August 14, 2017 By Mindy Hennings
Should you DIY your BDC?
One of the hottest consumer trends is the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market.
Americans want to complete their own home and auto repairs and bake their own wedding cakes. The original DIYers, our nation’s farmers, are even proposing right-to-repair legislation in at least 12 states, so they can fix their own high-tech tractors, according to a recent issue of Time magazine.
Automotive dealers may want to think about harnessing that DIY spirit within their own employees.
Of course, that doesn’t mean handing wrenches to your accountants. But one area of your dealership that may be ripe for consideration is the Business Development Center (BDC).
Related article: 3 Secrets to Setting Up a Successful BDC at Your Dealership.
The primary function of the BDC is to set appointments for the dealership. By putting people in charge of contacting customers and setting appointments, you provide a steady stream of traffic for your dealership in an orderly fashion, and you free up your sales representatives to do what they do best, sell cars.
Often times, the BDC is outsourced to a third party, but there are reasons why dealerships may think about running their own BDC. Let’s consider both sides.
KEEP YOUR BDC IN HOUSE
If your start up your own BDC, you will have complete control over the people making the calls for you dealership. You can set the message and control when customers are getting called.
You also have complete control over training your BDC reps. You can set the schedule and pick the individuals working for you. If you outsource your BDC, you have less less control over staff, and their employees would not know your dealership inventory like your own employees would.
OUTSOURCE YOUR BDC
If you have an outside company run your BDC, you are provided with full-time coverage for your dealership hours, and you don’t have to worry about sick days or vacation. Hiring, firing, and training is completed by the outside company instead of your dealership. If you run your own BDC, you might find yourself constantly looking for good help or covering shifts due to illness and other factors.
In many cases, it is more cost effective to outsource the BDC. Determine the number of leads you receive at your dealership and weigh this against having multiple people on staff to cover the varying shifts. It might make financial sense to go with an outsourced BDC.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Once you consider both sides, make a plan moving forward. If you choose to run your own BDC, it is important to hire the right person who can help with the hiring, firing, and training that will be necessary.
If you outsource your BDC, make sure you keep your website updated, so the BDC employees can retrieve information easily. In addition, you need a point of contact at the dealership who can help answer questions from the BDC employees.
When making the final decision, you might consider the results of a Google poll that suggest almost half of DIY home improvement shoppers complete projects for sheer enjoyment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mindy Hennings is Director of Marketing Service & Support at ProMax. She can be reached at MindyHennings@ProMaxUnlimited.com