Selecting the right person to manage and work in the Business Development Center may be one of the most difficult and most important aspects of your business development center. Like all management positions, extreme caution should be exercised during the selection process. A rather common problem is when department managers attempt to transfer their problems. Many times I have seen mangers attempt to get rid of their problem employees by transferring a person to the new position. Additionally I have often heard managers say they have a person who is not performing well so they will try the person in the Business Development Center. If they don't work out in that department, then they will cut the person loose. If you are not totally convinced the person will succeed, then the person should not be given the position. How many times have you been totally convinced a person was right for a position and later found out the person simply didn't fit? Compound the normal difficulties of the selection process with a less than convincing candidate and you naturally lessen the chances of success.
The Business Development Center will be an important department. As such it should be afforded the opportunity to have quality personnel. Before you start the selection process, you should first decide the functions you wish the Business Development Center to perform. When this decision is carefully thought out you will quickly realize the importance of hiring a person you truly believe will succeed. As you consider the functions you would like to see the Business Development Center perform, use the following as a checklist:
1) Follow-up of showroom traffic
2) Follow-up of vehicle deliveries
3) Service customer follow-up
4) Parts customer follow-up
5) Commercial customer follow-up
6) Orphan owner management
7) Prospecting
8) Database management
The next step is to take each of the functions you wish the Business Development Center to perform and define those tasks you feel are necessary within that function. For example:
Follow-up of showroom traffic.
What level of follow-up do you desire? Some dealerships only follow-up those customers who they believe show serious interest. Others follow-up customers only when negotiation has taken place. The level of follow-up desired seems to vary from dealership to dealership. Personally, I feel total follow-up should be the desire of all dealers. Dealers spend small fortunes advertising each month and then, in many cases, fail to follow-up the customers who respond. I believe dealers should want to know and are entitled to know every minute detail with regard to why a customer came to their dealership and why they bought and why they did not.
Follow-up of vehicle deliveries.
Here again a decision has to be made with regard to the level of follow-up. Some dealerships want only those deals they decide are pure retail. I feel every delivery should be followed-up regardless of the type of sale. Commercial customers like to be treated well also. Additionally, I feel used vehicle customers should be treated the same as new vehicle customers. You made more money off of them, why would you treat them as less important? Please remember a major part of this follow-up is to attempt to get referrals. With this in mind, do you really care if the buyer was a business or a purchaser of a used vehicle?
Service customer follow-up.
This is an area often talked about, but rarely does anyone do anything about it. Yes, there are lots of dealers sending out letters and many calling customers after the repairs were made. However, I believe the type of follow-up that should be done is where the caller attempts to build a relationship with that customer. Many service departments have customers in their databases that have never bought from their dealership. If followed up properly, this could be an opportunity to build a relationship for the sales department.
Parts customer follow-up.
This should be treated the same as the service department, including commercial customer follow-up. Business purchases are growing at a rapid rate. I do not feel we should take this customer for granted.
Orphan owner management.
This may be the most sensitive customer you have. The ability to handle the orphan owner is essential. Don't lose the loyalty and goodwill you have built up with this type customer simply because their salesman went back to route sales.
Prospecting.
This is where the Business Development Center really begins to shine. Yet some dealers have not demanded this function be implemented. I have heard many dealers say they feel the salespeople are paid to do this. As a result the Business Development Center is not charged with this responsibility. It probably comes as no surprise, every time I have followed up with a dealer who has told me this I have found no one prospecting. Your feeling that the prospecting is the job of the salesperson does not guarantee that it is happening. Your Business Development Center can handle this function consistently.
Database management.
This is the heart of the Business Development Center. The manager must be either skilled in this area or very willing to learn.
As you can see, the person you select is not just a clerk or glorified receptionist. What you are looking for is a talented individual who can represent the dealership with true professionalism and also be able to communicate to your customers the mission of the dealership. This person must be able to sell the benefits of the dealership and also motivate the other members of the team.
Forrest Scott is President of Dynamic Marketing Strategies, Inc. If you have specific questions or require more information about this subject, please check the appropriate box on the reader response form on page 3.