Turn Online Enquiries Into Customers Who Actually Turn Up.
Customer’s First Contact gives your team the structures, responses, and techniques to convert digital and phone enquiries into attended appointments.
Most Dealerships Handle Online Enquiries Badly.
Generic replies, price-first conversations, no urgency, appointments that don’t show. The leads are there. The process to convert them isn’t.
In today’s market, most customers start online and form their shortlist before they speak to anyone. How your team handles that first contact determines whether your dealership makes that shortlist or gets filtered out before the conversation has started.
What does a team with a structured, confident response to every type of enquiry look like?
What Is Customer’s First Contact?
Customer’s First Contact (also known as Selling in the Online World) is Symco’s course for teams handling digital and phone enquiries. It covers everything from email responses to telephone technique, with practical structures your team can use from the very next enquiry they receive.
Delegates don’t leave with theory. They leave with ready-to-use responses, structures, and techniques they can apply immediately, including specific approaches for the enquiry types most dealerships find hardest to convert.
Every technique is built for the automotive showroom, not adapted from a generic sales manual.
What Your Team Will Learn
Get In Touch
01Email and Digital Enquiry Handling
How to write responses that stand out, handle “what’s your best price?” without surrendering value, and turn low-information enquiries into conversations. Delegates leave with ready-to-use templates they can adapt for the most common enquiry types they receive.
02Telephone and Appointment Conversion
How to handle incoming calls, create urgency, and convert conversations into firm, attended appointments. Covers voicemail technique, the follow-up sequence for no-show appointments, and how to generate appointments from service enquiries.
03Video, Prospecting and Remote Selling
Using personalised video in the early stages of the sales process, prospecting techniques for creating new opportunities, and an introduction to remote selling for customers who want to progress before visiting the dealership.
What Changes When the Digital Journey Converts
The deal is not lost at the deal table. It is lost before the customer has ever set foot on the showroom.
Most enquiries fail at the response stage. A customer sends a message about a car, something specific, something they’ve already researched, and they get back a generic reply, a price deflection, or a request to come in that gives them no reason to. So they don’t. They move on to the next dealer who answered faster, or sounded more like a person and less like a template.
The opportunity disappears, and the dealer never knows it was there.
Customer’s First Contact changes how your team handles every inbound touchpoint before the visit, email, phone, video, follow-up. Not with scripts to memorise, but with a structure that works because it treats every enquiry as what it actually is: a customer who is ready to buy something and deciding who to buy it from. After this course, responses stand out from the competition. Calls turn into attended appointments because the salesperson gave the customer a reason to come in, not just an address and a time. Video gets used in the early stages of the process to build the kind of trust that used to take a showroom visit to establish.
What you see three months later is a team that converts enquiries at a measurably higher rate, and a pipeline where the appointments that are booked actually show up.
How It Works
Format
Delivered in-dealership by an experienced Symco trainer.
Duration
Built around your team and your dealership.
Where
At your dealership. No travel. No time away from the showroom.
Investment
Tailored to your dealership and team size.
The Commercial Case for Better Lead Conversion
Your best salespeople can’t sell to customers who don’t show up.
Every lead your dealership generates has a cost attached to it, whether that’s marketing spend, manufacturer support, or simply the time your team invested in the enquiry. When a lead doesn’t convert to an attended appointment, that cost is lost. Not partially recovered. Gone. And most dealerships are losing a significant proportion of their inbound leads at exactly this stage, before a salesperson has had a single face-to-face conversation.
The quality of the appointments improves too. A customer who was given a specific reason to come in, who received a personalised video rather than a stock photograph, who had a call where the salesperson understood their situation, that customer arrives warmer, more committed, and less likely to be shopping three other dealerships simultaneously. The conversation at the showroom starts from a different place.
Loved by the very best
“I found the course easy to understand. Customer First Contact Online Course was very well structured.”
Michelle Martin
Took some great nuggets from the 90 days.
I found the course very rewarding and knowledgeable. I have done many courses before and none have went in depth with objection handling which I always find ...
The 90 day Symco course was by far the best training course I have taken part in. As well as the training having a light-hearted side to it, it was very inst...
This course is excellent and along with Simon's road to sale and first contact training days have given me the confidence and tools required as a trainee sal...
Great course – good content. I thought it was excellent.
I thought the course was informative, intuitive and refreshing in parts.
It was very immersive and responsive to the real-world motor sales industry.
Simon is an inspiration and really motivates with new ideas and techniques.
The tutors had a sense of the real world in their presentations.
This training course has really helped with selling skills and objection handling.
I am delighted to have passed the course and found it extremely helpful.
Skippy has an unbelievable amount of energy and enthusiasm.
The course was very good and informative.
I thoroughly enjoyed his classes.
Thanks to Simon and all the team at Symco for training.
Getting into the routine of listening meant it became second nature.
