BDC Averages.

[DealerForce]

20% is very low, especially if these are new leads. We are averaging a 70%+ show rate on new Internet leads, 40%-50% on past customer and unsold (be-back) leads. Possible issues could be, A) Your overloaded and don't have the time/technology/manpower to make multiple connections with every lead (on avg, it takes 9 attempts per lead to get through 70% of your database); B) Your scripts and incentives aren't strong enough (you have to sell the appointment, not the car on the phone); or C) You are getting very low quality leads.

 

[Broderick Alley]

I am tried of everyone saying sell the appt. No sell what will make the customer want to come and see you. If there are 30 VW stores in a 20 mile radius from a customer. Between the 3 of these stores there are going to be the 30 of th exact same Black Jetta SE's that the customer is looking for.
Most customers are calling or emailing to test out how a dealer will treat me. Will they talk to me or just try to sell me? Will they take the time to contact me in the way that I wanted to be contacted or will they just call me and email me over and over?
Yes you have to try and engage a customer, but you have to start on their terms. Once you have them comfortable with you, then you can bring them to your terms. I have a dealer within 5 miles of my store that sells the same product. I beat them every day. Why, because I take my time with my customers, I do not try to rush them into the showroom. I send them vid's of cars, will chat, text, vid chat, call, any way that they want to talk I will. Yes you have to have a base process, but you have to be able to be flexible with that process.
In this rat race of car sales everyone seems to forget that a connection with a customer is your best bet. I know that most customers are not that loyal, but every human like to make connections and use those connections to their benefit.
Erin Burch, I can show you a quick way to get all of your cars photo's and video'd within 4 days as a temp fix to get some content on the site fast. Then you can go back and spend time making real video's for the cars.

 

[DealerForce]

I am tried of everyone saying sell the appt. No sell what will make the customer want to come and see you.

I agree with some of your point, but you hear "Sell the Appointment" over and over because it truly works. While quality video, updated inventories etc. are necessary, you can't monetize a lead until you convert them into a showroom visitor - that's why selling the appointment with a sense of urgency, exclusivity, and an ability to project the excitement of the offer - is extremely important and only works effectively through a phone call.

The goal is always to get them in today versus next week or next month, and IMHO, email and other forms of communication that primarily try to sell the car and compete on pricing is ineffective. The longer it takes for you to get the customer in the door, the less like you are to close them and to lose them to the competition.

Now after they arrive at the dealership, the dealer can then focus on their job of selling the car and managing the ongoing sales process. Until then and again IMHO, having the right phone skills, technical tools and follow up "horse power" is the key to generating more shows = sales.

 

[mcampo2501]

I agree with some of your point, but you hear "Sell the Appointment" over and over because it truly works. While quality video, updated inventories etc. are necessary, you can't monetize a lead until you convert them into a showroom visitor - that's why selling the appointment with a sense of urgency, exclusivity, and an ability to project the excitement of the offer - is extremely important and only works effectively through a phone call.

The goal is always to get them in today versus next week or next month, and IMHO, email and other forms of communication that primarily try to sell the car and compete on pricing is ineffective. The longer it takes for you to get the customer in the door, the less like you are to close them and to lose them to the competition.

Now after they arrive at the dealership, the dealer can then focus on their job of selling the car and managing the ongoing sales process. Until then and again IMHO, having the right phone skills, technical tools and follow up "horse power" is the key to generating more shows = sales.

You are similarly only part right in this conclusion. I too agree in selling the appointment, not the car, until the customer is in the showroom. I don't however, think that placing your faith in the phone will do you any favors. Having strong phone skills is important when selling an appointment to someone who picks up the phone, but unless you have a dealership in Deliverance I think you'll find most people won't pick up the phone unless they have to. Remember, the reason you got an internet lead in the first place is because your customer didn't want to talk on the phone or come to the showroom. If you don't help them gather the information they are looking for, you'll lose their interest before you ever get a shot on the phone.

