What you can start this week —
and what's actually worth your time.
Live vacancies across the Burton → Uttoxeter → Stoke-on-Trent corridor (40-minute drive max — and since you're in a shared room, you can move to wherever the right job is, including near your grandparents in Stoke). Built around what you already have: age 21, three years' clean licence, clean DBS, your own car, and two years selling used caravans — which is high-ticket sales experience, and worth more than you think.
Researched 30 July 2026 · listings decay — apply fast, links checked at build timeThe play
Three moves, run in parallel. None of them conflict.
Why sales first
Two years closing four- and five-figure caravan deals is a directly transferable trade. Dealerships hire on attitude and track record, not qualifications — every trainee ad says so. Driving pays £12–15 an hour whatever you do; sales pays £35k+ within a year if you're any good, and you already know you are. Driving is the stopgap. Sales is the job.
Route 1 — Car sales (the like-for-like move)
Used caravans → used cars is a straight transfer. Being 21 with a clean licence matters here: demo-car insurance is why many dealerships can't hire younger.
Car Sales Executive — Holdcroft Nissan, Hanley (Stoke)
£50k OTE uncapped + company carThe strongest live sales vacancy on the corridor. Holdcroft is Stoke's big dealer group (a dozen franchises), and this role advertises uncapped commission, a company car, structured training and progression — with no experience bar stated. Hours: Mon–Fri 9–6, Saturdays, Sunday 10–4, with one weekend in three off. Hanley is right by your grandparents — this is the role that makes the Stoke move make sense.
Arnold Clark Motorstore, Burton (DE13) — speculative + one live role
Sales: £25.5k basic + commission when listedStill the best location fit: a Motorstore in Burton itself, trainee-friendly (group requirement is just a licence held 1+ year), £25,500 basic plus commission when the role is up. Apply speculatively now — hand a CV in at the branch and register on the careers site — so you're first in the queue when Burton's sales role reopens.
Live at Burton right now: Service Advisor — £30,500 basic, £42,500 OTE. Customer-facing motor trade with real money and no spanner skills needed; worth an application as the bridge into the building you want to sell cars from. (Also live: Pitch Valeter £13/hr — the classic foot-in-the-door role sales managers promote from.)
All live Burton roles →Parts Sales Advisor — via Pure Staff, Derby
£12.76/hr · tempParts counter — sales-adjacent, immediate, and motor-trade experience on the CV while the sales applications run. A decent bridge job rather than a destination.
Find it on Reed (sales, Burton) →Internal Sales Executive — via Harvey Beric Associates, Burton
£26–36k OTEOffice-based B2B sales. Not cars, but a real salary step up from driving, and Harvey Beric is a Burton recruiter worth registering with regardless — tell them: sales background, available now.
harveyberic.com →Speculative walk-ins (no live ad needed)
Dealerships hire salespeople when a good one walks in, not when HR gets round to advertising. Walk the dealer rows and drop a CV at every franchise showroom: Burton's dealerships first (including the Arnold Clark Motorstore), then Derby's cluster (Pentagon, Evans Halshaw and the franchise row), then Stoke's — Holdcroft's dozen franchises beyond the live Nissan role. Use the walk-in script at the bottom of this page. Ten dealerships = realistic odds of two interviews. Between drops, work the live boards: Totaljobs trainee car sales, Stoke and Indeed car sales, Stoke both carry pages of corridor listings.
Route 2 — Back into leisure vehicles
Your actual trade. Fewer vacancies than cars, but you walk in with relevant experience nobody else applying has.
Motorhome Buyer — We Buy Any Motorcaravan, Bretby (Burton)
£21k basic + commissionBuying and appraising motorhomes: walk-around videos, negotiating with owners, managing stock. Their ad says "experience in the industry is not necessary" — and you have two years of it. They ask for a C1 licence (see below); the email at the bottom of this page handles that honestly. This is the one role in the area where your caravan background makes you the obvious hire.
Spinney Caravans — Staffordshire branch (Silverdale, Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5)
Speculative — sales ad expiredThe sales vacancy has been filled or pulled — but Spinney is a long-established leisure dealer with a branch on your corridor, and sales staff turn over. Send the speculative email (bottom of page, adapted for caravans) and ask them to keep you on file. Their live vacancies are currently technician roles, including a Trainee Service Technician route covering the Staffordshire site — a paid trade qualification inside the industry you know, if selling isn't moving fast enough.
Spinney Staffordshire →Motorhome Sales Executive — Glossop Caravans
£35–60k advertisedOne of the UK's biggest caravan dealerships, advertising until late June 2026 (may have re-listed — worth a call either way). Outside your 40-minute radius — only if you'd relocate for the money.
glossopcaravans.co.uk →The C1 licence question
Some motorhome roles (including the Bretby buyer job) want a C1 licence — motorhomes over 3.5 tonnes. You only have category B. C1 is a bolt-on: medical, two theory tests, then a practical.
The route (approximate 2026 figures — confirm prices when booking): D4 medical (~£50–£100 at a private clinic) → apply for provisional C1 entitlement (free, form D2) → lorry theory tests (multiple choice ~£26 + hazard perception ~£11) → a C1 training course and practical test (typically £600–£900 all-in for 3–5 days' training). Realistic total: £700–£1,100 and 4–8 weeks. Worth doing only if a job wants it — it also unlocks 7.5t driving work generally, which pays above van rates. Don't buy it speculatively; do ask employers if they'll fund it.
Route 3 — Driving that's actually worth it at 21
Most driving pays £12–15/hr whoever you work for. The version that makes sense is employed, PAYE, company vehicle — not self-employed with your own costs. Here's what's live and what your age unlocks.
