Fuel/interview: Andy Conde on the market

Andy Conde has spent the past 40 years selling everything from cauliflowers to cars, cabinets to cottages, with the past 18 years focused on the automotive sector. His experience in auction halls up and down the country made him a stand-out candidate for the Fuel/talk podcast, hosted by Cox Automotive Customer Insight and Strategy Director James Davis, particularly as the auction halls of 2020 bear no resemblance to anything Conde has experienced in his career to date.

“If you look back to April,” comments Conde, “then it was all doom and gloom and we never thought we’d emerge. But credit to the team at Cox Automotive and the likes of CAP for forecasting a strong return to the market and putting in place the resources to make it happen. Indeed, I cannot remember going through a summer that was so busy. We had the busiest August Bank Holiday we have ever had, averaging 80% over three sales, and the market has a robust level of retail-ready cars and strong values.”

Of course, the auction halls themselves remain quiet, with physical distancing still in place. However, Conde and his team have been hosting more auctions than ever before from a virtual rostrum and Manheim is around a thousand buyers up, year-on-year, with more than 700 buyers engaging online every day. Average attendance at each auction is up 50%, while more buyers are beginning to make the switch. Conde comments: “It does make me smile when I see names popping up on the screen of physical buyers who said they would never buy online and that online auctions would never catch on. Even the auction hall stalwarts have been converted.”

While things have changed for buyers, Conde is also keen to outline the strength of relationship with vendors. There has been a readjustment in expectations around values and Conde encourages all of his auctioneers to have a ‘pre-match’ chat with the vendor prior to a sale – you can tell he’s a football fan, even if it is Wrexham FC! Some of the vendors log in via Simulcast and chat through that platform, others engage over Facetime or WhatsApp video calls. In all cases, the auction team try to get vendors up on the rostrum making virtual eye contact throughout the sale.

Another change to the auctions is the speed at which vehicles can go through the halls. Conde comments: “We’ve had to slow everything down. Before, we could do 80 to 90 vehicles an hour. Now it is more like 60 to 70 vehicles an hour. The sales are taking longer, but we can also provide buyers with more information about the vehicles. Our clerks are typing away on the screen and we are saying things two or three times to make sure buyers catch if there has been a change in the description. This is especially important as many of our buyers are multi-tasking.”

Conde goes on to explain that many of the buyers are looking at three or four sales at the same time and will not always have the sound switched on. That can make it trickier to catch buyer attention; however, the potential reach for vendors is that much greater. “One of our buyers was logged onto Manheim Bristol, Manheim Bruntingthorpe, Manheim Manchester plus some competitor sales, all at the same time. He said that although it is mentally exhausting, he does not have to sit in a car in traffic, and he has got the opportunity to buy a lot more vehicles. Another buyer commented recently that it has made his life a lot easier.”

While the technology is in place for buyers to attend multiple sales, Conde goes on to outline that it is all about confidence. The auctioneering team has had to work hard to ensure buyers and vendors are both confident in the process. “Our aim is to put a smile on the face and a pound in the pocket…we’ve got to make sure we keep our buyers happy and entertained. It is no different to a radio show – I do callouts for people, birthday requests and so on. But we also must remember everyone is here to make a profit. We have to be fair.”

Conde tells the story of how technology lag (and slow buyers!) sometimes mean bids come in after prices have been dropped. For example, a £12k reserve vehicle, offered to silence, may be reduced to £11.5k with the vendor’s consent, during which time a buyer has offer the original £12k. To keep it fair, Conde explains the psychology of meeting in the middle at £11,800, keeping everyone happy. He adds: “I’ve always said this job is 50% skill and 50% psychology, and that is even harder when you can’t see the whites of everyone’s eyes.”

While many of the auctioneers spent the early part of summer selling from laptops at home; Conde explains that the majority now come on site to run the sale, albeit to an empty room. Often the auctioneers will work in pairs to keep motivation and engagement high. They have even put pictures of regular buyers in their usual spots at some of the sites. “Motor traders are creatures of habit,” says Conde. “Draw a semi-circle around the rostrum and you can picture where each one will stand. Even if they are not there, you can direct your energy towards when they would usually be, bringing the sale to life by moving them around every time the vendor changes.”

While some buyers and vendors may stick with online sales when the market returns to more usual conditions, Conde argues the mental health benefits of attending a physical auction, are an important consideration, particularly for sole traders. He suggests we will see a mixture of the value of time saved by doing business online and not travelling alongside the social aspect of being at the auction and keeping up to date with what others in the industry are doing. He also suggests there will be a benefit in not cancelling auctions when in snows in Scotland or floods in Manchester! “There will always be a need for a physical auction,” argues Conde. “People want to touch it, feel it, smell it, interact with other people in the industry. But it is a balance.”

Moving on from the auction experience, Conde discusses the market conditions. He suggests that while we may see record used car sales, supply in the new car market is going to be an issue. As such, the flow of part exchange vehicles may be smoothed, reducing the impact on values. Currently, demand is outweighing supply and that is keeping prices high. “I think the market will remain strong, particularly for retail-ready stock,” say Conde. “However, the anticipated increase in unemployment at the end of the year means we may not see the usual seasonal spike in January. With reduced supply into the market, prices may well remain high.”

Discover more

To watch the full interview, click here or listen via Spotify or Apple Podcasts (search for Cox Automotive).