I would be interested to know what the overall lead to connected phone call conversion rate is among today's dealers. My CRM won't let me run a simple report to tell me that or I would share my number. I know we are MUCH more likely to connect with someone by email and establish a relationship, than if we just called three times a day. The old phone only approach dead. Learning how to apply to email communication the appointment setting techniques we used to apply on the phone will dictate who is successful with our newest buying population. Personally I hope you keep on beating those phones... More sales for me!

 

[Jeff Kershner]

J.D. Power stats show that consumers visit LESS THAN 2 dealer showrooms before purchase. I believe the accurate number is 1.3 (or 1.2) - either way let's just say less than 2. That's a better than 50% closing ratio on showroom visits (appointment based or not). IF you're not closing 50% of your showroom visits - chances are you have process / people person at the dealership.

John just wrote an article over on the blog that's very relevant to this thread - Car Sales Tracking - What's More Important To You? - be sure to read and comment over on the blog.

 

[jon.berna]

Thanks Jeff, and I just added my comments over there. I feel there are 3 stages of metrics you need to track.

1. The pre-lead stage
2. The lead-handling stage
3. The in-store stage

Every dealership should have 1 report combining all of these metrics on a single screen so they can diagnose areas to improve their sales funnel. You would then add in all of the dimensions like: time, location, BDC rep, sales person, lead provider etc. Then you can start to uncover what stage(s) of your process requires improvement as well as what dimensions are causing higher/lower results.

You also have to account for normal variation or special-cause variation.

For example: if the department goes through a phone system change during 2-weeks of a month, that month will have to have an asterisk that clearly identify a cause for lower than normal performance that is not normal to your business. Other issues like staff tardiness or absenteeism are what are considered normal cause variation and require you to plan for this to keep happening as they are common causes of poor performance.

 

[Jay Juliano]

pretty much all of my leads are internet leads. our sources are cars.com, getauto, autousa, our website, & Hook logic.

I would keep a very close eye on AutoUSA and GetAuto. AutoUSA has been the worst lead provider for me. They send me leads from customers who can't be reached, have no interest or just "playing around". The leads we do convert from there often have found our web site BEFORE filling out anything with them.

GetAuto is a sneaky company. They absolutely love to post your inventory on craigslist then charge you $20 for every phone call you receive. Not every vehicle in your DMS will have mileage or a price. If posted on CL you are for sure to get many "leads"..

They have the calls going to the sales people.

BDC stands for Business Development Center. A true BDC works Inbound Phone Calls, Internet Leads, Lease Maturity Leases, and Unsold Showroom Followup. A dealership that has their sales calls going to random sales people instead of being sent directly to the BDC is a dealership that is GREATLY flawed. With that said, it comes as no surprise to me that your numbers are a little off. They don't seem to have a set process.

 

[DealerForce]

You are similarly only part right in this conclusion. I too agree in selling the appointment, not the car, until the customer is in the showroom. I don't however, think that placing your faith in the phone will do you any favors. Having strong phone skills is important when selling an appointment to someone who picks up the phone, but unless you have a dealership in Deliverance I think you'll find most people won't pick up the phone unless they have to.

Personally I hope you keep on beating those phones... More sales for me!

As I mentioned, the BDC is just one part in the process and should be used in conjunction and in sync with other marketing activities for an integrated marketing approach.

But I will strongly disagree people don't want to take a phone call - after 500+ successfully completed dealership campaigns in 48 states and over 2 million calls logged, I am very comfortable in saying that it's actually the exact opposite. We do for dealers what 100K pieces of mail can't do - actually get people in the door to buy a car.

 

[ddavis]

J.D. Power stats show that consumers visit LESS THAN 2 dealer showrooms before purchase. I believe the accurate number is 1.3 (or 1.2) - either way let's just say less than 2. That's a better than 50% closing ratio on showroom visits (appointment based or not). IF you're not closing 50% of your showroom visits - chances are you have process / people person at the dealership.

Jeff, I agree that this is one statistic that everyone in the car business should be focused on. Most dealerships still believe that they are on target when they close 30% of their sales log. The 30% statistic came from NADA over thirty years ago when consumers were "shoppers" and not "buyers".

