Does it ever seem like the auto industry learned how to run business development centers (BDC) from Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) in the film Jerry Maguire? Constant instructions to, “Show me the money!” Or, in our case, “Show me the numbers!” Although every dealer reviews their financial statement and numerous KPIs for every department on a monthly basis, few departments are held accountable to the numbers like a BDC. Why is that? What makes us treat them differently?

Every dealer is being held accountable for their numbers by the manufacturer. If not the manufacturer, then it's your 20-group. And if not the 20-group, it’s your own goals. No matter the source of the KPI standard, you have a goal designed to help you push forward to achieve success. Since we are all accustomed to goal setting, it was easy applying this same approach to our newest department: the BDC. But BDCs aren’t new. They have been around since the ‘80s, and nearly every dealership has some variation, but we still treat them differently than our other departments with the typical reasoning of, “this is how we’ve always done it.”

And you’re right… successful BDCs are managed by the numbers and, whether sales or service-focused, the team members are accustomed to regular check-ins about their call and appointment stats. These check-ins allow their leader to catch small issues before they become huge problems. So why aren’t we doing the same thing with our sales and service teams? “We’re too busy!” is what many sales managers or service managers would tell you. We also have to consider how the check-ins are being handled in our BDCs.

According to JMA Group, “the employee turnover rate in the automotive industry is 46%, an all-time high.” We need to stop looking at check-ins as a negative experience and consider all the positives. Cox Automotive found that ⅓ of non-management dealership employees do not feel engaged or excited about their jobs. Check-ins are our opportunity to engage our team, but how we approach the meeting will often determine the outcome.

So how can we engage but not enrage? First, we need to make sure our team is aware of what success looks like. Then, let’s start with listening instead of commanding. The best leaders listen, but in automotive, that crucial skill is rarely revered. So why not try it out? And as your team “shows you the numbers,” you will be able to help “show them the money!”

If you want to learn more about creating scorecards for your team, register for one of our Master Classes or reach out to me or any member of our Human Capital Management team. We would be happy to walk you through this easy process.

So I’m going to stop typing and start listening… Let me know what you think in the comments below.