Medical courier — EMED Group (NHS pathology routes)
Company van · PAYESolo fixed routes collecting pathology samples from GP surgeries — company van, fuel and insurance provided, no multi-drop chaos. Requirements are just a category B licence held 12+ months and max 6 points. Your clean DBS is a genuine advantage here (NHS-facing work). Bank (zero-hours) roles are a good bridge; days roles are a steady wage.
emedgroup.co.uk/careers →3.5t multi-drop van — MET Logistics, Fradley Park (Lichfield)
£12.70–£14.50/hrStandard multi-drop. Most roles on this park want 21+ with a clean licence — which is exactly what you've got. Weekly pay via agency, immediate starts.
Live van roles, Burton area →Trade-plate driver — BCA Logistics (self-employed)
Per movement — read the reality check belowThe biggest vehicle-movement operator in the UK, and the one whose door opens at 21. Zero outlay, pick your own jobs. Register now so it's available as fill-in cash — but read the trade-plate reality section before planning a week around it. Also worth asking BCA directly about employed, PAYE driver roles at their auction sites — Measham and Donington Park (the old Aston Barclay site, now BCA) are both within 25 minutes, and employed auction-site driving is the steady-wage version of this job.
contractorengagement.bca.com →Agency Cat B van desks (registrations, all free)
£12.73–£15.13/hr observedDriver Hire Derby — 01332 327200 · derby@driverhire.co.uk — confirmed Cat B van work at £13–15/hr, and their whole product is holiday/sickness cover, so work comes in bursts year-round. Also register online with Blue Arrow (publishes £13.50–£15.09/hr), Pertemps Driving and Gi Group Driving — all national, all run Cat B desks. Registering with several multiplies the phone calls you get.
Supermarket home delivery — Tesco / Sainsbury's / Asda, Burton–Derby–Stoke
~£12–13.50/hr + premiumsSteady employed driving with proper contracts and staff discount. Age and licence rules vary by store insurer — most accept 21 with 3 years' licence comfortably. Check each chain's careers site for the specific store; Stoke and Derby stores advertise most often.
Route 4 — Cash this week
Burton is a distribution town. Register with two agencies in person, and you're usually working within days at £12.85–£14.42/hr, paid weekly.
| Where | What | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Aligra — Burton | Warehouse temp-to-perm, £12.85–£14.42/hr, weekly pay, immediate starts | Register via aligra.co.uk, then phone to push for a same-week start |
| Driver Hire — Derby | Cat B van driving £13–15/hr | 01332 327200 · derby@driverhire.co.uk |
| Pertemps / Blue Arrow / Gi Group | National industrial + driving desks — registering with several multiplies the calls you get | Online registration, then phone the nearest branch |
| JCB — Rocester (Uttoxeter) | General Operative days £12.77/hr live now via Job&Talent; Production Operative roles advertised around £14.47/hr + overtime at time-and-a-half. A serious employer 20 minutes up the A50 — temp labour runs through Guidant Global | jobs.guidantglobal.com — JCB |
| Burton's distribution belt | Molson Coors, Marston's, Clipper/GXO, Palletforce and the DE14 warehouse cluster recruit through agencies year-round | Tell every agency: "any shift, immediate start" — that phrase moves you to the top of the list |
| Stoke option | If living near your grandparents suits: bet365 hires Customer Service Advisors with no experience required — £26,208 after training, any 5 days from 7, shifts roughly 7am–8.30pm. Listings churn on their board, so check it directly. Stoke's agency market is also bigger than Burton's | bet365careers.com/all-jobs + register with Stoke branches of the same agencies |
What to bring to every registration
Driving licence · proof of address · NI number · licence share code from gov.uk/view-driving-licence · bank details. Do it in person where possible — faces get phoned first.
Route 5 — Own-car courier (top-up money, not a job)
Amazon Flex
£14–18/hr per block18+, needs a 4-door mid-size car or bigger and hire-and-reward insurance. Check the Flex app for Burton/Derby block availability before paying for insurance — coverage varies by postcode.
flex.amazon.co.uk →Evri courier round
50p–£1.50/parcelOwn-car rounds; the SE+ contract guarantees at least minimum wage for time on the round. Realistic £60–150/day gross before fuel and insurance. Fine alongside other work; poor as a main income.
evri.com/deliver-with-evri →The trade-plate reality check
Vehicle-movement work looks like the dream driving job. Your dad researched the whole sector in July 2026 — driver reviews, forums, worked examples. Read this before signing up anywhere.
What drivers actually clear
Headline rates advertise "£50–£200/day". Across Indeed and Glassdoor reviews and the driver forums, the repeated real number is £7–8 per hour once you count the unpaid return legs — trains home from wherever you dropped the car, at your own cost, on your own time. Typical realistic take: £250–£500 a week gross, with 12-hour days when connections go wrong. The whole skill of the job is the return journey, not the driving.
It still has a place: zero outlay, pick your own days, no boss. As fill-in cash between other work — take short local moves, refuse anything that strands you, chain jobs around the Derby–Burton–Donington auction belt. As a full-time plan — no.
Engineius is closed to you anyway — they require drivers aged 25–75. BCA (21+) is the one that will take you now.
The 7-day plan
Everything below is free. By next Friday you can have money coming in and every serious application live.
The execution schedule
Two tracks running at once. Track A is cash — a stopgap job applied for this week so money starts arriving while the real hunt runs. Track B is the career — doors, handshakes, follow-ups. Track A takes about four hours total, once. Track B is the job you do every day until you have an offer.
Read this before anything else
The reason most job hunts fail isn't effort — it's that everything gets done at the wrong time of day. Managers are only catchable between about 10am and 4pm on weekdays. That window is sacred: it is for doors and phones, never for laptop work. Emails, applications, research and CV tweaks are night work, when nobody can be visited anyway.
Anyone can fire off a hundred emails from bed. Almost nobody walks into fifteen businesses and shakes fifteen hands. That asymmetry is your entire competitive advantage — so protect the daylight hours and do the typing after dark.
The priority stack — what actually matters
If a day collapses and you only manage one thing, do the highest-ranked thing still outstanding. Everything below rank 5 is optional.
