Knowing how long it can take to make the sale and the sheer cost of acquiring the customer - it's surprising that more dealers do not take the time to incorporate a better sales to service hand-off. Where in many cases customers are either not informed at all about service or their sales consultant might have pointed to where service is located. Now imagine being the customer - who just purchased a vehicle - to be completely unaware of what services, programs, or value you can provide them? This costs the dealership potential customers. Customers that should be retained in service. And while many customers through osmosis will return to the dealer for their next service. Others will not. 

Here are some of the best ways to handle sales to service hand-off: 

Simply Sending an Additional Email Will Not Work 

Emails are great. Not so great, though when the sales consultant failed to introduce the customer to service. At the very least, they should be introducing them to the service manager.  Or better yet, an advisor, which will allow the customer to put a face to a name. All of which can increase the chances of their remembering who to work with. 

Pointing to the Service Lane.  They Are Closed, Anyways.

Regardless of what industry you are in pointing to a general vicinity is a major no, no. Even if service is closed for the day, it does not hurt to give the customer a quick tour. Allowing them to visualize where it is to bring their vehicle in for service. This also allows the chance to explain the service program. This can and will set your dealer apart as many dealers fail to explain the benefits of purchasing with them. Not even branding that in their marketing. 

Assigning An Advisor to a Customer 

One of the unique ways a dealer can offer a higher level of customer service is assigning them to an advisor. Wherein, that advice would be that customers main contact at the dealership. Allowing the customer to put a face to a name. As well as having an “advocate” in both sales and service. If the advisor knows his/her client base - as the rapport is built - then it fosters the ability to create more of that appointment culture. Where the customer will book their appointment on that advisors day at the store.  Imagine the customer remembering who it is they are working with versus working with someone new each and every time. In which case the advisor might not be aware of the MPI the previous advisor offered. Putting themselves in what could be an awkward position. 

At the end of the day, it is about the customer. Anything we can do offers the customer a better experience the better the service lane will do. That all starts, however, with the sales to service hand-off. That handoff, however, has to be apart of the process as well as managed. Otherwise, it is seen to be a suggestion rather than not an option. 

How Do You Handle the sales to Service Hand-off? Have you approached it unique, unconventional way?  

In a perfect world, all leads would be answered immediately, and the appointment would be booked . Soon to be a sale. However, the way we approach the response time can make all the difference regarding the most critical part. That is the end-result. If the sole focus on the time in which it takes to answer a lead than the quality of the response can and will go down. While response time is important. It is just as important to make sure that the quality of response is not jeopardized.

Here are some of the top ways to handle response time:

The 5-10 Minute Rule

Oddly, in sales, if it is busy, the rules/process usually goes out the window. Where it becomes a “just get it done” mode. Well, the same applies to answer leads. Wherein, if the expectations are - regardless of the day - that the leads have to be answered within 5-10 minutes than the quality of response goes down. Where more often than not the BDC Agent or Sales Consultant is not reading the lead - answering their questions - or taking the time to call, email and text the customer. Perhaps just sending a canned email to then forget about the customer as they continue to the next one.

This happens far more than you would think. Especially on Mondays. Given that leads most likely have not been answered since Saturday night before close.

Stopping the Clock

Stopping the clock - unless you are actually working on that lead - is a big mistake, which can easily let leads slip through the cracks. Wherein, many CRMS offer the ability for the BDC Agent or Sales Consultant to manually click the “phone,” icon and “Complete” a call. Stopping the clock for what could be 25 plus leads. To then try and work their way through answering them. All for the sake of answering the lead within 5 minutes.

As a result, as they are working through leads with no rhyme or reason as to order in which they are answering them they soon become interrupted. Whether that is an inbound phone call, chat sessions, or answering a text. Thus they tend to forget about 5-10 leads, which could easily have been a dealer website lead that wanted to schedule a test drive. Even a credit application.

