Good Morning,
I’ve read a few articles you’ve written about BDC’s and wanted to ask for a bit of insight. I’ve been in auto sales for 4 years, a year of which I spent as an Internet Manager. Our dealership moved to a BDC and obviously that position evaporated into traditional sales. The initial BDC Director recently was let go, and there is a current opening for the position. I am very interested and want to approach upper management about the opportunity. I’m a younger guy, but have an aptitude for sales, specifically e-commerce. Any key words or references I can approach the bosses with to help my cause?

Thanks for your time,
Zack R.
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Bill Playford’s Response:
First, hats off for wanting to step up to the plate. From salesperson to BDC Director is a big jump, but a fulfilling one. One of the strongest components to a good BDC is a winning attitude. This spirit is something that cannot be trained, so having a willingness to take on a challenge is a good start!

Before you approach management about the position, take some time to gather intelligence. Start by finding out where the previous BDC Director failed. Sometimes it’s a lack of skill. Other times, it’s a personality clash. Either way, you want to make sure you are a proper fit for what the management is looking for.

The best BDC Directors live and die by the metrics. You need to have deep knowledge of your store’s CRM, the reports it generates, how to interpret those reports, and how those reports compare to other internal reporting tools. You also need to understand how to track and account for inbound call activity, whether it’s through a vendor or the store’s own system. As a Director, you’ll have to be able to take a deeper dive into the metrics to understand how the contributing actions effect the overall metrics (contact rate, appointments set, appointments shown, and overall closing ratio), as well as the return on investment (ROI). This is where the battles are lost and won.

The last thing to consider is your tolerance for stress. The BDC can be a pressure cooker at times. The best BDC Directors understand how to balance consumer desires, the needs of the staff, managerial commands, and manufacturer curve-balls. Simply being good with numbers or people isn’t enough. Every day brings a new set of hurtles. If you are not a person who handles stress well, this may not be the right position for you. But, I do believe that the best BDC Directors are the General Managers of the future. If you can take the heat, you will be rewarded.

Your time for due diligence is now. Good luck, and get to work!

Bill Playford