Very enjoyable course with great atmosphere from Simon.
I'm going to miss my morning routine listening to Simon's voice.
The whole Sales Fitness Programme definitely helped me gain confidence.
The biggest thing for me was the length of the videos!
Delighted to pass the Sales Fitness Programme.
I thought the whole programme was great, the daily videos really help.
I have completed the Road to Sale training and found it very enjoyable.
I have found it useful, as it has a gentle reminder every day.
I enjoyed the programme and found it beneficial and not too overwhelming.
I enjoyed the programme and found a lot of the ideas very useful.
I enjoyed it a lot thank you. It was very interesting to watch.
I am delighted to have passed my training programs with all your help.
Thank you again Penny, you and Skippy have been so helpful!
This was by far the best course I have ever done on Sales.
The Course is great and I like that it is in 'bite-size' chunks.
Excellent training course, the two days were really enjoyable with Simon.
You have a great programme; I really cannot think of anymore you could do to improve it!!!!
I enjoyed this course and there are many helpful tips that I hope to use in the future.
I'm very happy to have gone through and completed the course, very insightful.
I have found the online training very helpful throughout my daily process.
It's been a really enjoyable programme. I found that the best way to keep on top of things was to listen to each video whilst driving into work every morning.
Great course, lots of great real life scenarios and the tools to deal with them.
I felt the course was very helpful and relevant to the role I currently do.
Honestly the training course was fantastic! I'm using so many of the methods. Today's Service Advisor course is exceptional.
I think the programme has been brilliant for me throughout my training period and beyond.
For me the course offered some fantastic nuggets of information.
Many thanks for the training, I have found it very helpful especially in the way it was delivered.
I know that I have benefited from this course tremendously, making me feel more confident.
I found the course easy to understand. Customer First Contact Online Course was very well structured.
The Symco Training course is the best training event I have ever been to.
I did find the course very useful and sometimes hear myself using Skippy's words.
I really enjoyed the training.
The course was very thorough with lots of information and tips to use.
Good course, Simon is always a good trainer on the day! The videos are good.
I found the course very helpful and it was good having it daily as I found it more manageable to fit into my schedule.
You truly never stop learning and Symco actively encourage this. The Funny Money Session has helped me on many occasions.
As someone that has never done Sales before I have learnt a lot and it is down to Simon and Symco.
I have enjoyed taking part in the course as I think it is nice to have a refresher and it does no harm to learn.
The programme has helped me a lot, especially with objection handling which has never been a strong point of mine.
It was a great course, gave me some fantastic ideas and guided me very well in the Sales Process.
Fabulous as always thank you Simon, Penny and the rest of the team, you've given me some great ways to improve.
Picked up some good new bits and some other bits which I have forgotten over the years.
Very informative, full of helpful tips. Very good, great product support.
A lot of very useful information which I have noted and will remind myself and colleagues.
Amazing knowledge they have passed on and I would highly recommend this to anyone.
Daily drip feeding of information means it is manageable to complete the course.
Really helped me to achieve some great success in the business.
Great course, learnt loads, thanks a million.
Really helped to get the knowledge needed to sell cars with confidence, as this is my first job.
All feedback is positive, Darren was great to deal with and the videos were of huge benefit.
Your training has thoroughly helped me. It was enjoyable, factual, knowledgeable and funny.
Psychology side intrigues me; flexible refresher around working life.
Unique classroom training techniques stick in your brain and adapt easily.
I have enjoyed this program and used techniques with many customers.
Course detail benefits newcomers; attitude matters as much as words.
Relaxed training videos with interesting techniques sparked lightbulb moments.
Really enjoyed the course and found it very useful for customer tips.
I found this course helpful. Thank you very much for your help.
The course is excellent. Videos are full of good information well presented.
The course was very good and easy to work through with different videos.
Really enjoyed the training, great model and works with the time constraints and attention span of a typical salesman!
I did enjoy the course, clips were quick and to the point. A lot to take from each video.
The programme is excellent and very useful, I enjoyed every video I watched.
I really enjoyed the course. Skippy is a wonderful teacher and really made the learning experience enjoyable.
Everything I learnt from you is paying off. I now work for mini and I'm smashing it!
Brilliant course well-spoken and clearly used in the 'real world' as it works in the real world!
I would say the course has been very beneficial and I have gained very useful service advisor techniques from it.
The course was great.
Thanks for putting the course together, I found it very helpful.
The course was great will use a lot of it.
I would like to thank yourself and Simon for the fantastic training.
The course has been really useful. There were very good examples.
I found the course very interesting, informative and engaging.
Thank you very much for all the content. I really enjoyed it.
I found the online training course very helpful especially in the current climate.
I really enjoyed the course. I learned a lot of new tips from Simon.
Really good course that was genuinely very helpful. Thanks a mil for everything folks.
