Communica-tion is the key to a well-run Business Development Center. It is important to note that an effective Business Development Center must communicate as well behind the scenes as it does with the customer. What I mean by this is that the Business Development Center must be able to accurately relay every bit of information obtained from the customer to the necessary sales consultant, service adviser, and appropriate manager. The Business Development Center must be committed to the reality that it is a support function. Responsibility is placed upon the dealer and the general manager to ensure that Business Development Center personnel realize that, while they are a support function, they are an extremely important part of the dealership and its future.
Training Business Development Center personnel in all facets of the communication process becomes difficult when the methods of communication, as well as what must be communicated and to whom, is not thought out in advance. If you have installed a Business Development Center and did not take the time to address all aspects of communication, I suggest you do so now. As you reflect on this, I suggest you make a list of all of communication tasks, such as:
· When the Business Development Center follows up with a showroom customer who did not buy, what would you like them to say? You should have scripts prepared, and the Business Development Center personnel should be trained so the words flow smoothly. There is no shortcut for this. Your people must practice and role play continually.
· Do you want the Business Development Center to set and confirm appointments? I suggest you make the sales persons' schedules available to the Business Development Center and have the Business Development Center personnel set and confirm appointments whenever possible. A decision has to be made regarding the possibility of a customer wanting an appointment when the original salesperson is not scheduled. It is my belief that you should accommodate the customer and notify the salesperson. If the salesperson cannot be available at the scheduled time, the sales manager should assign another salesperson to work the deal. I do not recommend having the Business Development Center assign a new salesperson. Doing so would increase the risk of favoritism.
· If the Business Development Center is successful in making an appointment for the customer to come back to the dealership, who should they relay this to? I suggest the salesperson be informed immediately. Additionally, I suggest that sales managers have an appointment book or sheet at their desk. All appointments for salespeople should be entered. This process will enable the sales managers to properly follow-up and monitor showroom activity.
· While on the phone with the customer, what information would you like your BDC people to gather? If done properly, this can be one of the most exciting parts of the Business Development Center. This is where you get creative. Naturally you do not get all the information in one telephone call. Remember, in addition to selling and saving deals today, we are building a database for the future. With regard to what kind of information you might want to gather, here are a few examples:
· If the customer purchased elsewhere we should find out why, and what they purchased.
· What are the customer's hot buttons?
· Was there anything your dealership could have done to sell them a vehicle?
· If the customer leased a vehicle, when is the lease up?
· Are there any other drivers in the household? If so, how many? And the natural follow-up is, who is next?
· Birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates
As you can see, the information you can gather over time can be invaluable. Don't try and get all the questions answered in one telephone call. If you take your time gathering this information you will find it flows better. Remember, we are building relationships in the hope of developing trust.
· Follow-up after the sale. This is a delicate issue. The selling salesperson may become troubled by the Business Development Center calling the customer. A decision must be made regarding this. I have seen dealerships where the selling salesperson was allowed to make the follow-up calls to the customer. If you intend to do this, I suggest you have the Business Development Center provide the salespeople with a daily call sheet. The salespeople should be required to make the calls in a timely fashion and return the call sheet to the Business Development Center each day. The Business Development Center should then enter the salesperson's comments into the computer. This process must be monitored closely. Please note that if the salespeople do not turn in the call sheets daily, confusion and friction begin.
· When the Business Development Center calls a customer and discovers the customer is not happy with the salesperson or the dealership, who should they report this to? This of course is a sensitive subject. A system must be put in place and announced to all persons affected. I suggest a no-exception rule. I do not advise having the Business Development Center decide which issues to raise to management. It is my belief that all customer concerns should be brought directly to the sales manager, service manager, general manager, or dealer. You must also decide, do you want the Business Development Center to call the customer back with possible resolutions, or would you rather the salesperson or sales manager call?
· While calling customers or prospects would you like the Business Development Center to promote the service department, parts department, or body shop?
· Will you have the Business Development Center call from purchased lists? or Manufacturers lists?
· Will you have the Business Development Center call all of your previous owners?
· Will lease renewal originate from the Business Development Center or will you have a special person or department for this?
· Orphan owners are the forgotten few, but they do add up. I suggest you have a letter prepared and special follow-up program for these customers.
· Service follow-up can play a serious part in customer satisfaction. A well-thought-out script and a scoring program is a great way to measure your performance. In addition, a happy service customer is a great source of sales department leads.
· Referrals make wonderful ups. Every opportunity should be made to seek out referrals. Here again we have an issue as to who will contact the referrals. If the selling salesperson obtained the referral, I believe you should let that salesperson contact the referral. However, if the salesperson does not make contact in a timely fashion, I believe the referral should be turned over to the Business Development Center.
· Business-to-business sales are an opportunity few dealerships take advantage of. I suggest you turn this over to the Business Development Center.
· Internet lead follow-up is typically poor. Dealership personnel generally are not trained in this technical area. If you are going to spend the money to be on the 'Net, you need to plan for handling the responses.
· Body shop follow-up is a wonderful source of leads. However, these people require delicate handling. Remember they just had an accident and there may have been injuries. A carefully created script is essential.
· Incoming sales calls. It's the first thing everyone does when they set up a Business Development Center. The reason everyone starts here is because it's the area that gets the most attention as well as the quickest return on investment. I do believe it is the best place to start. However, if you stop there you didn't set up a Business Development Center, you set up a phone room. There are a wide variety of issues that must be addressed when it comes to phone ups, and communication is critical.
· The Business Development Center must have full knowledge of every sales advertisement. No exceptions. A carefully created script must be developed.
· All personnel handling the telephone must trained to respond to the customer in a professional manner.
· The sales manager should have a written plan regarding the method in which incoming telephone sales leads will be distributed.
· Accurate telephone logs must be kept and a distribution procedure developed.
As you can see, communication is an essential part of the successful Business Development Center. Careful planning will certainly pay off. I suggest a monthly review of the entire Business Development Center. By performing this review, you show a true commitment to the department's success and also that you believe it performs a meaningful service to the dealership. In addition, you should be prepared to change, modify, and/or improve any part of the Business Development Center process. Increasing sales by improving communication is the primary reason we install Business Development Centers. However, it should not be forgotten that quality communication within the dealership is what keeps it alive.
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.