The headline speaker at the 2010 AM100 Dinner has been named as colonel Timothy Collins OBE.

The colonel is one of the country’s most influential speakers and is best known for his rousing speech to troops about to enter Iraq in March 2003.

He joins a line up of speakers at this major one-day event, which incorporates the Autoretailing Franchised Dealer Conference, which has been developed by AM in association with the National Franchised Dealers Association.

This one-day event, which takes place on June 10, will focus on key issues that dealers are currently facing.

It will look at both used and new car sales – both critical aspects of business in the franchised dealer arena.

NEW CARS

  • Manufacturers and dealer case study: working together for mutual benefit
  • Latest block exemption regulation update
  • How customer service is the cornerstone of a dealer group business: hear some winning tips from an AM100 dealer group

USED CARS

  • Sales: the ever-changing landscape, today and tomorrow
  • Internet marketing: build and manage a better website to increase traffic and maximise sales leads
  • Impact of economic climate on consumer confidence: what stock to have and when

The conference will chaired by the BBC’s Declan Curry.
The speakers are

  • Daksh Gupta, Chief Executive, Marshall Motor Group - Following the successful implementation of a great staff structure, the next major step is how to engage with your customer. Customer service should be at the forefront of any business and the multi-AM Award winning group’s approach shows just that. Gupta will take you through his approach to customer service and give you award-winning tips on what makes Marshall Motor Group the 2010 Customer Service award winners.
  • Karl White, Managing Director, Thame Service Station - As winner of the 2010 AM Awards Used Car Retailer of the Year Award, White will share his advice and expertise into way the Thame Service Station beat off strong competition to rise above all other competitors in the market.
  • Matt Brown, Group Marketing Director, Essex Auto Group - Basildon-based Essex Auto Group introduced a loyalty scheme in March 2008. Since then 14,000 loyalty cards have been issued alongside new and used car purchases with 40% of customers activating them. White will explain his methodical approach to keeping customers loyal, as well as how to capture large quantities of data for e-marketing & promotional purposes.
  • Nancy Rignall, Commercial Director, MAPFRE ABRAXAS - 68% of customers leave because they are upset with the treatment they’ve received. Every customer experience will be banked as either a positive or a negative experience, so Rignall will talk about how dealers can ensure all customers’ experiences are remembered as positive ones and therefore increase customer retention.
  • Tim Smith, Commercial Director, GForces - GForces is a leading web management company for the automotive sector, working for more of the country’s top-200 dealers than any other. Designing and developing its own web management and online marketing tools, the company focuses on making the internet more profitable for its dealer customers. For one recent client, GForces redesigned their website and took control of its marketing leading to a 362% increase in overall leads with a 197% increase in traffic. Search Engine Optimisation led conversion rates grew from 1.53% to 3.51% - an improvement of 229% in just six months.
  • Adrian Rushmore, Managing Editor, Glass's Guide – Rushmore looks at how the new car market dictates the volumes and product mix destined for the used car market in the coming months and years. The nature of this new business, whether it is short cycle rental, fleet, retail or scrappage will also determine when these used cars are likely to arrive in the market. In addition, the registration peaks in March and September creates a distortion in used car supply which is not matched by the more constant pattern of retail demand. All of these factors conspire to an ever changing landscape for the used car market.
  • Miles Trower, Senior Associate, Osborne Clarke - Miles will share the latest block exemption regulation update direct from the EU Commission. He will analyse any new developments and offer clear guidance into the regulation.
  • Tim Peake, commercial director, Auto Trader - This outlook would be driven by Auto Trader's view on how last year’s recession has changed the automotive market dynamic for years to come. Using data from a number of sources and aligning this to consumer search behaviour on its leading on-line and mobile portals, Auto Trader will give you the background and developments in the automotive market that you can best prepare your dealers stock plans for future sales.

The conference will be followed by the annual gala dinner marking the publication of the AM100 - the annual industry guide to the 100 largest dealer groups in the country, according to their company turnover.

The annual dinner is attended by up-to 250 leading industry figures, including many of the top 100 dealer groups.

Go to www.am-online.com/autoretailing/ for more and to book your place.