That said, rather than simply stopping the clock it is best to prioritize the leads, which leads into:

Prioritize Leads For Response Quality

As mentioned above, stopping the clock can cost the dealership sales. Given that there are several unanswered leads on Monday mornings it is best to prioritize them all without stopping the clock. For example, look at the sources - i.e., Dealer Website, OEM, & Third Party, add a note (which does not stop the clock), and then start making the calls, emails, and texts.

There have been discussions as to whether or not you should send an email, and then loop back through to call or text. However, best practice when answering leads is to call, email, and text. This way you are not potentially missing out on answering a lead. And also making sure to prioritize and organize your morning.

Bottom Line: Stopping the clock to have a good response time is never good. And while it is good to have a decent response time, the quality of that response time is just as important. That having been said, the best way to handle this is to prioritize the leads when you get in. Answering them one at a time. Where if it takes 25 minutes to respond to a lead, but it is a quality response, then that is much better than a canned email or worse not sending anything at all!

Do You Stop the Clock? What is your true response time?

Regardless of which industry we are discussing most sales & service jobs (if not all) have a commission based pay plan. The purpose, of course, in having a performance-based pay plan is to ensure that the employee only earns based on what s/he produces. While there is nothing wrong with this concept. There is a problem, however, when the employee does not have the opportunities available at hand to secure the higher level of income proposed within their pay plan.

For example, when hiring an advisor you want to put your best foot forward. However, showing them your best year (which was two or so years ago) only for them to find out there are

Infrastructural problems that have not enabled the advisors to hit or beat that level is not the way to win someone over. This state of mind will undoubtedly cause the turnover!

That is not to say that offering and/or showing an employee the future potential is a bad thing. But setting them up to fail with unrealistic expectations is also ridiculous. Where the objectives are double the amount of volume your current best advisor is doing.

One of the best ways to sell yourself to a potential employee - one whose talent could very well pull your store ahead - is to offer them an opportunity. Showing what is working what is not working. This is not to bash current employees, but rather to offer what the real deal is - giving them an inside view of what will be expected of them should they accept your offer.

That said, here are some of the best ways to explain an offer without scaring away potential employees!

Don’t Hide Your Problems - We All Have Them

The last thing you want to do is lie or mislead a potential hire by not addressing current issues. As the employee will find out when they are hired hearing it from the employee, not the hiring manager. All of which can make the new hire feel that the management is out of touch and that there are far more problems than they realize.

Some of the problems could be good, too! Such as growing pains. Where your service lane is expanding and your needing to add an additional advisor. Explaining to them areas in which you are struggling to upsell. Outlining how that can impact their pay plan.

Offer Reasonable Expectations

Given that many dealers do not offer or provide an onboarding program - which by itself causes for massive turn-over - they do not have realistic expectations for the new hire. Where just because they were an advisor at ABC Motors does not mean they can immediately hit the ground running at ABCD Motors. There will be a learning curve especially if it is an OEM in which they have not yet worked for! One of the best ways to combat this issue is to offer a guarantee for the first month or so, which gives them enough time to learn the OEM. As well as the way you handle things internally.

Offer Training That is Relevant to Their Job 

Believe it or not, more often than not new hires want training. They want to feel valued. Part of feeling valued is to be invested in. Where if you have the ability to send them to training, do it! The better understanding they have of your systems and processes the better off they will be. Not to mention, it would only be beneficial to the company! And as far as their pay plans go - if they are paid commission on upsells the better product knowledge they have the more sales they will get. As they are confident in the product.

Bottom Line:

Be open and honest with the potential new hire. It does not mean that you need to offer up every issue that is happening. What it does, however, suggest is that in order to ensure them a successful start it is beneficial to offer realistic expectations. In turn, it affords the employee a means of starting their new role with a better chance of being successful in upselling!

How do you handle job offers? Do you only show your best years? Do you ever get questions on Turnover?

