The RTO Show: "Let's talk Rent to Own"

Hosted by Pete Shau

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Episodes

152

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

The RTO Show Podcast is the podcast for the rent-to-own industry, hosted by Pete Shau, an industry insider with more than 20 years of experience in RTO operations, sales, leadership, marketing, and store growth. Each episode brings candid conversations, practical insights, and real stories from the people shaping the RTO community, including operators, vendors, association leaders, store teams, industry veterans, and innovators helping move rent-to-own forward. Pete’s conversations are built for seasoned veterans, newcomers, owners, managers, vendors, and anyone who wants to learn from the shared experiences, hard-earned lessons, and fresh perspectives inside the rent-to-own industry. From lead generation, lead management, customer behavior, store traffic, door swings, sales process, collections, training, recruitment, and leadership development to technology, CRM integration, mobile-first shopping, Google ranking, Facebook ads, video marketing, advocacy, APRO, TRIB Group, RTO World, LegCon, and the future of the rent-to-own business model, The RTO Show helps listeners understand what is really happening in RTO. If you work in RTO, serve the RTO industry, or want to better understand the people, challenges, trends, and opportunities behind rent-to-own, The RTO Show Podcast is your insider’s guide to the industry’s pulse. Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 17, 2026Episode 151 hr 6 min

How To Make Your Grand Opening Pay Off Big!

Send us Fan Mail A grand opening can be the moment your store becomes “the new place in town” or the day you spend a lot of money and barely get noticed. We sit down with Vince, VP of franchising at RR Tire Express, to get practical about what actually moves the needle when you’re launching a new location: how to ramp faster, how to avoid a shaky first impression, and how to build trust with people who have never heard of your brand. We dig into the real purpose of a soft opening vs a grand opening, and why the win is not just installs or same-day revenue. Vince explains the metrics that matter, like how full your registration box gets, how your team performs under pressure, and whether you see a clear uplift week over week after the event. We also talk timing, including the sweet spot for scheduling, why certain hours work better than others, and how early you should start promoting without burning out your audience. Then we get tactical with a franchise grand opening marketing mix that fits real budgets: digital marketing ROI through PPC, Facebook, SEO, and geofencing, plus old-school flyering and business-to-business outreach that still outperforms when it’s done consistently. You’ll also hear how giveaways, food trucks, signage, and a simple customer flow help you “preach the program” and turn foot traffic into leads you can follow up with for months. If you’re opening a rent-to-own store, a tire and wheel store, or any new retail location, this is a field-tested playbook. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s about to launch, and leave a review with your best grand opening idea: what’s the one tactic you swear by? Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

August 10, 2026Episode 1459 min

What If Training Is Really About Trust

Send us Fan Mail Training sounds simple until you watch a new hire freeze the first time the phone rings or a customer brings a messy, real-life problem to the counter. Nick Robinson from RNR Tire Express joins me to get honest about what actually builds confident teams in rent-to-own: a people-first culture, patient repetition, and leaders who are willing to stay in the gap until someone is truly ready. We dig into what franchise training looks like from both angles, from my role as a franchise training specialist to Nick’s boots-on-the-ground operations approach and his work building vendor relationships. Along the way we talk about mentorship, why culture is the real engine of performance, and how “pour into people” becomes a practical training strategy, not just a nice phrase. If you care about customer service in RTO, onboarding new staff, or building a team that can handle pressure without turning into robots, this conversation is built for you. We also get tactical about tools that work: role play that mirrors real scenarios, slowing down the pace so people do not burn out, and running “proofs” so training is more than box-checking. We talk about why collections is really account management, why one-offs are guaranteed, and why it takes months, not days, to truly understand rent-to-own terms, processes, and judgment calls. We close by sharing failures we learned from, because those lessons often train better than any script. Subscribe, share this with a leader who trains others, and leave a review if it helps you build a stronger RTO team. What is the hardest part of training where you work? Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

