Inchcape UK has reviewed its sales team structure, increasing the basic annual pay of a sales executive by more than 50% to £22,000.

There is also no upper earning limit.

James Brearley (pictured), Inchcape UK chief executive, said:  “Delivering an exceptional customer experience has always been and will always be at the heart of this business. 

“In changing our sales structure we want to build a team of expert advisors, who are able to deliver a tailored customer experience every time. 

“It moves us away from the behaviour of just selling to acting as a personal advisor. 

“Buying a car now is very different to buying a car 10 years ago and as a progressive business we need to build for the future. 

“We are saying goodbye to the days of high pressure sales operations that relied on lower basic salaries and high commissions and drove unrealistic sales volumes - our plan will create an environment that puts the customer first every time.

Inchcape has split its teams into new and used, so each business manager and sales executive will have a specialism and be able to deliver a personal customer experience. 

Business managers will become responsible for leading their sales teams.

“By making these structural changes to our sales team, we will not only ensure that our customers receive a tailored experience every time, we are giving our employees a clear career path and a specialism in new or used cars. 

“Our sales teams play a crucial role, representing the front line of our business and we want to attract and retain the best people and become the employer of choice for these vital roles in our industry.”

There is no upper earnings limit, Brearley said, as it allows “each colleague to continue to earn and share in the company’s success in line with their personal performance”.

And dismissing concerns no limit encourages negative behaviour he said: “By adjusting the mix of basic pay to commission, we expect this risk to be reduced. We also have a clear expectation of both the customer experience and the colleague behaviours that are expected of our colleagues.”