It is a known fact that the most successful automotive Business Development Centers (BDC) are using some form of call measurement to inspect what they expect. With the amount of time and money invested in proper staffing and BDC training, it is essential that you have this tool to maintain the strength and success of your team.

Call measurement, a great tool for automotive BDC training, includes recording, reporting, and review of inbound AND outbound calls. The recording and reporting are easy: call your CRM provider and put them in place. The call review is the most important component of call measurement, but it is often overlooked, not done correctly, or isn’t relevant to the expectations you have set for your team. Call review, when done right, is a matter of A B C – and it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

A – Assess your calls. Ask the questions:

1. Was the proper greeting used by all staff members, all of the time?

2. Were the caller’s needs identified, or the reason for the call?

3. Was the call handled with pride and professionalism from start to finish?

B – Backtrack. Now take a step back.

1. Was the call reviewed using relevant criteria?

Don’t “grade” all calls the same way, especially if you are using a third-party vendor to do it for you. There is no ‘one type' of call. For example, you wouldn’t handle a prime customer on an inventory availability call the same way as you would a subprime caller on an inventory call. Therefore, it is necessary to first identify, but don’t pre-qualify, the customer so that you know which way to go with your word tracks, etc.

2. Was the call reviewed based on the proper inbound flow chart?

Have an inbound call flow chart in place so that your team knows how to address each type of call, whether vehicle-related or credit-related. If your BDC handles other calls for the entire dealership, teach them how to properly route each type of call that is sent elsewhere in the dealership. This is especially important in the case of a dissatisfied customer, or any caller with a unique situation that needs to be escalated to the right person at the right time and in the right way.

3. Was the call reviewed based on the ability to set/reset an appointment?

If you are “grading” calls with reference to whether or not an appointment was set, don’t forget one important thing the level of difficulty with the type of appointment. If it’s for a customer you want to get into the dealership and the appointment was set the first time, first call inbound or out and the got the appointment, great. However, they also may have had to:

• Set the stage for a follow-up because they did everything right on the call but more information or additional steps were needed before the appointment was set.
• They had to actually RE-sell an appointment because a customer was canceling an already scheduled appointment and there were objections to overcome, etc. That requires quite a lot of skill, should be graded differently, and should be commended if the appointment was set.

C – Collaborate. Make it a Team Effort

1. The easiest, most streamlined way to do your daily call review is to choose one call per Business Development Representative (BDR) per day. Choose them in advance, listen to them from your daily report or the dashboard where the reporting is done, and email them to yourself with the BDR name and notes on the call.

2. Listen to the call either with the BDR individually, or, as I prefer when possible, as a team. Listen to the whole call, and have the team listen carefully as well to the end of the call. As long as you are fair and review one call per BDR per session, there will be no feelings that any one person is spotted out. Pick the calls at random; some will be great, some will need work.

3. Ask for feedback. Ask the BDR who took or made the call, what they think of the call. At first, don’t expect miracles. The BDR will, of course, say they thought it was a great call. Or, they may say they did well in one area but forgot this or that. Then ask for other comments from the team. Finally, your turn. Give praise, first and foremost, where it is due in the areas where the call was handled just as you’d like it to be. Then, make “suggestions” of where and how it might be handled differently “next time”. Don’t berate or belittle the BDR, especially in the company of peers, but give good, constructive criticism to help the BDR and the whole team to learn and to grow.

Consistency is the Key

Finally, remember that the key to any type of automotive BDC training or coaching for your team is consistency. If you train certain skills, and don’t implement consistent, daily coaching and call review afterward, you can’t expect consistent performance and results from your team. It’s all about follow-through. Take the time. Do it every day. If you do, you will see the value of your efforts as your team appointment sets and shows go up every day. Additionally, the teamwork will increase as they begin to help one another grow. If you don’t, you may as well throw your investment of time and money in BDC training out the window. The team will start out well with the new skillsets, but, in a relatively short period of time, they will become complacent. That will be reflected in your appointment set and show rates; they’ll be going in the wrong direction.

Keep it simple, make it relevant, and do it daily. Call review will be one of the most important automotive BDC training tools you have to not only inspect what you expect, but to make sure that your team is setting solid appointments that show.