August 3, 2026Episode 131 hr 1 min

AI Is Rewriting Rent-to-Own Marketing Now

Send us Fan Mail Google search is quietly turning into a no-click world, and rent-to-own marketing feels the impact first. When AI Overviews answer the question on the results page, fewer shoppers ever land on an RTO website, which means the old playbook of “rank and convert” stops working the way it used to. We sit down with Ryan Krass of WoW Brands to unpack what’s changing, why it changed so fast, and how rent-to-own dealers can stay visible when the buyer journey starts inside AI. We connect the dots between macroeconomics and consumer search behavior, including how gas price shocks and inflation reduce discretionary spend and push customers to trade down. That shift shows up in real keyword demand: cheap appliances, used washer and dryer, washer repair, furniture payment plans, same-day delivery, and other “do more with less” phrases. We also talk about buy now pay later growth and what it pulls away from traditional RTO, plus where VRTO and VLTO models may struggle when the pickup and refurbishment reality hits. Then we get practical: what it means to “feed the machine” with clean, structured data, accurate inventory, strong product pages, and clear availability. Ryan lays out his five pillars for AI visibility and local SEO: relevance, proximity, trust, clarity, and authority, with a blunt takeaway that reviews are the trust proxy AI uses to decide who gets recommended. Subscribe, share this with a dealer who needs it, and leave a rating and review so more operators can find the show. Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

July 27, 2026Episode 121 hr 1 min

Great Rent To Own Stores Are Built On Relationships

Send us Fan Mail Everyone offers “easy payments” now, so why do some rent-to-own stores keep growing while others stall out? I sat down with Phil Hamer from Buddy’s Home Furnishings to get real about RTO operations, from the habits that win on the showroom floor to the behind-the-scenes systems that protect collections, staffing, and customer retention. Phil walks through his 24-year journey from starting on the truck to leading corporate operations, and what he learned along the way about mentors, competitive drive, and developing people who can carry the business forward. We also break down how Gen Z shopping behavior is changing the game: fewer walk-ins, more online and phone orders, and a “subscription” mindset that makes lease-to-own a natural fit if we explain it clearly. That shift impacts everything from product flow to how we train teams to communicate with confidence. We go deep on recruiting, too, including why evergreen job ads can backfire, how to use tools like Indeed messaging as a two-way CRM, and how simple text reminders can cut interview ghosting. From there, we zoom out to customer acquisition: guerrilla marketing still works, handshake cards still matter, referrals can double a store’s reach, and community events build the kind of trust big-box payment programs can’t match. We close with a practical look at AI in rent-to-own, why reporting dashboards may be the best starting point, and where the human relationship still can’t be replaced. If you care about rent-to-own leadership, collections, sales training, marketing strategy, and the future of the RTO industry, hit subscribe, share this with a manager on your team, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

July 20, 2026Episode 111 hr 5 min

Verify First, Chase Less: How DataTrue Helps RTO Dealers Make Smarter Deals with Dan Jobrack

Send us Fan Mail One wrong address. One recycled phone number. One “upgrade” that turns into a first-payment disappearance. Those small details can snowball into charge-offs, truck rolls, and weeks of wasted collections effort. I sit down with Dan Jobrak from Data True to get practical about how rent-to-own operators can protect the business without slowing down the counter or treating every customer like a suspect. Dan walks us through what Data True actually does, why it was built as live data verification instead of a “garbage in, garbage out” database, and how front-end verification helps clean up information while the customer is still in the store. We talk about the loss patterns RTO teams see most often, including first-transaction defaults, reactivations after 60+ days, and those risky upgrade deals where the payment history looks good until it suddenly doesn’t. Then we shift to the back end: skip tracing tools like Pursue, newer options like SkipFind Plus for tracking old charge-off files, and Alert One as an early warning system that flags repeat shoppers moving across locations or even across cooperating companies. We also get into the shed rent-to-own market, why higher ticket sizes raise the stakes, and how instant criminal background checks can speed up hiring so you don’t lose great candidates to slower screening. Subscribe for more RTO operations and collections strategy, share this with another dealer, and leave a review if it helps. What’s the biggest risk point in your process right now? Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

