automotiveMastermind Inc.

Responsible for collaborating with the Product team to ensure timely go-to-market planning and sales training is provided to the Commercial teams and our customer base.

Vice President of Product Marketing and Sales Enablement

Sanford Marketing Group

Sanford Marketing Group has a mission to improve the quality of business branding and communications.

Sanford Marketing Group helps businesses improve their results by creating better alignment across teams, developing better marketing materials, constructing measurable and repeatable processes, and satisfying customers’ communication needs.

Sanford Marketing Group combines strategic leadership with tactical, hands-on execution to achieve revenue goals and deliver brand excellence. Passionate about creating scalable processes, Jennifer drives performance through collaborative processes and technologies.

Services Include
Marketing Strategy and Planning
Marketing Operations Review and Recommendations Guidance 
Marketing Team Development and Performance Management
Recruiting Consulting
Brand and Value Proposition Development
Market Launch Planning
Event Strategy Management
Project Management

Founder

TotalCX

Assisted with the transition in the acquisition by CallRevu in May 2024. 
Responsible for the Go-To-Market planning and MarCom operations of the most comprehensive communications platform in the retail automotive industry.

Chief Marketing Officer and Consultant

Stella Automotive AI

Led the successful launch of this conversational AI SAAS platform in the retail automotive industry.

- Directed the multimedia retail automotive market launch resulting in over 120 leads in under 90 days  
- Generated over 580 leads in 2022 and 530 leads in the first five months of 2023 by producing an impactful multimedia marketing strategy
- Created market awareness and executive exposure by developing a PR and event management plan
- Solicited and won multiple product awards: 2022 AWA Sales Process, 2022 Kain Shark Tank Award, 2023 AWA Digital Voice Assistant, 2023 Cherokee Media Group Emerging 8 Award

STELLA provides car dealerships with an AI-empowered digital voice assistant who can answer service calls, answer questions and book, change or cancel appointments.

Vice President of Marketing and Industry Relations

Optima Health

- Increased B2B and B2C marketing performance by redesigning email marketing, video production, PR strategy and reporting functions
- Achieved double digit membership growth in Medicare and Individual Family plans by partnering with the Product & Sales teams and developing attention-getting multimedia marketing strategies
- Increased executive media exposure by implementing a content and PR strategy 
- Saved money by partnering with internal teams to update website SEO content, renew brand assets and create a web-based style guide for consistent brand management.

Director of Customer Development and Marketing

Dominion Dealer Solutions

- Built, developed and led go-to-market product marketing strategies and budgets for all product lines 
- Achieved $14 million in revenue in 2018 from OEM-related business development campaigns through a well-managed team of OEM sales and customer support professionals
- Earned over 45 product excellence awards through a multi-year product marketing and PR strategy 
- Awarded “Best Booth of NADA” at National Automobile Dealer Association Annual Convention, 2018

Vice President of Marketing & Industry Relations

- Developed an OEM business development program, partnering with GM, Nissan, Mazda, Toyota, Jaguar, BMW, MBUSA, Honda and Hyundai, and increasing revenues by 400% for targeted products in 1st year                                                            
- Streamlined marcom operation and grew lead generation by establishing key performance indicator (KPI) measurement and agile marketing processes
- Aligned multiple brands into a single brand architecture by implementing brand and content development initiatives
- Saved operational costs, developed existing talent and advanced brand awareness by combining marketing teams from numerous acquired businesses into a single collaborative team

Director of Strategic Marketing

The Employment Guide, division of Dominion Enterprises

• Secured contracts from 100+ corporate customers resulting in $14 million in annual revenue, built a sales team, and created a sales process for handling national accounts within organization.
• Created a national re-branding campaign achieving a targeted 200% ROI, increased earned media coverage in national and local media, managed a national television campaign, increased conversions of all digital marketing, email and SEO/SEM campaigns for both job seekers and employers, and executed over 30 industry events annually.
• Wrote and sold advertising in a series of jobseeker publications starting with the Job Seeker Survival Guide, a 64-page handbook for jobseekers distributed at our division job fairs.   Subsequent versions included the Recruitment Manager Survival Guide, Spanish-language version of the Job Seeker Survival Guide, Mature Worker Survival Guide, and the Veterans Survival Guide.  
• Developed business partnerships with national associations, including the Society for Human Resource Management, AARP, National Restaurant Association, American Resort Development Association, American Hotel and Lodging Association, and National Retail Federation, resulting in over $650,000 in annual revenue and a named scholarship program for the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Director of Corporate Partnerships & Marketing

The Employment Guide

Developed Key Account Program and created a team to identify, negotiate and close national accounts for both print and digital assets.

