Selling In The Motor Trade

Ali Reda is the car salesperson who sold 1,582 cars in 12 months, hit 32 cars in a day (twice), and talks through the exact model behind it, without living at the dealership. He works Monday-Friday, doesn't do weekends, and built a "business within a business" by going all-in on relationship selling, community presence, and a delivery process that removes bottlenecks. Episode highlights: How Ali went from "hair on fire" chasing fresh ups to having customers queue to see him. The mentors and moments that changed his ceiling: Jerry Turfe, then Damien Boudreau, and the shift from "30 is elite" to bigger numbers. What he had to unlearn to scale. Things like demo drives, manager back-and-forth, and that admin shouldn't sit on the salesperson. The "doctor's office" process that lets him deliver cars fast, stay calm, and keep the customer experience steady. Why social media only works if it stays local, and why "being present where you advertise" is the whole point. Finding this useful? Follow the show 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 trainers who had all the answers, but were unable, unwilling or both to actually show the delegate how they could be implemented. It remains the ethos of the business today. You see, Symco only employ trainers that are committed to delivering not only in spiring and insightful training, but are equally as happy to demonstrate these skills and techniques with real customers in your own showroom. We believe in order for sales training to be effective and in Simon's words 'real world', it needs to be tried and tested in the only place it matters the showroom floor. There is no room for theory when your goals are for your team to sell more cars, hours or parts and retain more profit. In dealerships around the world the focus applied by many of the sales executives is to try and sell a deal. Symco specialise in getting your teams to focus on selling themselves, the product and then supporting this with the deal. To find out more visit: www.symcotraining.co.uk

Most dealerships still do the same thing. They take the top salesperson, give them a title, and hope they become a great leader. In this episode, I'm joined by Neil Carrahar to talk about why that move often backfires, what to do instead, and how to build a leadership pipeline that actually works. We get into the real issues that show up on the floor, like high performers who poison the culture, managers who slip into micromanaging, and teams that drop their heads the moment targets feel out of reach. Neil shares what "good" looks like day-to-day, including the non-negotiables that keep standards high without turning the place into a prison camp. We also talk about the difference between leadership and management, how to keep accountability without blame, and why a strong morning meeting can change the whole day. We break down the common mistake of promoting great sellers into leadership roles with no development, and why that turns into performance management within a year. We talk about how to handle a "toxic high performer" without letting fear of losing volume run the dealership. Neil explains simple non-negotiables like second facing before a test drive, signposting every customer towards a drive while the numbers are being worked, and building offers properly instead of rushing them. We also get into how to spot when a team's belief has dropped, how to rebuild energy fast, and how to deal with pressure from above without dumping it on your team. If you run a sales team, this one's worth sharing. Finding this useful? Follow the show 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 trainers who had all the answers, but were unable, unwilling or both to actually show the delegate how they could be implemented. It remains the ethos of the business today. You see, Symco only employ trainers that are committed to delivering not only in spiring and insightful training, but are equally as happy to demonstrate these skills and techniques with real customers in your own showroom. We believe in order for sales training to be effective and in Simon's words 'real world', it needs to be tried and tested in the only place it matters the showroom floor. There is no room for theory when your goals are for your team to sell more cars, hours or parts and retain more profit. In dealerships around the world the focus applied by many of the sales executives is to try and sell a deal. Symco specialise in getting your teams to focus on selling themselves, the product and then supporting this with the deal. To find out more visit: www.symcotraining.co.uk

