New Vision Sales Automobile Dealer Sales Training – Article Series

Training and Testing Your BDC:

BDR Do’s and Don’ts

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There are plenty of dos and don’ts when working in a business
development center. How often do you train and test your business
development representatives (BDRs) to ensure they know the dos
and don’ts and are performing to the best of their ability?

Of course, BDRs need to take comprehensive assessment exams over

the first few months to see if their initial training is truly
ingrained. Ongoing training and testing, which can be in a group
or one-on-one setting, should be done at least monthly, if not
weekly, and can focus on individual performance and specific
topics.

A one-on-one setting is the opportune time to review BDR

productivity. Discuss BDRs’ individual goals, whether they hit
them, and why they did or didn’t hit them. Then, discuss what
they need to focus on improving, what their goals are for the
coming month, how they’re going to achieve them, and how you, the
manager, can help them achieve their goals.

When it comes to testing your BDRs’ knowledge, change up the

testing a little bit from time to time. You don’t want to do the
same monotonous testing or training all the time. I’m a fan of
pop quizzes, and one of the best ways I’ve found to test BDRs is
to include essay questions.

Have BDRs write down what it means to do their job, everything

their job entails and the knowledge required to properly do their
job. Pose this scenario: “You are to be promoted tomorrow and
have to write something to train your replacement. Don’t leave
anything out.” You can read it and know whether they’re on the
ball or missing some stuff.

A good group training exercise is playing recorded calls and

asking BDRs for feedback. Consider holding a “Call of the Week”
contest. Whenever BDRs feel they’ve nailed a call, they can put
it up for consideration as the Call of the Week. Offer some kind
of reward (plaques, certificates, bonuses, etc.) for the winner,
and replay the calls in the training. You also can replay mystery
shop calls and ask the group what they think the pros and cons of
the calls were, but remember, group training is neither the time
nor place for negativity or reprimands.

Having trouble coming up with a weekly training topic? Here is a

list of BDR Dos and Don’ts that are good topics to train and test
on:

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 BDR Do’s

1. Maintain consistent contact, follow up and referral flow.

2. Plan and prioritize your daily work or marketing plan.

3. Keep up to date with company developments, sales, promotions

and contests.

4. Keep copies of all current advertising and retain the last

four weeks of advertisements.

5. Develop your communication and selling skills; especially your

questioning and listening techniques.

6. Understand the word “representative” and apply etiquette on

the telephone.

7. Track every lead, call and appointment to the conclusion of

the buying cycle.

8. Watch your own body language in a mirror at your workstation

to ensure a smile and proper tone.

9. Adjust your tone to match the volume and speed of the

customer’s tone. (Commonality = Rapport)

10. Validate every customer’s timing, choice or thought process.

11. Always T.O. any ineffective or challenging calls.

12. Always mention “checking the appointment calendar” before

setting the appointment.

BDR Don’ts

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1. Avoid leaving generic “great news” voicemails like everyone
else; leave curiosity-based voicemails.

2. Don’t call without checking for Do Not Call or Do Not

Reappoint status.

3. Don’t assume that an appointment didn’t show because there is

no record of them showing. Call them and if shown, notate it and
create a “concern ticket.”

4. Never negotiate deals with customers. Targeting budget ranges

and choices are better; if a price is required, T.O. to a
manager.

5. Do not knowingly misinform customers for any reason.

6. Steer clear of using offensive language; if engaged in an

offensive conversation, T.O. the call.

7. Don’t offer concessions, prizes or vouchers unless directed or

part of a marketing campaign.

8. Never ask open-ended questions; instead, ask assumptive

questions.

9. If a customer is talking about vehicles, avoid using the terms

“on the lot,” “in stock” or “in inventory.” Refer to
“availability” instead.

10. Don’t use the word “approved.” (All applications can be

“accepted.”)

11. Never change the name on the account or appointment without

managerial approval.

12. Don’t ever remove an appointment from the appointment log or

a customer from the database.

Attitude is everything! Make a point to differentiate yourself,

your store or your group, and please understand that although
customers may forget what we said, they will never forget how we

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made them feel. People will commit to an appointment for one of
two reasons: 1) to say what they think needs to be said to get
off the phone, or 2) because we have effectively instilled a
feeling of trust, excitement, urgency or hope.

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LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grodean

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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