In 1991 Martec opened a subsidiary company in the UK. Martec Europe Limited quickly established its profile as a highly respected and professional sales training partner, specialising in “one on one” sales coaching.

Two Australian characters, Rob O’Connell and Michael Aitken founded Martec after leaving the Ford Motor Company back in the 60’s. Having created the most well known and highly regarded consultancy in Australia they looked for a new venture in the UK. One of the services they provided all those years ago was a trading forum for dealers to get together, work out best practice and look for business improvements as a group. Those groups commissioned Martec to review salesperson training and consider the returns coming from the investments made.

Martec travelled the globe on their behalf, looking for the most effective sales training programme and discovered the Sales and Telephone Productivity Programme, the forerunner of TelephoneSuccess™.

The programme evolved from five specific discoveries:

1. Most customers telephone a dealership BEFORE they visit. This was true in the 1960’s and is more relevant today than ever. We are all time precious and telephoning is hugely more efficient. When you consider the impact of the internet, you recognise the whole World Wide Web is a telephone enquiry engine.
2. Customers who do telephone are keen to buy. No one wastes time ringing salespeople if they have zero interest in buying do they?
3. Salespeople do a very ordinary job on the telephone. Even today, an untrained salesperson would be pleased to sell 5 cars out of 100 telephone prospects. That is just not sustainable in the long term is it?
4. Prospects who make an appointment and get face to face with a salesperson are twice as likely to buy as a prospect who just walks in.
5. Sending salespeople on training is most often expensive and has low impact with new skills not being translated into habit back in the business.

The Martec team set to work to create a business solution that delivers a fast and easy return on the investment made. Focus, Accountability and Coaching were the cornerstones of the programme, along with the world’s most effective telephone script.

Much has changed since 1967.

In the late 80’s Martec set up a partnership with Sewells and brought the Sales and Telephone Productivity Programme to the UK. That did not go so well, although some of the customers way back then are still connected with the business today.

By 1993 Martec Europe, as it then, changed out of sight. Ken Stuckey came from Australia to become Managing Director and principle shareholder. Ken’s style was to shape the company for more than a decade. In 1999 Ken effected a Management Buy Out with David Taylor and Neil Pursell who were senior members of the team then. Neil is still in place now as Managing Director.

Ken retired in 2000 and now spends his time in Sydney, mainly on his boat. Not that we are jealous of course. A further MBO happened in 2000 so that now the company is owned in the UK with all the partners playing an active part in shaping and delivering Martec’s programmes.

Despite change, we hold firm to our company principle of providing outstanding Return on any Investment made in us.
Back to now and the future

The TelephoneSuccess™ programme which has it’s roots back in Australia all that time ago has moved on a little. Can you imagine the end of  2009 we listened to 449,071 telephone calls and provided a full and detailed analysis for 132,841? That is a long way from my first days with Martec and my tape recorder. Our client list has grown by over 120% Year on Year with over 3500 salespeople being part of the programme.

Detailed here are just some of the names from that client list.

Martec is proud to work with the following clients:

Manufacturers

o Audi UK

o Volkswagen

o Skoda

o Peugeot Motor Company

o Vauxhall Motors

Automotive Groups – This list is from the top 100 automotive retail groups.

o Inchcape

o Mercedes Benz Retail Group

o Ford Retail

o Robins & Day

o Marshall Motor Holdings

o Agnew Group

o Norton Way Motors

o Helston Garages Group

o Gilder Group

o Wayside Group

o Vospers

o City Motor Holdings

o Stoneacre Motor Group

o Westover Group

o Harratts Motor Group

o Colborne Garages

o S G Smith Group

o Thurlow Nunn

o Bedfordia Automotive

o Spire Audi

o Fish Brothers

Our new clients are:

o Yeovil Landrover

o Duff Morgan Kings Lynn

o Kearys BMW and Mini

o Robins and Day Guildford

o Robins and Day Sheffield South

o Robins and Day Preston

Name: Patrick White

Position: Martec Training Consultant

What was your first job? Car Valeter at a local VW/Audi/Porsche dealer, progressed to service reception and then to Aftersales Manager.