Corporate Account Manager

Developed a team to support business's recruitment advertising needs across multiple cities, states and formats - print and digital.

National Sales Manager

Opened a new industry vertical by launching an award-winning vertical recruitment website for the healthcare industry

Product Manager, HealthCareerWeb

Lockwood Broadcast Group

Regional Sales

nVIEW Corporation

Sales Support Manager

I am a growth-minded, strategic marketing executive capable of driving profitable growth for both established and start-up SaaS businesses. I combine strategic leadership with tactical, hands-on execution to achieve revenue goals and deliver brand excellence. Experienced in building high-performing teams, I have led successful business development initiatives, brand introductions and multimedia lead generation campaigns in automotive, healthcare and publishing. Passionate about creating scalable processes, I drive performance through the effective use of marcomm technology. By engaging key stakeholders and influencers, I am able to solve important business challenges.

Select Results:
TRAIL-BLAZING MARKET LAUNCH: Delivered a national launch for an AIaaS start-up in 90 days resulting in record-breaking first-year revenue at STELLA Automotive, by introducing the first multi-layered intelligent conversational AI with cognitive reasoning into the retail automotive industry.

BRAND TRANSFORMATION: Drove revenue growth by transforming the marketing and communications for the Dominion Dealer Solutions suite of products. Scaled digital marketing, event management and thought leadership which improved brand value and revenue. Transformed multiple brands into a dynamic, multi-product industry leader. Built a diverse, digital-centric team, supporting four sales teams and 10,000 automotive retail customers. 

PEOPLE-CENTRIC LEADER: 20+ years of sales and marketing leadership and operating expertise, building national sales and marketing teams. At Dominion Enterprises, created and expanded key account and OEM teams to sell and support national brands across multiple product lines.

Jennifer (Blount) Sanford

Better Vantage Point | Tuck The Octopusˢᵐ

🚨 Your dealership is at risk every day.

That risk? It can cost you thousands—or hundreds of thousands. That’s why I do what I do:

🛡️ We Get You Out of Trouble... and Keep You Out of Trouble.ˢᵐ

It all comes down to three mission-critical areas:

🔹 Compliance – Implement policies and procedures that align with state and federal regulations. Then train, track, and audit to ensure they’re followed.
📊 “You manage what you monitor.”

🔹 Risk – Identify vulnerabilities across your dealership that can lead to lawsuits, penalties, or brand damage.

🔹 Disputes – Handle customer complaints, employee issues, and deceptive advertising claims before they become court dates.

These are the pillars of a strong Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) program—designed not just to protect your store, but to protect you.

🔧 What We Deliver:
✔️ Establish Compliance Management Systems (CMS)
✔️ Deliver Training Based on Industry Best Practices
✔️ Monitor Online Reviews + Create Strategic Responses
✔️ Audit Websites & Ads for Compliance
✔️ Improve Operational Flow + Reduce Personal Liability
✔️ Resolve Customer Complaints + Lawsuits Swiftly
✔️ Examine Deal Jackets for Risky Practices
✔️ Install Custom Risk Mitigation Protocols
✔️ Create/Update Employee Handbooks

🧑‍⚖️ I also provide Expert Witness Testimony for legal matters involving dealers.

💬 What Others Are Saying:

“I appreciate someone on my side. Everyone else is always reaching into my pocket.”
“You clearly bring value.”
“Tom has taught me that this business is not about how much money we make. What’s more important is how much we keep. C.Y.A.!”
“This was a great result. Your knowledge and experience made the difference.”

🐙 Thanks for seeing things from a Better Vantage Point.
Navigating Risk. Solving Problems.ˢᵐ

#DealershipCompliance #RiskMitigation #ExpertWitness #TuckTheOctopus #BetterVantagePoint #AutomotiveIndustry #DealershipOperations #CYA #GRC #Leadership

Lead Consultant & Founder 🐙

⚙️ Automating Compliance with Intelligence and Intention 🧠

Most dealers are reactive when it comes to compliance—waiting for a regulator, a lawsuit, or a customer to raise their hand before doing anything about it. That’s expensive. And risky.

