South Carolina dealership puts loyalty at the forefront with customers and employees

Located in the northwestern part of South Carolina, just outside of Greenville, Foothills Motorsports has been operating in the Upcountry since 1972, but took new ownership 23 years ago. How that new ownership came about was a little bit of a happenstance.

Back in 2002, Foothills’ current owner, Steve Crowe, wasn’t in the powersports business. The former star basketball player at Presbyterian College in nearby Clinton, South Carolina, owned a Swagelok valve sales and service center.

Meanwhile, the previous owners of Foothills were getting out of the powersports business and looking to sell the dealership. On the other hand, Crowe’s son Eric — who is currently the sales manager at Foothills — was just getting into motocross, and he and his dad went to the dealership looking to buy a bike. What happened after that … well, let’s say Steve came out with a little more than a motocross bike.

“Eric was getting into motocross, and one thing led to another, and Steve ended up buying the business,” recalls Jamie Willis, general manager of Foothills. “You know what they say, if you’re getting into racing, you better love it and you better live it.” Now a proud owner of a powersports dealership — a truly unique experience for Steve — his first order of business was to hire someone in the industry. Willis, who at the time worked as a sales associate for a competing dealership across town, was offered the general manager position.

“Steve was looking to expand the business. The old owners were enthusiasts but weren’t trying to grow the dealership, and I gladly took the opportunity,” Willis says.

Soon after Willis was aboard, Crowe wasted little time with his expansion and quickly relocated the dealership to its current location, which features 25,000 square feet of showroom space, with an additional 7,000 square feet for parts and services.

Now, 23 years later, Foothills is a full-service, multi-line powersports business. Its current inventory includes more than 500 motorcycles, dirt bikes, PWCs ATVs and side-by-sides, and features top brands such as CanAm, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Alta, Sea-Doo, Polaris, Husqvarna, and more.

Located in Piedmont, South Carolina, Foothills is near the Saluda River and surrounded by diverse waterways and off-road trails. Willis says that access to various environments allows the dealership to sell a variety of vehicles.

Inventory and sales

Overall, inventory has been moving steadily as of late. This year, Willis says he’s been seeing a slight uptick in the on-road and side-by-side segments. And while ATV sales have been slightly down, personal watercraft sales have remained flush.

Willis gives partial credit to OEMs such as BRP and Polaris for their aggressive promotions to help inventory move along at a good pace. Both Polaris and BRP have been leaning into finance incentives this spring to get ahead of the selling season. But despite the dealership plugging away on major unit sales, Willis admits sales have come back to pre−2020 levels.

“Let’s face it, this isn’t Covid times. There was a panic-purchase atmosphere during the pandemic, and demand was at an all-time high. Now is more the norm,” he says. “Right now, we’re sitting on around a three- to six-month supply of most products. Inventory is not an issue, but OEMs are still trying to adjust to the new, post-Covid demand.”

And as the powersports business has been in a minor slump over the last couple of years, Willis says Foothills is still in a good financial state.

“It’s not doom and gloom over here. We aren’t cutting off the lights anytime soon,” he says.

“And that’s a great testament to Foothills and our very friendly atmosphere. We have 23 employees, and very little turnover. We have a lot of repeat business, and our family atmosphere and win-win attitude is what sets us apart.”

F&I and tech

Other than major unit sales, Foothills says it has relied on its finance and insurance services to help keep business in the black. The dealership aims to capitalize on the complete customer ownership experience.

To retain repeat business, Foothills focuses on not just the sale of the unit, but prepaid maintenance and protection packages that focus on the lifecycle of the customer. Outside of financing, customers can also add parts and accessories, an extended service plan, and everything else you need to complete the full-ownership experience.

“Between the financing and protection service, customers are typically leaving here with a plan,” says Harrison Herron, finance manager.

“We try to make the purchases a super smooth, transparent, and simple process where customers don’t feel the burden like they do when buying a car.”

Herron says the dealership recently implemented a software platform, Revvable, to help the purchasing process be more efficient and elevate customer experience.

He explains how the entire Foothills team uses technology to help the customer throughout the buying process. The sales team utilizes prequalification tools via QR codes on the back of their business cards so customers can quickly access secure digital credit applications. Technicians, each armed with their laptop, can communicate both throughout the dealership and outside it with different manufacturers.

“We are just following the tech curve, and it’s been a huge help,” Herron adds.

Marketing and community

On the marketing side of things, Foothills primarily uses social media to promote new products and special offers. The dealership currently has more than 8,000 followers between its Facebook and Instagram pages, and the sales team posts walk-through videos on YouTube to showcase inventory, with its 115 videos having garnered more than 225,000 views.

“We try to utilize our following on social media to cast the widest net possible,” Herron says. “We really pride ourselves on follow-up calls and encourage engagement for customer reviews.”

Foothills also takes pride in its community outreach throughout Anderson County. It has donated units to local schools and collaborates with Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, holding events and organizing rides. The dealership also works closely with Anderson Area YMCA, an organization Willis says played a huge role in the owner Steve Crowe’s life growing up, and “was a great mentor to (Steve), and is something that is still near and dear to his heart.”

Foothills also works closely with Inspire Abilities of Anderson County, a local nonprofit that provides a support system for Above: Foothills Motorsports is a full-service, multi-line powersports business based in South Carolina. Below: Foothills carries a massive inventory of over 500 new and pre-owned vehicles that includes everything from Can-Am and Kawasaki, to Polaris and Suzuki. those with a diagnosis of intellectual disability, related disability, autism spectrum disorder, and head and or spinal cord injuries. The dealership employs one of Inspire Abilities’ clients. “She puts a smile on the face of everyone who walks through the door,” Willis says.

As for what’s next for Foothills Motorsports, Willis says, at the moment, he and his team have hit a sweet spot and are remaining focused on the dealership’s day-to-day but will remain business savvy.

“We’re pretty comfortable where we are. (That might change) if an opportunity arrives for us to remain competitive, but we feel we’re pretty in tune right now — just trying to be as proactive as possible and not reactive,” Willis says.