Using a Business Development Center (BDC) in Special Finance

Using a Business Development Center (BDC) in Special Finance

If you donêt already have one in place, you may want to establish a business development center (BDC) when you enter special finance. The BDC takes incoming calls off the showroom floor and channels them to phone specialists focused solely on making appointments. The purpose of the BDC is to market to a wide audience, increase showroom visits, and encourage repeat business. During a promotion, a dealership can receive 50 to 60 calls a day, and just as many emails.

At the heart of the BDC is the call center. A dealer building a new BDC will probably start with just one or two employees working the phones, but he can add more staffers to the call center as the BDC grows. Unlike salespeople, BDC staffers are usually salaried employees, and earn only a small commission. While salaries vary, a BDC employee typically earns about $600$700 a week, and an additional commission of $1,000$2,000 a month based on his or her sales numbers. When hiring phone specialists for your BDC, youêll need to offer a competitive salary to attract dedicated professionals.

While having qualified specialists in place is important to business development, success hinges on who you place in charge of your BDC. Whether you hire a business development manager or train one of your existing managers, the person leading your BDC must be organized, persistent, and have advanced computer skills. Most importantly, he or she must be a –people-person.” The business development manager needs to be able to talk to people; after all, itês the BDCês job to bring people to the dealership.

The BDC call center is the hub of the dealershipês communication network. Customers will call with questions about promotions. They will call to ask what vehicles they can afford with their credit. They will call with questions about buying versus leasing.

Itês easy to turn these callers into walk-in customers. They want answers to their questions. Answer them as best you can, but offer these callers a chance to learn more by setting an appointment. For example, say someone calls with a question about a $10,000 used vehicle. Ask when she is looking to buy a vehicle. Ask if she is interested in financing. Offer her a chance to drive today at a low rate by setting an appointment with the special finance manager. It will get her attention, and often, it will bring her to the dealership.

The BDC makes many outgoing calls as well. Sales appointments, promotional announcements, service reminders, owner follow-ups, lease renewal offers, calls to unsold floor trafficãall are handled by the BDC. It is the BDCês job to stay in contact with the customer and keep the customer coming back.

This article is excerpted from the study guide for NADA Management Educationês newest video Creating a Special Finance Operation: Doing it Right (VT20). The video and accompanying study guide can be ordered online at www.nada.org/mecatalog or by calling NADA at 800-252-NADA, ext. 2.