The Midwest Dealer Association’s “Superstar Zoomcast” Was Part Red Carpet, Part Masterclass—and 100% a 2026 Wake-Up Call

The Midwest Dealer Association’s “Superstar Zoomcast” Was Part Red Carpet, Part Masterclass—and 100% a 2026 Wake-Up Call

By Ed Katzinger (Guest Columnist, PR-style Industry Review)

If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if the automotive industry staged its own Hollywood roundtable—equal parts swagger, substance, and strategic truth—The Midwest Dealer Association’s latest Zoomcast delivered exactly that.

On paper, it’s a leadership conversation about the collision of branding, marketing, AI, and credit—and why 2026 will separate the dealers who evolve from those who get quietly eclipsed. In reality, it played like a premium special event: four standout personalities, four different lanes of expertise, and one shared message that hit like a bass drop:

The old way isn’t “ending.” It’s already gone.

The Cast: Four Icons, One Unstoppable Industry

The show opens with a clean roll call—simple intros that quickly feel like the first scene of a franchise you realize is bigger than expected.

Dee Jones sets the tone with calm confidence, introducing himself as the force behind ColumbusCarCredit.com and RocketCarLoan.com—two brands built for a market that needs more than a sales pitch. Dee’s presence is the anchor: grounded, direct, and clearly operating from a position of real performance. When he speaks about “what’s happening behind the scenes,” it doesn’t sound like hype. It sounds like receipts.

Then comes Jim Beck, the marketing operator with the “quiet-move, loud-results” energy. Beck positions Baytech Companies—17 years deep out of Columbus—as a digital marketing agency “leading the charge” in the AI tech-stack revolution. The line lands because it’s not framed as theory. It’s framed as an ongoing build, a machine, a system.

The audience gets the legend next: Jon Stagall, 33-year car business veteran, now retired—yet still speaking with the precision of someone who’s trained generations. He enters like the elder statesman of the panel, and within minutes you can feel the room shift into listening mode.

And finally, the “Credit. Credit. Credit.” brand incarnate: Flame Newton, Phoenix-based author of The School of Credit series—three books, three lanes (personal credit, business credit, credit cards), one mission. His delivery is fast, structured, and built for teaching. If Dee is the anchor and Jim is the architect, Flame is the megaphone with a blueprint.

The Big Reveal: Dee Doesn’t Guard the Recipe—He Shares It

The Zoomcast’s most surprising move is Dee’s decision to do what most high-performing operators won’t: openly credit the people powering his ecosystem.

He tells the audience, plainly, that he’s not worried about competition—and that his edge comes from collaboration with top-tier specialists. In a world where many “gurus” protect their playbooks like classified information, Dee does the opposite:

He names his network. He gives them flowers. He connects the dots.

He calls Jim the mastermind behind the multimedia, websites, funnels, branding, and ad systems—describing a relationship that dates back to 2016. He frames BizApp247 not as “another CRM,” but as the “central processing machine” running follow-up and engagement behind the curtain. It’s one of those rare moments where a tech stack becomes tangible, not abstract.

Then he acknowledges John’s mentorship—positioning sales not as a job, but as identity and craft. And he places Flame’s credit education as a core support beam in his world, especially because his customer base includes people rebuilding after bankruptcies, repos, and setbacks.

This is where the Zoomcast transcends typical industry talk: it becomes a live demonstration of what “modern auto success” actually looks like—a network of specialists aligned around one outcome.

Jon Stagall’s Segment: “The Tech Changed. The Human Didn’t.”

Stagall delivers arguably the most important truth of the entire show:

When he started, “CRM” was index cards in a box—names, birthdays, kids’ names, details that made customers feel seen. Today, the tools are different, but the game is the same: trust, attention, and emotional connection.

He doesn’t romanticize the past. He simply clarifies the future:

AI won’t save lazy salespeople.
AI will amplify intentional ones.

Stagall’s best insight is also the simplest: AI is only as powerful as the quality of the input. If you don’t understand the customer, the follow-up becomes noise. If you understand the customer, AI becomes a personalization engine—emails, texts, messaging that feels like it came from someone who actually listened.

It’s a veteran perspective with modern relevance: the basics didn’t die—they got upgraded.

Flame Newton’s Segment: The “BCDE Method” and a Masterclass in Buyer Psychology

Flame doesn’t just speak—he teaches.

He introduces a sharp framework for reading customers fast: the BCDE Method—Boss, Cheap, Difficult, Educated.

• Boss customers want VIP treatment and recognition.

• Cheap customers are price-driven above all else.

• Difficult customers bring problems to every solution.

• Educated customers researched the product, the vehicle, and you.

What makes Flame’s segment hit is that he’s not selling a fantasy—he’s describing the real room every dealership lives in. Then he takes it deeper: the credit conversation.

His most resonant moment is his push to stop selling “price” and start explaining the price of borrowing money—the real cost of long-term financing. He frames education as both a trust-builder and a repeat-customer strategy: put someone into what they need now, build their profile, bring them back for what they want next.

And then he lands a line that feels like a movie quote:

“Nobody wants to lend money to people who look like they need money.”

It’s blunt, but it’s memorable—and the kind of hard truth that makes audiences replay a segment twice.

The Marketing Turn: Jim Beck and the “Worms to Catch the Fish”

When the conversation pivots to marketing and branding, the show goes from philosophy to execution.

Jim frames the role of a modern agency in a way that resonates with busy operators: consistency, speed, creative refresh, and systemized follow-up. Dee validates it in real-time—describing how quick changes to messaging can generate a surge of responses “in one day.”

This is where the “celebrity” vibe kicks into overdrive—not because it’s flashy, but because it’s confident. The panel isn’t debating whether marketing matters. They’re discussing how fast you need to move to stay relevant.

And Dee’s branding point is a mic-drop for every salesperson and independent broker watching:

If nobody knows who you are, you won’t stay busy.
Branding is not optional in 2026—it’s survival.

Final Take: A Red Carpet Event for the People Who Actually Do the Work

This Zoomcast wasn’t a webinar. It felt like a special release—four professionals with real proof, real frameworks, and real urgency.

The vibe: Hollywood.
The substance: heavy.
The takeaway: unmistakable.

If you’re a salesperson, broker, small-lot operator, or a large dealership owner, this is the conversation you watch before 2026 starts moving too fast to catch.

Because in the end, the Midwest Dealer Association didn’t just publish another piece of content.

They staged a moment.

And the industry should pay attention.