The BDC Center Is Not An Operator!?

[derrickwoolfson]

To my surprise, the setup I am currently dealing with is that *all* auto group calls (4 locations) go through the BDC, which as you can imagine is several calls a day that are completely unrelated to sales. That said, much of their day is spent looking for the right person to transfer the customer too and/or handling customer situations. This setup can lead to an absolute disaster for CSI.

Do you have an operator?

 

[Alexander Lau]

 

[Alex Snyder]

Do you have an operator?

My grandfather (dealership founder) always harped on a few things:

1. Stock what the customer wants
2. Every car gets the Checkered Flag sticker aligned in the appropriate direction
3. The 757-490-1111 phone number never goes away

And that main phone line goes to a group of operators with any spillage cycling to the service BDC as most calls are for service.

 

[john.quinn]

As far as CSI, it's actually a boost when you have a live person answer the phone vs. the dreaded Tree. Turn the situation to your advantage, and think about this: the "Operator" position is a good testing ground for BDC reps -- a "stair-step" position, so to speak.

Newbs are on Operator Duty while they are learning, and you are evaluating their potential to handle leads, set appointments, etc. I'd let the Phone Ninja's (etc) speak to it more directly, but I found it increasingly difficult to hire BDC reps with great phone personalities -- simply stated, Facebook and Texting skills DO NOT relate well to phone skills. But MAN, when you find someone that can create rapport with that first phone call, you sell more cars.

 

[ed.brooks]

I remember seeing a report that stated that the vast majority of calls generated by pay per click searches (or organic for that matter) for the dealer name on Google have nothing to do with selling a car -- and yet those calls are routed to the BDC. It does seem like a waste of resources.