What are good reasons to start a BDC in your dealership?

The ‘buzz’ word of the last years in the automotive industry is undoubtedly a BDC or KCC. Or a new department with activities that mainly have to do with the telephone. Often starting with the follow-up of service-related matters, but also increasingly based on the follow-up of online leads. But is that wise? After all, with many sellers that one is not good with the phone is along with a property that you as a seller in 2017 must have to be successful. But I also know enough examples of very successful dealers with their own or outsourced BDC that are very valuable. What are the 7 reasons for choosing a BDC?

Tip 1: Incoming sales and service phone calls

The service department of the average dealer company is often the busiest and most hectic of all. An incoming call is often a burglar, but is often missed on the basis of the second sale. After all, due to the time pressure of, for example, the average receptionist who actually has to keep up 10 plates at the same time, no real sales call is started but only the appointment is noted. To handle these calls in a less hectic environment, with the 100% focus to make appointments and, for example, to provide additional services is in my view a correct way, provided you have the scale. For sales, this can serve perfectly if the sellers are physically busy at that moment, creating a perfect overflow situation. The first routing will have to go through the vendors.

Tip 2: Follow-up of unsold stock models

You know, that new Volkswagen Golf with a certain engine / specs implementation that no one wants. However, it is often the case that a thorough look at your database for similar models from the past years produces a number of hits from potential customers who have bought similar cars. These are ideally suited for calling a BDC in combination with a DM, for example, to intrigue this target group for an appointment in the showroom to view this specific car (s).

Tip 3: Customers who do not perform maintenance/service

You know, those customers who do not respond to an unsolicited e-mail via care mail, for example, because not everyone reads everything in their e-mail in their e-mail in 2017 and does not even think that they might be able to make a maintenance appointment. In short, this is quite a lot if you look at new, but certainly at your used car sales. After all, they walk away after the warranty to the universal car company has more to do with perception and attention, than something else. A BDC can continue to approach this structurally and on a weekly basis in order to reach an appointment or follow-up interview.

Tip 4: Missed appointments

You have also had them, customers who do not show up for an appointment for any reason. However, the crowds and hectick call you one day, the other day not. The nice thing about a BDC is that it is structural and does not depend on the day. The data indicates that these customers have missed the appointment, and you call BDC to make a follow-up appointment.

Tip 5: Missed sales

All missed sales routes due to sales that have not become a sale must be followed by the BDC. It is very important that the back door is closed. Imagine that your salesperson closes leads, 20 pieces on the Monday morning with the reason ‘no contact’ then as a dealer you want to know if this is correct? After all, the missed sales are the most expensive, perhaps that your BDC can get leads, or that one customer who said that the price was not good, but in reality could not handle your salesman, and now gets an enthusiastic BDC employee with whom does it click? All possibilities that make the sales manager much more in control than it is now.

Tip 6: Direct Mailings

I believe that it is the core task of the salesperson to be involved with online leads in the first instance. After all, they have been appointed for this, in order to access opportunities that come online, by telephone or physically. However, I also believe that if you want to demote sales people, you can let them call excel lists with potential but cold leads. This is something like holding Messi, is not going to work. A BDC is very suitable for this, because it has to do with consistency. Where a BDC 100+ records can call, per person, per day, the seller will achieve this in less than 4 weeks by everything that comes on a day in the showroom. To hear 80 times no is not motivating for a salesman who normally has a 60% closing ratio in the showroom.

Tip 7: Improve CSI

We all know it, the surveys that the importer sends, or the happy call that the sellers do or do not. Let your BDC do this, they are neutral, have no good or bad history with the customer and are sincerely interested in what the customer thinks and finds. Especially if after a good experience you also ask to be able to post the summary of the conversation as a review on your website! A good conversation and a review richer!

Orginal article

About Paul de Vries

Paul de Vries became a Key Automotive Spokesperson at eBay (Marketplace) after selling Nieuweautokopen.nl to eBay back in 2015. Paul is the founder and CEO of the #DCDW Academy and the presenter of the #DCDW Podcast. He is also a by dealers and importers frequently asked speaker in the online automotive industry. Paul is the winner of the prestigious Lighthouse Award 2016 in the U.S.! `Lead the Way op de digitale snelweg’ is Paul’s new book, which can be used as a guide in the online automotive industry. More information is available at: DCDW.nl.