July 13, 2026Episode 101 hr 3 min

You Know What to Do, So Why Aren't You Doing It? John Preston on Decision Paralysis

Send us Fan Mail Your brain is not broken, it’s overloaded. John Preston joins us to explain why so many entrepreneurs, GMs, and sales pros get stuck in a loop of planning, worrying, and second-guessing, even when they already know what to do next. He introduces “Clearing the Sleary,” his upcoming business narrative that turns modern overwhelm into a clear, usable framework. Sleary is an acronym for self-doubt, limiting beliefs, exhaustion, anxiety, regret, and ego, and the metaphor is unforgettable: a clogged sink cannot flow until you stop adding more gunk. We get practical about recognizing information overload while it’s happening, especially the kind that comes from doomscrolling, nonstop notifications, and trying to keep up with everything at once. John shares a simple litmus test based on what you can actually control, and why clarity systems beat willpower when you’re facing high-stakes business decisions. We also dig into why marketing feels paralyzing today, how avoiding a decision is still a decision, and why most owners underestimate the real dollar cost of spending their time on low-value tasks. Then we move into the habits that keep momentum going: daily planning as a “vitamin,” not a short-term “medicine,” the razor’s edge between confidence and paralysis, and how to “slay the egg before it becomes a dragon” by catching the inner voice before it spirals. We also talk about using AI tools like ChatGPT as a thought clarifier, plus three important caveats so it doesn’t push you into safer, slower choices by default. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a business owner who feels stuck, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

July 6, 2026Episode 953 min

Legacy Of Service: The History Behind the Kirk Kaye Volunteer Award

Send us Fan Mail Some people leave a résumé. Others leave a wake of better days behind them. That’s the kind of legacy we’re talking about with Cecilia Kay as she shares the story of her late husband, Kirk Kay, a rent-to-own leader remembered for putting people first long before it was a slogan. We trace Kirk’s path from First American Rental in Atlanta to opening Gator Rents in Daytona Beach, including what it really takes to jump from corporate operations into ownership. Cecilia explains how Kirk built a store from the ground up with a business plan, funding, renovations, branding, and a family-first approach that made customers feel like neighbors. Along the way, we dig into his leadership style: high expectations paired with real encouragement, mentorship, and the belief that relationships matter more than spreadsheets. Then we get to the heart of why FRDA honors him through the Kirk Kaye Volunteer Award. Cecilia shares what she learned after his sudden passing, the calls and stories that revealed how widely he was loved, and how she and her children now choose the award recipient each year based on character and the underlying spirit of service. We also talk about the roots of his giving, his commitment to Big Brothers Big Sisters, quiet acts of generosity, and the conviction that led him to mission trips to Haiti. If you care about the rent-to-own industry, customer relationships, community service, and the kind of leadership people actually remember, this conversation will stick with you. Subscribe, share the episode with someone who leads a team, and leave a review to help more people find these stories. Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