How did you get to where you are today? Self belief, if you want to improve and get on in life you must find out what your goal is and have a tenacious approach to achieving it.

What was your first car? Morris Marina van, bought for £50. You could see the road through the passenger floor and the best part was, it had “Follow the Messiah” painted on the side (which I left on for effect). I got some strange looks at the McDonalds drive through I can tell you!!!

What are you looking forward to most working at Martec? Working with a professional team that takes great pride in their approach and delivery of world class training and coaching processes.

What are you working on at the moment? I am starting to build up my client base for future training and coaching.

What do you drive now? Audi A6 20.TDI

Favourite car of all time? Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG (fantastic) must be in black with carbon fibre interior.

Interests and activities: Devoted Dad and Husband. Any motor sport, reading and some relaxation fluid at the weekends.

Quote of the Day: “A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.”
Henry Ford.

We now also have four different programmes to suit your needs. TelephoneSuccess™ programmes are now available in four versions ranging from a “Direct” version that just provides managers with the calls they need within seconds. Sending calls to their inbox so they can listen in moments later. Through to a “Max” version that provides comparisons with 100’s of other businesses and hundreds of thousands of enquiries taken across the country and in nearly the full alphabet of brands. The “Max” programme includes specialised training from champion trainers and covers both inbound enquiries and outbound prospecting.

Speaking to some of Martec’s customers, the new look website has been well received.

“Really good information as well as being simple and easy to use. The Call Traffic Analysis is very cleaver and useful.” Richard Staunton, Basingstoke Audi

“The Call Summary feature is brilliant! The Comparison report is also very useful, it’s good to know how we are doing compared to other dealerships in the region.” Derek Owen, Tetbury Audi

ShowroomScout™

ShowroomScout™ are expanding again with new members and new clients!
Already we have carried out two Salesperson Recruitment Programmes and have a third underway now. There are more than 10 new Salespeople in showrooms so far in 2010 with a coach load on their way!

“Martec’s Appointment Desk has made a significant contribution to the overall management of our sales process. The focus on delivering a consistent message coupled with the monitoring of delivery effectiveness has enabled us to significantly improve our sales appointment rates. The maximising of every sales opportunity has never been more important than in this period of sharp economic difficulty. The tools we have at our disposal through Martec help to ensure we can survive and, dare I say, prosper. As with most great processes simplicity is the key. However, this does not detract from the quality of management reports we have available to help with the monitoring of our business. I am delighted to endorse Martec and their products.” Allen Scott, Inchcape Retail PLC

“I have known Martec since 2002. In that period they have delivered training in my businesses. I would be very happy to recommend them as they deliver an effective and professional service, always in a positive way.” Wayne Berry, BMW

“Martec Europe Limited help my management team achieve a 51% telephone appointment rate from their sales team this year. That’s over 400 customers in our showroom.” Howard Jessop, Audi Brand Director, Inchcape Retail

“I will be happy to speak to anyone about Martec Europe Limited and the value they deliver, tell them to ring me.” Richard Eakin, Isaac Agnew Audi, Belfast

“Martec Europe Limited help and support is really appreciated. We have already got 3 appts for weekend already, thank you.” Martin Smith, Harratts Barnsley

“It has definitely helped us to sell more cars. The system allows us to track our customers more effectively and know exactly what we are doing with them as part of the sales process – and what we need to do. Mentor.net is a very professional paperless follow-up system that can be efficiently monitored by our sales manager.” Steve Longman, Head of Business, Swindon Audi

“Following your Mentor.net training session yesterday with the Sales team at Harratts Peugeot. I would like to share the positive input you gave to myself and particular Jamie.

“Having informed us of the latest changes to Mentor.net, we used the section on revisiting ” Recently Deleted Customers” by means of telephone contacts Jamie was “buzzing” afterwards he has made an appointment from this exercise one he was confident was 100% dead. The Sales meeting this morning was very positive and no doubt you left the dealership in a very confident mood after your training. The Sales Manager was very impressed with the response. We all look forward to our next session with Martec Europe Limited.” Norman Roberts, Harratts Barnsley

“… I must say that the Mentor.net showroom system has had a massive impact for me in the ability of tracking all enquiries. For the first time I must say that we are now more confident that all enquiries are being recorded and dealt with in a professional manner.

