There is no better way to grow in one’s position than to learn from your peers. The coworkers you surround yourself with, their expertise and experience, can guide new hires entering the industry. DealerKnows is regularly called upon to train the newest hires for our clients during our weekly virtual training calls and this week, as we were bringing new BDC agents up to speed, we asked the other, seasoned agents on the video call for their best advice for BDC new hires.
Surprisingly, I hadn’t done this exercise before. Typically, we have a relatively regimented format we walk BDC new hires through when bringing them into the industry, from understanding shoppers to meeting expectations, from properly utilizing the CRM to how best to complete each and every email, text, video, and phone task. Instead of launching right into our standard training, though, I posed a question to the other BDC agents on the call that have held their roles for some time.
I asked, “if you could share one piece of advice for your newest team members to help them succeed in their roles, what would you tell them?” This is what they said.
- Speak confidently on the phone
(The BDC agent went on to talk about the need to be an authority, both on the product and the appointment-setting process, and how confident you are on the phone with shoppers greatly contributes to your ability to set appointments.) - Don’t take things personally
(They discussed how the car shopping experience is different for everyone and you don’t now what they have endured before speaking to you. How the shopper talks to you or treat you is often more based on their own recent experiences, expectations, and needs. You can’t control those things, so not to take anything they say as a personal affront.) - Be nice
(We all laughed when she said this, but she explained how customers often are looking for reasons not to come in, and if you are always an advocate for the customer first, and treat them with courtesy, they never have a reason to blame you as a reason for their decision not to consider the store.) - Become genuinely curious as to what it takes to win over a customer
(If BDC new hires approach each customer with a curiosity, like they’re a puzzle to solve, and find entertainment in the game that is identifying what it takes to get that customer into the store as a showed appointment, it makes everything much more fun and interesting.) - Have an enthusiastic, upbeat tone
(They said many callers and internet prospects are wary of dealership personnel and weary of the entire car-buying process. You can often override that and change their opinion of us with nothing more than a smile and a positive tone in all you write and say.)
What I found most interesting about this exercise, is that these same BDC team members we have been training for months didn’t lean on any specific word tracks they use, templates they send, tools at their disposal, or processes they follow. Instead, they felt the most advantageous advice these BDC new hires should hear was about their mindset and approach when engaging with customers.
To maintain both success and sanity in automotive BDC and sales roles, it is more about your own attitude and your demeanor when working with coworkers and customers that influences your success than any word track or tactic. It was an interesting exercise and one I plan on incorporating into our new hire training in the future.
If you’re looking for some insight on how to make your BDC new hires to be more confident on the phone with customers, consider reading this blog about what to avoid on sales calls.
