Case Studies

AutoTrader recommended that we speak with Laurence Winmill to help us navigate our journey and expand our Bristol-based commercial vehicle business throughout the UK. His experience in this sector was already proven and he worked to assist us with business development, restructuring and the introduction of processes as part of our company growth strategy.

Using data and marketing insights, Laurence helped us understand the power of digital advertising transforming the sales strategy with a significant investment in national advertising that produced huge growth. Together with a new dealer management system and an integrated website, we created the platform to move the business online and became recognised as one of the UK’s leading digital dealerships. Laurence played a significant part in our business development and transformation strategy, resulting in a successful exit in 2021 when the business was sold to Cazoo in a multimillion-pound deal.

We commissioned Laurence at the outset to assist us with a strategic planning review of the business, so that we could develop a business plan that was fit for purpose. Having worked with him previously, we were entirely confident that he could help and support on this latest project.

Laurence’s marketing expertise has since facilitated several website enhancements, including the introduction of digital metrics to manage future lead generation.

Staff reviews and development was another aspect of the business plan. This included an audit of job roles supported by the introduction of new job descriptions and the setting of new KPIs relevant to the business. Our recruitment campaign focused on attracting new talent that understood the brand and could drive the business forward whilst retaining quality.

Laurence was also instrumental in the restructuring of the business, introducing processes to help realise goals in both the short and long term. A CRM cloud-based system was introduced, and it enabled us to manage the entire sales process as the business began to grow.  A digital inventory management system linked to the CRM and Xero is being introduced to help manage costs and speed up production. This crucial part of the business will improve our margins and is key to moving the business to its next stage of development. The support is always professional and consistent.

We were recommended to Laurence Winmill via a business contact to help with a strategic review of our company.

Once we agreed the key areas of focus, a complete audit of our business was undertaken. It helped us to restructure our resources so we could meet the demands of the market and manage future growth.

Laurence was the project lead. He helped us develop a business plan that included market research, competitor analysis, the introduction of technology and a new staffing structure to support the upturn in sales and business yields.
Laurence introduced professional strategic partners to help us on our journey, resulting in a clear roadmap to accomplish the long-term aims of the business. He facilitated the key conversations to improve financial management, and the sourcing and acquisition of new warehousing facilities, which included all legal and finance options.

Our new digital solutions linking Xero to the CRM and integrating quotations, stock, inventory and invoicing have proved invaluable.

It’s been an incredible journey to date, and we feel extremely optimistic for the future, with an upturn in orders and the right structures now in place to manage the growth.

Pulse has been through a period of intense growth from two to 40 staff in 12 months, and needed general management support and advice to implement processes and move the business forward. We were recommended to Laurence Winmill by a business associate who had commissioned his services previously. Since our initial fact-finding meeting, his ongoing support and knowledge helped us transform our internal management structures and identify a clear vision for both sectors of our business, paving the way forward and allowing the strategic team to focus on business development and sustainability.

Thanks to Laurence’s support with business strategy, the introduction of a financial dashboard, insights and guidance, we’ve recently redeveloped our Fibre and Civils division, a move that has secured contracts that maximised growth within our business. Laurence Winmill was also able to advise on our website and brand strategy to ensure that we had the right image and communications to engage with our clients in exactly the right manner.

Good Morning Laurence,

Thanks for the feedback, and more importantly your support yesterday.  Your section at the end was a real addition to the day, and to quote the chaps from Mercedes and the lady from the independent, ‘We actually feel re-invigorated about our purpose and what can be achieved having listened to that!’.

Having spoken to Marc, Tim and the team, you also inspired us to be better and do more, so thank you for that too.

Laurence, as ever, I have the pleasure of remaining 

Yours faithfully

Hi Laurence,

Thank you for attending today’s meeting.

I just want to say how grateful I am for your guidance and support over the last few months. I believe I have improved in many ways thanks to you.

Many thanks

Hi Laurence,

Many thanks for the time you invested with the sales team yesterday. The session was very well received and the feedback from the team could not have been more positive. We had a great sales day yesterday which was further testament to the quality of the session as all advisors returned to the office motivated to succeed with fresh ideas and with some of the fundamental rules of success back at the forefront of their minds.

We have used a number of freelance training consultants in the past who have done a good job but this feels different because it was delivered by an experienced sales trainer who has industry knowledge and experience and is involved in running a sales business so we found a lot of the content to be highly relevant and the tips to be based on practical experience rather than theory.

One of our advisors, Alex Brown has asked to start working for David Spear as a result of the session. He began talking to your customers today and will be writing to you tomorrow to let you know why he wants to get involved and to give you some feedback on how things have started.

Thank you again Laurence and look forward to catching up soon.

Best regards

Good Morning Laurence,

I’m sure Tim has already passed on Auto Trader’s thanks, but I just wanted to say a personal thank you for yesterday! I had 4 of my team listening to your Q&A session in the afternoon, all account managers, who have each fed back to me how inspired they were by not only your words, but your partnership with Auto Trader and Tim, and how this has really motivated them to build even better relationships with their own customers, so big thank you once again!

All the best, safe trip back!

Hi Laurence

Just a quick e-mail to offer my sincere thanks for your contribution this morning. Great feedback.

Many thanks for taking the time to support and trust that we can continue our partnership into the EXPO’s later this year.

Best wishes

Hi Laurence, Back at my desk in Toronto… Had a great time in London, as it is a very special place.

I am very happy that we connected and you were able to deliver a keynote to the team.

Your message was exactly what the team needed to hear and the feedback from my group around your session, was also excellent.

I will be challenging my team to put into practice the principles we discussed, as I will also be leading by example to ensure we continue to get better.

Thanks again for your help!

A compelling story delivered with emotion, passion and key business messages that captured the audience. Laurence was simply inspirational and a brilliant speaker.

Good Morning Laurence, I hope that you enjoyed yesterday as much as all those that attended did.

As we did in the south we received some fantastic feedback regarding your talk – it was motivating and inspirational as intended and will certainly have provided them with much to tell their staff back at the offices.

A quick message – absolutely fab talk today at the seminar! Inspirational.

I was nearly crying with your little write up about looking yourself in the mirror; I’m very spiritual and could relate to a lot of what you were saying, always stay grounded is my key!

Thanks again many thought you were amazing. X

A tremendous event with 4 world class speakers and an outstanding contribution from customer service and sales specialist Laurence Winmill.