I take a different approach.

📊 I use governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software to help dealers automate, track, and document the right activities—so you’re not relying on sticky notes, scattered spreadsheets, or wishful thinking.

✅ Training? Tracked.
✅ Policies? Verified.
✅ Audits? Logged.
✅ Acknowledgements? Archived.

It’s all about building a cohesive and repeatable process that protects your store and your people—at scale.

We bring governance, risk, and compliance to life in a way that’s practical, powerful, and purpose-built for dealers who want to stay ahead.

🛡️ Proactivity > Reactivity.
🐙 Tuck The Octopus.ˢᵐ
📈 Keep the money you make—and stop the bleeding before it starts.

#ComplianceAutomation #DealershipOps #RiskMitigation #GRC #TuckTheOctopus #ProactiveLeadership #BetterVantagePoint #AutoRetail 🐙

Get Kraken On Compliance!ˢᵐ 🛠️ Put Compliance on Cruise Control

🐙 Tuck The Octopusˢᵐ
📘 A Better Vantage Point for Dealership Risk and Compliance
By Thomas P. Kline

Running a professional dealership today isn’t just complex—it’s complicated, perpetual, and pressure-packed.

Operations, compliance, lawsuits, customer disputes... it can feel like trying to tuck an octopus into bed while the tentacles keep flopping around.

That’s where Tuck The Octopus comes in. 🛡️

Used as a textbook at Northwood University, this book is your practical, real-world guide to building a compliant, risk-aware dealership—written for dealers, by someone who has lived it for 30+ years.

Inside, you'll find clear, actionable strategies to:

✔️ Start and scale a compliance program
✔️ Flag hidden risks before they cost you real money
✔️ Understand how the FTC, CFPB, and AGs actually work
✔️ Handle customer complaints before they hit court
✔️ Reduce your Total Cost of Risk (TCOR)
✔️ Protect your store from the inside out

Whether you're a dealer principal, GM, or compliance officer, this book will shift your perspective and give you the tools to navigate today’s legal and regulatory landscape with confidence.

📘 Topics include:

* Risk Mitigation & Governance

* Consumer Protection Rules

* F&I Menus & Prohibited Practices

* GLBA & Regulatory Oversight

* Online Reputation & Astroturfing

* Emotional Intelligence in Dealership Ops

* Compliance Monitoring & Insurance

🎯 Bottom line?

Tuck The Octopus is not theory. It’s the real-world blueprint to keep the money you make—and stay out of trouble doing it.

#TuckTheOctopus #RiskMitigation #DealershipCompliance #GRC #AutoIndustryLeadership #FandI #TotalCostOfRisk #ComplianceMatters #BetterVantagePoint # Compliance Monitoring #AutoRetail 🐙

“Tom’s experience and knowledge from the retail side will guide you not only
to be the most compliant operator, but also to do better business, sleep better
at night, protect your assets, and help you keep the money you make.”
BRAD MOWRY, Owner
AutoGiants

Published Author: Tuck The Octopusˢᵐ: A Better Vantage Point for Dealership Risk and Compliance

🧑‍⚖️ Expert Witness | Defending Dealers with Real-World Credibility

When regulators, lawyers, or plaintiffs come after a dealership, the stakes are high—and so is the pressure. I serve as an Expert Witness to bring clarity, credibility, and 30+ years of dealership operations experience to the courtroom or mediation table.

🎯 I don’t speak theory. I speak “dealer.”
✔️ I’ve run things.
✔️ I understand risk.
✔️ I know how the back office and front line really work.

Whether it’s advertising disputes, customer complaints, regulatory investigations, or F&I-related litigation—I help defend dealers with grounded insight that actually holds up under scrutiny.

Because sometimes, your best defense is someone who’s already been in your shoes.

Past clients include: Hendrick Automotive, Lithia Motors and Lindsay Automotive, to name a few.

#ExpertWitness #DealerDefense #AutoIndustry #RegulatoryRisk #FandI #DealershipLitigation #TuckTheOctopus #BetterVantagePoint 🐙

Expert Witness | Defending Dealers with Real-World Credibility

🎤 The Dealership Profit Protection Workshop Series
Real-world sessions designed to protect your store, your reputation, and your bottom line.

