Marissa Topp is the sales and finance manager at Eagle Country Ford in Sidney, Montana. Marissa grew up in Sidney and graduated from Sidney High School in 2003. She went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota-Crookston with a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management with an emphasis in resort and spa. After graduating Marissa took a job with a Montana-based hotelier at one of their properties in Henderson, Nevada, where she was the assistant general manager. Nevada was not for her, and she jumped at the opportunity to transfer back to Montana at one of their Bozeman properties, where she became the director of sales.
Working in the tourism industry has its ups and downs, and in 2012, tourism was crashing. Marissa decided that a change was needed, so she moved home to Sidney and started her full-time career at the Eagle Country Ford store. She became a member of the sales team and, after working in that department for a few years and being the F&I’s backup person, she moved into the F&I office full-time. And a few years after that, she took on an additional role of sales manager.
Marissa is following in her father’s footsteps and is a second-generation dealer.
In 2018 Marissa married Joe Topp, and in September 2021, they welcomed their son Bridger; he joined his “fur” sisters Oakley and Penny, the amazing and loyal family pets. They live just out of town with their small cattle herd, their horse Wallace and the most recent additions, mini cows named Stella and Louise.
We recently sat down with Marissa and learned more about her and the experiences she’s had working in the auto industry. The following are excerpts from our conversation.
As a woman, you are in the minority; what are your thoughts about the auto industry as a career path for women? What’s your experience been like?
I have been surrounded by strong women my whole life, starting with my mother, who can run circles around any employee and chew you up on both sides, spit you out and then drive away in a stick-shift “big-ass” truck. The women in my community are incredible — a few of my friends are better cattle drivers on horseback than their husbands; it is normal to be driving down the road and pass a semi with a woman driving it or see a tractor in a field with a momma behind the wheel and a car seat strapped in the buddy seat with a toddler in it.
In short, my parents and community raised me not to let society hold me back because I am a woman.
Being a woman in any industry comes with struggles and the constant battle of what needs to be prioritized first. I feel that we as women are judged when we “pick” the wrong thing first — we should never be judged for picking our kids over our careers. Many women in the industry are mothers, grocery shoppers, appointment runners, band concert attendees, cattle wives and award ceremony attendees.
I don’t know how many times others have tried to make me feel ashamed because I needed to go get my little dude from daycare. The typical response: “Can’t someone else go get him?” My response: “No, they can’t. I am the mom, and I am the parent in town.” It took me longer to tell them that than it did for me to get him. There are even some days that I get a raised eyebrow from my dad. I have to remind him that I am a momma first and a car dealer second. And if you know us, we both stare at each other with our eyebrows raised for some time before we move on.
I remember when I just had Bridger — he was maybe three weeks old — it was cold, snowy and the wind was blowing. My backup person was gone for the weekend, and someone wanted to buy a car. My sales gal called and told me, “The customer really wants to get the car today. I tried to tell him you just had a baby and he is still pushing for today.” I told her it was fine and to give me 30 minutes. I pulled myself together, packed a diaper bag, made a bottle, put Bridger in his car seat and we started our adventure to town. When I arrived at the dealership, my sales gal was waiting. She held the door open and helped me inside. The customer just stood there with his mouth wide open and said, “Oh, I thought you were lying about the whole ‘baby’ thing and just didn’t want to come to work.” I responded, “Who in the hell lies about just having a baby?”
I have noticed a shift in mindsets over the last 10 years. When I first moved back home and started working in the industry, I heard a lot of, “Oh, I will go talk to him,” or “Missy, you don’t know this answer.” Today is different — whether it is because that older age group is not out and about or we as women have proved our worth — attitudes towards us are different in a good way.
One day, I received a thank you card from a middle-aged single mom who had worked for us at one point. She decided to move to be closer to her daughter. The message in the card said, “Thank you for helping me be a better independent woman. You taught me basic things but very important things — how to change my wiper blades, how to back up units comfortably and most importantly, how to jump-start my car.” As women in this industry, it is important that we support each other.
What do you love about the industry, and what would you change if you could?
One of my favorite things is when I can see the excitement of the customer. There will always be those customers who just get under your nails and aggravate you, but then there are customers who come in and are such a blessing and so uplifting. They’re genuinely so happy because you could get them in the car of their dreams. Experiences like that are amazing; I love what I do on days like that.
There are many things I wish I could change, but the first would be to get things back to a normal range of getting vehicles out to people with fewer restrictions.
What advice would you pass on to someone entering the auto industry?
Be open-minded, excited and eager to learn something every day. As a technician, you’re not only a mechanic, but you’re an electrician, an engineer and a computer technician — how awesome is that? To be a salesperson, you meet somebody new every day and your returning customers are your friends. The technology in cars today is so exciting and overwhelming; it is fun to sit in a vehicle and learn all about it. The knowledge in this industry is always changing, so be prepared to learn something new every day!