I felt fully engaged in the course, and I found that I have certainly learned from the experience.
Really enjoyed the course, some very useful tips/tricks from Simon that I can use in the sales process.
Thanks to you and Simon – the dynamic duo!
There's no substitute for the in-class lessons but to be fair it worked very well over zoom.
A lot is stuff that is known but not put in to practice. I enjoyed the course and the content.
Simon delivered the course perfectly and made it easier to follow his steps and apply these in the real world.
Thanks very much, really enjoyed the course and gained a lot from it.
Alex has greatly benefited from the course, as did I nearly 5 years ago.
I thoroughly enjoyed the training, thank you so much! Simon was really awesome!!!!
The course was really beneficial and I really enjoyed it. I learned so much.
I found the programme to be excellent, it gave me a better understanding on brake fluid.
I definitely enjoyed the course. Picked up some great tips from Simon.
Really enjoyed the course and learned a lot.
Enjoyed the course. Simon's clear explanations and repetition aid retention. The 4-square technique promotes team collaboration.
I found it very helpful.
Found the training very good and really enjoyed it. The videos were helpful.
Great points covered. Many thanks to Simon for his support over recent months.
Very enjoyable and informative. Simon is excellent.
Excellent course. The videos are particularly valuable for morning review and workplace implementation.
Really enjoyed the Service Advisor course. The follow-up videos were very informative.
Very educational and interesting. The mix of session lengths and storytelling makes the content memorable.
This is by far the best course I've been on. The structure is great and Simon's presentation was excellent.
Really enjoyed the course.
Thank you for all of the info on the training, I learned a lot and picked up tips and info on selling.
Great course, really enjoyed it, very informative and the follow up videos kept everything fresh.
The course was very helpful and interesting, thank you.
I have given Symco training 5 stars. The training was challenging at times, a lot to take in but very manageable.
Thank you for the course I have taken some great techniques and knowledge from this training programme.
Enjoyed the course and the training some useful points taken from the videos.
Thank you, I really enjoyed doing this course. I think it is a great way of achieving online training.
All the videos were short and to the point and helpful in real-life scenarios.
I really enjoyed the course and found it very informative.
The flexibility of the videos and videos themselves were excellent.
Andrew and Simon made the course engaging and enjoyable unlike any other training course.
I have been using bits and pieces from it and it will be a huge help going forward.
Found the course brilliant and your teaching methods very helpful.
I gained a lot of knowledge from it that I can use on a daily basis in my day-to-day job.
Found it very helpful and managed to apply techniques to my work.
The training was helpful and made me a lot more knowledgeable.
Training was helpful. Digital enquiries are the future of car sales.
Really enjoyed the courses. They were simple, informative and learner friendly.
Excellent programme – reminds you to do simple things well and be consistent.
Opened my eyes to a very changing car industry and the way cars are being sold.
Really helpful and picked up plenty of useful information and tips to help me sell.
Great course!
Thanks again for all your help with the training course, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It's been a pleasure taking part in the 90-day, it was helpful throughout my learning stage of trying to sell cars.
It was fantastic and using everyday situations helped understand the information and how to deal with the customer.
I really enjoyed the course, especially the way you integrated everyday scenarios and applied them to the motor industry.
Thought the course was really relevant and applies well to all the situations we may encounter.
I found the course very interesting and filled with great tools that I can use every day.
I found the course very helpful regarding dealing with customers. This course really gives you the tools to deal with certain situations perfectly.
The mixture of the virtual classes and the daily videos are a great way to learn the course contents.
I enjoyed the course very much, loved the videos they helped refreshed the info we got in training sessions.
Simon & Andrew were beyond excellence. I have become the best sales consultant with the Hyundai branch consistently achieving my targets 100% and more.
I found the course to be very informative and especially engaging.
I have enjoyed the course and found it very helpful.
Course was absolutely brilliant and has really helped me in my first six months.
Thanks very much. It was an interesting course to say the least!
I Thought The Course Was Very Helpful. There's Definitely A Lot Of Things I Learned.
Thank you! The course was fantastic and very comprehensive.
Overall the content is good, especially for execs that are new to the industry.
Programme has been useful and enjoyable.
Very useful techniques. I have used certain wording and phrases and have worked.
I really enjoyed the classroom content and the follow up online training. Bite size chunks made it easy to keep on top of.
The training modules are excellent, bitesize portions which makes it easy to continually be engaged with the content.
I found the course really helpful as this is my first time in car sales I have picked up some great tips.
Thanks a million for the daily content. I found it really helped cement the three day course in my head better.
To be honest I found the course involving, interesting and fun. I like the approach of following up with video sessions.
Great training, really enjoyed it. I find myself using the training to my advantage on a day to day basis.
Great training, really enjoyed it. I find myself using the training to my advantage on a day to day basis.
