1:15 pm, July 19, 2023
2022 was a good year for Manheim Auction Services, with business up and plenty of happy customers. In fact, says Daniel Boakes: ‘The only contract we lost last year was because our largest competitor bought them!’
Boakes is Manheim Auction Services’ director of dealer development, so he’s the perfect person to explain why the company is a favourite among many car dealers and manufacturers – or any automotive business, for that matter.
‘Our customer base is a really broad church,’ he says in the video posted at the top of this story. ‘We work with everyone from manufacturers, fleets, franchised dealers, independent dealers, supermarkets, and much more.
‘We’ve got hundreds and hundreds of vendors across the country that support the buyer base, and when you look at the independent dealer world we’ve got about 7,500 active buyers across the portfolio.
‘So, with all that vector activity, we’ve got a constant supply of good quality stock coming through the lanes, and we literally have cars for everybody.
‘We had an outstanding 2022; we brought a number of new vendors into the Manheim world, and the one thing my team and I are really proud of are the renewals.
‘You know, the only contract we lost last year was because our largest competitor bought them! We are really good at keeping the customers we’ve got.’
So, why did so many vendors move their business over to Manheim Auction Services last year? Is it just down to the bottom line?
‘Financials are important, of course, you’ve got to be competitive in the marketplace,’ explains Boakes. ‘But I’m a strong believer in people buy from people – and we’ve got some great people.
‘It’s not just the people, though, we’ve also got a really good offering. We’re multi-channel with 27 sales a week across physical and digital.’
He adds: ‘We also want to be a future-proof partner for our customers. We’ll never retail cars, for instance, but it’s really important for us that we can build relationships. We’ve got a lot of products and services that can support our customers and we know we’re adding value.
‘We’ve got good relationships, we’ve got a hybrid sales approach and we’ve give great customer service – add all of that up and it’s no wonder we had really good year in 2022, and we’ve continued this into 2023.’
The interview with Boakes formed the last of a three-part series which saw Car Dealer chatting with Manheim Auction Services.
You can watch Car Dealer’s interview with the firm’s managing director, Liam Quegan, here, and hear what it’s like selling vehicles from the rostrum with industry grandee Andy Conde, here.
Elsewhere in the interview, Boakes chats about:
- The hot topics of discussion among dealers
- How Manheim fits into the wider Cox Automotive business
- What makes Manheim different
You can watch the full interview by clicking the video at the top of this story
