The Armchair Show

The importance of having diverse teams for better decisions - Neil Williamson CEO, Jardines Group

Neil Williamson, CEO of Jardines Group made the short, post lockdown trip to join us on The Armchair Show and shared his thoughts, advice and insight on the automotive industry and why it needs to embrace change.

 

Neils passion for the industry is clear as he tells us why now is such an exciting time to be in automotive as it learns to blend the online and offline customer experience. Neil believes the change has been coming, and that recent events have just accelerated the process. He tells us why dealerships must ditch the old sales process, and add value as a consultant, making customer interactions a meeting of equals.

 

Neil also shares his passion for bringing young people into the industry, especially young females, and how he visits schools and works to educate young people on the opportunities in the industry and break down traditional stereotypes.

 

Also:

• The importance of learning and collaborating across the industry.
• Why car sales teams need a new way of thinking.
• Why the dealership of the future needs to keeps the value in the premises and its people.

Treat every opportunity as real, NOW - Sean Kelly Managing Director, Vines BMW & MINI

In between lockdowns, we jumped at the chance to bring Sean Kelly - MD of Vines BMW & MINI on to The Armchair Show for a socially distanced face to face. Sean's passion and enthusiasm are nothing less than infectious!

 

Sean gives us his insight on why it is vital to treat every single opportunity as real and immediate. We also get to hear his thoughts on why the improved quality and performance of cars from all manufacturers means there are no bad cars anymore, and how it's down to customer experience to set your brand apart, and how working in the automotive industry is 'secret sexy'

 

Founded in 1980, Vines Group enjoys the prestige of being one of the country’s few privately owned BMW and MINI franchises.

 

Also:

•  How the industry has fundamentally changed - and fundamentally stayed the same. 
• How the internet means you have to work even harder on customer experience.
• Sean tells us how he has worked with the BMW brand for 21 years, both with the manufacturer and dealer side, and what he thinks about the opportunity to work in automotive

‘You Need To Change your way of thinking to change your results‘ - Mark James, Mindcoach

In this spotlight episode:

• Why you might only get one chance at the sale when a customer visits your showroom. 
• How one client changed their sales staff for brand ambassadors and turned their business around.
• Why now is the time to make sure you are training your team to excel at handling inbound enquires.

On the latest Spotlight Session from The Armchair Show, we were joined by Mark James, Operations Director at Mindcoach Development. Mark has worked in automotive for 8 years, across the UK, Middle East and Asia before joining Mindcoach who provide sales training, events and coaching for automotive businesses.

Mark has been coaching and training for over 13 years, and gives us some brilliant advice on the importance of training, coaching and mentoring your team - we couldn't have summed it up better than when he explained that coaching is about changing peoples thinking - helping them think differently to get a different result, and why now, more than ever is the time of embracing new ways of thinking.

 

We asked Codeweavers' chiefs: What's changed in the last couple of years?

With enough years between them to create an 'age related' joke, we instead put our thinking cogs in gear to ask all the right questions to deliver on our mission of helping car dealers to #LearnProsperGrow.

Here's a quick highlight from our recent Spotlight Session with Codeweavers - CEO Roland Schaack & Commercial Director Shaun Harris as they unpack the changes they've seen in the automotive industry over the last couple of years.

You can catch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/hJfCke4ufHs

How building trust is key to customer experience - Alan Grear, Head of Corporate Sales, WMS Group

Alan Grear, Head of Corporate Sales at the WMS Group tells us that his focus is to build value over and above the standard warranty provider, taking a traditionally transactional purchase, and turning it into a way to build trust and loyalty with your customers.

We've been wanting to hear from Alan on The Armchair show for ages and with some careful planning, plenty of anti-bac and a 2-metre gap all around, Alan joined us in between lockdowns to help us with our mission to help the industry learn, prosper and grow, and what a brilliant session it was!

Alan shares his beliefs that more than ever, it's all about the customer and building trust. He shares his insight on why you should shape your business around your customer's needs, not the other way round, the importance of putting people at the heart of everything, and of course his love for his 1964 series 2a Land Rover!

Also:

• How it's the customer that drives the sales process, not the other way round.
• How are sales teams coping with better-informed customers than ever before?
• Alan shares his story, from his love of cars to working as a windscreen sales rep and his excitement for the future.

Pendragon's Head of Digital Transformation, Owen Gill unpacks the modern car buying journey.

Well here we go again with another belter of a Spotlight Session, this time it's Pendragon's Head of Digital Transformation, Owen Gill. We asked Owen about Pendragon's latest online techniques and methodologies to help you build and craft great customer experiences for your own online car buyers!

This Spotlight Session's in association with eBay Motors Group. Along with our other partners, eBay Motors Group have been supporting The Armchair Show to create content that helps the automotive industry to #LearnProsperGrow. Subscribe and hit the little bell if you want to see more content like this!

Will car showrooms survive the switch to online car sales?

The online customer experience is evolving, but Sally says customers still want to come into the dealership to buy a car.

• What does the future dealership look like?
• How the industry will be affected by environmental and electrification changes
• Will Covid affect car sharing?

Jim Holder, Editorial Director Whatcar? - Why you shouldn't fear change.

Jim Holder, Editorial Director at Haymarket joined us on The Armchair Show to share his views and insight on the automotive industry.

Hear Jim's thoughts on the importance of embracing digital and how the internet has changed the face of his own business.

Also:

• How the past few months have been a catalyst for long term change.
• How 'Don't fear change' is the best 3 words of advice he's ever been given.
• Jim unpacks why he thinks the automotive industry is so good at innovating and tackling challenges.
• As a big fan of EV's Jim also gives us some brilliant insight into owning and driving an EV daily.

Jardines Group, Vines Group, Gtechniq | Episode 10 | The Armchair Show

In our latest episode of #TheArmchairShow

• Is the traditional role of the sales executive merging into a product genius role?
• Why dealers should make the showroom experience a fun one, not a process. - Why transparency will lead to more sales to more customers in a better way Plus
• Why understanding what your customers think of you and asking for recommendations is vital.

These three great leaders were just brilliant and shared so much of their knowledge and insight into the automotive industry to help our audience to learn, prosper and grow.

How apprenticeships in the automotive industry REALLY work. Spotlight Session: Aimee Chapman.

Aimee graced us with her presence at The Armchair Studios and made us all green with envy over her enthusiasm and energy.  This woman is going places, no doubt about it.  A student of PSA Group, working under the Vauxhall arm of the business, Aimee is setting the perfect image for what can be achieved through apprenticeships in the automotive industry. 

This is a MUST SEE video if:
- You want to learn how apprenticeships in the automotive industry REALLY work. 
- You want to learn more or support the development of young people in the automotive industry. 
- You're young, hungry and ambitious and want to find the perfect career. 

Find out more about PSA Apprenticeships: 
https://psa-careers.pcasys.co.uk/