Jennifer Potter is the Vice President of Sales at Cartel Dealer Services, based in Southern California. Jennifer’s clients are also primarily in the southern California area, operating in the Los Angeles, Inland Empire and San Diego regions. “I’m fourth generation used cars. I come from a long line of dealers. It’s what I’ve always grown up with.” She has worked on the agent side of the house with Portfolio for the past nine years.
Over the years, Jennifer has seen dealerships experience many challenges, but issues post-pandemic have posed some unique difficulties, including a lack of inventory and soaring used car pricing. However, she notes that her agents are very innovative in finding solutions for their dealers. “I look at our job as being here to help people. The more people we help, the more successful we are and they are. It’s a win-win.”
Being an agent in this post-COVID era presents challenges as well, chief among them for Jennifer is trying to find a good work-life balance. Since COVID has allowed people to work from home more than ever before, the lines have become blurred between work and family time. “I love what I do, I love my job and I love my family,” Jennifer says. Working all day in the field, talking with your dealers and then coming home to work all night can take a toll. “Sometimes you need to make sure we close our computers, power down and get our brains to shift gears — go from work-mode to family-mode.”
Competition is yet another challenge Jennifer faces, like most agents. But Jennifer is fiercely competitive and thrives best in this environment. “The competition has always been out there. There’s always someone who will be a lot cheaper or have more competitive pricing.”
Since she is a big believer in people, process and products, she finds ways to work with dealers and help them to become savvy, despite all of the challenges they’re faced with daily. “Good dealers are innovative and they’re so entrepreneurial.” Some products that are most beneficial to dealers right now are preloads and non-cancelables. And, as always, service contracts and GAP remain major draws. Cilajet is a product that everyone seems to like as well.
When Jennifer is not burning the midnight oil managing her team of agents and working in the field with dealers, she enjoys spending time with her family. “I have two daughters and I’ve been married for over 20 years,” and they enjoy traveling all over the world, including recent trips to Peru and Ecuador. This summer they are planning to explore Spain and Portugal while one of her daughters is enrolled in a Spanish language immersion class in Seville. Both of her daughters are competitive soccer players, so her family also finds themselves on the soccer fields quite a bit, which they love. Jennifer is spending a lot of time recently with her two new puppies as well. Time with her extended family and her friends is yet another high priority in Jennifer’s life.
Jennifer has a strong passion for both her work as an agent and for her family. “I think I have the greatest job,” she says emphatically. Her passion, dedication and commitment to delivering high-quality results resonate clearly in many aspects of her life. These qualities help to make Jennifer one of our most esteemed Portfolio agents.