Interim cash secured
Warehouse, supermarket, Amazon, or yes — bar work. Applied for within 48 hours, three applications minimum.
Because a hunt conducted from a position of panic makes bad decisions, and a hunt with rent covered can hold out for the right sales seat instead of grabbing the first thing going.
The six named applications sent
Holdcroft, We Buy Any Motorcaravan, Arnold Clark, bet365, EMED, Spinney. The PDFs already exist. Send them.
These are the only genuinely live, verified, well-paid vacancies found. Everything else on this page is prospecting; this is the actual shot on target.
Doors knocked, in volume
Twelve to fifteen a day on route days. Names collected every time.
The one thing nobody else applying will do. Volume is the whole mechanism — at a 1% hit rate, a hundred doors is one job, and the maths only works if you actually reach a hundred.
Follow-ups honoured
Every promise kept, same day or the day named. Every drop chased within 48 hours.
Most candidates never follow up. Doing it is a live demonstration of exactly the trait a sales manager is hiring for.
Rehearsal reps done
Mirror, phone, sparring — before the first route day, then topped up weekly.
Fifteen doors delivered badly burns fifteen businesses permanently. There is no second first impression.
Board maintenance
Job alerts, board scanning, LinkedIn tidy-up, tracker updates.
Necessary admin, but it is not progress — it only feels like progress. Never let this displace a rank 1–4 task.
Track A — cash, this week (~4 hours, once)
Be honest about the trade-off: you don't want bar work, and you shouldn't do it as a career. But it pays weekly, it's the fastest yes available in Burton in August, and shifts are typically evenings — which leaves the manager-catchable daylight hours completely free for Track B. That makes it the ideal stopgap, not a defeat. Warehouse shifts pay better (£12.85–£14.42/hr) but often eat the daytime; if you take days, your route days move to your days off.
Do all of this in one sitting, tonight: register with Aligra and one other Burton agency online · apply to three supermarket home-delivery or store roles in Burton/Swadlincote · check the Amazon Flex app for local block availability · if bar work is acceptable as a bridge, walk into four pubs in Burton town centre tomorrow lunchtime and ask directly — hospitality hires on the spot in a way no other sector does.
Then stop. Track A is done. Do not let it expand — it is a bridge, not a project.
Track B — the daily shape of a route day
The 14-day plan
The scoreboard
Four numbers, every route day, written down. Not felt — written.
Realistic expectations, so the maths doesn't demoralise you: roughly 100 doors produces something like 20–30 real conversations, perhaps 5–10 people who genuinely keep the CV, 2–4 interviews, and one offer. Ninety-nine doors are supposed to fail. That isn't the campaign going wrong — that IS the campaign. Anyone who quits at door 40 was always going to get nothing; the whole thing only pays out at the far end.
The application pack (built 30 July)
Thirteen PDFs, ready to send — a master CV plus a tailored CV and researched cover letter for each of the six named targets. They're in the family iCloud folder: ade-health-dashboard → henry-work → applications. Ask Dad to AirDrop the set.
| Target | What the pair says |
|---|---|
| Holdcroft Nissan, Hanley | CV leads with dealership sales + SAF finance approval; letter cites their 1966 Hanley founding, family values and training investment, and your Stoke family connection |
| We Buy Any Motorcaravan | CV leads with inspection, video walk-arounds and negotiation; letter mirrors their 1,000-motorhomes-a-year, paid-before-we-drive-away model and is straight about C1 |
| Arnold Clark Burton | Dual application: live Service Advisor role + first in the queue for the next Sales Consultant opening; letter cites Dealer Group of the Year 2026 and their promote-from-within culture |
| bet365, Stoke | CV leads with systems (EMIS, AccuRx), confidential data and multi-channel service; letter leans on their "Empathy" value and Stoke loyalty |
| EMED Group | CV leads with clean licence + clean DBS + real NHS workplace experience; letter connects their "enabling access to health and social care" mission to your GP-practice background |
| Spinney, Silverdale | Speculative: letter echoes their founding "service sells" philosophy and 2024 expansion; CV is pure caravan trade |
The numbers are in — and they're the best thing on the CV
Every document now leads with what you actually did in 2025: 155 caravans sold, around £2.7m of retail value, at an average unit price of £17,500 — and a best month of 25 units against a target of 21, which is 119% of target. Underneath that sits the line most sales managers will care about even more: around ten warranty and accessory sales a month — extended warranties (£209–£959), E-move motor movers for single and twin axles (£859–£1,970), Tyron Safety Bands (£170) — the dealership's higher-margin revenue.
That last point is the one to say out loud in an interview. Anyone can shift units when a customer already wants one. Attaching high-margin extras to two-thirds of your deals is the skill a dealer principal actually pays for, because that's where his profit lives, not in the metal.
Two housekeeping notes. The £2.7m figure is 155 × £17,500 — arithmetic from your own numbers, so be ready to show that working if anyone asks. And the references section now reads "available on request": the old CV printed two people's personal contact details, which should never go out on a document that gets emailed around.
The 100 doors — cold-call list · 107 verified
Nobody on this list is advertising for you. That's the point: you arrive before the ad exists. Every business here sells something expensive that people think hard about buying — which is precisely what you've spent two years learning to sell. Work it as geographic routes, twelve to fifteen doors a day, master CV and a printed letter in hand.
The doorstep script
"Morning — is the owner or sales manager about? I'm Henry. I've sold caravans in Burton for the last two years — high-value stuff, finance-approved, the full process. I know you're not advertising; I'm calling in before you need to. This is my CV and a letter. If a sales seat ever opens up, I'd like to be the first name you think of." Hand it over, thank them, leave. Ninety seconds, no lingering. If they want to talk, they'll stop you leaving.
