Derrick Cleveland

Professional Summary

Automotive revenue and customer growth leader with experience across dealership sales, BDC and internet operations, B2B account development, customer experience, and team leadership. Combines hands-on dealer expertise with consultative selling, CRM/DMS workflows, pipeline discipline, customer retention, and sales enablement. Led digital operations supporting 2,500+ monthly leads in a high-volume Ford environment, improving customer retention approximately 16%, reducing churn approximately 10%, increasing appointment set-to-show performance approximately 18%, and cutting lead response time approximately 40%. Brings dealer-side credibility to translate operational pain points and technology workflows into measurable revenue, adoption, and customer outcomes.

Dealer Technology & Revenue Operations

Professional Experience

Sales Associate | AutoNation Ford South Fort Worth

Fort Worth, TX | April 2026 - July 2026

• Owned the end-to-end retail sales cycle from lead engagement and consultative discovery through vehicle selection, negotiation, F&I handoff, delivery, and post-sale follow-up.
• Managed a high-volume opportunity pipeline in CDK Global and Elead CRM, maintaining accurate stages, activity history, next steps, and disciplined phone, text, and email follow-up to advance opportunities toward close.
• Used discovery and product expertise to uncover purchase criteria, navigate objections, and align vehicle options to customer needs; partnered with Sales Management and Finance to remove transaction barriers and maintain deal momentum.

Internet Sales Director | Covert Ford of Hutto

Hutto, TX | August 2024 - April 2025

• Directed digital sales and CRM operations across VinSolutions, CarNow, Gubagoo, and CoVideo, supporting 2,500+ monthly leads and a high-volume dealership operation handling 700+ monthly vehicle transactions.
• Improved customer retention approximately 16% and reduced churn approximately 10% by strengthening follow-up cadences, proactive engagement, and lifecycle communication across the buying journey.
• Reduced follow-up time approximately 25% through CRM workflow automation, task management, and lead-routing improvements, increasing speed and visibility across the opportunity pipeline.
• Coached a 4-person BDC and 25 sales professionals on CRM discipline, lead prioritization, objection handling, and customer engagement; partnered with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Service, OEM, and technology vendors to strengthen handoffs and execution.
• Evaluated CRM, DMS, digital retail, and customer-engagement platforms based on workflow fit, reporting, automation, adoption, data quality, and dealership business impact.

Inside Sales Executive | Technology Navigators

Austin, TX | November 2023 - May 2024

• Built B2B pipeline by identifying target accounts and decision-makers in ZoomInfo, executing outbound prospecting, and opening consultative discovery conversations with technology-hiring organizations.
• Led discovery around business needs, technical requirements, timelines, stakeholders, and decision criteria, then positioned recruiting and candidate-placement solutions around client priorities.
• Advanced opportunities through qualification, client engagement, and cross-functional delivery while maintaining account intelligence, activity history, opportunity status, and next steps in Bullhorn.

BDC Manager | Covert Ford of Hutto

Hutto, TX | July 2022 - August 2023

• Led a 4-person BDC managing 2,500+ monthly internet, OEM, and dealership leads in VinSolutions; set standards for lead routing, response time, appointment generation, follow-up, and CRM accountability.
• Increased appointment set-to-show performance approximately 18% and reduced lead response time approximately 40% through tighter speed-to-contact standards and structured phone, text, and email cadences.
• Built lead-management and appointment-setting playbooks and coached sales professionals on CRM hygiene, objection handling, follow-up strategy, and customer communication to reduce dropped opportunities and improve funnel visibility.
• Analyzed CRM and conversion data to identify funnel gaps, reprioritize follow-up, coach execution, and improve lead progression.
• Earned Ford Guest Satisfaction Top Performer recognition for the highest companywide NPS and CSAT in Q1 and Q2 2023.

General Manager | TYLER'S

Austin, TX | July 2021 - July 2022

• Owned store-level revenue, P&L performance, customer experience, staffing, inventory, operations, and commercial KPIs while leading day-to-day sales execution and team development.
• Drove annual revenue growth of approximately 80%, from $4M to $7.2M, through stronger sales execution, team development, merchandising, inventory decisions, and operational improvement.
• Improved team productivity more than 20% by strengthening workflows, training systems, performance expectations, and accountability while using sales, labor, inventory, and customer trends to guide revenue and margin decisions.

Assistant Manager | Cotton On Group

Austin, TX | July 2020 - July 2021

• Contributed to double-digit year-over-year revenue growth by coaching consultative selling and customer engagement while using performance KPIs to adjust staffing, merchandising, promotions, and floor execution.

Assistant Manager / Sales Associate | The Buckle, Inc.

Cedar Park, TX | July 2018 - July 2020

• Built repeat-client relationships through personalized outreach, consultative selling, cross-selling, upselling, and clienteling, contributing to year-over-year sales growth and stronger customer loyalty.

Customer Support Representative | Favor

Austin, TX | July 2014 - July 2018

• Delivered 95%+ CSAT while resolving high-volume customer and delivery-partner issues across email, SMS, and chat, owning cases through resolution and documenting customer context and escalations in Zendesk and Salesforce.
• Trained 50+ delivery partners on platform processes and service standards and improved delivery accuracy approximately 15% through stronger partner enablement, issue identification, and operational feedback.

Service Coordinator | Discount Tire

Keller, TX | July 2011 - July 2014

• Coordinated scheduling and service workflow for approximately 1,200 monthly appointments, reducing idle bay time approximately 15% through stronger capacity planning and workflow coordination.
• Served as a primary liaison between service teams and vehicle owners, setting expectations, communicating status, resolving concerns, and strengthening loyalty through transparent recommendations and consistent execution.

Education & Certifications

Bachelor of Science, Public Relations | The University of Texas at Austin

Certified ScrumMaster | Scrum Alliance

Customer Financial Services (CFS) Certification, Level I | AutoNation | Score: 149/150

Master resume synchronized with the downloadable PDF. Role-specific versions are used for targeted applications.