As BDCs have multiplied, so has the complexity of questions. In addition, many BDCs that have been in existence for a while are finding new ways in which the BDC can both help and serve the dealership. While it is great to speak and work with BDCs that are functioning well, I see and hear of many that are not.
Very often I receive calls from frustrated dealers. The conversations are generally the same. They tell me they started their BDC with a manager and one or more people. They tell me that the first mission was to handle the incoming telephone sales calls. As the dealer, they reached a point where they felt they had to do something about the way their customers were being handled on the phone.
At this point, I ask why they are frustrated and it's amazing how similar the responses are. They tell me that the BDC is giving them great reports. Some even in color, with graphs and pie charts. They tell me that they get numbers from the BDC that show that the BDC has had great results and sells a great number of units each month.
What's confusing the dealers is, when they compare the dealerships figures to the same period of previous years, they see numbers which do not reflect the great numbers provided to them by the BDC. The natural question is, if the BDC is doing such a great job, why aren't we up over last year by the units the BDC states they sold? Is the dealer getting factual information from the BDC? Has the sales department gotten weaker and become dependent on the BDC?
The dealer at this point has gone to the BDC manager and has been told that he or she should be happy the BDC was installed when it was, or who knows how poor the numbers might be. The sales manager's response is that the BDC numbers are a sham and that they did fine without the BDC and would do fine again. Now the dealer begins to wonder if the BDC really is the answer. The sales departments and the BDC begin to have personality differences. This is when I get the call from the dealer asking what I think.
Like many situations, there can be more than one answer. Generally, there are more questions that I will ask. In an effort to help in this type of problem I will give you some issues to think about if your BDC is experiencing this type of problem or if you are simply curious about BDCs.
I believe that when a BDC handles the incoming sales calls we really don't know what improvements were made unless the dealership either kept extremely accurate records or instituted a monitoring program prior to installing the BDC. Unless we know with certainty what was done in the past, how can we be sure we have improved? This is not typically a practice recommended by consultants, who are trying to sell dealers inbound telephone sales programs. Generally the dealers are only certain their calls are now being handled in a more uniform fashion. While this may give you a whole lot of warm fuzzies, it doesn't guarantee success.
I personally like a professional handling the phone. However, I would be lying to you if I didn't tell you I have seen many, less-organized salespeople handle the phones with great success.
Very often dealers do not know if the BDC really made a difference with regard to inbound sales calls or if they simply functioned as an expensive scorekeeper. The information may be great but is it helping? If so, who is it helping? Has the score keeping become such a preoccupation that the focus is more on providing reports that entertain, rather than providing information which could help a manager put a deal together, or lead a salesperson to the next sale. To me the BDC is all about information, communication and relationships between the dealership, it's customers and prospects. While it's nice to talk about the BDC selling vehicles, unless you are having your BDC personnel work the deal, the truth is, they don't. If the primary function of your BDC is to handle incoming sales calls, you will generally get better record keeping and typically a clearer understanding of the appointments made as well as the appointments kept. In no way does this guarantee a higher closing ratio.
At issue here, did the dealership really set up a BDC or did they really install what is generally termed a phone room? Phone rooms are a concept which would not be my first choice. I am not suggesting there are no successful phone rooms. The fact is they are an old concept that has had questionable success at best. I feel that if a phone room is what you really want, then do it. Don't disguise it by calling it a BDC.
I have seen many BDC's installed with the notion that the dealership was committed to the BDC concept when in fact all they really wanted was better inbound telephone sales call handling. If better inbound sales call handling is what you are really after, that's fine.
It's important to remember, when implementing any new venture, the challenge is maintaining focus. It's hard to have a successful BDC when you are designing it as a phone room. If better inbound telephone sales call handling is what you are after, then plan it accordingly. When doing so I recommend you involve your sales managers every step of the way. Additionally, I believe the sales people should be part of the process.
In my opinion the best phone rooms are those that require sales people to handle inbound sales calls in a controlled environment. By doing so you achieve the best of all worlds. You get the calls handled the way you want, you get the reports you like and in time you should have trained your sales force to be more professional.
To make this work takes total commitment. Very often the sales people and the sales managers resist the change. They may feel threatened. If the dealer, and or the general manager, does not remain committed, the program usually fails. Consider; if the sales people or the sales managers truly felt the process needed to be changed wouldn't they have done it? The fact that they have agreed with the dealer or the general manager regarding the change may simply be the result of their fear. Perhaps this is why phone rooms and BDCs are programs that seem to do best in environments where the dealer and or general manager is truly hands-on.
Answering the question, "What is the difference between a phone room and a BDC." A phone room is generally a department where the inbound sales calls are handled. Sometimes the phone room is proactive in the sense that it cold calls or does prospecting to the dealer's own database. In some stores, the phone room has salespeople scheduled to serve some amount of time solely on the phones. Some dealerships actually station all of their salespeople in the phone room until such time as they are called upon to handle an up. Each dealership usually adds its own twist to the concept.
Perhaps the most important difference between the BDC concept and the phone room is the commitment the BDC makes to information, communication and relationships between the dealership, it's customers and prospects. The BDC concept focuses on long-term relationships, collection of data, proper communication techniques, creating predictive indicators regarding buying cycles as well as keeping senior management informed of the feelings customers and prospects have towards the dealership and its personnel.
Additionally, the BDC concept focuses on the reality that salesperson turnover is significant. By focusing on this reality, the data collected and managed by the BDC is kept in a centralized dealership owned database. This database becomes extremely valuable should a salesperson leave the dealership. It has always amazed me how a salesperson who never follows up his or her customers and fails to stay in touch after the purchase usually rushes to send a letter to everyone when he takes a new sales position at another dealership. This typically is done to impress his or her new manager and never happens again. However, if the salesperson is the only one to contact what is now an orphan owner, the possibility exists that the customer may switch.
Properly run BDCs use the database to inform the customers that the salesperson is no longer with the dealership and tell who their new salesperson is. Very often a schedule is created, to contact each orphan owner by telephone, to assure them, the dealership will continue to serve and satisfy their needs.
While the above information should help you as you manage your BDC, there is no substitute for proper planning and commitment. Perhaps one of the most important questions to ask yourself as you plan your BDC and commit to its success is, 'Does everyone else understand the BDC concept as I do, and is everyone else as committed as I am." If the answer is no, you may have issues to deal with prior to the installation of your BDC. However, if you are looking to develop your customer and prospect database in such a way that it creates a strategic advantage over your competition, a BDC is certainly a great way to achieve your goal, and may well be worth the effort.