Why these businesses, and not just "any shop"
Every door on this list sells something expensive that people think hard about buying — a caravan, a car, a kitchen, a hot tub, a digger. That's not a coincidence, it's the whole filter. A £20,000 considered purchase is sold the same way whatever the product: build trust, handle the doubt, arrange the finance, close it gently. You already do that job. A kitchen showroom owner doesn't care that your last product had wheels; he cares that you've sat with a nervous couple spending their savings and got them to sign.
They're also nearly all independents and family firms. That matters more than size: at a family business the person who can hire you is on the premises, and can say yes on the spot. At a national chain, your CV goes into a portal and dies. Small firms also don't advertise — they hire the person who happened to turn up. That's the crack you're walking through.
Route Day 1 — Burton, Swadlincote & the DE13/15 belt · 22 doors
Start here. Nearest to home, cheapest in fuel, and if the pitch is rough on the first few doors you've burnt businesses you can afford to burn. Every one of these is inside fifteen minutes.
| Business | What they sell | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Garage careers page | Family-run used-car supermarket, three generations, 1,000+ cars | Hilton DE65 5FJ | 01283 732527 |
| Tom Hartley | World-famous family supercar dealer — Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce on a 40-acre estate. A long shot, but a legendary one | Overseal DE12 6JD | 01283 762762 |
| Riverside Car Sales | Independent, 68 cars in stock | Burton DE14 1RN | 01283 642506 |
| RDM Direct | Used cars and vans, 91 vehicles | Burton DE14 1RN | 01283 642051 |
| G1 Motors | Independent, 47 cars | Burton DE14 2BE | 01283 642069 |
| B & B Car Centre | Independent, 41 cars | New Street, Burton DE14 3QW | 01283 642569 |
| Woodland Cars | Family-run since 1996 — cars and light commercials | Stanton, Burton DE15 9TJ | 01283 517303 |
| Exclusive Classic Cars | Family firm 30 years — classic, sports, prestige, Japanese imports, ~40 cars | Uxbridge St, Burton DE14 3JR | 01283 548811 |
| LDC Falcon Motorcycles | Bike and scooter sales, CBT training, workshop, finance | Falcon Close, Burton DE14 1SG | 01283 545900 |
| LTC Car Sales | Family-run, award-winning Highly Rated dealer | Woodville, Swadlincote DE11 8EX | 01283 328732 |
| Bretby Van Sales | Used vans and cars — small stock, appointment-based, so phone before turning up | Bretby DE15 0PS | 01283 211655 |
| Elmview Interiors | Luxury British and German fitted kitchens, family-run | Hawkins Lane, Burton DE14 | 01283 384892 |
| Albion BKE | Burton's largest independent bathroom and kitchen showroom (est. 2006) | Stretton, Burton DE13 | 01283 526555 |
| Herron Windows | Windows, doors and conservatories since 1992 — ten conservatories on display | Burton DE14 | 01283 749308 |
| Swadlincote Window Company | Large independent manufacturer — windows, orangeries, conservatories, verandas | Swadlincote DE11 | 01283 212222 |
| UK Garden Buildings | Handcrafted garden rooms, offices, summerhouses — A38 display site | Barton-under-Needwood DE13 | 01283 713838 |
| Roundpeg Outdoor Buildings | Bespoke garden rooms, log cabins, pergolas | Yoxall DE13 | 07377 633735 |
| Fireplace by Design | Fireplace manufacturer on site since 1961 — two-storey showroom | Measham DE12 | 01530 271015 |
| Coytes Furnishings | Family-owned since 1972 — beds, sofas, dining, flooring, two showrooms | Derby Rd, Burton DE14 | 01283 539260 |
| Planters at Bretby | Family garden centre group — furniture, aquatics, homewares | Bretby DE15 | 01283 703355 |
| Byrkley Park | Large garden centre, furniture and leisure departments. Klondyke-owned, not independent — expect a slower process | Rangemore DE13 | 01283 716467 |
| Holme Tree | Luxury bespoke kitchens and fitted furniture, in-house craftsmen | Ashby LE65 | 01530 564561 |
Route Day 2 — Derby & Castle Donington · 13 doors
The biggest concentration of stock and staff in the radius. AvailableCar alone is worth the trip — it's the one door here with live sales vacancies, so treat it as an application, not a cold call.
| Business | What they sell | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| AvailableCar live vacancies | Family-run used-car supermarket est. 2002 — 1,500–2,000 cars, actively recruiting | Castle Donington DE74 2NL | 0808 175 8509 |
| TT Sports & Prestige | Luxury and prestige — 73 cars, Range Rover to Ferrari | Derby Trading Est. DE21 4BE | 01332 415000 |
| Derby Trade Cars | Family-run independent, 25+ years, ~83 cars and vans | Ascot Drive, Derby DE24 8ST | 01332 494607 |
| Benz Bavarian | Family-run 39 years — performance, prestige, 4x4, own service centre | Duffield, Belper DE56 4FQ | 01332 840272 |
| Stenson Farm Car Sales | Independent, 31 cars | Stenson Rd, Derby DE23 1LG | via AA listing |
| Powerslide Motorcycles | Suzuki / MV Agusta dealer plus used bikes and workshop | Raynesway, Derby DE21 7BH | 01332 755560 |
| Direct Commercials | Independent used-van dealer, London Road site | Alvaston, Derby DE24 8QA | via website |
| Hunters Furniture | Derby's longest-established independent furnisher (1928) — Ercol, Neptune, Tempur over three floors | The Wardwick, Derby DE1 | 01332 349285 |
| Kedleston Interiors | Family-owned since 1988 — bespoke bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms | Derby DE22 | 01332 295031 |
| Fires & Fireplaces | Family-run showroom, 40+ fires and media walls on display | Derby DE22 | 01332 381818 |
| Derby Kitchen Manufacturers | Family-owned kitchen manufacturer — bespoke cabinets, kitchens, bedrooms | Chaddesden DE21 | 01332 207722 |
| Swarkestone Nursery | Independent nursery with premium garden furniture department | Swarkestone DE73 | 01332 700800 |
| Cabin Master | Insulated garden rooms from £12,500 — 25-building show site, own factory | Stapleford NG9 | 0115 932 8888 |
Route Day 3 — THE LEISURE TRADE · 28 doors · your highest-conversion list
Do this route first — before Burton, before Derby
Everywhere else on this page, you're a salesperson asking to learn a new product. Here, you're a trained caravan salesman walking into a caravan business. You know the brands, the layouts, the damp checks, the season, the buyers, the finance, the handover — and you're SAF approved. These owners spend months trying to find someone who already understands the trade, and most of them have never advertised a vacancy in their lives.
