It's funny, sometimes I feel like I speak a different language when I talk to people in the same industry. 

The other day I was talking to a manager at a dealership about a "T/O" a rep gave him to call back. 

Notice I said: gave him. Past tense.

A T/O in a BDC is LIVE. PERIOD. 

Call backs at a later time, even just minutes later by a manager simply don't work. At best, they are considerably less effective, at worst, we play into the consumers perception that we are a sales person chasing his or her business. Take the order, the first time. 

We have to get the commitment NOW, or someone else will. That's about the only certainty in this business. Ask for the business now. Consumers only visit only one or two stores, I think its 1.2-1.6 and by the time they have called you, they've done their research, set the appointment. Your customers, your managers/owners and your family want you to.

So the question is, are your BD agents T/O'ing the calls they can't overcome? If they aren't, they should be. Like, yesterday. The same way we wouldn't let a floor up walk out of the showroom without a Manager T/O, we can't afford to leave these opportunities on the line. This is the first and only opportunity to turn a phone up into a floor visit. If you never see a rep running like a crazy person to T/O a call from another agent in your BDC, your reps don't have the concept of the T/O. This may sound silly, but I promise you, if installed an executed properly, it's a well oiled machine after a little bit of growing pain. No pain no gain, right? 

Many times a consumer simply needs a female voice instead of a male, vice versa, or sometimes, just another voice. T/O's don't necessarily have to be done by managers but should only be done by reps approved to T/O by demonstrating their own ability to create value in setting and keeping an appointment as opposed to telling the customer everything he or she asks about the vehicle. Remember, they've done their research, they just need us to ask for a date, not the marriage.

So, when should a rep turn a call over, proactively, you ask?

-When a phone up wont set an appointment. Period. My general rule is if a BD agent is approved to take phone ups (yes, you should only have approved agents taking these as well as fresh e-leads) and does not set an appointment or T/O and /or attempt to T/O a call, that BD agent gets taken off phone ups for a day.

-When an appointment is created for more than 72 hours out, period, no exceptions. It’s amazing (sarcasm) when someone experienced in building up the immediacy of an appointment gets involved in a LIVE T/O and gets the customer to somehow magically alter their vacation plans; being able to fit a showroom visit in to ensure they don’t lose out on the vehicle because ..."we’ve had a lot of interest in that Audi…”

-When a price, product or feature objection prevents an appointment creation

-I've seen as high as a 50% rate in setting appointments that normally have gone curbside and roughly the same show rate when this is utilized and a proficient rep T/O's the call building value on setting and keeping an appointment. This is also a HUGE training opportunity for the rep requesting the T/O... the rep, MUST remain and listen to as much of the conversation as possible, which is why a 2 way setup is well worth the investment. This allows for a "ride along" experience as well for a brief period of time during training allowing the training rep to listen to both ends of a call but not speak via a mute switch.

-If there are specific rep related appointment creation concerns, (validity, etc.) individual reps may need to have all appointments T/O'd at managements advice.

If you have concerns about your current BDC’s phone handling processes, contact me and I’ll be happy to offer any assistance I can.

It's funny, sometimes I feel like I speak a different language when I talk to people in the same industry. 

The other day I was talking to a manager at a dealership about a "T/O" a rep gave him to call back. 

Notice I said: gave him. Past tense.

A T/O in a BDC is LIVE. PERIOD. 

Call backs at a later time, even just minutes later by a manager simply don't work. At best, they are considerably less effective, at worst, we play into the consumers perception that we are a sales person chasing his or her business. Take the order, the first time. 

We have to get the commitment NOW, or someone else will. That's about the only certainty in this business. Ask for the business now. Consumers only visit only one or two stores, I think its 1.2-1.6 and by the time they have called you, they've done their research, set the appointment. Your customers, your managers/owners and your family want you to.

So the question is, are your BD agents T/O'ing the calls they can't overcome? If they aren't, they should be. Like, yesterday. The same way we wouldn't let a floor up walk out of the showroom without a Manager T/O, we can't afford to leave these opportunities on the line. This is the first and only opportunity to turn a phone up into a floor visit. If you never see a rep running like a crazy person to T/O a call from another agent in your BDC, your reps don't have the concept of the T/O. This may sound silly, but I promise you, if installed an executed properly, it's a well oiled machine after a little bit of growing pain. No pain no gain, right? 

Many times a consumer simply needs a female voice instead of a male, vice versa, or sometimes, just another voice. T/O's don't necessarily have to be done by managers but should only be done by reps approved to T/O by demonstrating their own ability to create value in setting and keeping an appointment as opposed to telling the customer everything he or she asks about the vehicle. Remember, they've done their research, they just need us to ask for a date, not the marriage.

So, when should a rep turn a call over, proactively, you ask?

-When a phone up wont set an appointment. Period. My general rule is if a BD agent is approved to take phone ups (yes, you should only have approved agents taking these as well as fresh e-leads) and does not set an appointment or T/O and /or attempt to T/O a call, that BD agent gets taken off phone ups for a day.

-When an appointment is created for more than 72 hours out, period, no exceptions. It’s amazing (sarcasm) when someone experienced in building up the immediacy of an appointment gets involved in a LIVE T/O and gets the customer to somehow magically alter their vacation plans; being able to fit a showroom visit in to ensure they don’t lose out on the vehicle because ..."we’ve had a lot of interest in that Audi…”

-When a price, product or feature objection prevents an appointment creation

-I've seen as high as a 50% rate in setting appointments that normally have gone curbside and roughly the same show rate when this is utilized and a proficient rep T/O's the call building value on setting and keeping an appointment. This is also a HUGE training opportunity for the rep requesting the T/O... the rep, MUST remain and listen to as much of the conversation as possible, which is why a 2 way setup is well worth the investment. This allows for a "ride along" experience as well for a brief period of time during training allowing the training rep to listen to both ends of a call but not speak via a mute switch.

-If there are specific rep related appointment creation concerns, (validity, etc.) individual reps may need to have all appointments T/O'd at managements advice.

If you have concerns about your current BDC’s phone handling processes, contact me and I’ll be happy to offer any assistance I can.