How To Improve Your Automotive BDC Process
In automotive sales and service, the effectiveness of your Automotive Business Development Center (BDC) process holds the key to your dealership’s success. While many businesses tend to emphasize quantity, the quality of your processes and interactions determines your success. Here, we present five essential strategies to enhance your automotive BDC process.
BDC Software
Desk phones are considered old technology. It is more important now than ever to set your BDC up with the right technology so your agents can be successful. Implementing the right software will allow you to set campaign priorities for your dealership according to the rules you set. Eliminate having your agents physically dial customers by integrating software and see how much more productive they can be. Using the right tools also prevents over-calling your customers.
Process and Workflow Control
Documentation of all processes within the BDC, coupled with consistent follow-ups with every customer and contact, plays a critical role. The more diligently a process is adhered to, the smoother the communication between the sales, service, and BDC teams, creating a seamless experience for the customer. This ensures that each department is well-informed about what to expect, fostering a sense of reliability for the customer.
Skills BDC Agents Must Have
Specific skills are necessary for a BDC agent to be successful. Excellent communication skills, a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, and competence will help increase customer satisfaction, improving productivity. BDC agents should always smile while talking with customers. It’s true; customers can hear a smile. But they can also hear annoyance and irritation, so it is important that agents smile while talking with customers.
Ongoing Agent Training
Agent training should never stop. Regular evaluations of your agents against the key metrics you set, both in the quality of their phone calls and their success in setting appointments, should continue forever. It would be best to look at the number of appointments they set and the percentage of those appointments that show up. Listening to recorded calls and practicing phone scripts will allow you to provide feedback and catch any problems early on.
Effective Management of Price Shoppers
Many BDCs inadvertently create a frustrating experience for customers by withholding information. Transparently providing information, especially regarding prices, is crucial in this information-driven era. Adopting a strategy of responding to every question with a “yes and more” approach, particularly when customers seek price information, enhances the customer experience and promotes transparency.
Improving your automotive BDC process is paramount for dealership success. Prioritize service appointments, quality leads, and call management, invest in training and integration, and emphasize customer transparency. Implementing these strategies will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your BDC, leading to superior results and increased profitability. To further streamline your BDC operations, consider leveraging BDC software like BDC Process And Workflow Operator, enhance automotive data management with solutions from Volie Inc., and optimize smart campaign management through tools designed for smart campaign management.