Having an onboarding program for any of the positions within your dealership can not only save hundreds of thousands of dollars. It can also significantly decrease turn-over. Increasing profits as the managers have a clear outline as to what steps are necessary for training the new employee. Setting them up for success at the dealership. Long gone are the days of being able to put the new hire with an employee (to train them) who has not been with the dealership for more than a few months. 

The other thing to consider is - do you really want an employee who does not have the same level of experience training a new hire -  where they can shape (and influence) their perspective on the organization? 

Here are the top reasons to have a well-thought and developed onboarding program: 

Chaos Causes for Concern & Disinterest 

I remember the first day in the auto industry all too well. Where the first day I was shuffled around to 5 or 6 people. All of which were frantic in trying to get me what I needed. The problem, however, was that I was unsure of what I needed! I did not know what logins I needed - what products I needed training on! That said, it took well over 2 weeks to get the logins needed! 

As a new employee, you already feel as if you have taken a huge risk to make a career move. Where in the interview it is made to seem as if everything is well planned out. No problems. Easy as pie. But we all know, that is not how it works! 

Training - What is Expected?

You cannot hold someone accountable if they have not been given the necessary resources to do their job. Where the manager just gets frustrated with the new hires lack of knowledge on a vendor’s product. Yet, even the managers - themselves - do not know how to use the product hence the frustration they exhibit when dealing with a new hire. 

Make no mistake, the new hire can not only sense the frustration, but they will also sense a sign of weakness. Where if you are frantic and chaotic in trying to assist them with the simplest of things - they can (and in many cases will) lose respect for you as a manager. Where they will not want to come to you with questions regarding the selling of a vehicle, etc. 

Go Ask Someone Else

Sure, if you have been a long-time employee, you might feel comfortable and confident to ask someone for assistance in working with a new product. But when you are brand new and do not know anyone and are told to “go ask someone else” to handle something it sets the tone. Not to mention, when you do go and ask the other person, and they say “go see them,” which just so happens to be the person who directed them to you! 

This causes for frustration in the new hire. Where they do not feel supported. And if they do not feel supported within the first week or so they quickly lose interest.

Not Keeping Track of Training 

If you are not keeping track of what items s/he has completed then you are missing out! This allows a new employee to set the standards and expectations regarding the timeline to complete their training. This, of course, is a dangerous approach as it makes it that much harder to set expectations. To avoid this approach, have a training guide that offers what it is expected for the first 2-3 weeks of employment. Where both the manager and new hire sign off on what has and has not been completed. Giving you an actionable plan to follow when managing your new employee. 

Bottom Line: 

Onboarding someone - regardless of the position - is never easy. There are many facets to a job within a company. That being said, it is essential to ensure that the new hire has all of the necessary tools and resources when they first start. Making sure that the management team is involved when it comes time to train the employee in the various roles. Remembering that the more in alignment everyone is at the dealership, the better off the entire department will be! 

How do you handle onboarding? Do you get the employee their logins as the days go on? Are you the type that pushes the employee to someone else? 
 

It is not uncommon for the sales manager to put the pressure on the service manager to get the vehicle through the shop. Knowing that for every additional day the car is in the shop, less money is to be made on the front-end. Whereas, service will still make their money and then some with the internal mark-ups (which are necessary to build the business as a whole), BUT there are ways in which sales are actually holding up the process. 

Here are the top things to consider when managing the turn time for pre-owned inventory 

Post Photo Online 

Instead of waiting until the vehicle is in the middle of its State Inspection - forcing the advisor to halt the process - to get a photo. Have your inventory manager take a picture of the exterior (ensuring it is clean), and post it online. Making sure to have “call for price” as it could increase depending on the total reconditioning costs. This will save a lot of time. As well as cause less dissension in the service lane as they are pressured to hit their own benchmarks when pushing units through. 

