Following on from our recent episode exploring ‘Meet & Greet’ styles, we look at objection handling skills for ‘I’m just looking’ with walk-in customers.  The trick is to slow these customers down, and open them up.  If you are frequently told this, it may be helpful to go back to our Meet & Greet episode, as the work tracks explained there could help avoid it. We discuss three different ways to navigate this objection: the ‘Columbo’, sign posting and the ‘David Lewis’. Here are...

This episode has been requested by one of our loyal listeners. His sales team were struggling to meet and greet customers that walk in, as so many initial contacts are made digitally or over the phone. Simon explains that we should treat meeting a customer like an interview. They are interviewing you to be their sales person. Now, that’s a scary thought! We then explore some straight forward techniques that can help get over the initial barriers and start a conversation. It’s important to...

We are very pleased to announce our podcast association with Carwow, and look forward to working with the team. Estelle Miller, the inspiring Co-Founder of EV Experts Ltd, has been kindly introduced to us by Carwow, and we are delighted to share her interview in this episode.   Estelle and her husband Martin, established the business in 2017,  with the aim to help customers make informed decisions about moving to EV.  They had experienced difficulties themselves when trying to source a...

We continue with the second instalment of our much requested series on the 5 key touch points in your service department.  Darren Bedford joins us again, to provide expert guidance for your team with the vehicle drop off. What does a good vehicle drop off look like these days?  We have self-service options with 100% of upsells offered to 100% customers, 100% of the time. Is the human interaction still needed? Although we are not talking about the vehicle health check in this episode, it’s...

It is with great pleasure that we interview John Veichmanis, CEO of Carwow.   John certainly has admirable credentials, with 30 years experience working for global brands including Dell, Apple and Skype. The second half of his career has been focused on helping to build scalable marketplaces for Expedia, Farfetch and Carwow. We delve into some of the myths around Carwow. How they have grown and changed in the last four years to become a marketplace that is trusted by customers, dealers and...

We are very pleased to interview Matthew Elwell co-founder of Elite Closing Academy. Matt discusses his journey from door to door sales to starting his own training company. Closing is obviously an essential skill to anyone in sales, and great closers are like anyone who is a master of their trade, they do the basics every time. We look at when to start closing and how to earn the right to close. Some great tips for anyone in sales. Here are the highlights: {07:28} Learning from the All...

We welcome back our Operations Director Andrew Clark, to have a discussion round EV’s, pay per mile, OEM’s and tariffs. There is a lot of discussion around pay per mile at the moment, as the government looks to replace their lost revenue from electric cars. Obviously, that raises questions around how this would be managed, and the technology in our cars.  This then leads us onto looking at the manufactures, and how they are going handle their zero emission production targets for new cars,...

It’s our pleasure to introduce Richard Keeney, Co- Founder of the Markee Group, who were pioneers of bite sized video training modules in the United States. Richard has been in the industry for 46 years and he talks us through his journey, from car sales to starting the Markee Group with David Martin. There is a lot he’s learnt on the way, and we delve into what makes a great dealer,  a great sales person or service advisor. Here are the highlights: {04:19} Don’t prejudge {15:34} Prove...

This is the first part of a series on the 5 key touch points in your service department.  We are joined by Darren Bedford to discuss the first point, which is the booking and pre-call. We hear from a lot of service advisors that they just don’t have enough time.  Well one of the first things you can do to improve this, is to have a robust system in place for bookings and pre calls. Don’t miss this episode if you are looking to fine tune your service department. Here are the highlights: ...

This week we are joined by our new training consultant, Adam Wright.  We discuss Adams journey into the motor trade and the experience he has to draw from when training. There are lots of top tips for those new and old to sales, new managers and aftersales. Everything from work ethic to prospecting. Please join us and get to know Adam. Here are the highlights: {06:40} Lead from the front {09:48} Try to do every job {16:13} Make the most of your day {28:21} Sticky training {33:07}...

We can sell GAP again.  However, I know some dealers aren’t going to offer it, but others will because they believe in the product. Surely, we need to let customers know about it and then let them be the judge! In this episode, we discuss when to talk about the product, how to bring it up, and then handle some common objections. Here are the highlights: {04:00} When  {06:47} How {10:59} 2 Car Flippy/Flip {14:48} Objections {26:00} Promise me About Symco Training: Symco Training was...

Welcome back to another episode of our book club, with Jason Cranswick.  We discuss Good to Great, How the Might Fall and Built to Last by Jim Collins. The first book, ‘Good to Great’ looks as a number of companies and how they were good and then out performed the market 6-10 times.  The second then looks at how some of those same companies then failed, and the third, does what it says on the tin. There are lots of learning points and inspiration in all three books, level 5 leader...

