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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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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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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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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