Please advise - 3 separate BDC's at the same time

[Baron Ringler]

So, please advise on this situation.

I entirely rebuilt 3 separate BDC's at the same time and created a pretty amazing (if I say so myself) spiderweb of Processes and Templates. The Templates are very visually appealing, with basic messaging designed solely to move the Process forward to the next steps, whatever it may be for that particular customer (actual phone contact, e-mails responses, texting, appointment, etc.).

I also built in a lot of flexibility in the messaging, with different responses for New, Used, Cert, Incoming units, and more. The whole thing is labelled in such a way that Reps can identify the proper required messaging within literal seconds, then send it. And of course, there is the ability to eliminate the standard responses and personalize everything to address specific customer questions, concerns, or situations. It's a very complex creation, but the complexity of the build makes it extraordinarily simple to operate, while maintaining a great deal of flexibility. Also, I update and change things around constantly, to address market conditions and try to keep things fresh.

One store of the three has now put out there that I should delete nearly ALL the Templates (and every single first response item) and remove most of the Process setups, then have the BDC Reps free-style it. I am being told that is how West Herr does it (I am with someone who had worked there), which I highly doubt. In fact, I have never run across a top-flight store that allows its BDC Reps to just go off and do their own thing, with only rudimentary standardization of messaging and Process.

I was tasked with making all Processes and Messaging consistent from store to store, so that is also another major added problem.

I have no strong "A" players who I would trust to work off the cuff, and even if I had one there would still be strong guidelines left in place. I have a few rookies (one of them could be that home-run hitter but I will lose him when he goes off to college in the fall) and some excellent "B" players.

There is more to the story, but this is the basic sum of it. Thoughts, ideas, opinions?

 

[ChrisR]

I see letting people, especially newer to the industry people, do their own thing as suicide.

Just because one group, one dealer, may, or may not, have had luck with that, doesn't mean it is a best practice. In that case, it is ALL about the people working the opportunities, and the likelihood of finding those people is like finding a specific needle in a needle stack.

 

[Ryan Everson]

So, please advise on this situation.

I entirely rebuilt 3 separate BDC's at the same time and created a pretty amazing (if I say so myself) spiderweb of Processes and Templates. The Templates are very visually appealing, with basic messaging designed solely to move the Process forward to the next steps, whatever it may be for that particular customer (actual phone contact, e-mails responses, texting, appointment, etc.).

I also built in a lot of flexibility in the messaging, with different responses for New, Used, Cert, Incoming units, and more. The whole thing is labelled in such a way that Reps can identify the proper required messaging within literal seconds, then send it. And of course, there is the ability to eliminate the standard responses and personalize everything to address specific customer questions, concerns, or situations. It's a very complex creation, but the complexity of the build makes it extraordinarily simple to operate, while maintaining a great deal of flexibility. Also, I update and change things around constantly, to address market conditions and try to keep things fresh.

One store of the three has now put out there that I should delete nearly ALL the Templates (and every single first response item) and remove most of the Process setups, then have the BDC Reps free-style it. I am being told that is how West Herr does it (I am with someone who had worked there), which I highly doubt. In fact, I have never run across a top-flight store that allows its BDC Reps to just go off and do their own thing, with only rudimentary standardization of messaging and Process.

I was tasked with making all Processes and Messaging consistent from store to store, so that is also another major added problem.

I have no strong "A" players who I would trust to work off the cuff, and even if I had one there would still be strong guidelines left in place. I have a few rookies (one of them could be that home-run hitter but I will lose him when he goes off to college in the fall) and some excellent "B" players.

There is more to the story, but this is the basic sum of it. Thoughts, ideas, opinions?

There are always unicorn BDRs out there who can ad-lib and crush it sending perfectly crafted messages to customers. They are the exception though, not the norm.

If you have a unicorn (or your manager thinks they do), let them go fully off-script once they've proved themselves. Allow them to work half their leads on your process and half on their freewheeling process.

Then inspect to make sure they are giving it their all on both strategies and compare metrics to see if you do indeed have a BDR unicorn in your presence.

Let them earn the right to graduate from your processes. And maybe you'll even pick up tactics they use that you can incorporate back into your templates that will help future wannabe unicorns.

 

[ChrisR]

I messaged a contact I have at West Herr, his response was that they have "modified a lot of our 100 day process stuff from a decade ago, to make things simpler, faster, and more organic, but I wouldn't say there is no process."

 

[Baron Ringler]

I see letting people, especially newer to the industry people, do their own thing as suicide.

Just because one group, one dealer, may, or may not, have had luck with that, doesn't mean it is a best practice. In that case, it is ALL about the people working the opportunities, and the likelihood of finding those people is like finding a specific needle in a needle stack.

I've been re-doing the whole thing (same basics but changing up timing of certain messages, etc.), to make things more fluid, but I do not have the "A+" reps that can go off and do their thing, and even then I wouldn't let that go too far afield. So, seems I am not so different from W. Herr.

 

[Baron Ringler]

There are always unicorn BDRs out there who can ad-lib and crush it sending perfectly crafted messages to customers. They are the exception though, not the norm.

If you have a unicorn (or your manager thinks they do), let them go fully off-script once they've proved themselves. Allow them to work half their leads on your process and half on their freewheeling process.

Then inspect to make sure they are giving it their all on both strategies and compare metrics to see if you do indeed have a BDR unicorn in your presence.

Let them earn the right to graduate from your processes. And maybe you'll even pick up tactics they use that you can incorporate back into your templates that will help future wannabe unicorns.

I have always made adjustments, based on the ideas and abilities of certain reps. In this instance, I do not have the type of players necessary for someone to go off the reservation. I don't have bad people, but nothing "A+".

 

[Holly_phoneninjas]

Why don't you outsource your BDC? Your dealership can concentrate on closing deals and the virtual BDC can set all of their appointments. It is a win-win!

 

[MarcelaBDC]

Hi, I'm new here and I just saw your post. I know the thread is from April, but anyways. It sounds like you've put a lot of effort into creating a system that is visually appealing, efficient, and flexible.

Regarding the request to remove most of the templates and processes for one of the stores, it's important to consider the goals and objectives of the BDC department. While some dealerships may have different approaches, it's generally advisable to maintain a certain level of standardization and guidelines to ensure consistency across the board. This consistency really helps to provide a unified customer experience and allows for easier training and evaluation of BDC representatives.

However, it's worth exploring the reasons behind the request to go for a more freestyle approach. Are there specific challenges or concerns that the store is facing? It could be helpful to have a conversation with the management or stakeholders at that store to understand their perspective better. Perhaps there is room for a compromise where certain guidelines and templates are still in place while allowing some flexibility for individual representatives to tailor their responses.

Additionally, it's essential to consider the skill level and experience of your BDC representatives. If you have rookies or less experienced representatives, having strong guidelines in place can be beneficial to help them learn and improve their performance. While it's great to have potential "A" players, it's important to ensure that the BDC department can function well even with a mix of skill levels.