Right now there is one skill set in the automotive sector that is more sought after than any other; one professional who possess the skills to secure the trading future of any business they are working in, but one so rare that finding them is becoming impossible and employing them is now becoming eye wateringly expensive!
But they are expensive for a reason; they know their worth and have the ability to secure your financial future, regardless of what happens in the new car market, because they are the professional who knows how to develop your successful used car business; the business with no limits in terms of the profit it can add to your bottom line!
Professionals with the ability to walk into your business and know exactly what is going to be required to build your used car business are very rare; rare because it requires an all-encompassing skill-set involving as a minimum;
- Used car business auditing expertise, in terms of an ability to walk into a business and immediately assess the current strengths and weaknesses of a used car operation; combined with the ability to then go on to construct and deliver the bespoke and appropriate programme of used car business development.
- The ability to construct and deliver the used car business development programme required, in order to ensure that the used car operation receives the tailored used car development programme that will ensure success, via the achievement of all targets.
- Constructing and overseeing the used car training and personnel development programme that will take their used car sales team on a path of professional development.
- Capable of presenting complex business cases for investment in used car development at both franchise dealer and group levels, and at the most senior levels within the organisation; including the overcoming of all objections.
- Developing and building the strategic relationships required in order to ensure that all used cars returning to the manufacturer and their in-house finance company, (whether that be ex-lease, ex-management cars or cars returning at the end of finance agreements), are supported and either retailed or disposed of via the used car operation.
- In-depth understanding of the power of technology and how it can be harnessed and leveraged to work in successful synergy with a growing used car operation.
- Commercial expertise in the used car market as a whole including the fragmentation of the used car market, the changing purchasing behaviour of consumers and the strategies required to successfully develop electronic enquiries to successful sales outcomes.
- In-depth understanding of the cyclical demand within the used car market place and how that effects budgets, targeting, (both departmental and individual), the utilisation of funds employed to used car stock and the opening used car stock levels required.
- Commercial grasp and understanding of the effect that the rate of stock turns plays in the utilisation of funds employed to the used car stock holding and therefore overall profitability.
- Expertise in used car stock acquisition techniques and used car stock profiling, encompassing the ability to build the relationships of supply required to ensure that the minimum used car stock levels required for a growing used car business are always maintained.
- The ability to build and manage successful used car sales teams, including a complete commercial grasp of what skills to employ and when, in order to ensure that growth and budgeted profits are maintained.
- Complete commercial grasp and understanding of the symbiotic relationship that exists between used car performance and success in the new car market.
- Excellent levels of leadership including the ability to build the consensus and strategic alliances required take personnel on a journey of challenging traditional business thinking.
We know, because we accept that we can’t find enough professionals with these skills for our expansion, that it will prove to be impossible for any business looking to grow used car retailing to find a professional with the skill set above; and be in no doubt, if you are serious about growing your used car business, you will require a professional with the skill-set above to achieve this aim.
Even, (and it is a big “Even”), if you are able to find a professional with this experience and ability, you must be prepared to break the bank to secure them; on target performance will involve a package well in excess of £100,000:00 per annum; just at the time when the Automotive Sector is one of the worst paying sectors for proven sales and business development professionals.
And then we come to another issue; the Recruitment and Automotive Sectors as a whole have no idea about what assessing these capabilities involves and therefore has little idea of how to go out and find this professional. Both sectors have not been developing or looking for professionals with these abilities for over a decade now, so have little or no experience in what growing a successful used car business involves and therefore who to employ.
This leaves any business looking to grow used car retailing with some mighty challenges, and in reality they have only 2 options, both of which will be challenging to pull off! You either go out and try to buy a “Winner” in the knowledge that you are looking for a professional with a skill-set that you don’t recognise, (and neither will any recruitment company), or you look to develop this individual within your business, at a time when no manufacturers offer the training and personnel development programmes required!
It is amidst this challenging environment that Autoformance have built a new used car business development offering; The Virtual Used Car Business Development Director. This unique service is designed to give our clients access to the highest levels of used car business development acumen and experience, without the associated costs of having to find and employ this increasingly hard to find professional on a full time basis.
A service where we will build a bespoke contract for services around your specific used car business development aims and objectives; when we will then work alongside you at your business for an agreed period of time, developing and mentoring your staff, implementing all that is required to deliver on the objectives and to make more money from retailing used cars.
This flexible onsite approach will result in us working as your embedded used car business development partners, where we will share in your success; and when the contract is delivered, leave you with the personnel and used car business required, upon which you can then build your further growth in the used car market.
We can offer this service, (something that is unique in the industry), because we are used car professionals who have built hundreds of successful used car businesses; we know exactly what is required to deliver used car success and increased profits to your business and we know that no other training company in Europe, regardless of their size and stature, can offer this service; and why!
They don’t have the professionals with the experience required within their businesses, those who can walk into a used car business and know exactly what will be required to drive it forward! We do, and we can guarantee all our clients that those who work with you are successful used car and business development professionals who became consultant’s, so used car professionals who have spent their careers succeeding in building successful used car businesses, not just teaching!
If you would like to understand more about our unique Virtual Used Car Business Development Director service, (or indeed any of our used car business development and personnel training programmes), and how we can help you make more profit from selling used cars, you need only contact Andrew Banning at ajb@autoformance.com or Malcolm Thomas at mgt@autoformance.com in the first instance, in order to arrange a no obligation exploratory discussion. Alternatively please feel free to call me on 0044 7796 260261.
For more information about our services please visit our website at www.autoformance.com
I look forward to hearing from you.
Andrew Banning.
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