Car supermarkets are a different breed when it comes to sales. JAMES BATCHELOR headed to Motorpoint’s freezing cold Burnley site to find out how it works

The growth of the car supermarket in recent years has been astronomical. The pile them high, sell them cheap approach is a very different one to the industry norm, but several big names have made a huge success of it.

One of the market leaders is Motorpoint. First established in 1998, it sold an incredible 44,000 cars to customers last year alone. To experience this very different selling practice, we headed to the firm’s Burnley site, which was celebrating its tenth birthday in January. The Motorpoint story began here with just 10 employees, three Portakabins and a shed to keep the car keys in. So have things changed? Well, you could say that…

08:30 Motorpoint Burnley opens.

08:35 I step out of my rather warm car, braving the cold breeze and head over to the entrance. Jon Grace, general manager of Motorpoint Burnley is already at the door waiting for me. ‘I know all about your visit… welcome to a cold Burnley,’ he smirks.

08:41 Grace leaves me with a coffee to organise his ‘troops’ for their morning meeting. He switches the music (something rather modern) and the television on. Motorpoint’s TV channel bursts into life with an offer on a new Fiesta.

‘Me, the Southern Softie, is still shivering in the corner’

08:59 The salesmen are gathered together in Grace’s office. It’s the type of meeting they have every day. Figures so far this week reveal that the site is averaging 10 sales a day; ‘This should be more,’ says Grace. ‘You and I know that we should be doing 14 or 15.’ The target for the week is 30. Grace finishes the meeting with a progress report of the running challengethey’re doing which includes most of the salesmen – four miles a night in freezing weather. Me, the Southern Softie, is still shivering in the corner.

09:15 I grab the chance to talk to Grace about Motorpoint Burnley. He explains the firm’s USPs – the major one being the welcome the customer is given. They’re always ‘meeted and greeted’, given a welcome pack, told about how Motorpoint works and then left to wander around without the salesmen interfering. Grace describes how the site looked 10 years ago, and tells me that since 2001 it has shifted a staggering 72,000 cars. Using my phone’s calculator I work out that means they’ve sold an average of 20 cars a day.

‘It’s flattering… it’s nice to feel wanted!’

09:26 Working hard at his desk by the front door is Kurt Bergin of the sales team. He’s been away for the past two days so he’s chasing leads and ‘generally tidying everything up’. The rest of the day is dealing with the waves of customers. Bergin has been here for 10 years, not from the beginning but near as damn it. He loves his job.

09:55 I walk through Grace’s office (he is checking sales figures) into the admin area and meet Amanda Scott, the admin manager. It’s a very different environment; homely and warm – perhaps that’s to do with the way Scott is referred to. She’s known as the ‘backbone’ of Motorpoint Burnley. ‘We’re here to help everyone else out,’ and what of that backbone status? ‘It’s flattering… it’s nice to feel wanted!’

10:00 Three customers are waiting to collect their cars. They’re watching the rather mesmerising Motorpoint TV.

10:25 I nip outside to have a look at the cars being collected by customers. More than 20 are being picked up today, ranging from traditional big sellers like a Focus and a couple of Astras, right up to a black Kia Soul with alarming red fabric seats. Stuart MacGregor is polishing them and making them look their best.

‘‘Four cars sold,’ Grace bellows from his office’

10:37 I find Keith Byrne looking over some cars waiting to be collected tomorrow. He explains to me the process from the cars being unloaded from the transporter, documented, cleaned, photographed for the website, and put on the lot. He and his teamdo this day in day out, ‘in all weathers’ Byrne says with all seriousness. He also explains to me Motorpoint’s ‘silent salesman’ a leaflet that displays all the car’s details that’s stuck to the windscreen. This gives customers the details they need while they’re browsing.

11:42 ‘Four cars sold, James,’ Grace bellows from his office. ‘14 for the whole company.’

11:48 Two customers enter and are greeted by a salesman. ‘That’s Liam talking to those customers… he’s a national boxing champion,’ Grace whispers to me.

12:02 I meet Stephen Duxbury and Amanda Everitt who have just bought a Vauxhall Zafira. They’re with business manager Nicholas Eatough and are more than happy chatting to me. ‘We’ve seen all the adverts and heard great things about Motorpoint,’ says Duxbury. ‘We actually came down to have a look at another car, such is the variety of cars here.’

‘Yates nips out and returns minutes later armed with mats for the Clio’

12:10 Grace tells me why the customers were with the business manager. ‘We recognise that certain people are good at certain jobs. So the salesman will sell the car, the business manager will sort the business side out, and the collections person will look after the customer when they’re collecting their car.’

12:24 I sit in on a hand-over meeting. Mark Yates, part of the collections team, is handing over a 60-reg Clio 1.2-litre to Patrick and Yvonne Bailey. They bought from Motorpoint because of the ‘price and service’. ‘We rang the local Renault dealer about a similar car, and they never got back to us. So we came to Motorpoint and haven’t regretted the decision at all.’ That won’t please Renault…

12:38 Yates nips out and returns minutes later armed with mats for the Clio. He then takes the two customers out to their Clio. ‘Nice and shiny,’ says Yvonne. ‘It’s for our son, we can’t wait to give it to him,’ she beams.

13:35 Grace calls me into his office and hands me a ham butty and a hot sausage roll. It’s without doubt the fattiest but tastiest sausage roll I’ve ever had. ‘It’s to warm you up,’ Grace says.

14:22 I find John Curley, workshop manager, overseeing some work being carried out on an Alfa Romeo Spider’s electric roof. He tells me that they are more than equipped to repair any cars that come in, with some going straight out on to the lot, while others go on to Motorpoint’s sister firm Auction4Cars. com. They’ve also taken on servicing. ‘We’re averaging between 60 and 100 full services a month, and it looks as though we’re going to be doing more too, like tyre fitting,’ says Curley. It’s a non-stop task. ‘It’s a five-day job, we need the weekend to recover,’ Curley jokes.

‘He’s struggling to decide between the grey and silver one (Motorpoint has both)’

15:02 Andrew Stott is also based in the same workshop, but he’s the stock controller. It’s a job that involves making sure the photos of the cars on the website are up to Motorpoint’s high-standards, checking and documenting the cars that come off the transporter, and printing the silent salesmen. Important jobs that make Motorpoint Burnley run so smoothly.

16:25 Grace bellows from his office again: ‘11 cars sold today, James.’ And how many has Motorpoint sold nationally? I ask. ‘A nice round 60… so far,’ he adds.

16:37 It’s tea time. I enjoy a nice cup of strong Northern tea, while watching Motorpoint TV.

17:33 Gary Chapman comes over and asks if I’d like to go on a test drive with a customer. The customer is very interested in buying a 10- reg Ford Fiesta 1.6 diesel Zetec. He’s struggling to decide between the grey and silver one (Motorpoint has both), but selects the silver one for his test drive.

17:39 Chapman brings the car round to the entrance and explains the controls. ‘We’ll go up the road, past the cemetery, along the M66 and back again.’ I sit in the back trying to look like part of the upholstery. The test drive is just the same as Motorpoint’s selling techniques; pleasant, friendly and relaxed. The customer is now very interested.

18:20 Another cup of tea calls. 18:22 …and a Time Out.

18:54 The customer has bought the Fiesta. In total, Motorpoint Burnley has sold 13 cars today – almost on target.

20:00 The salesmen, headed by Burgin, leave with me in tow. The cleaners lock the doors on what has been a day of 13 sales, great company, happy customers – and a cold Southerner.