Dean Estep (his friends call him Deano) entered his professional speaking and people development career in 1986 after he attended a very dull Chrysler Service Management seminar where the instructor read out of a book to the class.  He struck up a conversation with the instructor only to find out that the man hated his job and felt he was making no difference.  This inspired Dean to seek an opportunity to fulfill his desire to drive change and help people.  He called Chrysler to share his desire and was told he needed a bachelor’s degree to work for them. However, Dean only had an Associate’s Degree of Science in Automotive technology. He told the executive that he didn’t recognize the word “can’t” as Zig Ziglar told him to cut the word “can’t and “quit” out of his dictionary, which he did. Dean called the head of training nearly every week to follow up, only to be told it was impossible. In June of 1986 he made yet another call, only to find out that Chrysler was sub-contracting their Fixed Operations Training to a firm in Detroit, and that the Chrysler executive had hand carried his resume to the owner of the outside consulting/training firm.

 In July 1986, Dean did what couldn’t be done and facilitated his first Service Management seminar for Chrysler Corp. That relationship would continue 14 years and included Service Management and Service Advisor training nationally, National Field Coach for “America’s Team”, New Dealer Conferences, Dealer Sons and Daughters Conferences, Customer One and Advanced Customer One. 

In 2006 Dean was recruited by AutoNation as Senior Director of Fixed Operations Training and Development and drove that division until 2012. In 2013, Dean joined two industry leaders and formed Next Level Automotive Group Inc. 

In 2016, Dean felt the need to grow personally as a leader, so he joined “The John Maxwell Team” initially as a team member, then mentor and today is an Executive Director on the John Maxwell Team.  John Maxwell is the #1 leadership expert in the world according to INC Magazine and has authored over 90 books on the subject. Dean shares that this has transformed his thinking, methodology and training.

This, along with Certification in Wiley DISC and Patrick Lencioni’s Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team Disc Model, places Dean as the #1 leadership expert in the dealership Fixed Operations space. What started as a passion for personal growth has turned into a tool to impact many others in their personal and professional growth. 

Dean has trained thousands of people and today, Next Level has impacted over 750 dealerships and is currently impacting over 325 dealerships in the United States and Canada. 

As Dean puts it, “We’re not done yet. I wake up every morning wanting to help others see ‘more, more and more before.’ I am more passionate about Next Level’s mission and my mission now, more than ever before in my professional career.” 

Marc joined the Next Level Automotive Group team in 2020 as a content creator and has expanded into one-on-one coaching and virtual class facilitation.

He studied agriculture in college and went on to accept an apprenticeship at a horse ranch in Arizona where he worked with the owner and veterinarian to maintain and grow the herd of pure-bred Arabian horses.  

Marc decided to go back to college to study business and returned to Michigan to pursue that path. While adding to his business knowledge, he began working in a car dealership in the parts department.  Previously, in high school he had taken a summer job working as a porter in another dealership, so he was already familiar with the basic workings of the different departments.

The initial parts delivery position progressed into parts counter sales and then transitioned into a service advisor role, followed by Quality control position, dispatcher, assistant service manager and eventually Service Manager at a large metro Detroit dealership.  Marc and his service team took a dealership with very poor CSI and marginal profitability and made it the number one CSI dealership that was also growing revenue at over 10% YOY every year.

That team had numerous innovations in the 1990’s to make the shop productive and customer focused.  Some of those early innovations were: Lateral support super-groups, Electronic Repair Order dispatching, dedicated oil change staff, UCD recon and accessories install department separate from the service shop, paintless dent repair and glass chip repair all on-site.  They were also one of the first dealerships to implement an off-site follow-up and customer satisfaction tracking system that utilized computer tracking technology.

All of these successes eventually led to a position working for Chrysler Corporation training other dealers and field staff in the concepts of customer service through their Five Star and Dealer Development programs.

After that initiative ended, Marc moved back into retail for a while as the Service and Parts Director at a growing store until he was recruited by a company that was implementing Express Service nationwide. He participated in numerous dealership launches with Chrysler and was eventually asked to take over managing the national project for Nissan. The huge success and longevity of that project was due in large part to the processes and the team dynamic that was developed.

During the Nissan initiative, Marc traveled Nationwide to provide his team and clients with the needed support both proactively and as requested.  

After completing the Nissan project, Marc decided to move away from full time travel in order to spend more time at home with family.  He currently is writing content for Next Level Automotive Group based on their concepts and illustrated with his experiences helping implement in over 2,300 dealerships across multiple manufacturer brands.