You probably hear this phrase every week in your dealership.  It’s the worst thing you can say for a number of reasons: you appear desperate,  it looks like there’s more money available and you will get silly figures from your customers in response. Let’s also look at what you can say instead. Here are the highlights: {01:26} The worst thing to say {01:53} Money up my sleave {02:20} Smells like desperation {02:58} Silly figures {04:00} Alternative {09:19} Stop the lie About Symco...

In this episode we are joined by Nick Hill, Managing Director - Big Marketing. We discuss Nick’s background, and his journey to build Big Marketing. The key to marketing is having the right mix of medium and stopping any leakage before you spend any more money. Here are the highlights: {06:05} Fast-moving industry {13:32} Self promotion {15:04} Direct Mail {15:25} Virtual SMS {20:22} Plug the gaps {26:04} Everyone is important About Symco Training: Symco Training was founded in 2000...

We all want to retain as much profit as we can in a used car deal, whilst still being competitive enough to attract enquires. Obviously, there is stock turn to think about and used car use by dates. However, a lot of comes down to how your sales team are managed and paid on used cars. Here are the highlights: {01:45} Sales Manager controls profit {03:34} Sell to the boss {09:12} Value Added Products {15:41} Second face {17:09} Look at Part Exchange About Symco Training: Symco...

It’s with great pleasure we share our interview with Daksh Gupta, Group CEO of Huws Gray. We discuss how he started his working life, his career progression and transferring motor trade skills to other industries.  Daksh still has strong automotive ties and continues to work and advise in his roles with Ford and the IMI. An inspirational discussion which has something for everyone, whether your selling cars, working in service or managing a team. Here are the highlights: {02:12} Where it...

Short one for your morning meeting this time.  Just a reminder of some of the words that we may use without even thinking, that our customers may take differently. Here are the highlights: {01:20} Honest {02:18} Problem {02:44} Buy {06:08} Used {06:27} Deal About Symco Training: Symco Training was founded in 2000 by Simon Bowkett and it was his belief that the business had to offer its clients something different. That difference was clear to Simon from his days in the dealership when...

Today we talk about swapping some bad words for good words. However, remember it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. Here are the highlights: {02:23} Can’t {04:12} Payment {06:10} Discount {07:29} Trader {08:32} Think About Symco Training: Symco Training was founded in 2000 by Simon Bowkett and it was his belief that the business had to offer its clients something different. That difference was clear to Simon from his days in the dealership when he experienced many sales...

Following on from our previous episode, we talk about five things you must do in a demonstration drive. These points are when you have parked up and before you let the customer drive. When you park, frame the car and butterfly it, i.e. open all the doors, bonnet and boot. Gives you and your customer space to for you to show features. Here are the highlights: {05:19} Seat back {05:47} Rear Vision Mirror {07:27} Adjust Fuel Consumption {11:46} Set up Sat Nav {13:51} Take keys out of the...

Maybe a controversial one, but we don’t believe that test drives work.  Demonstration Drives work - you demonstrate the right feature, to the right customer at the right time. Think about it, no one enjoys a test. The customer doesn’t want to feel like they are on their driving test. We discuss how to optimise you demonstration drives, how to make the customer feel comfortable and when to stop talking. Here are the highlights: {01:41} Right Feature, Right Customer, Right Time {02:50} Can...

In this episode we are joined by Ashley Wiltshire, a fellow training consultant and great advocate of the motor trade. We discuss how Ashley got started in the trade, his career progression and the importance of training in the agency model. He is also a firm believer in leadership development programmes, and their role in helping you hold on to your top talent. Here are the highlights: {09:02} F & I background {15:14} Starting a business {28:28} Training for agency {31:05} Role of...

When is the last time you tried to buy a car from your business? I tried to buy a car recently and the experience left a lot to be desired. It ranged from being ignored to a lack of process.  This wasn’t a mystery shopping exercise but a genuine need.  How would you know if this happened in your business? Here are the highlights: {03:10} Assume every customer is a mystery shopper {10:17} Ignored in Mercedes {14:52} The BMW experience {24:38} Hard work customer {32:00} Identify what’s...

In this episode Simon looks at how to coach your team without falling into the trap of criticising everything.  Its easily done, but we look at some techniques to help you show them what good looks like, and get the best out of your team. We want to avoid resistance, much like when we appraise a customer’s part exchange and get buy in. Here are the highlights: {02:11} Praise the effort {03:35} Coach themselves {06:09} Resistance {08:12} 4 Questions {11:33} How often About Symco...

Colin McAllister, Group Training & Development Manager – John Clark Group, joins us to discuss recent developments with Gap. How do we fill the turnover hole from GAP? Is it coming back? Are there any benefits from not selling it?  So many questions, but we delve into them all in this episode. Some great ideas to share with your team. Here are the highlights: {08:59} Will Gap come back? {10:40} Same day delivery {12:29} Uplift in other products {24:02} Remote selling {46:05}...