Long Island woman climbs corporate ladder of family's auto biz

Long Island Business News, Sep 3, 2004 by Nick Anastasi

When it comes to car-buying decisions, men might salivate over heavy horsepower, high-powered sound systems and leather interior, but women hold the keys.

Upending an old stereotype about men's car-buying dominance, statistics show that women purchase 65 percent of all new cars and 53 percent of pre-owned vehicles, according to Road & Travel Magazine. And if they're not behind the wheel on the day of the deal-signing, women influence the purchase of 95 percent of all automobile purchases, the magazine said.

That said, it might seem only natural to expect more women to climb the corporate ladder in the car dealership business, but that's not the case on Long Island, where women executives in the industry are hard to find.

Nancy Buzzetta, who grew up watching her father, Joseph Buzzetta, grow Smithtown-based dealership network Competition Automotive Group, which opened its doors in 1962, understood early on that it wouldn't be easy for a woman to gain acceptance in the industry.

Outside the group, Buzzetta said she has met with more than one instance of chauvinism. I just laughed and moved on. I know being a woman can be a great advantage in this business, she said, noting that customers, both men and women, are more comfortable with saleswomen. Women have a way of selling through meeting needs rather than through imposition, she said.

Inside the group, Buzzetta said it isn't much of an issue, since she knows the trade as well as anyone - starting out at the bottom as a receptionist, as a service cashier and in the parts department.

Buzzetta graduated from Smithtown High School in 1986 and in 1990 earned a bachelor's degree with a focus on accounting from the University of Vermont. She stayed in that state for three years, where she became a certified public accountant.

But in 1993, she decided to return to home.

I was brought back by the desire to be close to my family and by the business, she said. It was her father, a founder and president of CAG, who asked her to give it a shot.

She began in the dealership's accounting department, which gave her a bird's-eye view of how a car dealership operates. All roads go through accounting, she said.

From there, Buzzetta branched out into administration, technical infrastructure and advertising. Now she's a vice president in the group, along with her two brothers, James and Joseph Jr.

I don't ask anyone to do anything that I wouldn't do. You earn respect by doing, said Buzzetta, 36. My parents have a work ethic that was ingrained in us. There were no Euro rail tours for us. They wanted us to see how the business worked.

In her tenure as general manager of CAG Mercedes-Benz dealer Competition Imports in Smithtown, sales volume has tripled, and the company expects a 20 percent increase over the 1,000 new cars sold last year.

Buzzetta's sales-boosting strategies include tweaked selling techniques and cosmetic changes to the dealership. An extensive exterior renovation of Competition Imports is planned for this fall, a change that will be coupled with a name change to Mercedes-Benz of Smithtown later this month.

These changes are intended bring a stronger identity and prestige to the dealership along Route 25.

When newer people are in the area, it's hard for them to determine what we sell, said Buzzetta, noting that the name change and dealership makeover are tied to the anticipated launch of several new Mercedes-Benz vehicles over the next two years. New products are hot products.

The name change is also meant to better match CAG's other dealerships. They include Competition Toyota of Middle Island Toyota, Competition Scion, Competition BMW, Mercedes-Benz of Huntington and Competition Infiniti of Smithtown.

Buzzetta recently ceded the general manager duties at Competition Imports to concentrate on her responsibilities as a vice president of CAG, where her charge is to grow the business.

She is very analytical and isn't afraid to try new things, said her brother Jim, a vice president of CAG and general manager of Mercedes-Benz of Huntington. He added that she is constantly looking to improve customer satisfaction and retention. Among her initiatives aiming to do that: several loyalty projects that include a customer- referral program and incentives for repeat buyers.

Joseph Agresta Jr., president of the Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealers Associa-tion, a group developed by the dealers and Mercedes- Benz to create a regional marketing plan, said Buzzetta is a very vocal contributor. She is not one to sit back and go with the flow. She thinks outside the box.

Buzzetta said she has witnessed a big change in the dealership landscape. It's a very different business now, she said. Gone are the days of there being more customers than cars. As a result, dealerships are now open seven days a week and executives such as Buzzetta are constantly in contact with suppliers and customers to meet the demand of a fickle buying public.

Buzzetta said the group is always poised to expand, with the potential for new dealerships further east on the Island.