Great ideas Jeff!
Also, John speaking from experience, and in coordination with Jeff's ideas on tying the pay plan, it's important to make sure your reporting structure (whether it be manual spreadsheet or through your CRM) support these statistics. It varies from tool to tool in the form of BDC support but things to think about in the process are:
- When the leads first arrive are they being assigned to a Sales Rep, with initial follow-up performed by the BDC?
If Yes, will your automation and reporting support multi-dealership contacts, rather, "can there be lots of hands in the cookie jar"
If No, most likely the customer will be assigned/ flipped after the appointment is set, and will your report metrics maintain proper "activity credit" of who set the appointment, and then give credit if the customer is sold even if the BDC doesn't own the customer.
- You also mention an "individual" answering the leads now, is there a possibility this team may grow in the future?
As Jeff suggests, having the BDC involved to soft close the customers, or even perform follow-up if the customer has to, "think about it" is a best practice. So when your team grows, will you assign BDC Reps to an individual Sales Person, or will you want them performing follow-up collectively (e.g. BDC Pool), where the BDC is responsible for all follow-up once the customer leaves the store.
Just a couple other things to keep on your mind as you're structuring your new process for a smooth BDC to Sales hand-off.