1. New Vision Sales Automobile Dealer Sales Training – Article Series
Outsource to In-House:
The BDC Ramp-Up Process –
Part 3 of 4
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2. This is part three of a four part series. The ramp-up process
is a vital stage in the transition from an outsource business
development solution to an in house BDC. Once you’re at this
stage of the game, there are several aspects to cover before the
final steps. During the ramp-up process, there are several tasks
to complete:
•Get buy-in from the rest of the staff. It’s “grow or go time!”
•Determine the functions the in-house BDC will perform.
• Get the proper equipment, hardware and software in place.
• Train key members of management on greeting appointments and
the reverse TO process.
• Commence training for other employees (sales, finance,
service), so they can familiarize themselves with the new and/or
updated processes that will go into effect soon.
Begin recruiting potential BDC personnel for training
evaluations.
As I mentioned in a previous article, the entire process to
transition from outsource to in-house business development
efforts can take anywhere from a month to a year, and the ramp-
up process is the longest step to complete because there are so
many aspects involved.
In the preparation stage, you should have gotten buy-in from
dealership management. In the ramp-up stage, getting buy-in from
the rest of the staff should be less problematic if getting buy-
in from management was successful. Having buy-in that trickles
from the top down is crucial. With management’s support, present
the same plan of action you presented to management to your
other employees. Discuss how the in-house BDC will change
certain processes, and explain to employees in detail how it’s
going to enhance each area of their business and success.
Address questions and concerns, so there are no unresolved
concerns or reservations among staff members because commitments
are ineffective when reservations exist
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3. Work with your outsource provider to determine the functions
your in-house BDC will perform. You can align what you want your
in-house BDC to do with what your outsource provider is
currently doing and build on that over time. There are many
different functions a BDC can perform. Some of the most popular
I see among in-house BDCs performing well include: working
Internet leads, working purchased leads, taking incoming sales
calls from advertising and direct mail and converting e-mails to
phone conversations that, with skillful rapport building skills,
will lead to more appointments and sales.
If you haven’t done so already, determine the location of the
BDC. Once the room is ready to go (a broom closet will not work;
the BDC needs the be in a enclosed office space away from the
sales floor), you can begin to set up the furniture and hardware
in the BDC (i.e., data and voice lines, desks, phones, headsets,
computers,etc.), and once the computers are set up, you can
install the necessary software or network settings on the
machines.
During the ramp-up stage, key members of management begin
training (most likely sales management and possibly service
management if your BDC will be setting and following up on
service appointments). Specifically, they’re trained on greeting
the appointments set by the BDC, as well as what I call the
“reverse T.O.” process, which is the manager greeting the
appointment and assessing the customer before turning them over
to a salesperson. I’m a firm believer of management doing the
initial greeting with customers to assess the SF or retail fork
in the road first.
In addition to the management training, you’ll want to set up
some important training sessions for your other employees to
acclimate them to the new processes. By this time, you’ve
already worked with the outsource provider to determine what
functions the outsource BDC will perform and what functions the
in-house one will perform once it goes live, so your outsource
provider should be able to assist you with both of these
important training phases.
Towards the end of the ramp-up stage, recruiting and hiring BDC
personnel begins. Remember, you might already have the right
people to work in the in-house BDC already on payroll, so don’t
forget to evaluate your existing staff before looking outwards
to hire. Training and testing ensures better hires. During the
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4. preparation stage, you chose a point person, or as I was
referred to back in the day a “pit boss,” to bridge the gap with
the outsource BDC. The point person may or may not be suited to
be the in-house BDC manager (BDM). Your outsource provider
should be able to help determine if the point person will make a
good leader for the BDC. If not, you’ll need to hire one along
with business development representatives (BDRs). Training BDC
personnel is part of the final stage of the in-house to
outsource process, which I’ll cover in part four. In the
meantime, don’t give up.
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New Vision Sales Inc.
1670 Hwy 160 West Suite 206
Fort Mill, South Carolina 29708
803-802-2124
Toll Free: 866-532-2827
Info@NewVisionSales.com
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