Helfrich’s day-to-day duties consist of checking numbers and making sure the dealerships are on track with forecasts.
“My main job,” he says, “is making sure we have the right people in the right places doing the right things.”
A standard workweek has Helfrich on the job from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and a few hours on Saturdays.
When he is not working, Helfrich enjoys golf, fishing, hunting and “pretty much anything outdoors.”
The Doan group has grown over the years through acquisitions, most recently in January when it added Doan Chrysler. No additional deals are on the immediate horizon, he says, but the company also has an eye out for new opportunities.
Looking ahead five years or so, Helfrich says he cannot imagine his job being much different than it is today. He thinks the large auto dealerships that have been buying up independents in other parts of the country are not likely to enter this market.
Local competition is pretty stiff. Helfrich says he views everyone from the largest dealerships down to the smaller used-car lots as competitors.
The prime advantage Doan has over other local dealers is its long-term employees, Helfrich believes. Doan has very low turnover, due to incentives it offers employees such as ample benefits packages.
To further maintain an edge, he and his employees regularly shop the competition, keeping a careful eye on pricing and sales techniques.
Helfrich acknowledges that bad experiences have soured some consumers on auto dealers.
“Unfortunately, that will leave a bad taste for a long time and you’ll tell everyone you know,” he says. “We try to do just the opposite (so that everyone will say) we’re doing the right thing. The saying goes that you’ll tell 25 people when you’re happy and 100 when you’re not.”

6/11/99