Programme

Content confirmed so far

Staff; recruiting and training the right staff

Rod Castle, director, Remit Resourcing

Staff turnover has been a major issue for the Automotive retail sector for many years, and yet despite this concern and focus, improvement seems to have been negligible. We will explore the causes of high staff turnover, identify in particular, the impact of poor recruitment practices and poor management support and identify best practice that can lead to improvement in retention and performance.

Reduce costs through waste management and recycling

Richard Brown, head of business development, Specialist Waste Recycling

Whether it’s tyres, oil or general parts, you’ll be spending a substantial amount of money when it comes to disposal. We will show you how disposing of waste through recycling and other alternative methods can reduce your expenditure and improve the bottom line substantially.

CRM; managing data quality

Jeremy Evans, managing director, Marketing Delivery Ltd

Credible data capture is one of the most crucial areas of marketing – you cannot market a product efficiently to those that you do not have contact with. Companies make the mistake of trying to capture too much data – whilst this will give you a more conclusive database, the number of questions asked can be intrusive to the consumer. Knowing which crucial questions can be the key to getting lots of data – or none at all. Data also needs to be up to date – but how often should you cleanse the data? These are the questions that will be answered during this session.

How to gain more fleet business

Roddy Graham, chairman, The Institute of Car Fleet Management & commercial director, LeasedriveVelo

Fleet cars make up 20% of the 1-4 year car parc on the UK’s roads. If you are not tapped into this market then you are not getting a share of the £1.2bn annual spend associated with servicing fleets. With the ever present threat from the independent sector, Roddy will focus on the importance of customer service in the fleet sector and value for money.

Staff; changing the mindset of service advisors

Pete Turner, chairman, Advantage Business Group

Consider the following; Who gets the most sales calls per day? Who meets and greets the most sales opportunities per day? Who has the greatest impact on owner retention? The answer to each is the service advisor – but do your advisors know this? They must change their mindset to that of a sales person. Treat them like sales people, incentivise them like sales people. Ultimately, your service advisors have a greater responsibility for dealer profit than any other area of the business. As part of this presentation, Advantage Business Group will share key research on the psychology of today's service advisor. It will also explore key areas of personal development in the department.

Profit from premium

Dave Croston, general sales manager - car dealer, Continental Tyres

Unlock more potential profit by focusing on selling premium tyres. Discover why a premium tyre can be first choice from both the retailer and the consumer’s perspective and discover the performance differential between premium and non-premium tyres. This presentation will also offer customer retention tips and detail dealer case study examples.

International comparison of aftersales: how does the UK perform?

James Ward, general manager, GiPA UK

Have other country markets recovered quicker from the economic crisis than the UK?
GiPA will provide analysis and comments from their surveys on key international markets. Direct comparison will be made to the UK focusing on key areas such as car age, workshop visits and drivers’ behaviour.

Driving a successful EVHC programme - Working With TOTAL Business Builder

Henry Howard, director, BTC

The implementation of EVHC in service departments is widely known as proving to be a successful programme endorsed by the majority of brands. What is interesting the average sold red value within EVHC on the day is 50%, demonstrating significant opportunity for dealer networks. This session will share facts and figures outlining opportunity and deliver a series of best practise advice to help you build your Aftersales business using EVHC.

Interactive workshop session: Improving your Aftersales

Jeroen Bello, key account manager OEM, AkzoNobel Automotive and Aerospace Coatings

Improvements in Aftersales can offer dealers an opportunity to generate additional revenues and margins, increase traffic and improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. Find out how StickerFix™ - a new do-it-yourself (DIY) repair and protection solution - can help you to improve your business. This workshop will bring you an overview of how this product can improve your businesses Aftersales and will give you example of how some of the big names in the industry are already benefiting. Our business development experts will be on hand to answer all your questions and point you in the right direction.

Interactive workshop session: Customer retention - Converting customers into customers for life

Dave Johnson, director of solutions, MSX International

Traditional direct marketing methods combined with showroom activity are no longer sufficient for sustaining dealer business. Your customer today is expecting premium service and satisfaction at every point they contact the dealer, in a sales or service activity. As an industry we must arm ourselves with the best strategies, processes and technology to ensure customer retention. This seminar will provide you with an analysis of the current best practices and their application.

Customer retention; changing the customer perception

Paul Everitt, SMMT & Robert Forrester, Vertu Motors

With the general feeling among consumers that the franchised dealer network does not offer value for money the SMMT and NFDA have joined forces to create and build awareness across the industry that this is not the case. Whilst franchised dealers can be more expensive to use, they hit back with the fact that their technicians are fully trained with that marquee, work is fully guaranteed by the manufacturer, the dealership is comfortable, the staff are welcoming, and the majority now offer a collection and delivery service. Contrary to popular belief, franchised dealers can also be competitive on price. This debate will share the views of those involved and will be an opportunity for you to put your views to the panel.