The two-in-one: Don Amott Leisure Kingdom and Hilton Garage share the postcode DE65 5FJ. Two of the biggest doors on the entire list, one car park, fifteen minutes from Burton. Start your whole campaign there.
| Business | What they sell | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Amott Leisure Kingdom start here | Major dealer — new and used caravans, motorhomes, campervans, accessories megastore, awning shop, workshops. The biggest leisure door in the radius | Hilton DE65 5FJ | 01283 732193 |
| Blackwood Leisure Vehicles | Family firm since 2008 — used touring caravans and motorhomes, sales, refurbishment, repairs | Swadlincote DE11 9JQ | 01283 819620 |
| Venture Vehicles | Motorhomes, campervans and caravans — sales and brokerage, plus camping accessories | Ashbourne DE6 1NA | 01335 343953 |
| Derby Motorhomes | Quality used motorhomes and campervans, all makes, ~30 years trading | Derby DE1 3GU | 01332 360222 |
| Geoff Cox Leisure | New and used motorhomes and campervans (Adria, Roller Team, Wildax), parts and accessory centre | Marehay, Ripley DE5 8JN | 01332 781562 |
| Tamworth Caravans | Used touring caravans, inside Planters Garden Centre, open 7 days | Tamworth B78 2EY | 01827 262666 |
| Go European | New and used motorhomes and campervans (Carthago, Auto-Sleepers, Roller Team), servicing | Cannock WS11 0GW | 01543 399599 |
| Lowe & Rhodes Leisure | Award-winning Swift motorhome and campervan dealer, new and used | Fenton, Stoke ST4 2HU | 01782 212871 |
| Spinney letter already written | New and used caravans, motorhomes, campervans — the family group whose "service sells" letter is in your pack | Silverdale ST5 6NR | 01782 622581 |
| Kimberley Caravan Centre | New and used caravans (Coachman, Swift, Adria) plus used motorhomes, big awning and accessory shop | Kimberley NG16 2HX | 0115 938 2401 |
| West Midland Caravans | ~100 used caravans and motorhomes in stock, est. 1988 | Old Arley CV7 8HN | 01676 541515 |
| Highwood Motorhomes | Motorhome hire fleet plus used motorhome sales, servicing and habitation checks | Highwood, Uttoxeter ST14 8PR | 01889 566456 |
| Cutlers Sales & Hire | Equi-Trek horseboxes, Brian James and Nugent trailers, ATVs, hire — towing know-how is your ground | Barton-under-Needwood DE13 8BN | 01543 222957 |
| HFB Trailers Leek | Ifor Williams main dealer — horseboxes, livestock, commercial and plant trailers | Rudyard, nr Leek ST13 8RH | 01538 306212 |
| T&A Trailers | Ifor Williams new and used — horseboxes, tippers, transporters, parts, hire | Aldridge WS9 0RR | 01922 452456 |
| Tamworth Camping | Awnings plus camping and towing accessories — store and online retailer | Needwood, Burton DE13 9PD | 01827 250095 |
| Derbyshire Caravan Services | AWS-approved caravan servicing, repairs, insurance and warranty work since 2001 | Derby DE21 4BE | 01332 206827 |
| Peak Caravan Services | Caravan, motorhome and trailer servicing to AWS and NCC standard | Leek ST13 | via website |
| VanlifeStaffs | Mobile caravan and motorhome servicing and accessory fitting across Staffordshire | Tean, nr Cheadle ST10 | via website |
| The New & Used Boat Co | New widebeam and narrowboat sales plus brokerage, ~35 boats on display, open 7 days. Big-ticket considered purchase — same sale, different water | Mercia Marina, Willington DE65 6DW | 01283 890888 |
| Lakeland Leisure Boat Sales | Narrowboat and widebeam brokerage at Barton Marina | Barton-under-Needwood DE13 8DZ | 01283 711666 |
| Streethay Wharf | Full-service boatyard — chandlery, repairs, surveys, day-boat hire | Streethay, Lichfield WS13 8RJ | 01543 414808 |
| Callow Top Holiday Park | New Willerby static holiday homes for sale on park, from around £65,000 | Sandybrook, Ashbourne DE6 2AQ | 01335 344020 |
| Ashbourne Heights | New and pre-owned lodges and statics for sale, on-site sales office (Park Holidays UK) | Fenny Bentley, Ashbourne DE6 | 01335 218987 |
| Kingfisher Holiday Park | Static holiday homes for sale, £25k–£53k currently listed | Fradley Junction, Alrewas DE13 7DN | 01283 790407 |
| Newhaven Holiday Park | Caravan holiday homes for sale — Park Holidays UK's second Derbyshire ownership park | A515 nr Ashbourne SK17 | 0333 004 8030 |
| JJ's Motorhome Hire | Family-run hire fleet, 4/6/7-berth 2025 vehicles | Derby | 07448 963202 |
| Hire Me A Motorhome | 6-berth Rimor hire fleet covering Staffordshire | Eccleshall, nr Stafford | 01785 826410 |
The holiday-park angle nobody thinks about
Those four holiday parks sell static caravans and lodges from £25,000 to £65,000 — and they employ on-park sales staff to do it. It's the same product family you already sell, to the same demographic, with the same finance conversations. Sales roles there are almost never advertised on the big job boards; they're filled by whoever the park manager happens to meet. That's you, on a Tuesday morning, with a CV in your hand.