This isn’t theory. It’s tactical, battle-tested insight built from 30+ years in retail automotive. I created this workshop series to help dealers stop problems before they start, navigate growing regulatory pressure, and ultimately keep the money you make.

Each session is high-impact, straight-forward, and packed with tools your team can use immediately.

Topics include:
🛡️ Risk Mitigation
📋 Compliance & CMS
⚖️ Dispute Resolution
📉 Lawsuit & Reputation Defense
📲 Handling Digital Complaints
💼 Employee Handbooks & Training
🔐 GLBA, FTC, and more

Whether it’s keynote, breakout, or in-store training—the goal is the same:
Protect profits. Prevent problems. Deliver peace of mind.

📞 Let’s connect—I'll send you the full workshop lineup.

#DealerWorkshops #RiskMitigation #ComplianceMatters #AutoRetail #TuckTheOctopusˢᵐ #BetterVantagePoint #ProfitProtection 🐙

🎤 Speaker | Dealership Risk & Compliance | Protecting Profits & Keeping You Out of Trouble

🎥 Watch this before trouble finds you.

On my YouTube channel, I break down real-world dealership risks, compliance pitfalls, and how to stop problems before they cost you serious money. It’s straight talk for people who want to protect their store, their team, and their bottom line.

🐙 Tuck The Octopusˢᵐ content. Better Vantage Point insight. Always dealer-focused.

▶️ http://youtube.com/@BetterVantagePoint – Subscribe and stay ahead.

YouTube 🐙 Tuck The Octopusˢᵐ in Action: Real Talk on Risk, Compliance & C.Y.A.

🐙 Managing and owning a dealership can feel like trying to tuck an octopus into bed at night while the tentacles keep flopping out! 🐙

✅ Everyone agrees an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, (or a pound of money! 💵) yet often their medicine cabinet is empty.  

Now, there’s a solution 🏆, which you’re going to love ❤️, The Octopus Club, an easily deployable compliance and risk program your dealership can start today! 

Arm yourself 💪 (octopus humor) by getting to know The Octopus Club. 🏁

Get Kraken On Compliance! (Get it?) 🚀

Ink positively (that’s funny, right?) and put your compliance worries to bed 🛏️, once and for all! 🌈 You’ll be glad you did! ☀️

Chief Octopus Wrangler 

AlwaysDoBetter.com 

🚨 Catch & Cure Negative Reviews Before They Go Live 💥
Because if it hits the internet, it’s already too late.

🎯 Risk mitigation means stopping problems before they start. That’s exactly what we’re doing at AlwaysDoBetter.com.

✅ Give employees and customers a place to vent offline
✅ Use QR codes and branded signage throughout the dealership
✅ Route issues to a private landing page
✅ Get notified and respond—fast
✅ All for just $129/month

📲 The result?
Fewer public complaints.
Fewer bad reviews.
And fewer lawyers and regulators sniffing around.

💡 Want a smarter, quieter way to handle problems before they go viral?
Visit 👉 AlwaysDoBetter.com/HowWeHelp

🐙 Thanks for seeing things from a Better Vantage Point.

#ReputationManagement #RiskMitigation #CustomerExperience #DealershipOps #BetterVantagePoint #AlwaysDoBetter #TuckTheOctopus #ProactiveNotReactive #AutoIndustry 🛠️📉

Lead Consultant & Founder

RV Dealers Association

RVDA Endorses Better Vantage Point, LLC Program to Help Dealers Manage Risk

(Fairfax, VA) -- RVDA members can now take advantage of a new program to help them manage many types of business risks. RVDA has endorsed the Safeguard Your Dealership program, available through Better Vantage Point, to provide risk management and compliance assistance to dealers.

The Better Vantage Point consultant services available include auditing trade practices, assistance in resolving consumer and business disputes, regulatory agency notice response, and employee human resources practices -- including the development of employee handbooks and department operations guides. The service can also include department audits and Zoom training for employees.

“The Safeguard Your Dealership program gives RVDA members access to an experienced risk management consultant who can take problems off the dealer’s desk and work to get them resolved,” said RVDA President Phil Ingrassia. “The program can also help dealers avoid problems before they occur and wind up in costly litigation.”