Keep Sales Informed

Just like keeping the customer informed of the status of the vehicle. The sales managers want the same thing. Where if they were to know the status of the inspection they would not have the need to call back every couple of hours (or days) to ask the same questions causing there to be a delay in the unit getting processed. A lot of the software available to the service writer allow them to make notes. This will come in handy in situations where parts have to be ordered. 

Have a Standard Procedure on Recon Costs

Sure, service would love to make as much money as possible on the unit. However, as we know - this can affect the front-end gross. Where is not necessary to replace all parts of the unit especially if they are in working order. And or if the unit is within a certain price range where is not common to spend the additional money. That being said, it is best to work with the GM and sales manager to ensure that certain things that need to be fixed do not need “clearance” from the either the GM or Sales manager. All of which will help with removing the chance for delays. 

Know Where the Units Are! 

This sounds rather simple, but we can all recall the time where we had not a clue as to where that trade-in from the weekend was parked. Wasting more than 30 minutes to locate the unit only to find out that it is blocked in by a few other vehicles. All of this wastes time. Where some units only need 30-45 minutes to pass through the state inspection. Meaning, the time spent on finding the unit could have been another vehicle done and ready to go! 

Bottom Line: 

It is essential to have a plan of action when it comes to handling reconditioning. Making sure that both sales & service are on the same page regarding the process. All of which will offer a streamlined process. 

How do you handle reconditioning within your dealership? What is one thing you have implemented that has had great success? What is one thing that you have learned? 
 

There have been some great conversations highlighting the importance of scheduling the first service appointment. Posing the age old question who schedules the first service appointment? Which is more relevant than ever in today’s market with new car sales slowing down. 

The answers have offered everything from using the BDC, service advisor, to the sales consultant. Everyone has a different way of approaching the first appointment. However, at the end of the day what does matter is making sure that the appointment is not only booked but that they show up! As it has a direct impact and correlation to service retention. 

Here Are some things to consider when handling scheduling the first service appointment:

When is the last time you checked how many new service appointments to expect for the month?

We know that the number of sales affects service. But what we might not be paying attention to is how many new service customers should be making their way into the service lane at the beginning of each month!  You should run a report entailing how many new customers you should be expecting in service.  If you had a slow month a few months back, then you can expect a smaller increase in service. 

Knowing what to expect for the month as far as new customers go will help you better plan your marketing efforts. Perhaps spending more in advertising working on customers who have not been in the lane for the last year. Especially given that these campaigns yield lower ROI's. But even a small success can balance the numbers for the month as far as retention goes.  

A Sales consultant handoff can make for a good experience 

The sales consultant should have shown the customer the service lane during the purchase. Explaining all of what your service department has to offer - in addition to scheduling their first appointment. But to take this a step further, if the sales consultant were to call them 6 months or so (after their purchase) and confirm their first service appointment it could assist with the show rates! As the sales consultant would hand-off the customer when they arrive for their first appointment. 

If you are not hitting the retention on first appointments - something is not right! 

As mentioned above, sales effects the number of new customers making their way into service. That said, it is essential to know what percentage of the customers are making their way back into the service lane for their first appointment. If you are not tracking this than you could be missing out on thousands of dollars! You will also see trends in so far as if the sales consultants doing a proper hand-off. If the sales consultant is not telling the customer about service and its benefits than their likelihood of coming back is not as good! 

Bottom line: 

Check your numbers! If they are low, then take a moment to work with the sales consultants and service advisors to devise a plan that makes sense. A plan that works for both the store and service! Making the sure that the sales consultant remembers that if the customer completes all of their services with you their chance returning for sales will be much higher! 

Who books the first appointment at your store? Have you tried the sales to service hand-off for the first appointment? 

Customer service is vital. We get that. But one thing we might not notice or suspect as much is the very fact that not everyone has proper phone etiquette. In fact, some of your best Advisors could be the absolute worst on the phones! Just because you are great in front of a person does not mean you can handle objections or have the patience to listen to a customer explaining their issues. 

Here are some of the top reasons to listen to your service calls! 

