Pendragon
PLC
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Contact
Wayne
Edwards by email
National Franchise Director of Pendragon PLC
Dear Jeff,
For me the
pleasure of working with you has been very profound and
I am delighted to provide a testimonial to you and your
team. What we all
learned is we have a lot to learn still, and we never
stop learning new approaches to business and management.
You have stimulated
my team enormously.
Best wishes
to your wife from us all here in Doha.
Paul Maryan
Chief Operations Officer
- Automotive
NBK, Qatar
Contact Paul
Maryan by email
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"When
it comes to understanding "the Business end"
of a Bodyshop and it's overall profitability, only those
who understand it in great depth can make it look truly
easy and Jeff Smith is definately one of those people.
Take a
look at The KPI book, each page is simplicity itself.
Yet each is a no-frills succinct description of an important
route to understanding how business works and where the
key levers for increasing profitability exist.
I recommend
that you do one of his training courses, as many Akzo
Nobel customers have been doing for over ten years, and
you will understand 'less is more', less clutter, more
learning!
His approach,
which is truly focused on commercial gain in the workplace,
has now taken a small dedicated number of Akzo customers
to ARMS.
Automotive
Retail Management Standards being
the written proof of their application of Bodyshop Management
training in their businesses.
For me
personally, it has been a real pleasure to witness his
unique style and development of these groundbreakers,
as they go from strength to strength, bringing clarity
to their businesses and their own aspirations.
So to anyone
with any doubts, buy the book, do the training and if
you need a reference, ask any of Akzo Nobel's customers
who have walked Jeff's clear straight pathway and you
will get a resounding 'Yes, just do it!'
I heartily
recommend Jeff and his company. If he says that he can
help you to deliver your desired results, then he will.
I've worked alongside him and seen him in action for many
years and it's been a true privilege."
RAB Lee,
Services Manager Akzo Nobel Coatings Ltd UK.
"There
are soft skills generic /classic trainings that energizes
ones brain to explain (in general terms) things one can
do to POSSIBLY become more effective in some skills and
there are the hard core technical training in some specific
area or technology to pass a certain knowledge / know
how in one or two areas…. As for the training our
top management received from you last week; it has delivered
a substantial amount of both the SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE
ALL AROUND the Automotive Industry which could be applied
immediately the following day making one not only identify
all the important KPI in the business; but also, the reason
behind each resultant KPI.
All our
top Management Team enjoyed the experience that summarized
the Automotive Business Management in two days and looking
forward to the next challenge of part 2. Thank you Jeff
for this wonderful experience."
Ayman Khaleel
- Human Resources Manager, NBK - Qatar.
Dear Jeff,
I would like
to take this opportunity to personally thank you for all
your efforts in assisting me during the course of my Bodyshop
Management ARMS assignments. I have developed a skill
in report writing that I never thought was possible due
to the 'second to none' mentoring that I have received
from you.
Your mentoring
has nurtured me from a complete novice to an accomplished
report writer within the space of my first four reports.
Not only has
this enabled me to be in a position to complete the full
set of ARMS assignments with top grades, more importantly
than that, it has enabled me to apply this skill within
our business to highlight and report to others, areas
of weakness within all aspects of our business that were
impacting on performance and ultimately bottom line profit.
The presentation
of these reports has been impacting and the areas highlighted
within them that have been addressed have proved to be
massively beneficial to our company, enabling it to grow
impressively into a successful and well respected regional
brand.
Without your
assistance I don't believe that any of this would have
been achievable.
Chris Hammond
- Director - Lovells Auto Body Centres (Peterborough and
Spalding)
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"I
cannot overstate the impact of Jeff Smith’s presentation
at our recent Inchcape Retail Group Aftersales Managers
meeting which was held at The Heritage Centre in Gaydon.
It was wonderfully simple to understand, yet very powerful
in its approach in teaching us all how to further improve
the profitability from our Aftersales departments.
He also managed to crisply communicate the message in
a relaxed way and best of all we had some genuine fun
when completing the KPI Quiz that he asked us to do.
There were some hard hitting messages in the presentation
and we all concluded that he prepared a presentation that
seriously differentiates him from the crowd and will most
definitely help us to improve our performance.
I highly recommend Jeff as a Professional Speaker for
any conference.”
Neil
Tonks – Inchcape Retail Group Aftersales Director
"Jeff's
"Improving Operational Performance" training
course is a benchmark for all of my Area Managers when
dealing with our Dealer Network. Without these key skills
they would not be best placed to advise on industry best
practice relevant to an individual dealers situation.
Having seen the positive impact on our Field Force, we
have worked with Jeff to successfully adapt the course
for Dealer Principals, which even the most seasoned of
operators have benefited from. The issue here is not ability,
it is the understanding of the impact of an every day
business decision. "One of the best training courses
we have attended" - a quote from both Area Managers
and Dealer Principals alike!"
Mark Dickens
- Regional Director, Renault UK Ltd
"In
today's industry improving operational performance is
no longer a luxury - it is a necessary condition for survival.
