• Stop being a LURKER - join our dealer community and get involved. Sign up and start a conversation.

BDC Coordinator Commission

Bill, curious to what ways your reps become more "invested" in the sale? What actions from the reps result from it..?

Recognizing the latest shopping / buying behaviors (much less opportunity for be back sales), does it make sense for a BDC rep to be more invented in the sale or the show.

This thread is priceless.

I'll be honest, this isn't a subject I've really put a lot of thought into lately. I just saw the thread and thought I'd add to the varying pay plans. My thinking was that a larger carrot encouraged the reps to stick with the unsold leads but it was more emotionally invested in it. There's a certain excitement and drive towards helping sell a car that some of my reps display.

However you got me thinking so I asked two of my reps about it. Rep A, normally my top performer, started to take my viewpoint that extra incentive does drive her and affect her in a positive way. However as we discussed it further, the conversation led me to believe that she's really driven to help the group. She likes being part of the team and the money is just a bonus.

Speaking with Rep B, who has a great work ethic but doesn't convert as well, stated that he understands that once the prospect is in the doors he has little influence on the buying decision and just cares about the show.

When I came to this store about a year ago I replaced the reps sales based monthly bonus with one focused on appointments. Upon further review it might be time to make another change. I will say this though, I've never been concerned with reps abusing the pay plans, whether it was setting false appointments or getting people in under false pretenses. I've always felt those are management issues.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerry Thibeau
Not to change the subject entirely, but I am curious as to how many Leads (Internet, equity, lease return, etc.) would you say is needed per month in order to really consider a BDC? We have one store that closed out 2014 with a 17.2% closing ratio using 5 dedicated, cradle-to-grave, Internet Sales Mangers with roughly 300-500 leads a month. On the other hand, we have another store that is sitting at an atrocious 4% closing rate that receives anywhere from 75 - 125 leads per month. We've tried a dedicated internet team but the follow up was semi-consistent at best and the buy-in was not there. Cannot seem to get the right people in there. The same follow up processes and campaigns exist at both stores using the same CRM.

Getting to the point --> is 75 - 125 leads a month enough to even consider employing 2 - 3 full time BDC reps at a store that sells roughly 70 - 100 cars a on a good month? I realize there are many other underlying issues here but just curious to see if this something that we could even consider?

Take it easy on this first time 'refresher if you would :baby:
 
On the other hand, we have another store that is sitting at an atrocious 4% closing rate that receives anywhere from 75 - 125 leads per month. We've tried a dedicated internet team but the follow up was semi-consistent at best and the buy-in was not there. Cannot seem to get the right people in there. The same follow up processes and campaigns exist at both stores using the same CRM.

:hello: John and welcome to DealerRefresh!

We're all happy to help, but I have a question for you first. What is your opinion of the GM and management team of the store with the poor closing rate? Are they a little more difficult to work with on digital items than the other store?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stefan
We have one store that closed out 2014 with a 17.2% closing ratio --- 300-500 leads a month. another store that is sitting at an atrocious 4% closing rate that receives anywhere from 75 - 125 leads per month.

Alex asked my first question. My second is what franchises are these? And what is the mix of new vs used leads at each store. are these stores close or in different towns?
 
Thank you Alex!

Management is great if you can get a customer in the door, but when it comes to internet leads: all sizzle and no steak. We come up with strategies and plans but in as little as 1 week, things are back to the way they were. So, if we were able to get a BDC in place, I would make it remote at my location so that I could oversee it in person.

Granted - these stores sell different makes (both imports) and are in different markets . New and used is about 60/40 (n/u), and the competition is greater in the poorer performing store's market. All that being said, I KNOW my biggest issue is not have quality and consistent follow up with leads which a BDC could potentially fix.
 
Thank you Alex!

Management is great if you can get a customer in the door, but when it comes to internet leads: all sizzle and no steak. We come up with strategies and plans but in as little as 1 week, things are back to the way they were. So, if we were able to get a BDC in place, I would make it remote at my location so that I could oversee it in person.

This sounds very familiar....good car guys who haven't fully realized the benefits of handling the Internet properly. From 2001 to 2003 I oversaw a number of stores where the Internet Manager answered to the GM. I couldn't get the ball moving for those locations, so we started a centralized BDC in 2004. Instantly the closing ratio improved. 10 years later (it didn't take that long) I fully trust some of those same managers to handle things right and they're going to get the Internet Manager back in the stores this April. It will be interesting to see how things are going in 2016.

But the moral of the story is, I think your intuition is correct in that you'll need to daily manage a BDC in order to show the other store the benefits.