When it comes to buying and selling a motor vehicle in the UK, more people choose to buy and read Auto Trader than any other motoring title.   

"A thoroughly enjoyable course which has taught me a lot of skills"

"The most realistic simulation I have attended: excellent tool, first class instructor, overall super"

With a circulation of over 350,000 and thirteen regional editions, the magazine's combination of local targeting and national coverage has established it as the market leader.

At the end of 2004 Auto Trader had set ambitious sales targets to double advertising revenues year-on-year. Paul Shoesmith, director of the national sales team, had the task of raising sales performance:  "There was no systematic approach in place for collecting and analysing this information and we felt that the time was right to invest in the sales force. We wanted to bring in a sales process, based on a market-leading brand, that could be applied consistently in every situation and that we could track."

On Academy’s recommendation, Paul Shoesmith attended a workshop on the Miller Heiman Strategic Selling methodology, and knew instantly that they had found the solution they were looking for. "The course was fantastic and sold itself," he said. To complement the process, Conceptual Selling was chosen to improve customer interactions for both the national sales team and the e-commerce operation.

The first measurable result came within a week of implementation. The team was convinced that applying the Miller Heiman techniques directly led to securing a deal worth £45K that effectively covered the cost of the training. Since then several more wins have been attributed to the system. The successes are logged and included in reports to the main board, to support recommendations that the process is extended to other parts of the Group. 

"Typically sales people have a jaundiced view of training. They think the ideas are all old hat and don't apply to them, and they tend to file away the course notes instead of acting on them. But it was obvious that people were genuinely impressed by Academy’s approach: the ideas were new to them and they acknowledged that the process made them think about aspects they hadn't considered before."  

As a result of this experience Auto Trader has a strong top-down belief in the Miller Heiman process – from senior managers showing their support by attending workshops to the six internal trainers who are accredited to deliver the programmes. The intention for the methodology to become part of the standard induction process for all new sales recruits is further proof of Auto Trader's long term commitment to serving its customers.