Jason Cranswick is back on the pod. Last time we spoke it was book club stuff, but a lot's changed since then. Jason stepped out of his C-suite role and now runs Cranswick Consulting, working as an executive coach and board advisor. In this episode we get into what that move actually looks like, what he had to learn (and qualify for), and why so many motor trade leaders struggle to let go of the day-to-day.

We talk about the real line between being a non-exec, a board advisor, and a coach. Jason explains why leaders "step onto the pitch" when pressure hits, and how that limits team development. We also cover what he sees again and again with senior managers right now: feeling isolated, chasing validation, imposter syndrome, and having no space to think. We finish on AI, generational change, and a simple way to approach new tools: treat AI like a 16-year-old intern — useful, fast, but you still check the work

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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 "lost" leads aren't lost because the car sold. They drop out because something went wrong in the follow-up, the numbers didn't stack up, or they quietly went and bought a different brand.

In Part 2 of my chat with Jeremy from Marketing Delivery, we get practical about how dealers can pull people back into the funnel, keep aftersales communication relevant, and stop annoying customers into hitting unsubscribe.

We cover how Jeremy's team follows up "lost" prospects with simple, well-timed messages, what dealers should do when customers say affordability killed the deal, and why missed call-backs still cost more sales than most teams want to admit. We also talk about how aftersales can run a proper contact plan (without peppering customers with separate emails for service, MOT, and maintenance) and why good data beats shiny tech every time.

Episode highlights:

• We break down the most common reasons dealers lose sales, beyond "the car was sold".
• Jeremy explains what a sensible lost-lead follow-up looks like and how it pulls customers back in.
• We talk about affordability, part-exchange, finance, and the very real problem of customers not getting a call back.
• We get into how new entrant brands are changing buying behaviour and why that matters for traditional dealer groups.
• You'll hear how to run aftersales contact in a way customers actually welcome, including combining service + MOT + maintenance into one message.
• We cover why "AI" isn't a plan, and why clean, measurable data comes first.

If you run sales, aftersales, or marketing in a dealer group, you'll nick at least one idea you can use this week.

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

Jeremy Evans built Marketing Delivery after years inside dealer groups, OEMs and contact centres. He shares how "reward the lead, not the lag" thinking, plus stock-alert automation tied to your CRM, turns missed enquiries into sold cars.

What we cover

• How a cross-department start at Bristol Street and Nissan shaped a no-nonsense view of dealer ops, from dot-matrix "walk-in" sheets to today's AI-assisted follow-ups.
• Setting up Marketing Delivery in 2007 and sending automated emails by 2009, and why the business shifted from "agency" to product.
• "Reward the lead, not the lag": get the data right, then let tech keep the conversation warm until intent spikes again.
• Stock alerts that scan group inventory and price drops, email customers, and ping sales when they click, with around 10% of recipients going on to buy.

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

We are back with Oliver Phillpott from Generational to discuss used EV values and stock turn.

What you'll learn

• Battery health needs to linked to used EV values
• The need for a healthy used EV market
• How to improve stock turn in used EV's
• Customer confidence in EV buying process
• Include battery health in your whole sales funnel

If you're a dealer principal, used-car manager, buyer, or seller of EVs and looking to tighten your EV process. Press play and share this with your sales and buying teams.

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

Battery health now beats mileage for used EVs. I sit down with Oliver Phillpott (Generational) to cut the noise and show you how state of health (SOH) drives value, trust, and stock turn.

What you'll learn

• The battery factors that actually move price, and how to explain them simply to buyers.
• Practical SOH thresholds dealers use to retail vs trade.
• PHEV vs EV: different degradation patterns and what they mean on appraisal.
• Warranty basics, servicing pitfalls, and when to test anyway.
• The battery health report: the one-pager that reduces returns and speeds up the sale.

If you're a dealer principal, used-car manager, buyer, or seller of EVs and looking to tighten your EV process. Press play and share this with your sales and buying teams.

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

Leadership isn't about shouting "be more driven". It's about creating the conditions where people choose the right behaviours. In this episode, I talk with leadership coach Wendy Harbutt about practical management strategies you can use today: getting beyond "carrot and stick", setting agreements that people actually keep, and replacing lazy money fixes with recognition, growth, and clear processes.

What we cover

• Nature vs nurture: you can encourage drive, you can't inject it. Focus on the outcome and design better routes to it.
• "Why won't they answer the phone?" Get past labels like "lazy"; find the real blocker and change the environment so the right choice is the easy one.
• Accountability that works: co-create clear, timed agreements; agree the check-ins; coach the "how" before you judge the result.
• Motivation beyond money: belonging, progress, recognition, development, and why cash alone is a blunt tool that can backfire.
• Induction and process: lock down the non-negotiables early, then keep performance interesting so it sustains.
• Teams vs lone wolves: decide what you actually want, then design incentives for that, not the opposite.
• First-time manager playbook: daily reflection, get a mentor, learn core skills (delegation, feedback), believe you can, and build from there.

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

We are joined by Wendy Harbutt from Dramatic Improvement, who specialises in leadership and management coaching.

You'll hear:

- How role play is a powerful learning tool

- Ensure you build relationships for your next step

- Stop reading and start putting things into place

- Try to catch people doing things well and talk about it

We are delighted that Wendy will be back in the next episode to enlighten us with more top tip leadership skills.

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, you get two motor trade veterans' perspectives on leading teams and fixing underperforming sites. Daksh discusses imposter syndrome, making your ambitions visible, and why you start with the numbers, not vibes. Andrew breaks down the turnaround that took a Peugeot site from 168th to 1st in two years. Daily basics, visible metrics, relentless follow-up, and genuine appreciation for the team (yes, even fish-and-chip vans). If you run a department or you've just stepped into management, this is a practical hour on what to look at, what to ask, and how to get people moving in the same direction.

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 unpack Auto Trader's move to make Deal Builder mandatory and ask the question dealers care about: who owns the customer and the deal?

You'll hear:

• What Deal Builder actually does (reserve for £99, PX, finance) and why Auto Trader says those journeys convert better and often happen after hours.
• The real-world headaches dealers are reporting: reservation timeframes, cars marked "reserved", and customers vanishing over a weekend.
• Why "omni-channel" is right in principle—but the line blurs when a marketplace inserts itself between you and the buyer.
• Data control worries when PX and finance run through a third party—and what happens at renewal.
• The money question: it's free until end of 2025… so how will it be monetised next? Plus the background noise on rising platform costs.
• Practical alternatives and diversification routes so you're not over-exposed to a single source of demand.

If you're pro, anti, or just unsure, this one gives you the questions to take back to your team.

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

Part 2 with Steven J. Whitton (Menable) goes deeper into performance, burnout and fixing sales culture without fluff. We unpack why living in the red burns people out and how leaders can make honest conversations the norm. You'll get the exact word tracks to open a room fast ("What had your attention before you walked in?"), the shift from mental health box-ticking to mental wealth with mental health champions, and the metrics that tell the truth. Attrition, absence, honest absences. If you want reps who sell hard without leaving a mess, this is how.

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