Thank you, I have enjoyed it yes been a good experience.
Very good for those starting off in sales and those who are selling cars.
Your company is very different – friendly, informative, stress free (no role play).
I really enjoyed the course and will use it daily.
Overall, really enjoyed it and it has been very informative.
Great training programme, thank you.
I definitely learned some tricks during the duration of this course.
The course content Symco delivers is fantastic. Symco succeed where other trainers may fail.
The training was great, very thorough and great to have the videos sent directly.
I found the whole Symco Training course a great refresher & some fantastic lightbulb moments.
Really enjoyed it.
The course was very helpful. Many of the tips I use on a daily basis while in work. The course gave me a better understanding of how a customer thinks during...
Very informative course, every day should be a school day, I have always believed that.
I found the course to be very inventive, intuitive and it opened my mind into bad habits and how to better myself, the training team were very helpful and no...
I use the 'Feasible & Flexible' and ask 'What has brought you here today' most days.
The course was very informative and I have learnt skills that help me in my day to day tasks not only at work but in my private life too.
I found the course probably one of the best I have actually attended. I found the content tailored to the service advisor role most which are normally just g...
I would say that this has been one of the most enjoyable courses I have been on. Andrew our trainer was an absolute pleasure and kept the course engaging and...
I really enjoyed the programme, very informative. Thank you.
I enjoyed the course and it genuinely benefited me.
Really enjoyed the videos, they were not too long.
Really enjoyed the videos, they wasn't too long.
Really good course, lots of helpful information.
The course was very useful and taught me new skills.
Yes, it's amazing learning experience. Now I feel more confident.
Looking forward to any new training that comes along.
The course is good and informative.
The course provided a highly informative experience.
I enjoyed the 'The First 90 Days' Online Training.
Enlightening course with invaluable skills; fantastic energy and awesome personality.
Great way to cement takeaways from the 2-day in-person training.
The tools provided have really helped me perform better in my role.
Very good refresher and gave me pointers on dealing with customer situations.
Most effective training exercise to date.
Your training provided invaluable understanding of intricate details that enhance day-to-day work.
Really enjoyed and very informative.
The course was very enjoyable and easy to use.
I found the course really interesting, lots of good points and techniques.
Many thanks for the comprehensive and entertaining training course.
Helpful training.
Symco training programme has helped me expand my learning and how I see myself as a service advisor.
I think this programme is very useful for people that are new to car sales.
Course is very relevant & good that it's kept interesting throughout.
I quite enjoyed doing the videos at work everyday and it gave some well needed structure for someone new to sales.
I really enjoyed the course. I found it very helpful.
I found the training useful and convenient, being able to watch the videos at times which suited me meant it did not interfere with my normal working day.
I thoroughly enjoyed the course, Simon has good delivery and keeps you focused!
The course was very enjoyable, thank you.
I found the programme very helpful. I have also done the in-person training with Symco so its great to have a constant stream of education applicable to my job.
Out of the vast amount of training that comes with sales this has by far been the best in terms of execution.
I enjoyed the course and found the small doses of information once a day very useful.
I found the course interesting and enjoyable.
I really enjoyed the programme, very informative. Thank you.
Course was enjoyable, found classes nice and concise, meant I could do them any time, even early in the morning.
The whole program, face to face sessions and video content thereafter has been very impressive and informative. It kept me engaged and tweaked the way I appr...
The course was very good and informative.
Great programme.
I learnt a lot once again thank you for your help.
Thanks a million for all your help.
After 23 years in the industry, this was by far the best training I have received.
It's been a great course and it has definitely helped spreading the course over a few months.
I found the course extremely helpful, especially only being in the Industry since January.
Enjoyed the course and the subsequent videos, will add a great amount of value.
Thank you, enjoyed the course & learnt a lot.
Thanks a million.
I really enjoyed it! It was very informative, and I learnt a lot about why we do VHC work.
Why Symco
There’s a difference between understanding how digital customer behaviour has changed and knowing how to train a sales team to respond to it effectively. Symco does both.
Simon Bowkett has been in automotive retail for over 30 years, and the shift from showroom-first to digital-first customer journeys is something he’s trained dealerships through directly. Customer’s First Contact isn’t built on general digital marketing theory or generic lead handling advice, it’s built around the specific types of enquiry automotive dealerships actually receive, the specific objections those customers raise, and the specific techniques that move a digital lead to an attended appointment in a UK showroom.
Delegates leave this course with techniques they can apply to their next enquiry, not concepts to think about during the drive home.
Common Questions
Ready to Transform How Your Team Handles Every First Contact?
Tell us about your team and we'll design a programme that turns more enquiries into appointments.
One idea a week to sharpen your sales team.
Practical, automotive-specific tips used by the UK's top dealerships.
The Latest
Lessons, tips and news from the Symco team.