In his free time, Marc enjoys home improvement projects, making and refurbishing furniture, photography and spending time with his family. 

Lora is the organization and structure behind Next-Level’s success.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology along with over 10 years of experience as an executive assistant with other management office experience.  She has a passion for organization and helping others succeed.  At Next Level, Lora enjoys coordinating and assisting clients with their training on Next-Level’s e-learning platform, the Learning Hub.  She understands that every person learns differently, and tailors her approach to each individual’s needs.  Her goal is to help others succeed with their training and become more successful than ever before.

Lora is a native of Ohio, but has lived in Greenville, South Carolina for 34 years.  In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, grandchildren, baking, hiking and serving in her church ministering to single moms. 

Doug’s life long passion for the automotive industry began at the early age of twelve, while working in his dad’s Detroit dealership. During his journey, he has held every dealership position from clean-up to executive level management. Doug is a Maxwell certified speaker and coach with over thirty years of hand-on industry leadership experience. He has expertise in all areas of fixed operations and considers himself a servant leader at heart, embracing the principle of “service above self.”

Doug specializes in accountability, focused action and goal achievement. He is passionate about helping leaders become better in all areas of life, and particularly enjoys assisting others in finding solutions and creating possibilities to move forward in areas of desired coaching. Applying a “coachsulting” approach (blend of coaching and consulting), he has proven track record of helping dealers get results. By identifying opportunities in financial and customer satisfaction key performance indicators and training Fixed Operations staff to perform at their highest levels, dealerships foster satisfied customers and achieve excellent profits.

After graduating from Eastern Michigan University, Doug worked in the customer service division at Ford Motor Company where he led and trained customer service teams as well as participated in the launch of key national customer satisfaction initiatives. Alarmed by the negative perception the public had of dealers due to a general lack of transparency with a professional attention to customers, particularly in the Fixed Operations arena, Doug’s passions led him back to the automotive retail world where he was convinced he could make a difference. At the age of twenty-five he joined the management team at one of the largest, most progressive Ford Dealers in the nation. Inspired by Wayne Huizenga’s vision to change the perception of traditional car dealerships, he joined the fledgling Autonation Corporation where he helped open new Mega Stores around the country, subsequently becoming a regional Fixed Operations trainer. Since that time, Doug has led multiple high performing teams in both private and corporate settings, serving in the capacities of market area Fixed Operations Manager, Regional Fixed Operations Trainer, Service Manager, and Fixed Operations Director. 

In the decade prior to joining the Next-Level team, Doug served as Fixed Operations Director at one of the largest Mercedes Benz stores in the country. During Doug’s time with Mercedes, his team earned numerous awards for performance and customer satisfaction. Under his leadership, Fixed Operations gross profit was increased by 120%, producing over $2 million in fixed gross per month. He was also instrumental in the development of innovative training and recruitment programs, including an in-store technician training college that ultimately partnered with MBUSA to produce over forty trained technicians, and a shop that gained national recognition and adoption of their model.

Doug is a loving father of four and actively involved in his church. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, running, and playing tennis. 

Heather is the brains and creativity behind Next-Level’s innovative learning methods. She has a strong background in instructional design & scientific research. Heather has a passion for learning new things and teaching others what she’s learned in a fun and interesting way. Additionally, she is a customer service expert with 10 years of experience in the industry. Heather has the unique ability to anticipate the client’s needs before they even know what they need! When she discovered Next-Level and heard of their people-focused approach to customer service and sales training, she jumped at the opportunity to combine her love for making learning fun and serving others.  In 2016, Heather cofounded the E-Learning branch of Next-Level Automotive Group. She continues to drive the research, development, and design of Next-Level’s learning experience. Her goal is to help people enjoy learning and get better at what they do.

Heather is based in Seattle, Washington. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the beautiful mountains and beaches of the Pacific Northwest as well as investing time in her community.

Diana’s patience and leading-edge creativity have made her the perfect fit as Next-Level’s Project Manager and Instructional Designer.  

At Next-Level, she enjoys combining her organizational and time management skills with her interest in the automotive industry. Diana has been surrounded by the automotive world her entire life. Her father has a strong passion for working with cars, and he owned his own auto shop in Romania. She was frequently helping her dad in his shop, taking cars apart, and putting them back together again. The intricacy of the different processes to get a car running again fascinated Diana, and that fascination has stayed with her into her adult life.

Diana loves problem solving any obstacles that arise and transforming them into resolutions. Her passion for travel, video documenting, and connecting with people from all walks of life, have all extended into her role at Next-Level. We have a very diverse multi-generational team, and Diana’s exceptional interpersonal and collaborative skills have helped her successfully carry projects from conception to completion. 

