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Automotive Sales & Service BDC Essentials Course​

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  1. LESSON 1: AUTOMOTIVE SALES & SERVICE BDC - BDM COURSE INTRODUCTION

    Automotive Sales & Service BDC - BDM Course Introduction
  2. LESSON 2: ESSENTIAL BDC AND BDM STEPS TO TAKE PROPER CARE OF AUTOMOTIVE SALES LEADS
    Essential BDC and BDM Steps To Take Proper Care Of Automotive Sales Leads
    7 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  3. LESSON 3 BDC: EVERYTHING A BDC REPRESENTATIVE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE REPAIR ORDERS
    Everything A BDC Representative Needs To Know About Automotive Service Repair Orders
    7 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  4. LESSON 4: FEATURES, BENEFITS, AND SELLING POINTS OF EACH SERVICE MAINTENANCE ITEM FOR BDC REPRESENTATIVES
    Features, Benefits, And Selling Points Of Each Service Maintenance Item For BDC Representatives
    8 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  5. LESSON 5: BREAKDING DOWN THE NEW CAR FACTORY WARRANTY FOR BDC REPRESENTATIVES
    Breaking Down The New Car Factory Warranty For BDC Representatives
    10 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  6. LESSON 6: UNDERSTANDING AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE CUSTOMER AND PERSONALIZING THE SALES EXPERIENCE BDC REPRESENTATIVES
    Understanding Automotive Service Customer And Personalizing The Sales Experience BDC Representatives
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  7. LESSON 7: GROWING A BDC REPRESENTATIVES SOFT SKILLS AND SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS
    Growing A BDC Representatives Soft Skills And Scheduling Appointments
    7 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  8. LESSON 8: HOW TO TACKLE CHALLENGES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY AS AN AUTOMOTIVE BDC OR BDM
    How To Tackle Challenges In The Automotive Industry As An Automotive BDC Or BDM
    4 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  9. LESSON 9: MEASURING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT KPI'S & FORECASTING AS AN AUTOMOTIVE BDM
    Measuring Business Development KPI's & Forecasting Metrics As A Automotive BDM
    2 Topics
  10. LESSON 10: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SCRIPTS & TEMPLATES FOR AUTOMOTIVE BDC REPRESENTATIVES
    Business Development Scripts & Templates For Automotive BDC Representatives
    16 Topics
  • ©Copyright Notice All course materials on this site are protected by copyright law. The course material and its content (lessons, topics, exams, videos, slides, and course notes) are protected by copyright law and not to be copied, redistributed, or resold. ©Service Drive Automotive Training. - All Rights Are Reserved.

Automotive Sales & Service BDC Introduction

As the internet continues to dominate the way we make purchasing decisions, the customer’s need for personalization online will only increase.

The age of the internet presents a complex problem for automotive dealers seeking to win the business of local customers. To help turn online leads into sales, dealers are taking action by hiring BDC staff.

Today’s customers use the internet to research and compare vehicles. They come into the store more empowered and knowledgeable than ever before. Sites like Amazon and Google have given today’s customers a taste for highly personalized experiences. But dealers still rely on the human touch to close a sale.

Dealers have invested heavily into their showrooms to make them warm and comfortable for customers. Now they realize the importance of making their digital presence just as inviting and personal.

Many automotive dealers hire BDC staff and managers to bridge the gap between the web and the showroom floor. These customer service experts are increasingly mission-critical to the automotive industry.

 

What Is A Business Development Center Person?

The concept of a business development center initially grew out of the more familiar customer service center (CSC). Staffed by customer service representatives (CSR), CSC’s functioned similar to a customer service department at larger corporations.

CSR’s would field customer questions and complaints, call their customers to inform them about special deals, and work inbound leads before handing them over to a sales representative. The CSC has developed into the BDC for many dealers, whose role is to focus on generating leads through inbound marketing programs.

BDC staff are fundamental because they can communicate new information out to customers fast. For example, a dealer has a promotion for 0% financing. Dealers with BDC staff can update customers with phone messages and emails quickly.

BDC sales team are dedicated sales representatives responsible for replying to inbound calls and internet inquiries. They can work those leads directly or hand them off to other sales representatives along with the customer’s details.

Technology has become more sophisticated, which encourages customers to research their purchases on the internet. With that in mind, today’s BDC staff are focusing on creating better customer experiences that encourage them to visit the dealer. Just as a sales team works to engage customers in person, BDC staff spend their time listening and learning about each customer’s interest to ensure that their connection with each customer is tailored to suit their needs.