June 29, 2026Episode 81 hr 10 min

The Seven Principles That Make Sales Easier

Send us Fan Mail Most sales scripts fail for a boring reason: they assume people decide with patience, logic, and unlimited attention. They don’t. We talk with Patrick Van der burt, an ethical persuasion trainer based in Australia, about how real decisions get made and why so many prospects aren’t rejecting you they’re freezing in indecision. Patrick connects Daniel Kahneman’s System 1 vs System 2 thinking to what we see every day in marketing, rent-to-own (RTO) sales, retail, lending, and leadership. When we “help” by piling on details, we often create uncertainty and delay. The goal of ethical persuasion is to make a good decision easier to recognize without manipulating anyone, because trust is the asset that compounds. From there we get practical with Dr. Robert Cialdini’s seven universal principles of persuasion: reciprocity, liking, unity, social proof, authority, consistency, and scarcity. You’ll hear memorable examples you can use immediately, like why a gated “free” download is not a gift, how co-creation builds unity and buy-in, how to use social proof that matches the person in front of you, why a perfect 5.0 review score can feel suspicious, and how precise numbers can boost credibility. We also dig into scarcity and loss framing, plus a lightning round on the research that surprises even seasoned operators. If you want better conversions, stronger relationships, and fewer stalled deals, listen all the way through, then subscribe, share the episode with your team, and leave a review with one idea you’re going to test this week. What principle will you apply first? FREE Give-Away:Downloadable e-book (no email required, just download), and/or 7-day Influence Challenge: https://ethicalpersuasion.com.au/free-influence-persuasion/ Social Media and Podcast LinksWebsite: https://ethicalpersuasion.com.au/ Podcast ‘Ethical Persuasion Unlocked’ : https://ethicalpersuasion.com.au/podcast/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ethicalpersuasion Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-van-der-burght/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ethicalpersuasion/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethical_persuasion/ Twitter: https://x.com/yesmoreoften TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ethicalpersuasion Book: https://yesmoreoften.com/ Profile: https://patrickvanderburght.com Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

June 22, 2026Episode 71 hr 15 min

Jeff Smith: From Recovery To RTO Leadership

Send us Fan Mail One video on a birthday night was enough to force an honest mirror. Jeff Smith tells us how that moment helped him choose sobriety on April 16, 2022, and why everything accelerated after he stopped drinking, not just his health, but his leadership, focus, and ability to build. Jeff is now part-owner of Hometown Rent To Own with five locations, and he brings a rare perspective on what growth looks like when you are rebuilding yourself at the same time you are building a company. We talk about the rent-to-own business as a relationship business, the hard parts of ownership that nobody posts about, and the behind-the-scenes work that keeps stores stable: culture, training, compliance, numbers, and the right people in the right seats. Jeff shares how therapy helped him understand resentment and self-esteem, how AA helped him get traction early, and how faith became a lasting anchor. We also dig into the reality of staying sober while working in an industry where conference culture often includes heavy drinking. From there, the conversation turns outward. Jeff explains why he created RTORecovery.com, including an anonymous chat option for anyone who needs help, whether they work in RTO or not. We also cover industry advocacy and community through APRO, NYRDA, and networking at events like LedgeCon and Meeting of the Minds, plus new ventures like Mr. Appliance and plans connected to RNR Tire Express. If you care about rent-to-own leadership, addiction recovery, mental health, and building a business that actually gives back, this one stays with you. Subscribe to the show, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find these stories. Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor

June 15, 2026Episode 61 hr 2 min

Why RTO Still Wins Today

Send us Fan Mail Cash flow lies, growth is expensive, and culture slips the moment leaders get too far from the counter. We sit down with Jerry Marshall, a longtime rent-to-own operator turned owner of seven locations under Kappa Investments, to talk about what it really takes to scale in the RTO industry without losing the standards that built the business in the first place. Jerry walks us through his winding path from Rentway to Aaron’s to entrepreneurship, including what buyouts and getting “traded” taught him about resilience, timing, and choosing the right platform. From there, we get practical: cash flow versus P&L, the inventory roller coaster, when it makes sense to use the bank’s money, and why “Rome wasn’t built overnight” is not just a saying, it is survival advice for multi-unit growth. We also dig into leadership and hiring, especially in a post-COVID labor market. Jerry explains what “investing in people” looks like in real life: showing up, working beside the team, coaching with patience, and refusing to tolerate the small lazy behaviors that quietly wreck operations. As an APRO board member, he shares how industry history, advocacy, and regulation shape the way smart operators think long-term. Then we look ahead at virtual rent-to-own and why a hybrid digital model may be the next evolution. If you got value from this conversation, subscribe, share it with another RTO leader, and leave a review so more operators can find the show. Support the show Join The RTO Newsletter: https://bit.ly/RTOPODnewsletter Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/4wpbUqF Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/RTOPODspotify Learn More About Sponsorship: https://bit.ly/RTOPODsponsor