In this episode, I'm joined by Neil Carrahar to talk about the bit most dealerships get wrong: motivation and mindset. Neil shares a real story from a sales training program, where a new starter put his hand up on day one and asked, "How do I get into the 200 Club?" That one question told Neil everything he needed to know. We break down what that kind of hunger looks like in the real world, and the simple behaviours Neil told him to focus on if he wanted 200 sold and delivered. We also get into leadership. Not the fluffy "culture" chat. The practical stuff like how a proper one-to-one works, what you look for before you go anywhere near performance, and what you do when someone's not performing and everyone's tempted to write them off as "lazy". Neil explains how you find the real cause, what to check first, and how to coach it before it becomes a resignation. If you manage salespeople, train new starters, or you're trying to build a team that actually hits targets without burning out, this one's worth your time. Finding this useful? Follow the show 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 trainers who had all the answers, but were unable, unwilling or both to actually show the delegate how they could be implemented. It remains the ethos of the business today. You see, Symco only employ trainers that are committed to delivering not only in spiring and insightful training, but are equally as happy to demonstrate these skills and techniques with real customers in your own showroom. We believe in order for sales training to be effective and in Simon's words 'real world', it needs to be tried and tested in the only place it matters the showroom floor. There is no room for theory when your goals are for your team to sell more cars, hours or parts and retain more profit. In dealerships around the world the focus applied by many of the sales executives is to try and sell a deal. Symco specialise in getting your teams to focus on selling themselves, the product and then supporting this with the deal. To find out more visit: www.symcotraining.co.uk

You've told the team what needs doing. You check in later. Nothing's happened. Your blood boils… then you realise you might not have been clear enough in the first place. In this episode, I'm joined by Stuart to break down OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) in plain English. It's a simple way to set a clear goal, define 3 to 4 measurable checkpoints, and keep everyone pulling in the same direction without turning into a micromanaging nightmare. We cover the difference between "good intentions" and real alignment, why teams still drift even with high effort, and how OKRs stop chaos like the classic "let's refresh the pitch" situation, where everyone does something different, and the whole thing goes sideways. What you'll get from listening: What OKRs actually are, and why they're so popular in high-performance businesses. How to turn vague goals like "improve customer experience" into clear outcomes and measurable results. Examples you can use in a dealership (NPS/CSI improvement, response times, reviews, complaints handling). How OKRs reduce emotion in performance conversations, because the numbers don't argue back. How to keep autonomy in the team while still checking progress properly. Listen and then use it to set sharper goals with your sales or service teams this month. Finding this useful? Follow the show 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 trainers who had all the answers, but were unable, unwilling or both to actually show the delegate how they could be implemented. It remains the ethos of the business today. You see, Symco only employ trainers that are committed to delivering not only in spiring and insightful training, but are equally as happy to demonstrate these skills and techniques with real customers in your own showroom. We believe in order for sales training to be effective and in Simon's words 'real world', it needs to be tried and tested in the only place it matters the showroom floor. There is no room for theory when your goals are for your team to sell more cars, hours or parts and retain more profit. In dealerships around the world the focus applied by many of the sales executives is to try and sell a deal. Symco specialise in getting your teams to focus on selling themselves, the product and then supporting this with the deal. To find out more visit: www.symcotraining.co.uk

Neil Carrahar is back for Part 2. This one goes deeper on what high standards actually look like in practice, especially on the "nothing special happening" days that quietly define your dealership. We talk about consistency, manager behaviours, and why customer confidence depends on the process you run every single day. If you lead a team, manage used cars, or sell day in day out, this episode will give you a sharper way to think about standards and performance. Finding this useful? Follow the show 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 trainers who had all the answers, but were unable, unwilling or both to actually show the delegate how they could be implemented. It remains the ethos of the business today. You see, Symco only employ trainers that are committed to delivering not only in spiring and insightful training, but are equally as happy to demonstrate these skills and techniques with real customers in your own showroom. We believe in order for sales training to be effective and in Simon's words 'real world', it needs to be tried and tested in the only place it matters the showroom floor. There is no room for theory when your goals are for your team to sell more cars, hours or parts and retain more profit. In dealerships around the world the focus applied by many of the sales executives is to try and sell a deal. Symco specialise in getting your teams to focus on selling themselves, the product and then supporting this with the deal. To find out more visit: www.symcotraining.co.uk