(R)evolution
Dealer joins firm he worked with
Staff writer
After four years of collaborating with Hillsboro Ford to provide complete services for his customers, former Newton auto salesman Mark Smith has decided to join the dealership in earnest.
His Newton company, Revolution Auto Sales, has operated 11 years, dealing primarily with sales. He often would find out what customers wanted and locate cars to sell.
“I tried to carve out a niche,” Smith said.
His move to Hillsboro Ford adds financing, repair, and expanded purchasing options to his hand.
The two businesses worked together for the past 4½ years, Hillsboro Ford owner and general manager Michael Hagen said.
Smith’s move to the Ford dealership isn’t a sudden idea. He and Hagen had discussed it over time.
“If you’re going to change what you’re doing, you want to do it with someone you trust and have confidence in,” Smith said.
In announcing the move on social media, Smith described it as “a new chapter in the life of Revolution Auto Sales.”
“We are transitioning into the world of Hillsboro Ford,” he wrote, “allowing us to remain a small business, hometown dealership but with easier access to the vehicles our customers want, in addition to an in-house service department.
“We treasure our Revolution Auto customers and look forward to serving them out of Hillsboro Ford starting in November.”
Smith now works in the Ford dealership’s sales department.
“It was hard to give up what I was doing,” he said.
But, he said, being able to offer customers a complete array of what they might need as car buyers and car owners made the change worthwhile.
“The experience of buying a car can be stressful,” he said. “This will make it less so.”
Smith has been big on selling Ford products, Hagen said.
“Now he has the ability to sell more of them,” Hagen said.
Customers are not just numbers, Smith said; they are people.
He always has wanted customers to value the time and help he offered them. He avoided spending just a few minutes with them before getting on to the next customer.
“He’s bringing the customer service of Revolution Auto right here,” Hagen said.