Route Day 4 — Lichfield & Tamworth · 12 doors
Straight down the A38, tight cluster, easy to do twelve in a morning. Heart of the Country Shopping Village near Lichfield has several high-ticket retailers on one site — walk the whole village.
| Business | What they sell | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| RJD Commercials | Independent commercial dealer — 101 vehicles, finance and part-exchange | Tamworth B79 7UW | 01827 492042 |
| Sports & Prestige of Lichfield | Family-run — ~40 cars (VW to Ferrari), vans and motorhomes. Your caravan background is directly relevant here | London Rd, Lichfield WS14 9QX | 01543 888445 |
| Norris Brothers Garages | Long-established family garage, ~20 used cars plus service | Lichfield St, Tamworth B79 7QB | 01827 492605 |
| Rhodes Van Sales | Independent van dealer, ~20 vehicles | Tamworth B79 7TA | 01827 492816 |
| Trent Valley Cars | Independent used-car dealer, rolling stock | Lichfield | via website |
| Midlands Hot Tubs | Family-run Platinum Spas retailer — 10+ tubs, swim spas, wet-test area | Grangewood GC, Tamworth B78 | 01827 51010 |
| Tippers Luxury Showroom | 60+ premium kitchen and bathroom displays — Villeroy & Boch, Hansgrohe | Lichfield WS14 | 01543 440020 |
| Lichfield Kitchens & Bedrooms | Independent family firm since 1985 — bespoke kitchens, bedrooms, home offices | Lichfield WS14 | 01543 263340 |
| Glazerite Lichfield | Family-run windows, doors, conservatories, roof lanterns — showroom at the old brewery | Lichfield WS14 | 01543 758566 |
| The Fireplace and Stove Company | Family-run 30+ years — log burners, gas and electric fires | Heart of the Country, WS14 | 01543 480444 |
| Lichfield Bed Centre | Family-run 40+ years — premium and adjustable beds | Windsor Business Pk, WS13 | 01543 410956 |
| The Bed Shop Tamworth | Family bed showroom — Hypnos, Sleepeezee, adjustable beds | Tamworth B79 | 01827 53933 |
Route Day 5 — Stoke-on-Trent & Newcastle-under-Lyme · 7 doors + the Holdcroft group
Stay at your grandparents' the night before — it turns a 40-minute commute into a five-minute one and lets you say "I'm local" honestly. Combine this route with the Holdcroft Nissan application and the rest of their franchises.
| Business | What they sell | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Gear Stoke | Independent family-run, ~126 cars, finance and warranty | Dividy Rd, Stoke ST2 | 01782 427600 |
| The Potteries Motorcycles careers page | 12 brands, 100+ used and 74 pre-reg machines | Waterloo Rd, Stoke ST6 2EL | 01782 900100 |
| DK Motorcycles | 30+ years, premier Kawasaki dealer — claims the UK's largest showroom, 600+ machines | Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 9JJ | via website |
| V12 Sports and Classics | Independently owned used-car supermarket, high-volume site | Meir Heath ST3 7PG | via website |
| Staffordshire Car Company | Family-run 40+ years — premium used (Defender, Q8) | Hanley ST1 4BA | 01782 966775 |
| Willetts Kitchens & Bedrooms | Second-generation family firm manufacturing in-house, showroom open daily | Fenton, Stoke ST4 | 01782 846000 |
| Hydropool Staffordshire | Hot tubs, swim spas, gazebos and garden buildings | Leek ST13 | 01538 380976 |
Route Day 6 — Stafford, Stone & Uttoxeter corridor · 8 doors
Fewer doors per mile, but far less competition — these are family firms where a face is remembered for months. Furbanks has been trading since 1936; that's the kind of business that hires on impression, not process.
| Business | What they sell | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Furbanks Market Street Garage | Family firm since 1936 — late, low-mileage one-owner cars plus MOT and service | Uttoxeter ST14 8JA | 01889 567270 |
| Angus MacKinnon | Independent family dealer group since 1995 — new and used | Uttoxeter ST14 | via website |
| Langley Brook Cars | Family-run RAC-approved showroom | Kirk Langley, Ashbourne DE6 4NG | 01283 499283 |
| Dave Fox Cars | 25+ years — 80+ sports, prestige, performance and 4x4 | Stone ST15 | via website |
| Stafford Motorcycles hiring a mechanic | Used bikes plus workshop — advertising a vacancy, so they're in hiring mode | Stafford ST16 2PL | 01785 229884 |
| Stafford Car Sales | Independent, no-admin-fee pitch | Stone Rd, Stafford ST16 1JZ | 01543 748620 |
| Champion Hot Tubs | Jacuzzi® dealer — 11 hot tubs, 4 swim spas, saunas, outdoor kitchens on display | Yarlet, nr Stone ST18 | 01889 508787 |
| Regal Carrington Windows | Independent double glazing, composite and bifold doors, orangeries | Pinxton NG16 | 01773 483090 |
Route Day 7 — machinery, plant & trade counters · 18 doors · the least-competed list here
Why this one is worth your time even though it's the least obvious
Nobody your age walks into a tractor dealership asking for sales work — which is exactly why it's worth doing. These firms sell £40,000–£150,000 machines to farmers and contractors, they're mostly family-owned, they struggle to find young sales staff, and they pay well when they do. Two things on your CV land here specifically: you operated tractors to move caravans around the yard (so you're not frightened of the kit), and you're finance-approved (machinery is almost always sold on finance). Spread these across your Uttoxeter and Stafford days rather than doing them in one hit — they're rural and far apart.
