When they call into the dealership and they ask questions about a certain vehicle or if they are looking for a particular trim level, model or color it is because they want to make a deal. They are no longer in the shopping mode, but they are in the buying mode. The way that the BDC handles those particular phone calls can make the difference between getting a customer in the door and the opportunity to sell them a car or send them to a nearby competitor.

The Car Dealer BDC is Part of the Marketing Chain

The car dealer BDC needs to be much more than a receptionist that answers the phone, they are the next step in the marketing channel that creates the need or desire for the customer to come to your dealership. Car dealers spend untold thousands of dollars each and every month on marketing of all types. Whether it is print advertising, radio, television or Internet marketing and all of this advertising is designed to get the customer into the dealership or at least call the dealership. When the potential car buyer calls in and the call is handled poorly the potential loss to the dealership, not to mention the car salesman or car saleswoman working the floor could be anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

Having a trained and professional person answering the sales phone is absolutely critical today. Having an enthusiastic BDC team member with a positive attitude can make a big difference in the bottom line. Whether you realize it or not the potential car buyer that is on the other end of the phone is either qualifying you or disqualifying you as a dealer where they want to spend their hard-earned money. The wrong attitude, the wrong answer or an unprofessional demeanor will cause that potential customer to call the next dealer.

Sales BDC or Dealership BDC

Some dealerships operate their sales BDC department along with the Internet Sales Department and others combine their receptionist with their BDC department that handles service parts and sales. In my experience I have found that a BDC department that primarily handles sales or one that works with the Internet department is usually the most effective. When the sales department BDC or the Internet department handles incoming sales calls they are usually better equipped and better trained to get the customer into the showroom. These departments typically have incentive programs and pay plans that reward team members for making appointments and getting customers to show for their appointments.

Second to having the potential car buyer in the show room is the telephone and when the person that answers that phone has a smile in their voice, the knowledge, experience and people skills that are required for a good BDC representative the chances are that customer will show up in your showroom. This is the way that today’s automobile dealership creates floor traffic and ultimately car sales. I am not talking about being helpful in answering every question in detail including the ones that will cause them to seek out another dealership, but being helpful in providing the right amount of information without causing the customer to look elsewhere.

The Effective Car Dealer BDC

Internet leads are great and represent potential customers, but when the customer calls into your dealership it is because they have chosen you. So handling them and their request for information properly can make or break the automobile dealer in the long run. It all comes down to getting them in the door so your sales staff has the opportunity to (Earn Their Business) sell them a vehicle. After all the current statistic tells us that 85% of car buyers today purchase a vehicle that is somewhat different than the one that they were planning on buying. Most of that 85% is based on the color of the vehicle so why would you turn someone away simply because you might not have a certain car in a certain color. I’m not talking about the car dealer BDC lying to a customer because that will usually come back and bite you, but I am talking about talking to customers and giving the potential car buyer reasons to visit your showroom.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

KB

The BDC or Business Development Center

Whether they come through the Internet or the BDC Car Sales Closing Techniques are the same.Similar Posts:

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Car Salesman and The Phone - Awesome Tool for Success

The auto sales professional that makes their best use of the phone is a car salesman that leads the pack in volume and car salesman income. If you are lucky enough to be able to catch a fresh phone up on a regular basis there is good chance that you could increase your annual sales by 20% or more.

When you have a car salesman job you need to learn to make the best use of the phone. Not every car dealer allows the car salesman to take phone ups, but there are are other uses for the phone like car sales prospecting and car sales follow up. Being a good car salesman and closing only 20% of your potential car buyers leaves you 80% of your ups that you did not sell on their first visit. You should have their phone number and you should be following up with them until they buy a car. You won’t sell them all with car sales follow up phone calls, but most of them will buy a car somewhere so do your best to get them to buy from you.

Car Salesman Success Means Follow-Up

I have heard many car buyers tell me that they visited several car dealers and less than 10% of the car salesmen followed up with them after they were at their dealership. They were impressed by the ones that called them and provided more information and genuinely seem to be helpful. More times than not they returned to the car salesman and dealership that followed up with them in a polite and helpful manner and bought a car. You can’t get them all back, but if you can get a few back every month you will be well on your way to that six figure income.

Car Salesman and the Phone – Multiple Uses

Getting car buyers back into the dealership isn’t the only use for the phone. You need that powerful combination of the car salesman and the phone to follow up with sold customers to make sure you get a good survey if they bought a new car. You will also want to stay connected to past customers because you never know when they will need another car or they know someone that is in the market for a car. Referrals are one of the best customers you can get, they already have some degree of trust in you that has been transferred from your past customer.

Get on the phone and start bringing them back and asking for referrals. The phone can be the difference in you having a successful career in car sales or being desperate to sell a car. In a future post I will cover some specific phone techniques like car sales prospecting that are rarely covered in normal automotive sales training systems.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot
K.B.

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