Behind the Scenes with Used WAV Sales Manager Phil Nelson

We recently interviewed our Used WAV Sales Manager Phil Nelson, who runs our Coventry and Glasgow showrooms, to find out more about him and his background.

Hi Phil! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’ve always worked in Sales. I was at RBS for 10 years in a sales role, and various capacities, and ended up with a wealth management team with a small portfolio of clients that we looked after. The ultimate goal was to provide what they needed in terms of mortgages and loans, etc. but when RBS went through a turbulent time it was time to seek a change of role. 

How long have you worked at Allied?

I met with our company owners back in 2014 when they were looking to launch a used WAV arm of the business. They asked me if I’d like to come on board and I’ve been here for nine years now!

It has its challenges but now we’ve got the business making money and we are providing thousands of customers with affordable used WAVS. We were initially working from our showroom in Glasgow at the company headquarters, and now we have this this new, all-singing, all-dancing showroom in Coventry which opened last year and allows us to reach our customers outside of Scotland, which is doing really well. 

What do you like best about your role?

I have a lot of empathy with my clients whose vehicles can literally be life-changing for them. Last week I was back dealing with a customer who hadn’t been out of the house for two-and-a-half years because of Covid, and that put it into perspective. He said ‘I want to get out and about again, but I need to take my chair with me. So, I need one of these vehicles [WAVs].’ We managed to put him into a vehicle and now he’s going off exploring Scotland, him and his wheelchair and his new car. 

How did the Pandemic affect your role?

I spent three long months on furlough, which was daunting for everyone because we didn’t know what the pandemic was going to bring. I was delighted to get back to work in June 2021, but car sales were relatively slow.  Luckily, we saw an increase fairly quickly again on the used market as the restrictions lapsed a little.  

It picked up fairly quickly and last year, we had our best-ever year in terms of used WAV sales, so that was excellent.

What challenges do you face in Used WAV sales?

The vehicle sales market has been challenging because of issues with the sourcing and supply of new vehicles, which also impacts the used market. At the minute stock is very limited so I’m hoping that we can continue with a better year than last year, but more challenging until these new vehicles start coming through.

What do you enjoy outside of Allied?

There’s not much time for relaxation in the Nelson household with two young children – Toby, four, and two-year-old Ollie – and a third on the way. I like a game of golf occasionally and we spend lots of time together as a family at the weekends. My son Toby likes to go to the safari park or we go up to Nairn in the Scottish Highlands  for a long weekend – the boys love the beach up there.

To find out more about our used wheelchair accessible vehicles please call the number at the top of the page or click here.