| Business | What they sell | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rea Valley Tractors | New Holland tractors, JCB ag range, Kuhn implements — major regional dealer, purpose-built 30,000 sq ft site | Cubley, Ashbourne DE6 | 01283 821345 |
| Startin Tractors | New and used tractors and farm machinery plus Isuzu pickups — long-established family dealer, two angles in one visit | Twycross CV9 3PW | 01827 880088 |
| Buxtons | Kubota compact tractors, mowers, RTVs, arborist kit — the Midlands' largest showroom | Penkridge, Stafford ST19 5RP | 01785 712397 |
| Derbyshire Quads | Polaris, Suzuki and Kymco ATVs and UTVs — Midlands main dealer with a 180-acre demo farm | Brailsford, Ashbourne DE6 3BN | 01335 289506 |
| Farol | John Deere agricultural, turf and groundcare plus STIHL and Husqvarna — family-owned group | Hinckley LE10 0NB | 01844 278843 |
| Henton & Chattell | Kubota dealer and one of the UK's biggest garden machinery distributors, est. 1931 | Nottingham NG2 3HW | 0115 986 2161 |
| HFB Trailers | Ifor Williams main distributor 40+ years also on Route 3 | nr Leek ST9 / ST13 | 01538 306212 |
| Robert Lee (Plant) | Family-run since 1992 — Avant loaders, TAFE compact tractors, Zoomlion excavators; sales, hire, aftersales | Hixon, Stafford ST18 0PJ | 01889 271727 |
| UKD Diggers | Mini diggers, dumpers and rollers — hire plus regular ex-hire plant sales. Hilton again, so pair with Don Amott and Hilton Garage | Hilton, Derby DE65 5FE | 01283 731420 |
| Summit Platforms | Powered access — scissor lifts, booms, telehandlers; hire, sales and hire-desk work on a 3.6-acre site | Lount, Ashby LE65 1RS | 01530 447000 |
| Watling JCB | New and used JCB — excavators, telehandlers, compact plant; independent family dealer group | Whetstone, Leicester LE8 6LJ | 0116 286 3621 |
| Tippers | Family builders merchant since 1916 — 14 Midlands branches. Two ways in: the trade counter, and the luxury kitchen/bathroom showroom on Route 4 | Lichfield WS14 9TZ | 01283 904745 |
| Borley's | Family-run since 1983 — building supplies, timber, roofing, own ready-mix concrete | Moira, Swadlincote DE12 6BB | 01283 762119 |
| Harlow Bros | Family timber merchant 80+ years — sawmilling, joinery timber, doors, cladding; has Burton and Derby branches | Long Whatton LE12 5DE | 01509 842561 |
| Fletchers Timber | Family-run since 1986 — timber, fencing, decking, building materials; trade and public counters | Spondon, Derby DE21 7NE | 01332 673965 |
| Burton Roofing Supplies | Flat and pitched roofing distributor est. 1993 — membranes, slates, tiles, insulation | Wetmore Rd, Burton DE14 1SN | 01283 533636 |
| Owlett-Jaton | The UK's largest trade-only fastener wholesaler — 30,000+ lines, internal sales team, 51–200 staff | Stone ST15 0SW | 01785 811300 |
| Murphy & Son | Brewing-industry supplier since 1887 — yeasts, finings, lab services. You're from Burton; brewing supply is the local industry's own trade | Nottingham NG6 0HQ | 0115 978 5494 |
| Packaging GB | Bubble wrap manufacturer and packaging distributor — bulk trade accounts | Swadlincote DE11 | 01283 551050 |
The full tally — 107 verified doors
Motor trade 34 · leisure trade 28 · big-ticket home and garden 28 · machinery, plant and trade 19, less two firms appearing on two routes. Every single one was checked against its own live website or an active dealer listing on 30 July 2026 — no directory scrapings, no closed businesses, no guesses. Where a business is appointment-only or corporate-owned rather than independent, it says so in the row.
Six businesses on this list are already hiring (marked in teal): Hilton Garage, AvailableCar, The Potteries Motorcycles, Stafford Motorcycles, plus Spinney and Holdcroft from your application pack. Do those as applications, properly, before you do them as cold calls.
Phone numbers marked "via website" are firms whose sites block automated reading — the business is live and verified, you'll just need to grab the number off the site yourself. Ten minutes of copying on a night-admin session.
The rehearsal room
You don't practise on real doors — real doors are the exam. Salespeople rehearse like actors: out loud, against resistance, until the words survive contact with a bad mood. The aim isn't a perfect script. It's that your voice sounds the same after a "no" as after a "yes". Ten fake rejections in the kitchen make the first real one boring.
The three reps — in order
1 · Mirror (solo). Say the 90-second doorstep script out loud ten times at the mirror. Not in your head — out loud. Watch your hands, your shoulders, where your eyes go. By rep ten it should sound like you talking, not you reciting.
2 · Phone (solo). Record the follow-up call script and the voicemail script as voice notes on your phone. Listen back. The cringe is the point — that's the version strangers currently hear. Re-record until the cringe goes.
3 · Sparring (with family). Someone plays the manager. They secretly pick a card from the deck below and play it straight. You knock, they answer, you deal with whatever comes. Two sessions of eight cards before the first route day.
Learn these six numbers cold — before any rehearsal
A salesperson who fumbles their own figures is a salesperson who didn't hit them. These need to come out flat, fast and without looking up:
Say it as one sentence, ten times, until it's boring: "Last year I sold a hundred and fifty-five caravans — about two point seven million pounds' worth — averaging seventeen and a half grand a unit. My best month was twenty-five against a target of twenty-one, and I was adding about ten warranties or accessory packages a month on top."
Then practise the follow-up you'll definitely be asked: "How?" The answer is not "I worked hard." It's the specific thing you did — the video walkthroughs that let you close buyers who never visited the site, the Auto Trader listings you ran yourself, the fact you were finance-approved so you could arrange the lending in the room instead of handing the customer to someone else. Have that answer ready; it's the one that gets you hired.
The doorstep deck — tap a card to reveal the coaching
Don't: push past the brush-off or launch the pitch anyway. The win here is the name, not the conversation.