“We can fill in gaps for dealers who may not have this type of expertise on staff,” said Better Vantage Point’s Tom Kline. “I look forward to working with RV dealers to help prevent and resolve issues so they can focus their valuable time more productively on core dealership operations.”

Better Vantage Point services are priced and available either on-demand or by retainer. Better Vantage Point offers RVDA members a complimentary one-hour analysis of dealership areas of concern.

RVDA-endorsed products and services help dealers manage their businesses better by providing access to reliable products and services. The RVDA Board of Directors approved the endorsement upon the recommendation of the RV Assistance Corporation (RVAC).

Endorsed Expert

Dealer Marketing Magazine

Dealer Expert Panel 

Virginia Independent Automobile Dealers Association

Endorsed Expert 

CIADA

RK Auto Group

👨‍💼 Owner | Risk Strategist | Compliance Architect

I wore all the hats—and made sure none of them caught fire. Here's what that looked like:

💰 Negotiated 14 insurance policies—not just premiums, but the fine print too. Every word mattered. Every clause was intentional.

📜 Led full compliance efforts across the dealership, handling everything regulatory—state, federal, and everything in between.

🌐 Built and managed a complaint & internet response system that monitored and resolved customer feedback and online posts—before they became bigger problems.

🛠️ Implemented dealership-wide policies & procedures and trained employees so they actually understood and followed them.

📘 Created a custom compliance guidebook loaded with practical, employee-facing forms to drive risk reduction and reinforce a culture of “extreme compliance” to impact profit positively. 

🎯 Developed interactive, ongoing compliance activities that kept employees engaged, informed, and—yes—occasionally having fun while doing it.

This wasn't just about checking boxes. It was about building a smarter, stronger operation from the inside out.

#ComplianceLeadership #DealershipOperations #RiskMitigation #RegulatoryCompliance #BetterVantagePoint #CYA #AutomotiveLeadership #TuckTheOctopus 🐙 #ExtremeCompliance #OperationsWithTeeth

Owner | Chief Legal Officer | Chief Compliance Officer | Risk Manager | Controller

Tom Kline isn’t just a third-generation “car guy”—he’s the guy dealers call when things go sideways.
With over 35 years of in-the-trenches dealership experience, Tom is the Founder and Lead Consultant of 
Better Vantage Point, LLC, a specialized risk and compliance firm that helps dealers protect their profits, 
reputations, and personal assets. Whether it's a regulatory nightmare, a customer dispute, or a class-action brewing under the surface, Tom delivers proactive, plainspoken strategies that solve problems before they erupt. His expertise has been sought after by some of the industry’s most recognizable names—including Lithia and Rick Hendrick Automotive—as an expert witness in high-stakes litigation. He’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Automotive News, and dozens of industry media outlets, and his book, Tuck The Octopus: A Better Vantage Point for Dealership Risk and Compliance, is not only reshaping how dealers think—it’s now used as a textbook at Northwood University. Tom works with both private and publicly held dealerships nationwide. He’s a trusted speaker for 20 Groups, national conferences, and OEM programs, and is a frequent podcast guest for leaders who want to learn how to stay out of trouble—and keep it that way.


“Tom’s experience and knowledge from the retail side will guide you not only
to be the most compliant operator, but also to do better business, sleep better
at night, protect your assets, and help you keep the money you make.”
BRAD MOWRY, Owner
AutoGiants

“Up until I met Tom Kline, I would triage every situation into three categories; the right way, the wrong way, and the way we had always done it. This was time consuming and I still may not have selected the best option. Thanks to Tom’s risk mitigation perspective we only select the proper choice to ensure we are protected, and we have valuable peace of mind with all of our insurance demands. Tom’s ongoing training and relevant advice have both proven to keep us on the best path to guarantee our doors remain open.”
RYAN SODIKOFF, General Manager & President
Steven Automotive

“I’ve worked with Tom Kline on compliance issues for quite some time. As a former car dealer, he brings a refreshing perspective to the rules we must follow in our business. In addition, he has a wealth of knowledge in risk management and brings that talent to the table.”
MIKE UFFNER, President
AutoTeam Delaware

Kline has developed easy-to-use compliance solutions that demonstrate on-going efforts by dealerships to effectively comply with federal, state and local industry regulations.

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The Battle

Jennifer (Blount) Sanford

Tom Kline ☎🐙

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