What It Takes: Jeffrey Batta
Jeffrey Batta opened Milford Nissan last summer. He also co-owns Marlborough Nissan. The Mansfield resident has been in the car business for all of his adult life. He paid his way through college working as a mechanic before landing a job with Datsun after graduation. After more than three decades, he still finds the car business exciting.
Jeffrey Batta, president and co-owner of Milford Nissan, has been into cars for most of his life. Batta, who has co-owned Marlborough Nissan since 1996, paid his way through college by working as a mechanic. At age 25, he oversaw distribution of 40,000 vehicles a year for Nissan in New England, a job that eventually led to him buying several dealerships of his own. In his personal time, he attends car shows, collects cars, and talks shop with his two sons, who are gearheads like their dad.
Now, the Mansfield resident is keeping busy with his new dealership, which opened last summer and has more than 30 employees.
How did you get into the car business?
In 1979, I had just graduated college and the job market was very tight. So I created a resume specifically geared to import auto manufacturers in North Jersey where I was. The only one that contacted me back was Datsun, which is Nissan Motor Corp USA, and I rushed down there with more enthusiasm than I've probably ever had in my life. Really, it was a dream come true at that point in my life. I'd worked so hard to get through school, and my father was sick and I was trying to help the family. I really feel like getting that job was kind of like a blessing.
This East Main Street location housed a former Toyota dealership, but has been vacant for about five years. Were you nervous at all that there was something about the location that wouldn't support the business here?
When [the previous dealership] was sold to Ira Motor group in 2002 or 2003, they did so well here that they literally outgrew the location. They are a publicly traded company and they wanted something much larger and they relocated around the corner. But there's always that shadow of doubt in your mind. Why didn't somebody pick up the property? It's really a single-purpose building, much like a restaurant. Nobody picked it up.
Nissan actually has not agreed that this is the location for the long haul as of yet because this is an open point. The first thing they want to do is get representation in the market and they will then determine if this is the best location to be in based on our performance. So it's up to me to prove to them that this is a viable spot.
What sort of timeline do you get to do that?
Five years. Now I've invested fairly heavily in the building. I think we came in just a little shy of $700,000. So obviously I'm committed pretty deep with that number.
They're always looking for areas where there's growth and they also looked at the fact that there's already a Toyota dealer in this market without facing Nissan competition so they felt this was a point or market where they needed representation. Similar to what CVS and Walgreens does, if CVS is on one corner, the other one is probably going to want to be in the market as well.
Could you describe the renovations you've done?
I think the building had not been touched since it opened in 1983. Being closed for five years, it had fallen into disrepair. We did everything from complete exterior re-landscaping cracked ceiling, exterior work, surfacing the lot, painting everything in sight; extensive electrical upgrades. We changed the fascia of the building dramatically to incorporate the Nissan entry element. We completely refurnished the shop with all new machines.
How have sales been so far?
We opened in August. The year for car sales is a bell curve. The best time of the year for selling cars is the May, June, July, August, September period. We got in at the end of the selling season. We've built it steadily from last year. We did 88 cars last month. I was pleased with that. Our goal is to get into the three-digit territory – over 100 consistently.
Cars have changed a lot since you started in the business. Do you have any ideas about what they will look like in 15 to 20 more years?
You're going to see more multiple energy source used and creative material like alloys to reduce weight and mass. The overall level of efficiency in cars is markedly better than it was even in the earlier part of this decade. Computers, alloys, and aerodynamics are moving the needle toward the most efficient and safe care we've ever had. Those are the things that continue to make it exciting for a guy who's done the same thing for 30 years with the same brand.
What have you found challenging about managing employees and what is your approach to doing so?
Whenever you put together a new organization, everybody came from a different path and everybody had different philosophies they learned from where they had worked. Transferring your processes and ideal to them can be a challenge. It's up to us to create a reputation. I think I put together a fantastic staff. I'm very involved in the business. I'm a big believe in lead-by-example.
This interview was conducted and edited for length by Matt Pilon.
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