What I would love to see is a comparison of good cradle to grave as apposed to BDC operations. I am still convinced that the BDC is ineffective as it adds another costly layer to the sales organization. Calling it a Business Development Center is a joke. A BDC simply takes calls and internet leads that were developed by the Internet Director. They don't develop any business on their own. I think that the "handoff" has really become a turnoff to the customer. I have heard too many calls where the customer asks if they will be dealing with the salesperson on the line. There is no substitute for quality salespeople.

I want someone to show me a BDC that can develop business on it's own and I will be all in. I am convinced that most organizations with BDCs have more salespeople waiting on the "up bus" while clerks are taking calls.

 

[Jay Juliano]

What I would love to see is a comparison of good cradle to grave as apposed to BDC operations. I am still convinced that the BDC is ineffective as it adds another costly layer to the sales organization.

I'm surprised there are still dealers that think this way. I have been a Sales Person, Internet Manager working leads from A-Z, BDC Manager, Internet Director and I have been an outside Internet Marketer. In my opinion, nothing is as effective as having a BDC.

Why? Because their sole purpose from the second they come in is to reach out to customers and leads. They don't have to worry about picking up a car, running a car to detail, stepping away for a lot walk, spending time greeting and qualifying a customer, leaving the dealership for a test drive, or sitting down to do paperwork. They are aggressively reaching out to leads and customers to get them to come to your dealership.

THE REALITY IS...it takes MANY phone calls JUST to finally reach a live person. It truly requires a rep to be on the phone the whole day. If one rep places 100 daily phone calls that means he/she is spending 5 minutes per phone call. This includes placing the call, talking to the customer or leaving a message, sending an email and updating the CRM. A salesperson (even an Internet Manger that takes a lead from a-z) cannot handle that kind of volume. The second they step away from their desk they are hurting the dealerships numbers.

Give your best SALESPERSON 100 leads per month. Will he effectively work those new leads the way a BDC would? I'm sure he will try to but will not have enough time or patience to do so. His bread and butter is closing a deal and moving on. The BDC's bread and butter is getting the customer in then moving on. It's all about volume.

Calling it a Business Development Center is a joke. A BDC simply takes calls and internet leads that were developed by the Internet Director. They don't develop any business on their own.

I beg to differ. I've had BDC reps that brought customers in that normally would of NEVER visited the dealership. I've had reps convince customers to drive an hour passed several same brand dealerships to visit us. To say a BDC is a joke and they don't develop any business on their own is a joke. OF COURSE, your BDC reps aren't going to go door to door with flyers and holding up signs. That's not even effective business development. The dealership provides the budget, the Internet Director chooses where to spend the budget, the BDC works the leads produced from those sources. How is that NOT Business Development? If you were to EVER find someone who can produce leads with their OWN money and time and convert those leads to shown appointments he is not a BDC rep. He is a god to your dealership because generally those people don't exist and if they do they demand a lot of money.

I think that the "handoff" has really become a turnoff to the customer.

I want to agree but I just can't. I would say perhaps out of 100 shown appointments there is always someone who says "Oh.. I thought I was going to work with Amanda" then after a joke or two later they are laughing with the sales person at their desk. I haven't had one customer walk out. If that's a concern of yours (and it shouldn't be), you could have the reps set appointments for the Sales Managers. The S/M can greet the customer and walk them to a sales person.

I have heard too many calls where the customer asks if they will be dealing with the salesperson on the line. There is no substitute for quality salespeople.

On the flip side, I've heard many calls where the customer DIDN'T want to deal with a sales person. I agree there is absolutely no substitute for quality salespeople. But a salesperson cannot do it all. And we all know that GREAT sales people that produce volume, gross, and can market are a rarity. When do you finally come across one you will be lucky to find one that won't give you a non-stop headache and will actually stay.

I want someone to show me a BDC that can develop business on it's own and I will be all in.

Better yet...hire sales people that bring their own customers, close their own deals, fund their own deals and clean their own cars. On paper it looks brilliant. Sounds like a splendid idea. You will absolutely save a lot of money. Heck I'd recommend hiring Santa Clause, The Eater Bunny and the Tooth Fairy their client base are HUGE.