Also now with the introduction of your phone system we now have totally accurate reports on where the calls are coming from and also they are being dealt with properly.

In all the years I have worked in the motor trade I must say the Mentor systems are the most user friendly systems I have ever worked with. The back up service you at Martec Europe Limted provide has also been very professional and for a refreshing change you and your other staff always call you back which these days is a rarity. Fantastic, Thanks.” Richard Tongue, Sales Manager, Ken Jervis Motors

“… Just want to let you know that the Mentor.net system you installed 8 months ago has been fantastic. The system is so easy to use and keeps us up to date with all our customers. I have notice an improvement in customer communication over the last 8 months which has resulted in an increase in sales. I’ve just taken a new member of staff on in sales who has picked the system up really well, normally it would take a few months to pick the old system up. I am really pleased with the system and think that it would be a benefit to all motor dealers around the country.” Daniel Hayward, Sales Executive, Keith Price Garage

“I would like to take this opportunity to give my un-biased opinion about the Mentor system. John Pease Motorcycles has been using the MENTOR system for ten months or so. Within the motorcycle industry, many dealerships are very unprofessional in the way that enquires are logged and subsequently followed up and this was certainly the case prior to my arrival in this dealership. Unlike the car retail industry, which I am most experienced, most motorcycle sales staff are poorly trained and seem to lack the basic sales ‘discipline’s that car staff are formally taught very early in their careers. Therefore, the basics of obtaining a client’s contact information and to carry out a follow up prospect call does not appear to get done within many dealerships. The perception is that the customer ‘will come back if he is interested’ is endemic within this trade. Many of the bike staff also appear unable to structure their day properly either, i.e. setting aside time for prospecting etc. Without question the MENTOR system has enhanced the sales processes within the dealership. Prospecting has been carried out, customer information is formally logged, confirmation of demos and handovers etc in a much more professional manner. The customers are very happy with the system and they like the fact we value their enquiries more, poorly by texting them a ‘thank you for your enquiry’ message etc. It has certainly enhanced our CSI rating and improved our closure rate. I do believe that it has given us a competitive advantage within our market place. In addition, the Mentor system has made the sales process much more transparent for a Sales Manager to access a Salesman’s capabilities. At a touch of a few buttons I can see all of the enquires taken, bikes sold, finance cases etc. The staff now know that they cannot hide.. Without question, I would recommend this system and Martec Europe Limited to another dealership.” Paul Higham, General Sales Manager, John Pease Motorcycles

“All in all a very successful project.” Natalie Morin, Human Resources Manager, Citygate Automotive Ltd

“When we started our sales trainee programme there were a number of large training firms asked to tender one of whom was Martec Europe Limited. We awarded it to them as we felt they wanted it more and our decision has proved to be correct. Right from the start their enthusiasm has been infectious and played a large part in the success of the project. Both Neil and Ray have worked the hours required to get the job done and no task has proved too much. Their input has been very well received by all at Agnews and they have managed to forge some very good relationships with both the sales managers and sales staff. The relationship with the sales trainees themselves has been crucial to the success. Where Ray was particularly hard on some of them at the start they have responded very well and taken to both Ray and the company. The ideas, experience and the energy which Martec Europe Limited have put into the project have taken the pressure off the staff at Agnews and largely allowed us to carry on with our day to day jobs.” Andrew Agnew, Director, Agnew Group

“I am writing to send you an extra special thank you for all your continued help and support over the last couple of years. As you know, I recently won Service Advisor of the Year and I really do feel that without your continued support and “tweaking” I would not have been put forward for the award. The work we do together has been well received by myself and your input really does benefit my customers on a daily basis. I look forward to our meetings because you come with new and fresh ideas that can be put into practice straight away and without the need to buy any new equipment!!! Always a big help!!! Thank you once again, you have had made a big impact on my role here as service advisor. Thank you.” Victoria Taylor, Automotive Management Service Advisor of the Year, Poole Audi