Recent projects

Blade Motorcycles - Sales Training program

I was really delighted to work with the team at Blade. The senior management were all on board and understood the value of training and coaching. Starting with a management workshop, we agreed the priorities and then set about spending 1 x day per week over the following 2 months. Yes, we went through the sales process, but this program was much more. We learned about the sales cycle, the psychology of the customer, personal productivity and much more. The sessions involved regular group activities, independent thinking and lots of discussion! I use a very interactive and engaging platform for my delivery which includes imagery, video and gamification The sessions were engaging, fun and memorable.

Here's what the sales executives thought

"Great course. Possibly a bit more on objection handling. The pace of the 2nd half was best and timing is everything in the bike trade so out of season would be the preference."

"Interactive Open discussions were great Overall a fun training environment"

"I was sceptical of going to this training as I didn’t want to be out of the showroom, missing out on sales. However, I did really enjoy it and was glad that I went as it was beneficial. Thank you Rich"

National Grid - Engineering support services

In this piece of work, I was tasked with creating an engaging and interactive piece of internal comms to showcase the services and benefits of ESS (engineering support services). There was not enough awareness of ESS so they needed something that would catch attention and keep the viewer engaged for a few minutes. Working with Paul Hutton and his team, we leveraged the expertise of the ESS team, also the Accenture team in the UK and India, resulting in a visually stimulating solution including video content, imagery and a call to action.

Abingdon Interim Head of Business

Following the departure of the Head of business, I was asked to run the business while a permanent replacement is found. It was crucial that I leverage my previous Head of business experience. Initially, we focused on 3 key priorities: 1, The team 2, The Environment 3, The atmosphere. By sharing my vision with the whole team and rallying support from them, we made quick progress and settled the business down into an improved rhythm. As time progressed and the priorities changed, my focus turned to recruitment, manufacturer relationships and financial performance. The results were incredibly positive and I was proud to hand over to the new HOB after 10 weeks, with a thorough handover.

Here's what the team had to say...

"Richard came into my business during a turbulent time. Right from day one I felt supported and listened to as an employee. Richard helped to train me in my role as well as others from all sides of the business and helped us massively move in the right direction. The difference made to this business is night and day to the one a couple of months ago" Ethan - Sales executive

"Richard has offered a wealth of industry experience while supporting my early tenure as Head of Business at Blade Abingdon. There have been many changes to staffing here and it has been important to offer the correct training to our new starters. As well as directly coaching me he has used his time to assist with offering structure and best practice guidelines to new starters in both the sales and service departments. The handover period has been very impressive, I have been provided with guidance backed up with data for context. This insight will be a great foundation to allow me to move the business forwards. I would certainly recommend Richard on the strength of his training methods and positive approach." Nathan - Head of Business

"Starting at the recruitment stage, I was pretty nervous about the role as I had no previous experience in sales, but was happily reassured by Richard that my joy and passion for bikes made me a good fit for the role. On the first day of my new role I was introduced to everyone. Richard provided me with everything I needed to get started and over the next week, he brought me up to speed. His training approach made learning the ropes easy and fast. Two months later and I am up to speed and currently selling double my target numbers. I am enjoying my new role and excited for the future. Thank you Richard for all your help." Nathan - Sales executive

"I have had the pleasure of working with Richard for many years in different roles of my career. He has recently come into our business to support the team during a management vacancy. Using Richard’s vast knowledge of the automotive industry, he has given our aftersales team the tools needed to ensure a much smoother flow from the service counter, right through to the workshop. The efficiency of the aftersales department has been immediately noticeable and I’m sure will continue to improve with the knowledge he has provided to the team." Breandan - Workshop Controller

Blade Motorcycles - Fast Start sales executive Induction program

Following a successful recruitment initiative and in order to avoid the all too familiar high-stress and burn-out that can be seen across the industry, we had a short time period to train our new starters to be equipped and capable of dealing with enquiries as the season got underway. I put a fast start program together that focused on the key elements of the sales process, involved role play and post session actions each delegate had to follow through on in order to reinforce the learnings. The program ran for 8 weeks and was a huge success. One of the 3 delegates quickly became the top Finance and Insurance performer and amongst the top 3 in volume.

During the program, detail what you found most beneficial and why?

"Understanding how actions impact the business and how roles interlink. High value questions, sales tips & scenarios The ability to feed back insights & to know that where relevant they'd be actioned."

"Having the training face to face was fantastic as it meant Richard was able to make the training a lot more personal and visual which definitely helped me with the retention of information"

"Richards encouragement and affirmation"

"Richards breadth of knowledge of the whole business"

What are you doing differently as a result of the program and the difference this has made to your performance

"Sectioning / carving out specific time for things in a specific order in my day More highly effective sales numbers"

"My explanation of finance options has has me feeling a whole lot more confident, being able to try and spend some time in the morning for admin has been really beneficial"

"Use of reports Aid in understanding the business and my own performance has given me the ability to quantify my impact and improve"

"Using CitNow having got over the fear and resistance Increased sales whilst improving the perception of professionalism of our business and the level of customer service to clients"

"And finally being more direct to customers has been coming to me much easier than it had done previously"