Although Diana is a mountain girl at heart, she currently lives in Florida. When she’s not working, Diana enjoys being outdoors and exploring nature as much as possible. She loves camping and walking on trails and leaving nature a little cleaner and better than how she found it. She also enjoys kayaking, biking/rollerblading along the beach, swimming in the ocean, and traveling to hike as many mountains as possible around the world. 

Tom’s wealth of knowledge and expertise has brought a lot of value to Next-Level. He is very passionate about being the best at whatever he does, whether it’s family, relationships, work or coaching. He loves teaching, developing and growing talented people beyond their expectations and dreams. Tom graduated from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Physical Education, but his expertise comes from a depth of experience that he’s gained over the years. During his career, Tom has been Director of Fixed Operations, General Manager and National Director of Productivity for Autonation, as well as the Parts & Service Director for Universal Nissan, Hyundai & Genesis.  

His favorite quote is from Zig Zigler:

“If I can only get enough people what they want in life, I will get everything I want out of life.”

He has been married 44 years to his best friend, has three married children and four precious grandchildren.

When Tom isn’t working or spending time with family, he enjoys playing golf, coaching basketball, playing the guitar daily, working on his model train layouts and working in his Man Cave Workshop.

Ray began his career in the automotive business over 47 years ago, working in every facet of the dealership for the first 21 years and consulting/developing others for the next 26 years. Ray started in the sales department learning the business from the ground up. He also worked in parts and service, completing his dealership career with ten years as a Fixed-Ops Director.

Ray guided a large metro store that operated two shifts, open daily from 7:00 am – midnight. His dealership was top ten in the country for CSI, always profitable, and had a staff that remained together for years.

Dean Estep provided Ray with the opportunity to launch a second career as a facilitator by permitting him to teach a class with only 24 hours to prepare. Ray studied the material, taught the class successfully, and the next (as they say) is history.

Ray’s dealership foundation launched the second half of his career where he naturally took to developing and consulting for dealerships and the aftermarket. For the past 26 years, Ray has worked with over fifteen manufacturers in various roles including: facilitator, corporate team leader, remote learning host, coach, webinar presenter, course designer, focus group moderator. He joined Service Operation Specialist, a national recognized training company where he progressed from project manager to National Field Manager. Ray also has experience in assessing, consulting and training coaches and staff for Bombardier Powersports dealerships in the US and Canada.

Ray’s thorough understanding of Fixed Operations leads to instant credibility among dealership personnel and he is thrilled to rejoin Dean Estep and the Next Level Automotive Group team.

In his spare time, Ray enjoys restoring older vehicles, riding motorcycles and boating.

While at AutoNation, Steve led the effort to establish performance standards and standardized operating processes and procedures. He started Performance groups for his Service, Parts, and Collision Directors and Mangers to share best practices and drive a culture of Team Accountability. He also started Service and Parts Colleges to train and prepare high potential associates for leadership positions, and as a result his Markets consistently led the company in financial results, CSI, and the lowest turnover. He consolidated the wholesale parts operations in his Markets to create a one call gets it all process and as a result his Markets consistently led the company in wholesale. Since his departure from AutoNation, he has continued to work with dealerships to help them improve their performance and develop their Management Teams.
Steve is the proud father of two children. His son graduated from the University of South Florida with a BS in Finance in the Spring of 2023 and is now a consultant for Insight, a worldwide leader in technology solutions. His daughter is graduating this Spring with a BS in Economics from the University of Florida. When he is not working, he enjoys the outdoors, running, working out, cycling, and playing basketball. He is an avid sports fan and has had season tickets for the Tampa Bay Bucs since 1995.

Jim has 47 years in the retail automobile business. Starting out as a part-time file clerk, he rose through the ranks to the position of Vice President and General Manager of two of the largest & best Chrysler dealerships. During this time he became an expert in administering and using the DiSC family of behavioral assessments. Jim employs these tools when coaching individuals and teams to work effectively together so they achieve extraordinary results. Since 1995, Jim has been involved with over 50 organizations as a leadership and business coach. He has spent extensive time with the very best management and leadership gurus, including John Maxwell. He has worked with Dean Estep for many years, both as a client and as a member of the Next–Level team. 

Jim is based in Detroit Michigan and is President and founder of J Simpson and Associates, LLC. In addition to his work with Next-Level, he coaches small and medium size companies, manages a home–based nutrition company, continues his DISC work and is a founding partner in a protective coatings company.

Jim spends his free time on the water as well as being active in boating and social organizations.