The RTO Show: "Let's talk Rent to Own"
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
Episodes
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.
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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, lim...
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...
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 thin...
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 r...
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 Rent...
Most businesses don’t lose customers because of price, they lose them because the experience feels messy, slow, or forgettable. We sit down with Vance Morris to pull back the curtain on the Disney approach to customer experience and translate it into practical moves rent-to-own operators can use immediately, even with a small team and a busy day-to-day schedule.
We talk about why great service is...
One missed disclosure, one careless ad, or one unopened bankruptcy notice can turn a profitable rent-to-own deal into a full-blown legal mess. That’s why we brought on Nick Garrard, NSRA legal counsel and an attorney who works deep in the shed rent to own world, to help us get practical about where dealers get exposed and how to stay ahead of it.
We talk through what really changes when you move from tr...
Your store’s phones are either making you money or quietly leaking it. We sit down with Viraj from Atlog to get past the buzzwords and talk about what AI actually does inside rent-to-own operations when the goal is simple: reach more customers, collect more consistently, and stop missing calls and texts.
We break down where Atlog started and why the first wedge was collections automation in the RTO spac...
A “short-term job” after the Marine Corps turned into a career that put Mark Connolly in charge of hundreds of rent-to-own stores, and the path there is anything but clean. We talk through the real story: job fairs, brutal hours, constant relocations, industry consolidation, and the leadership decisions that separate a manager from a builder.
Mark breaks down what actually scales an RTO business: ...
What does the future of rent to own technology actually look like, and how can dealers stay competitive as AI, automation, and real time inventory systems reshape retail buying?
In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, host Pete Shau sits down with Michael Costa from AMPTAB to explore how digital infrastructure, integrated ordering systems, and omnichannel retail tools are changing the way rent to own businesses sour...
What happens when a first time LedgeCon attendee walks into Capitol Hill and discovers the true power of advocacy in the rent to own industry?
In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Lauren Talicska shares her experience attending APRO’s LedgeCon 2026 and explains why legislative advocacy, industry relationships, and storytelling matter more than ever in modern rent to own.
From changing public perception...
What happens when the rent to own industry stops reacting and starts leading the conversation in Washington, D.C.?
In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Pete Shau sits down with Charles Smitherman and Amberlee Maya to break down why APRO’s LegCon 2026 became one of the most important advocacy events in recent rent to own history.
From legislative advocacy and consumer protection to virtual rent to own g...
What separates a good tire shop from a high performing customer focused operation?
In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Pete Shau sits down with Jason Chui of RNR Tire Express to explore how leadership, hands on training, customer service, and operational systems are helping RIMS USA scale one of the fastest growing rent to own tire and wheel businesses in the country.
From ASE certifications and service man...
What does it mean to leave a legacy in the rent to own industry?
In this special tribute episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Pete Shau honors the life, leadership, and lasting impact of Ernie Lewallen, a respected RTO operator, APRO leader, industry advocate, and one of the driving forces behind the growth and preservation of the rent to own community.
This episode explores how leadership, advocacy, mentorship, and...
What does it take to build a lasting legacy in the rent to own industry?
In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Pete Shau sits down with David P. David of American Rental and Full-O-Pep to explore more than four decades of entrepreneurship, leadership, industry advocacy, and customer focused growth in the RTO business.
From building rental stores across multiple states to helping shape APRO, TRIB Group, state ...
What does it take to build a multi generation business legacy in the rent to own industry while shaping the future of advocacy, community leadership, and customer service?
In this special RTO Legends episode, Pete Shau sits down with John Cleek Jr. to honor the life and legacy of “Tiger” John Cleek of Cleek’s Home Furnishings. From growing a family owned rent to own business in Missouri to helping b...
What keeps someone successful in the rent to own industry for more than three decades?
According to Kevin Silvers, it comes down to relationships, reinvention, consistency, and showing up for people every single day.
In this episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down with Kevin Silvers of King of Promotions to talk about the evolution of the rent to own industry, vendor partnerships, customer engagement, leadership,...
What does it take to build a rent to own business that lasts for 40 years and impacts generations of customers, employees, and industry leaders?
In this special Legends Series episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down with Mike Tissot to reflect on the life, leadership, and legacy of Darrell Tissot, founder of Countryside Rentals DBA Rent 2 Own.
This conversation explores the evolution of the rent to own indu...
What does it take to build a rent to own company that lasts more than four decades and still feels like a family business?
In this special Legends Series episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down with Mike Strong, along with Michael Strong and Angela Strong, to explore the growth of Mike’s Rent to Own and the leadership principles that helped shape one of the longest standing independent rent to own business...
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