By giving customers a personalized experience, BDC staff are better positioned to offer their sales teams plenty of leads. More than that, leads generated by BDC’s are better qualified and more likely to purchase a vehicle by the time they shake a sales representative’s hand.

 

When Do BDC Staff Interact With Customers?

BDC staff are changing how companies connect with customers online and bring them into the showroom to close a sale. What does a BDC job look like? How does BDC staff help bridge the gap from digital to foot traffic?

In the new and used car sales department, BDC staff convert internet leads into sales appointments. Customers can contact team members through the store’s website chat feature, submit online forms, email, phone, or text messaging.

BDC staff will then contact customers for more information on their specific vehicle needs. The goal is to have the internet lead schedule an appointment to meet with a salesperson or come in for a test drive.

BDC staff can also organically move customers closer and closer to visit the showroom by using digital finance forms, payment calculators, customer interest questionnaires to help them narrow their vehicle choice, and even test drive scheduling tools.

After customers have purchased their vehicle from the dealer, BDC staff continually contact customers throughout their vehicle ownership life cycle. BDC staff remind customers that their car’s routine maintenance is due and schedule their appointment for the service department. Staff can use the manufacturer’s maintenance guidelines and recommendations on which maintenance items a customer will need to have done at their next service visit.

Here’s a sample of Sales and Service BDC team member daily tasks:

  1. Respond to incoming sales or service leads and assist them with their questions.
  2. Schedule appointments and follow-up on no-show customers.
  3. Follow-up on sales appointments with the sales representative.
  4. Inform customers about current sales promotions.
  5. Remind current owners their vehicle’s lease is about to end and discuss their next vehicle options.
  6. Send out various courtesy reminders, birthday emails, anniversary cards, and thank you letters.
  7. Contact or send email reminders to service customers and schedule appointments.
  8. Follow-up on customer satisfaction after their sales or service visit.

BDC staff are involved at almost every touch-point of the customer’s life cycle; they play a vital role in customer retention and ensure the continued success of the dealer.

 

Who Should Become A BDC Representative?

You do not need a special business degree or automotive skills to become a successful BDM or BDC representative. Ideal candidates should be enthusiastic about working in the automotive industry and enjoy assisting customers with shopping for their next car. If you are an organized individual with an upbeat personality, becoming a BDC representative could be for you! As you can see, BDC representatives spend lots of quality time listening to customers on the phone or through emails.

 

Course Summary

The Automotive Sales and Service BDC course will teach you the ins and outs of products and services in the automotive industry. Throughout this course, you will learn how to fine-tune your active listening skills, deal with difficult customers, sell to different personality types, and become a proficient communicator in the automotive industry.

There is an in-depth lesson included later in the course that discusses service maintenance requirements and vehicle repairs. You’ll understand the values and benefits of vehicle maintenance, when to recommend them, and the best-selling techniques to use.

By the end of this course, you will have the skills and the knowledge to become a professional BDC representative, with the ability to make every customer experience the best possible.

 

Course Material

Some course pages have downloadable spreadsheets; they are unprotected files and can be changed to suit your needs.

 

About The Lesson Quiz

Quizzes are based on the topic learned in each lesson. Students must complete the quiz at the end of the lesson before moving on to the next lesson.

Students will require a minimum grade of 60% to pass.

After finishing a quiz, students can select “View Questions” to see the answers, “Click Continue” to move on to the next lesson, or “Restart Quiz.”

Students can restart the quiz as many times as needed. However, when you restart a quiz, it will reset ALL the questions in the quiz. Students will have to answer every question over again. Questions will also appear in random order. The last grade score you earned on this quiz is the final grade for this lesson.

 

Certificate Of Completion

Students will require a minimum grade of 60% to pass; you will receive your Certificate of Completion immediately after completing the course.

 

 

Additional Notes:

KPI: The KPI benchmarks in this training guide are based on the North American market. However, KPI numbers will vary depending on the franchise, region, demographic, and retail establishment type, even within North America. Please refer to the industry standards in your local area for more accurate monthly KPI numbers and update any formulas provided in these lessons to suit your region.

Workflow: This guide is not a complete BDC representative’s or BDM’s task list. For BDC representatives and BDM, there’s no one-size-fits-all task list or workflow. These lists are to get you started in the right direction. You may have additional tasks you need to complete each day, month, and year. Use this list to get you started, then build on it by creating your own workflow tracking system.