Announcements
A Chat with Chris Knight
Published Tuesday 17 October 2017
With nearly 30 years in the Motor Industry under his belt, Chris Knight is the Sales Director for Trade Me Motors and has some life lessons to share with us.
Life Story and Experiences
Where did you grow up?
I grew up on Auckland’s ‘sunny’ North Shore, spending many hours at the beach, on and around boats and the water. Life was exciting, full of activity and packed with adventure.
Where do you fit into Trade Me?
My role as Sales Director means I’m responsible for the revenue and work streams driving the Motors Dealer listings, Dealer Support and the MotorWeb NZ and MotorWeb Australia businesses.
The majority of my time is focused on developing and implementing strategies that increase the uptake of our dealer products and services designed specifically to help our dealer customers sell cars.
I have a fantastic team around me, including six direct reports - two Sales Managers (one for the North Island and one for the South Island), a Dealer Sales Coordinator and a Dealer Support Manager, and two Business Development Managers (one for MotorWeb NZ and one for MotorWeb Australia).
This extends out to an awesome team of six regional account managers spread across the country, two phone-based account managers and three support specialists.
How did you end up working for Trade Me?
You may find it hard to believe (cause I look so young), but I started my career in the Motor Industry almost 30 years ago as an apprentice mechanic. Soon after completing my studies and qualifying, I moved to Australia to work for BMW. A couple of years later I was back In NZ working for Team McMillan BMW. Then it was time for the big OE and after several years abroad I returned to NZ and was selling cars for Giltrap City Toyota, and then Schofields of Newmarket.
Having the urge to move into something a bit different, I took on a sales role with a startup IT company called MotorWeb. Like many startups, things did not go as planned and we struggled for many years. We were breaking new ground in everything we did, it was dial-up modem time and dealers really didn’t understand the internet; “It’ll never last,” they used to say!
In 2003 we started to get some traction and success. We won the e-Business of the Year Award that year, and in 2007 secured an exclusive contract with Austroads in Australia to help them commercialise their vehicle data.
By late 2012 we had hit saturation in NZ and needed to move the company to the next stage; this lead us down the track of finding a buyer that could take the value we had created and generate more. Following a contestable process, Trade Me was the winner and I was contracted in for a fixed period.
My initial view was I would work out my time and then be off to find another adventure. But not long after I found myself immersed in Trade Me (I was not expecting to like it) - I found the people and culture very welcoming and the longer I stayed the more I liked it.
Did you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you’re committed to in your work and life?
My parents taught me loads. From a very early age my dad instilled many core values such as respect, loyalty, persistence, honesty and to chase your dreams. My mum reinforced the importance of family and building relationships that are positive and open.
What motivates you to do what you do?
One of my passions is building, empowering and maintaining a strong and successful team, encompassing different personalities and skill sets, and where everyone feels challenged but rewarded, with a culture of total trust in each other.
I really enjoy seeing people grow and develop in their roles and continually achieve the goals they set themselves.
Reflections and Lessons
What advice would you give anyone who is looking at joining the motor industry?
If your idea is sound and you are passionate you can achieve anything. Believing, persevering and being resourceful and innovative can go a long way!
What life or career lesson has made the most impact on your life so far?
The school of life is always a great teacher! Being an owner-operator very quickly taught me to keep an open mind and to be flexible when learning. For example I had to learn all aspects of the business, from accounting to strategy, sales and development. I had to be all things to the business if I was going to survive.
What skills have you acquired that have helped you achieve what you have and where did you learn those skills?
It’s funny how you collect skills as you move through life and they all fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
My mechanic days taught me about the Motor Industry, while being a commission only sales person very quickly taught me how to sell, because it was a sink or swim situation.
Running an internet company, especially when the internet was still very much an unknown playground (I’m giving my age away here) forced me to learn all the ins and outs very quickly.
These, combined with all the things I had to learn as an owner-operator have helped me get to this point in my career. Of course the skills I have learned while at Trade Me will help me in the next steps, and so the wheel keeps turning.
If you could do anything over again, what would you do and why?
Nothing really, apart from maintaining a better work-life balance, especially being an owner-operator of Motorweb while raising a young family. Even now, I treat Trade Me as my own business, making it hard to switch off at times.
What’s next? What are you looking forward to?
I look forward to growing within the Trade Me Motors space, with a spot on the exec team firmly within my sights!