It is Not About Being “Big Brother” 

Listening to phone calls is not about being “Big Brother” where you are trying to intimidate your advisor into thinking their every move is watched. Or that the reason you are listening to their phone calls is directly correlated to their performance. Instead, one of the best ways to approach this is to offer that you want to assist them. Working with them (not against them) when it comes to providing excellent customer service. 

Offering that sometimes something as simple as listening to their calls can have a profound impact on their success!

Customer Vehicle Issues 

We know that when a customer is describing an issue over the phone that they need to come in for an appointment. What we do not always get, however, is that the customer needs to feel that the advisor is working with them. Taking the time to understand his/her needs. Even if that means listening to some bizarre remake of the mechanical issue they are experiencing! (have you heard some of those commercials?!)  In doing so, the rapport is built on the phone (much like it is in sales) and the customer trusts that the advisor has their best interest at heart. 

This situation - had the advisor not been in tune or interested - could have ended entirely different. Where the customer was unable to explain their issue as the advisor was interrupting them or worse talking over them to try and tell them that it is just best if they bring the vehicle in! 

Booking the Appointment 

It is much easier just to say “sure, come in we are open until 6 PM” than it is to get their information (asking if they have serviced with you) and book the appointment, right? Sure, it sounds much easier! But in the end, it isn’t! 

Using this method of “get off the phone as quickly as possible” can lead to working with too many RO’s at once. And we know what that can lead too “bad customer experience,” which means that the dealer has the chance of getting a bad survey. 

Not to mention, if the customer has serviced there and is not asked about it, then s/he might not feel as valued. And why would the advisor want to handle a call (working with the customer) to suddenly give up that customer as they do not have their information or an appointment scheduled? Seems kind of counterproductive, no? 

Bottom Line: 

Listening to calls will not only help the advisors deal with objections but the more confident you are in handling phone calls, the better off your advisor will be! Not to mention, it will help pinpoint and find issues you are having that you might not even be aware of! In the end, it is all about offering the customer an excellent experience. Everything from their website visit when booking the appointment, to their phone call, and last but not least their appointment at the dealership! 

Do you listen to calls? If so, how has this helped in offering better customer service? If you do not monitor and/or listen to calls - why not? 
 

Patience is a virtue. A virtue that many of us have trouble with including myself. And there is nothing more annoying than not knowing what the status is of your repair! Think it about it - sure, perhaps in the grand scheme of life a 30-minute delay does not seem all that big of a deal. But, well, it is! Those 30 minutes spent waiting without knowing what's going on feels like hours. Not to mention, the customer then begins to doubt that you care about their time. Or worse, when they do finally get to check out there is an issue with the RO total and a line at the cashier. To then only find out that the advisor is now assisting the next customer! 

This all could be avoided, though if when the customer came in to check-in their vehicle if the right questions were asked: 

Are you dropping your vehicle off at service today? If so, what time were you hoping to have it picked up? (this would vary given the services)

If this was an appointment (and the customer pre-booked select services), the advisor should be aware of the time needed. Offering the customer a proposed time for pick-up. During the time in which the vehicle is being serviced the customer should be contacted and being kept informed of the status of their vehicle. 

Think about it, the minute it takes you to text the customer “Mr. Customer, your vehicle is in the process and is scheduled to be ready on time” they will not only feel taken care of, BUT they will come in on time. 

Whereas, let’s say you do not call them and they decide that they want to come in early to see if it is done. Only to find out that there was a delay and that the car will not be ready for another 2-3 hours! Ouch. This could effectively cost your dealer a survey! And a customer! 

The other issue, too, is that if the customer has to call in for the status, they have the chance of being transferred to multiple people. In which case, they lose their patience!! 

Here some additional ways to handle status updates 

Check-In 

As soon as the customer checks in for service, you should be inquiring about what the best (preferred) method is for contacting the customer keeping them informed of the status. This way the customer is aware of a) that you will be contacting them & b) the customer has chosen which method is best for them. As soon as they select the method, they are *expecting* you to contact them. So if you do not contact them, it makes it worse. 