Don't: argue, or let your shoulders drop on the way out — they're still watching. This card is pure reaction training: same tone, same posture as a yes.
Don't: monologue. The second thirty seconds undoes the first. Whoever asks the questions runs the conversation.
Don't: treat them as an obstacle, or get chatty for ten minutes and become a nuisance. Gatekeepers report back — make the report good.
Don't: apologise for your age or over-explain. Delivered with a smile, this line is the whole interview. Rehearse it until it comes out relaxed.
Don't: badmouth the old employer (the trade talks to itself — assume they know each other), ramble, or look at the floor. Calm beats clever here.
Don't: say "could I come back when I'm prepared?" — you just told them you knock on doors unprepared. This card is why the rehearsal room exists.
Don't: treat it as a rejection and forget. Most people never send the email. The follow-through IS the test — it's the first piece of work they see from you.
Phone drills — record, listen, re-record
Don't: open with "Sorry to bother you…" — you're a salesperson ringing a sales business. This call is the audition.
Don't: leave a ninety-second life story. Also: record a sensible voicemail greeting on your own phone first — managers who ring back get thirty seconds of you before you even answer.
Don't: get cute or vague ("it's a personal matter") — screens hang up on vague.
Sparring rules — for whoever plays the manager
Pick cards secretly and play them straight. Vary the difficulty: warm one rep, rude the next, bored the one after. Rudeness should climb over the sessions — session two should be harder than anything he'll actually meet.
Score each rep 1–5 on four things: eye contact · brevity · the ask (did he actually ask for something?) · recovery (voice and posture after the knock-back). The fourth one is the entire game.
Debrief with two questions only: "What did you do well?" then "What threw you?" No pile-ons, no re-litigating every line. One rep gets filmed on a phone per session; watch it back together once, in silence, then run it again.
Ready gates — before the first route day
Six numbers memorised and delivered flat · ten mirror reps done · voicemail and follow-up call recorded and re-recorded until they don't make you wince · two sparring sessions of eight cards · three stories written down (the best deal you closed, the customer who nearly walked, the month you beat 21 with 25) · your true one-liner for card 6 settled. Then go knock. After each route day, tally four numbers: doors, names collected, conversations, follow-ups now owed — that tally is what Dad will ask for.
CV & ready-to-send emails
The polished versions of everything below now exist as PDFs in the application pack above — use those first. These copyable drafts stay here as quick-edit fallbacks for new targets. Fill the [amber placeholders] with real numbers — never guess figures.
HENRY WHETTON
07852 505 444 · henrywhettonn@icloud.com · Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire
Full clean UK driving licence (held 3 years, zero points) · Clean DBS · Own car
PROFILE
Sold 155 caravans in 2025, around £2.7m of retail value, at an average unit price
of £17,500 — and beat target in my best month with 25 units against 21. Two years
running the full sales cycle on high-value considered purchases, face-to-face and
remotely, including customer finance (SAF approved) and the dealership's
higher-margin accessory and warranty sales. Now looking to bring that track record
to [the advertised role]. Available immediately, willing to relocate within
Staffordshire.
EXPERIENCE
Sales Executive — Burton Caravan Centre, Burton-upon-Trent
July 2024 – July 2026
· Sold 155 caravans in 2025 — approx. £2.7m retail value, £17,500 average unit price
· Best month 25 units against a target of 21 (119%); monthly range 10–25 units
· Averaged ~10 warranty and accessory upsells a month — the dealership's
higher-margin revenue: warranties £209–£959, E-move motor movers £859–£1,970
(single and twin axle), Tyron Safety Bands £170
· SAF Approved Salesperson and finance approved — arranged lending with external
providers
· Ran the dealership's Auto Trader and Caravan Finder advertising; sold remotely by
walkthrough video over WhatsApp to buyers across the UK and overseas
· Pre-collection quality checks, registration and service paperwork, GDPR compliance
Front of House / Bartender — The Dragon at Willington (Bespoke Inns)
December 2023 – May 2024
· Customer service in a fast-paced environment; upselling to increase spend
EDUCATION
Thomas Alleyne's High School & Sixth Form, Uttoxeter · 2018 – 2023
A Levels: Business Studies (C), English Language (C)
10 GCSEs at grades 8–4, incl. Maths (7), Physics (7), Chemistry (7), Business (7)
REFERENCES
Available on request
To: shane@webuyanymotorcaravan.com Subject: Motorhome Buyer role — two years in the caravan trade, based in Burton Hi Shane, I'm applying for the Motorhome Buyer role at Bretby. I'm 21, live in Burton, and I've spent the last two years selling used caravans locally — so appraising leisure vehicles, spotting damp and damage, talking to owners about realistic prices and filming walk-arounds is work I already know. Being straight with you: I hold a full clean category B licence (three years, zero points, clean DBS) but not C1 yet. If C1 is essential I'll book the medical and tests immediately — I can have it inside a few weeks at my own cost. I'd rather show you than tell you — could I come in for a chat any day this week? My CV is attached. Thanks, Henry Whetton 07852 505 444
Subject: Sales Executive — two years selling caravans, available immediately Hi [name — phone the dealership and ask who the Sales Manager is first], I'm 21, based in Burton, and for the last two years I've sold used caravans — four- and five-figure family purchases, sold face-to-face from first walk-in to handover, including part-exchange and finance conversations. I want to move into car sales and I'd like to do it at [dealership]. I hold a full clean licence (three years, no points), I'm available immediately, and I'm happy to start on a trainee package and prove myself on the numbers. Could I come in and introduce myself this week? CV attached. Thanks, Henry Whetton 07852 505 444
Walk-in script (CV drops)
"Hi — is your Sales Manager about? I'm Henry, I've sold caravans in Burton for two years and I'm looking to move into cars. I wanted to hand my CV over in person rather than disappear into a website." Then stop talking. If the manager's not in, get their name, leave the CV, and phone the next day.