The few facts and figures you need to learn to boost sales

I’m dyslexic, which means that for me, reading and writing don’t come too easily. But when I do read something I tend to absorb and then retain the meaning and content better than my (insert politically correct description) colleagues do, and this is especially true of facts and figures.

Every time I run the course I am told that my retention of facts and knowledge of this section of the marketplace is extraordinary – and although that compliment may be true I’m a bit strange at the best of times so it’s all water off a duck’s back.

Retained data

The reality is, I’m delivering this course all the time, I wrote the first incarnation of it in 1985 and have been evolving it, along with my knowledge and understanding of each fiscal budget, emergency finance bill and HMRC regulation update, every day since. Because I’m constantly making use of it, the data simply sticks.

Knowing this information has enabled me to help the retailers I worked for as a business manager to sell more cars, make more profit and do that all much more frequently, and as they earned, I earned.

The feedback when you or a member of your team gets it right for a single retail customer is usually pretty enthusiastic, but believe me if you can instil not just the competence into your team but the confidence to make use of this business user market knowledge, the impact to each and every car retailing business can be profound, and here’s why.

Corporate opportunities

At last count in 2019, there are 5.7 million businesses registered as active in the UK. Of this, just one single percent employs 50 people or more – these are the big players, the PLCs and the big brands – and these businesses are well resourced and advised, so usually don’t present themselves as an opportunity for you to do business.

Of the remaining 5.6+ million active businesses, 1.3 million are employers – ranging between 50 cars and three. This leaves over 4.3 million owner driver operators working their own businesses as self-employed sole traders or proprietors, and I’m certain every single one of them will probably drive a car and most definitely be behaving as a retail customer when they visit a retailer. It’s a behaviour they understand, and one that through our lack of knowledge we further propagate.

Shame. Such a golden opportunity to impress customers, not just with metal knowledge but with paper knowledge too. Knowledge that can differentiate you from your competitors, stop your prospect looking elsewhere, cause them to pay attention to your offer and have absolute confidence that you are the business worth dealing with, perhaps the business that can help them fund their car in a better way, not cheaper, but much better – providing them an effortless and abundant source of superb tax allowances to help them reduce their tax bill.

Tax assistance

I’ve been in the car industry for 36 years, and have never met any SME business owner who enjoyed paying tax. Empower your people with this market knowledge, give your business an edge and retain more profit across all of the usual deals you do, and the extra deals that will come from referrals – and believe me if you do this, those referrals will come. Business communities talk and share experiences, good and bad – be an authority in a complex area and you will see an organic flow of eager footfall looking less to price and more to advice. Value over cost.

By Andy Tong