Selling In The Motor Trade
Simon Bowkett, from Symco Training, shares tips and ideas on selling in the motor trade from a sales and aftersales perspective, as well as interviews with industry leaders sharing some of their best practices. To find out more visit www.symcotraining.co.uk
Episodes
A straight-talking chat on culture, leadership, and mental health in the motor trade. Stephen explains what a "psychologically safe" dealership looks like in practice — people performing best when they can be 100% themselves — and why that starts with managers realising they manage people, not just the sales sheet. He shares the origin of Menable (the "Men-Able" idea and that bracketed M) and how the brand widened to mean enabling ...
Our 250th episode! For over 5 years, we've been the No.1 podcast for automotive sales and management training. In total, we've delivered 5 days, 3 hours, 55 minutes and 33 seconds of advice, news and stories from some of the biggest names in automotive.
Today, we're back for part 2 of my conversation with Chris ...
Inside Mercedes-Benz Brooklands. Test tracks, heritage floors, AMG experiences and all. Chris Cormier breaks down the leadership techniques he uses to keep a prestigious site performing. From apprentice technician to head of sales, Chris shares the non-negotiables (effort, accountability, humility), why "what you tolerate, you condone," and how to create a culture where performance feedback is safe, specific and data-led.
We dig i...
I sit down with Symco Training's Operations Director, Andrew Clark, to tackle the question every dealer is asking…
Where do we find clean, well-specced 3–4-year-old cars when auctions are thin and prices are high?
We unpack the post-COVID supply hangover and share a simple, repeatable playbook to source the right cars from your service lane, without burning your database or relying on "beer & pizza" events.
You'll get the exact w...
When we firehose customers with features, we don't add value, we average it down.
In this short solo episode, I break down the Dilution Effect (hat-tip to Cialdini) and show how "less but better" wins ...
New starters don't wash out for lack of process or product. It's fear of rejection. In this solo episode, I explain how to toughen that muscle.
• Why "shy salespeople raise skinny kids,"
• How to use trial closes and mental-ownership questions to stack "little yeses"
• A simple habit that desensitises you to "no."
• I also unpack the viral Krispy Kreme "Olympic rings" story and the "burger refill" ask to show why one...
I break down the most-quoted sales scenes from The Wolf of Wall Street and Boiler Room to Jerry Maguire, Joy and Rocky.
"Sell me this pen"
"ABC: Always Be Closing"
"Show me the money"
I'm separating cinematic hype from practices that actually build long-term repeat and referral business in the motor trade.
In this solo episode, I unpack the ethics line (influence vs. manipulation), why short-term "smash and grab" tactics burn y...
When should a manager step in, what should they say, and how do you do it without burning trust? In this episode I sit down with trainer (and ex-sales manager) Stuart Wallbanks to break down "second-facing" the right way - why it must feel organic (never "before I can let you leave"), the quick "first-face" intro that makes later manager conversations effortless, and the exact language that keeps deals (and relationships) intact.
W...
I sit down with I sit down with one of our lead trainers, Stuart Wallbanks, to fix the dealership walk-around.
We unpack why the best presentation starts after qualification, swap "it's got…" for the simple has–which–so framework, and show how to pick 3–5 customer-specific hot buttons that create real desire before numbers.
We talk Apple-Store-level questioning, when a demo drive should do the presenting, how to make videos entice ...
In Part 2, I sit down with Harry Bott, the co-founder of the industry's leading call-tracking software, to audit the holes in your sales process you can't see.
Before your first sip of coffee, 75 % of Auto-Trader shoppers have already picked their dealer - will it be you?
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I sit down for part 2 of my conversation with Paul Kirby - better known as the Electric Van Man - to unpack the eyebrow-raising data and low-risk actions that are already letting smart dealers and fleet...
Eight out of every ten vans you sell today still burn diesel, but the numbers say they don't have to.
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Slow replies, templated scripts, zero urgency. But in 2025, that's where the buyers are hiding.
In part two of this session with Stuart Wallbanks, we dig deeper into the one channel most dealers underuse: the email enquiry.
You'll learn:
• Why customers ghost when you treat email like admin (03:10)
• How to get commitment before the phone call (11:05)
• The word-for-word responses that actually convert (16:42)
• A smar...
Still asking "What do you think?" after you quote a payment? Still apologising when a car fails its MOT? Simon and Stuart reveal how those tiny verbal habits shape customer mood, trust and spend – and how flipping them from negative to neutral (or better, positive) lifts conversions across sales and aftersales.
This episode tells you exactly which words are costing you deals, how to swap them out, and why your brain is wired to def...
What if the difference between missing your targets and joining the top 1% of car salespeople came down to one simple trait?
Today, I'm revealing what truly separates the top 1% from everyone else.
In this episode, you'll discover:
The single 'hunger' trait that determines whether you'll reach the top 1% or struggle to hit targets
Why staying in one dealership long-term creates more wealth than job hopping every 18 months
The 5-ste...
In this special re-release, we revisit our enlightening conversation from September 2020 with Peter Smyth, Swansway Group Director. We delved into the history of the group and their values of caring, honest and proud. The insights shared remain remarkably pertinent today, offering valuable perspectives on retailing and the importance of culture
Episode Highlights:
{02:15} - Born in the motor trade
{06:01} – Deal with a customer com...
Joe Duffy Group boss Gavin Hydes on grit, culture and keeping customers happy. Over the past six months, our listenership has grown so much. Many of you missed this 2020 chat with Gavin Hydes, and regulars keep telling me it's the episode they still quote back at their teams. So we're giving it another spin.
It was recorded mid-lockdown over Zoom, Gavin's in a glass-and-tile Porsche showroom, so the sound's a bit "bathroom-y". Stic...
In this follow-up chat, Simon sits down again with Malcolm Beatty of MB Motors in Northern Ireland.
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Malcolm Beatty was meant to auction cattle, not cars.
But after his dad died and the family farm future vanished, the 16-year-old opened the Yellow Pages, circled "car salesman", and never looked back.
In this raw conversation, the MB Motors founder reveals:
• How a £450 Peugeot 306 on his driveway became a 150-car forecourt – and why he still trusts auction sheets over glossy adverts.
• The thieves who stole seven of his bes...
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