Having been on two of Jeff's courses I would honestly
say that they were the most valuable I have ever attended.
They are simply a must for anyone either working directly
in, or having day to day contact with automotive retailers"
Justin Elias - Regional Director, Renault UK Ltd
"Morning
Jeff,
thank you
for a very interesting day on Tuesday. I am glad I took
the opportunity to attend for the day rather than attempt
the online assessment. I have recommended this route to
my colleagues who still have to complete the finance module.
Your enthusiasm for the subject was refreshing and the
course content was instantly relevant to my position (can't
wait for end of month accounts now!!)
You appear
to be living in the real world not viewing it through
rose-tinted spectacles. It was different to have a meaningful
assessment rather than an acknowledgement of course attendance.
I have made a start to your book and finding it very useful."
Ken Gordon - Aftersales Manager, Chathams Honda
"Many
thanks for your e-mail, and I look forward with great
anticipation to receiving your newsletters !
I enjoyed the course very much, but did find it very intense.
Perhaps 2 days would be better ! A great deal of what
we discussed were items that I had no experience of whatsoever,
so it was a massive learning curve for me.
If I had known what you showed us years ago, perhaps I
might have been a DP by now!
Thanks once again and I look forward to seeing you and
speaking with you again."
Brian Kent - Sales Manager, Hepworth Honda Halifax
"Dear
Jeff
I must
say that I have enjoyed every minute of the two days training,
I felt challenged at all times and that pushed me harder.
I feel now confident to express and share my opinion with
my team more, the KPI’s we have learnt are essential
for better managing our business.
I look
forward to go on to the second stage of the training."
Ahmed Habib
- General Manager, Nasser Bin Khaled and Sons Services
"Hi
Jeff,
Just a short line to let you know- Not only have you helped
me improve my own business skills, you've also won our
company a major training award!"
Kevin Vokes
- Bodyshop Manager, The Hammond Group
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"Hi
Jeff
thank you
for a fantastic two days!
Your intention
of taking our minds out of the comfort zone for me was
an understatement “out of body may be more accurate”,
as I explained coming from my background Aftersales many
of the Sales calculation models I had no experience in
so I am quietly pleased with what I achieved and certainly
learnt.
It will
benefit all of us here not just me.
Regards
Peter
Knowles - Dealer Principal, Shepton Mallet Motors, Somerset.
"I
had the privilege of recently being on the receiving
end of Jeff Smith's 6 days IOP training. In 12 years
professional experience, I never attended a course as
practical, didactic and captivating. The intelligence
of it lies in Jeff's ability to revealing simplicity.
The target is the automotive industry in general and
its network of dealerships in particular.
The training
provides whoever attends it with a comprehensive and
yet pragmatic overview of the operations of a business
and the importance of Key Performance Indicators to
run it. Whether financial or operational, these KPIs
need to be relevant and pertinent enough to help analyse,
manage and take appropriate strategic actions to successfully
run a dealership.
First
you are provided with a down to earth overview of business
accounting structure relevant to a dealer. Then you
are presented with an unlimited number of Key Performance
Indicators all equally linked to the automotive industry.
The course actually teaches you which KPI to choose
and why before showing you how a dealership can be accurately
diagnosed and efficiently driven using financial and
operational data.
The material
and illustrations used during the training are inspiring,
innovative and interactive. But the strength of the
programme originates mainly from the man delivering
it. Jeff Smith brings with him extensive practical experience
gathered at dealer level. Yet it is mainly his quiet
composure and witty guidance that make the experience
a truly unforgettable one.
An experience
which I have most certainly already recommended and
will carry on recommending to anybody currently interested
and/or working in the automotive industry."
Mathieu
Pointeau - Manager, Network Quality, Renault UK.
"Our
underlying objective was simple. It was to help dealers
get a better return on their investment. We knew that
if we achieved this we would secure both their and our
own long-term future.
To do
this we had to make sure that both the dealers and ourselves
fully understood how a dealership should operate as
one homogenous unit and not as a collection in individual
units competing rather than complimenting each others
operations.
Throughout
the profit workshops expertly presented by Jeff, many
industry and business myths were totally exploded. Agreement
was reached as to what K.P.I.s should be measured, why
they should be measured and how they should be measured.
The outcome was a real understanding of the business
issues and the use of a common language that will make
our performance standards more meaningful and easier
to manage.
The tutelage
provided by Jeff is the cornerstone in the future development
of our Dealer Principals and Field managers. The K.P.I.
Book written by Jeff forms the focal point of all our
management development programmes at every level.
Brian
Burns - Training Manager, Renault Trucks.
"Good
afternoon Jeff,
may I take
the opportunity to once again thank you for the best
training course I have ever attended.
I will be letting my Director know how much I enjoyed
the course and I personally think all leaders in the
group will gain a lot from it.
I have come back and I am implementing my plan to use
the apprentices as you have suggested, so I will let
you know how I get on.
I have
still not put down your book, how to make more profit
from your service department!"
Warren
Eason - Service Team Leader, Pendragon.
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