Texting Updates 

A lot of CRM’s on the market offer texting that is integrated, which is great! Most also offer the ability to create templates such as time expected, delays, etc. This is an easy way to communicate with multiple people at once without spending as much time on the phones. Or in many cases, getting the unexpecting angry call, which not only disrupts the service for the customer in front of you but causes more headache than needed! 

Delays - How to Handle it! 

Delays are inevitable. They will happen. How you handle those delays, though will make or break the customer's experience. If you are not aware of how the customer prefers to be contacted and you do not contact them (or are unable to get in touch with them), then it causes for an unhappy customer!

However, if you are able to communicate with them and honestly explain what is going on, they are much more likely to work with you! 

How do you handle keeping the customers informed of the status of their vehicle? Do you use texting with great success? 
 

If you offer a free car wash for your customer and the OEM asks that question on their post-service survey - it’s probably a good idea to wash their vehicle. If you do not have the resources, or team available to clean the customer's vehicles, then you either should not offer it or have alternative options. Here are some ways to handle the situation. 

Basic Clean - Wash the Exterior & Vacuum 

Even if you cannot wash the entire vehicle (cleaning the windows), you could still possibly vacuum the interior and clean the exterior ridding of the caked on dirt, and crumbs on the vehicle interior. Making enough of a difference where the customer can visibly see that their vehicle is clean after their service visit. 

Clean it in the Active Delivery Area 

Another way to combat the issue is to clean the interior - vacuuming the vehicle - in the active delivery area in service. This will show the customer that you have taken the time to clean their vehicle, which is better than not cleaning their vehicle at all. You do however want to avoid using an excessively loud shop vac - using a smaller handheld vacuum. 

Offer a Coupon for a Local Cleaner 

If you do not have the bay space or have enough resources - internally - to handle cleaning the vehicles on site, then you can look into offering the customer a coupon for an off-site cleaner. Not every customer will choose this option or find it appealing. However, you have at least offered them an alternative, viable option. Most cleaners will also provide the dealer a discount for the cleaning service. 

Bottom Line: 

Customers expect more and more these days. And in most cases, they expect their vehicles to be clean when they are picking it up for service. This is especially true if the OEM is asking the customer if their vehicle was cleaner when the picked it up. If you are finding the customer is saying that their vehicle is not only not cleaned when picking it up, BUT that is dirtier than you might have a breakdown. A breakdown that could be costing you thousands of dollars in OEM money programs. 

Take a minute to look into your shop and see if there is anything you can do in-house to clean your customer's vehicle. If you are not able to find one - look for another viable, cost-effective way to ensure that you are offering a means to clean your customer's vehicle. 

How do you handle cleaning your customer's vehicle? Do you find the customers saying that their vehicles have not been cleaned? If so, how have you dealt with the issue? 
 

BDC in the simplest form simply means Business Development Center. A department that is placed in the center of the business that develops business through lead generation, marketing, CRM Management (sales/service) & Vendor Management. In some cases, the BDC will also handle anything from IT, Job Description Development,  & System ADMIN. 

If you review industry standards and trends, however, the BDC is still one of the most debated departments. Wherein, in many conversations, a BDC is seen as a “crutch” or a department that is solely in place to do what sales consultants “refuse” to do, which is - hold for it -  “develop business” through customer inquiries whether that be on the phone or online. 

While there are different camps on the topic of BDC offices -  fascinatingly enough the role of a sales consultant largely has not changed. And while the sales consultant role has changed in some dealers (perhaps those that are more progressive) there is still the need to “develop” business whether that is redefining the traditional sales consultant role or hiring a BDC. But make no mistake - a BDC is not about “doing” what a sales consultant “refuses” to do. Instead, it’s about increasing your store's customer base, which in turn increases sales. 

