How One Woman Turned Necessity Into a Mission

Cindy Parrish
Dealer Success Manager
OttoMotto and DealFi

Cindy Parish never intended to work in automotive. She didn't grow up around dealerships or have family connections in the industry. She walked into a Ford dealership BDC needing a paycheck after a divorce, with no idea what she was getting herself into. They called it "customer service." On her first day of training, she sat next to another team member with her mouth hanging open, thinking, "OK, I can do this."

That moment changed everything.

"I completely fell in love with the automotive world," Cindy recalls. "And thought to myself, Gee, if I had found this when I was 18, where could I have gone and how many other women could I have helped in the industry?"

Today, at 58, Cindy serves as a Dealer Success Manager for OttoMoto and DealFi, working primarily with independent dealers in the fintech space. But her journey to this role wasn't a straight line. It was marked by challenges that would have driven many people away from automotive entirely, harassment, cancer, and the everyday obstacles that women face in male-dominated industries. Instead, each setback deepened her commitment to staying and helping other women do the same.

Why BDC Matters: The Frontline of Sales

When Cindy talks about her BDC experience, her passion becomes unmistakable. She bristles at the term "customer service" and offers a correction: "To me, a BDC should be called frontline sales because the BDC is the frontline."

It's more than semantics. The BDC team answers the phones, handles internet leads, and determines how they can help customers. They're making quick decisions about whether a dealership can serve someone's needs. This role requires sophisticated sales skills.

"You've really got to concentrate on just moving their life forward in a vehicle that's going to serve them, that's affordable for their family." Transportation isn't a luxury, it's essential for work, school, healthcare, and community participation.

For women considering automotive careers, BDC offers a critical entry point. It builds customer service skills, product knowledge, sales acumen, and dealership operations understanding, all without the same pressure of the showroom floor.

The Obstacles We Don't Talk About Enough

Not long into her automotive career, Cindy faced a situation that makes her story particularly important to tell. A male salesperson physically and sexually touched her without permission. When she reported it, he admitted to the behavior and was fired. But what happened next hurt almost as much as the violation itself.

The other women in the dealership didn't support her. He was handsome, he was their best salesperson, and their response was essentially: "What's your problem? You couldn't handle it?"

Later, some of those same women admitted he'd done it to them too. "If you had spoken up," Cindy told them, "then it would have never happened to me."

She didn't press charges, his wife was in the hospital pregnant and having complications. She focused instead on finding a different dealership where she'd be safe and valued. But the experience taught her something critical about the work that still needs to be done in automotive.

"Don't give up, don't let these things stop you," she now tells the women she mentors. "Because we can't change it if you leave."

That's the tension women in automotive face: staying in an industry that sometimes fails to protect them because leaving means nothing changes for the next woman. Cindy stayed. She found better organizations, including a seven-year stint with Carter Myer Automotive, where she learned from Liza Borches, a female leader who genuinely cared about mentoring her employees.

"To have a woman role model that cares as much as she does about people solidified that this is the industry that I want to be in," Cindy says.

When Life Forces You to Slow Down

At 57, while working as a BDC Manager at Richmond BMW starting up a new department, Cindy was diagnosed with breast cancer. It wasn't entirely unexpected—her mother had it twice, an aunt had it, she knew she carried the gene. But it hit twenty years earlier than she'd anticipated.

What followed was a whirlwind of appointments, treatments, and the profound exhaustion that comes with chemotherapy. For someone who identifies as "high energy," the loss of stamina was devastating. But the experience also deepened her faith and gave her clarity about what mattered.

During those months on the couch, Cindy had long conversations with God. She wrote a children's book to help her grandchildren understand what was happening to grandma, a story about hope, kindness, and faith called "How Grandma Taught Us to Be Brave." She followed it with books about the Holy Spirit and the Beatitudes, both written for children ages 4-8.

"I really feel like God laid on me to write more children's books," she explains. The experience also led her to Sunday school teaching and opened doors to work from home with OttoMoto and DealFi—a healthier pace than the intense drama and stress of dealership life.

Today, she's in remission. Her hair has grown back curly where it used to be straight. And she's found a new mission: reaching children with messages of faith before trauma teaches them they're not enough.

The Work of Mentorship: Practical Problem-Solving

Cindy's approach to mentorship isn't about vague inspiration, it's about practical support and understanding the whole person.

She remembers managing a BDC where several employees seemed to be struggling. Instead of assuming they lacked skills, she asked each person to write her a letter explaining what would make their lives simpler.

One employee wrote about leaving work at 5:00, getting stuck in traffic, picking up her three-year-old, and not getting home until 7:00. Making dinner felt impossible. Cindy adjusted her schedule. The employee's production immediately improved, not because she suddenly became more capable, but because she wasn't drowning in stress.

"As a leader and a manager, we really have to look at how we can make someone's life better, not just at work."

This flexibility is especially important for women balancing family responsibilities with career ambitions. These aren't just nice-to-haves, they are what allow talented women to bring their best selves to work.

Cindy also addresses confidence directly. "You are enough," she tells the women she mentors. "That's the biggest thing I've seen, people don't think they're worthy."

Technology, Training, and What's Next

From her current role with OttoMoto and DealFi, Cindy sees the importance of women staying current with technology. AI isn't optional anymore. Women who want to advance need to self-train and stay ahead of these changes.

She also advocates for what dealerships need most: consistent training and accountability from leadership. Too often, good training initiatives fail because leaders don't maintain commitment.

"It's got to come from the top down," Cindy insists. "If the top is not 100% in, then it doesn't work."

As for what's next in her own journey, Cindy is following where faith leads. She's researching how to create Christian video games for children and considering mission trips. "He told me to write these children's books. I didn't know how to write a book," she says with a laugh. "Within a week I knew how to write a book."

The Message for Women Entering Automotive

The automotive industry needs more women like Cindy; women who speak up when something's wrong, prioritize mentorship, understand that flexibility matters, and refuse to give up when obstacles appear.

It also needs women willing to "take their crown off and put it on another woman," as Cindy describes it. That mindset shift, from competition to collaboration, is what creates lasting change.

For women considering automotive careers, particularly those starting over, BDC roles offer a genuine entry point. The skills translate across the industry. The passion can sustain a decades-long career. And the relationships you form become the foundation for growth.

Cindy found her calling at 40 out of necessity. She stayed because she fell in love with the work. She thrived because she found organizations that valued her. And now she's ensuring the next generation doesn't have to figure it all out alone.

Your automotive career might start out of necessity, curiosity, or circumstance. Where it goes depends on your willingness to stay, learn, and lift others as you climb. And remember there are women here to mentor and guide you every step of the way. Learn more now.

About Cindy Parish
Cindy Parish is a Dealer Success Manager at OttoMoto & DealFi, where she works primarily with independent dealers. With extensive BDC and dealership management experience spanning over 15 years, including seven years with Carter Myers Automotive, Cindy is passionate about mentoring women in automotive. A breast cancer survivor, published children's book author, and Sunday school teacher, she brings her whole self to her work, including her faith and commitment to helping others find their worth and calling.

Keywords: Women In Automotive, careers, automotive careers for women, BDC careers, dealer success, automotive mentorship, women in leadership