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.