Here are some things to consider when discussing what a BDC is and/or Does

Companies Do Have Business Development Offices 

It is no secret that major corporations have business development offices that develop business. Handing off “hot leads” to their sales consultants or account executives.  Instead of the conversation being about what BDC’s replace, it should be about what they are developing. Namely, you still need sales consultants. However, imagine if you had a department whose sole focus was to bring customers to your store? Creating a pipeline of business from multiple avenues diversifying your revenue streams. Managing everything from chats, marketing, to the mundane CRM Management. Ensuring that the sales consultant is only spending time with customers who are in the store. Ones that are - again - only visiting less than 2 dealers before purchasing a vehicle; or working customers that they have previously sold too. When was the last time you consistently called and managed an equity mining list taking advantage of the OEM's loyalty program, which can produce a positive front-end gross on a new car deal?

Manage incoming Leads & Customer Chats

The age-old argument of the sales consultants are just not good on the phone is a lazy excuse. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. But this mindset and trend most likely stems from the fact that for so long in the auto industry sales consultants did not have to spend as much time calling, emailing, texting, sending videos, or speaking with customers before their visiting the store. 

The customer had to look through the phone-book select the closest dealer, and they made their journey and purchased. Albeit, this is not offering that selling a car was easy in those days. The days front-grosses on new vehicles were a thing.  But things have obviously changed. The customer is not buying just a car. In fact,  once the customer has made up their mind on the vehicle s/he is more interested in the story your brand is telling. Asking themselves are they getting a good deal, and are you someone that they want to do business with. 

Offering all of those things via email, chat & phone can be very time-consuming. Wherein it takes on average 10-12 touches per lead (with an average of 4 days to close the lead) before they convert to the showroom. If the sales consultant spends their day and is closing 1 to 2 in 4 days - imagine what they can do if they are not focused on converting that customer. Instead, they are solely focused on who is in front of them, and they are selling 3-4 in 4 days. Not to mention closing showroom ups as well. Having a BDC who is able to convert an additional 10% of leads to an appointment (as the average closing rate is 10%) can make a huge difference. Not just in the volume of sales, but the bottom line. 

One Less Visit 

With the average customer only visiting less than two dealerships before their purchase they are spending much more time online doing their research. And while they might not always reach to the dealer before their visit they are reviewing the information that is available. Information that is needed to be updated in near real time. Everything from inventory photos, custom descriptions, social posts, website content, blogs, employee pages, customer reviews, all of which can tell a positive story. A story that sells your brand. That all can and is in many cases something that your BDC can handle. 

You might have an in-house marketing team, BUT how often can they (rightfully so) make a change in real time that can help your business? 

You might have an app, too that can tell you about that negative review that needs to be handled immediately, but are you going to spend 20 minutes calling the vendor who handles your social media when you have a BDC rep readily available to manage the situation in real time? 

BDC’s Are Not Replacing Sales Consultants 

One of the arguments that is quite common is this perception that the BDC is better or are replacing sales consultants. And that is the furthest thing from the truth. In fact, both are two very different roles. And while there is a lot of pushback (trust me, I have been there with some of the sales managers in my dealer experience) a BDC that is effective can make or break a dealer's bottom line. Ensuring that the sales volume is increasing through converting additional traffic. 

Sales Consultants can sell the product. And at the end of the day, that is the goal. But getting to that point of being able to “sell the vehicle” takes more than just being a sales consultant. Hence, you have a department that feeds the sales consultants customers to sell vehicles too. Let the BDC handle/manage brand awareness, customer service, and lead conversion into the showroom. Imagine working with a customer whose defenses are lowered because they have already made up their minds believing you are advocating for them. 

Bottom Line: 

Instead of the conversation focusing on what is a BDC - the discussion should shift, and focus on what they can and have done to increase business? How has your BDC changed the way you do business at your dealership? Have you had a BDC that has failed miserably? 

Join the conversation here!