From receptionist to award-winning Dealer Principal

Gabisile is the Dealer Principal at McCarthy Commercial Vehicles Alrode, and she recently scooped up the much sought-after title as the UD Trucks Southern Africa Dealer of the Year. The dealership also took home gold for being the best in the category for large dealerships.

The last time a title was bestowed on the dealership, was back in 2020 during the COVID period when it took the Dealer of the Year accolade in an extremely difficult time for any business. Winning the first prize back then, showed Gabisile the quality of the team at McCarthy Commercial Vehicles Alrode when she took over the reins at the dealership three years ago.

Her career started at the then Imperial Mitsubishi Boksburg back in 2009/2010 when she joined the dealership as a receptionist. Within a year she was approached to join a cadet training programme and was on her way to the UD Trucks assembly plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria.

Here she discovered her passion for trucks and the automotive industry and after a completing her cadet training, she joined Imperial UD Trucks Magnis Samrand, today a part of Motus. A part-time job turned into a full-time opportunity as stock controller, and she was all set.

She worked for Imperial as a Sales Executive for three years and then moved to Bidvest McCarthy Commercial Vehicles Alrode where her career growth began from Sales Executive to Sales Manager to her current position as Dealer Principal. During this time, she broadened her horizons, gained experience and learned more aspects of the business.

“I am a ‘one brand’-person. UD Trucks is my forte,” she tells Dealerfloor. “To be part of the brand since my cadet training at UDTSA to various positions at the different dealerships mentioned, is of great assistance to me in my current position.

“It provided me with a greater understanding of the dynamics at the factory, the various aspects of the business on the retail side, strategic planning and the very important aspect of building good relationships across the spectrum,” she says.

Talking to Gabisile, her excitement, confidence and in-depth understanding of the trucking industry are hard to ignore.

“For me as DP it was important to learn the way every department operates and every manager’s leadership style to create an environment in which they can blossom. My role is to manage the expectations,” Gabisile tells Dealerfloor.

“We are so proud of winning the title as is shows the dedication of the team that carried the business shoulder high through the COVID period. If we could do it then, we can do it now. Don’t be fooled – business conditions are tough, and difficulties are anything but far and in-between. We operate in a very challenging environment with many newcomers, all competing for market share,” she says.

Gabisile remarks that the automotive industry is very resilient and agile, the main reasons why it survived difficult times like the economic crisis of 2008 and the COVID period in 2020. “The UD brand is celebrating 90 years, a remarkable achievement for a remarkable brand. Over decades, we have established a footprint not only in South Africa but throughout southern Africa as well as globally and consolidated a solid reputation.”

“We have to be agile, adapt to new technologies and use new innovations to drive our strategy moving forward. The customers’ experience is the crucial part of our business. How you take care of your customers is what sustains the 2^nd and 3^rd sales. We don’t sell luxury. We sell low operating costs, business partnerships and uptime,” Gabisile says.

She concludes by saying that dealerships need to be pro-active, focus on what they do best, go the extra mile and with reference to Bidvest McCarthy Commercial Vehicles Alrode: “We have won the title, now the pressure is on. We will continue to lead the way.”