Inspiring Conversations with Edward LeGrand-Sawyer of Players Club Cars

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edward LeGrand-Sawyer.

Hi Edward, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Did you know that less than 25% of car dealership General Managers or Finance Managers have a Bachelor’s degree? I have a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management & Entrepreneurship from Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, which included four years of Finance classes. I’m a former Internet Sales Manager with Mercedes-Benz of San Jose and Classic Cadillac of Atlanta. I also was an Aftermarket Sales Manager with Cadillac.

I currently operate Players Club Cars and admin ten of our Facebook groups with over 30,000 members combined. As a salesperson I’ve always had an unique “Z to A” approach to selling cars that actually made me very successful, which I’ll explain more in detail.

The more I worked at car dealerships, the more I saw certain areas in the daily workflow that could improve the customer experience and increase revenue for the store. What I’ve developed today is the framework to generate income more efficiently by focusing on brokerage, consignment, specialty parts & services, and on-site electric vehicle charging instead of holding a lot full of inventory while likely paying on a high interest floor credit line.

I’ve created a working model for “smart dealerships” to better capture both the current traditional gas powered vehicle market and the growing electric vehicle market at the same time.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Abandoned carts are a huge issue for us. There was $30 million in abandoned cart revenue in 2024. I’ve watched most of the visitor sessions on Full Story, and it seems that buyers are slowly but surely becoming familiar with our brand. There was $0 spent in 2024 on Google or Facebook ads. This was all organic SEO traffic from blogging and social media.

Since there’s no paid advertising, it’s pretty difficult to compete with companies that have been established for decades when generating traffic online. These sites are generating tens of thousands of visitors monthly, while we may have a maximum of 5,000 visitors a month if a blog or social media post gains traction. However, it’s also good to see that automotive aftermarket services are still in demand when it comes to the activity of other custom shops. It shows that forged wheels, carbon ceramic brakes, and car wraps are being sold daily nationwide and we try our best to reach those customers.

As you know, we’re big fans of Players Club Cars. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We’re a 501c3 non-profit company that improves distressed, vacant automotive properties by adding solar-powered EV charging stations to offer charging as a service, offering new and used cars for sale through brokerage and consignment, and also offering parts and services. This means that our network of locations is open to all electric vehicles and gas-powered vehicles, instead of just one brand.

Through leveraging AI, our objective is to be a “smart automotive” service provider that offers a more enjoyable user experience and a more efficient backend workflow than traditional car dealerships and marketplaces.

Our website eliminates all of the pop-ups and unnecessary information standing in the way of you making a deal. Try going on a car dealership website, and you’ll find that the design is made for customers to accidentally click on pop-ups instead of making it easier to find the information they need. It’s really the same unpleasant scenario that a lot of car enthusiasts experience when shopping in person, now just replicated online.

Just try a few of your local dealership websites when searching for a vehicle or even try a car parts site, and then try finding carbon ceramic brakes on our site. It only takes a couple of clicks, and there are no pop-ups when shopping on Players Club Cars.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My strongest advice for both finding a mentor and effective networking is to first define your niche and your value proposition with absolute clarity. You can’t network effectively if you don’t know exactly what you bring to the table.

For us, success is built on seven core competitive pillars—these are the specialized services we offer that distinguish us in the market:

•Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: EV charging stations, sales, and leasing.
•Exotic Vehicle Upgrades: Importing unique Chinese EVs, high-performance carbon ceramic brakes, forged carbon fiber wheels, carbon fiber body kits, and custom car wraps/PPF.

Once you have your core pillars defined, your networking becomes a mission to find direct end-users or key connectors who immediately benefit from those specific services, whether that’s B2C or B2B.

Finally, you must be relentlessly present and participatory in your industry’s space. Show up. Fully immerse yourself in the online and in-person events where your target niche gathers. Worthwhile connections and powerful mentorships will naturally follow your commitment to being both specialized and visible.

Pricing:

• Players Club Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Level 3 DC Fast Chargers starting at $50,000 (installed)
• Players Club Carbon Ceramic Brake Rotors & Pads: Starting at $9,000 (shipped)
• Players Club Forged Wheels: Starting at $4,000 (shipped)
• Players Club Custom Vinyl Car Wraps: Starting at $1,200 (shipped)
• Players Club Custom Leather Floor Mats: Starting at $800 (shipped)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://playersclubcars.com
• Instagram: @playersclubcars
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playersclubcars
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-legrand-sawyer/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@playersclubcars
• Other: https://share.google/7ovyOaDeoCHwHa3k2