ADTORQUE Edge has appointed Matthew Barry as a senior consultant in its Advisory Division, specialising in providing training, consulting and advisory services to the automotive and lifestyle industries.

A key role will be to assist dealers to maximise sales of vehicles to customers who already hold finance contracts with the dealership by training specialised staff in customer retention techniques and making it their job to kickstart their repurchase processes.

This is seen as a large untapped area in the motor industry’s customer retention strategies – focusing on the sale of the next vehicle to existing customers with finance contracts held through the dealership.

AdTorque Edge said that reselling a vehicle and finance to an existing customer is not only potentially the most profitable sale, it provides monthly base-load sales volume for the new car department and is a potential source of stock for the used car department.

Mr Barry was previously head of training and development with Chrysalis Loyalty Australia for almost nine years. Chrysalis is a web-based customer-centric tool that enables OEMs, their financiers and dealer staff to connect with existing customers.

Before his role at Chrysalis, Mr Barry was NSW state manager for Op2ma Fusion Business Solutions. He has also been dealer principal for Winford Motors and general manager of the Alto Group.

In his new role with AdTorque Edge, based in Sydney, Mr Barry will provide services including benchmarking, people training and development, dealership operational review, coaching and mentoring.

Mr Barry told GoAutoNews Premium: “Why would we not want to retain our finance customers and earn the right to the next purchase? Between 30 and 40 per cent of dealership retail sales should be financed by the dealership.”

He said he would be using his knowledge of  best-practice processes in this area for the benefit of dealers, utilising the AdTorque Edge ALICE Retention tool.

AdTorque Edge’s Advisory Division provides training and consulting services to the automotive industry in Australia and other countries.

The company says that it has more than 100 years of combined experience within the automotive, leisure and lifestyle industries with a team that prides itself on delivering the highest level of customer service and on working collaboratively to ensure it delivers what their clients need.

By John Mellor