The automotive BDC is designed to be a success; if the BDC works on the asset – the leads, and capitalizes on revenue generating opportunities eventually bringing customer loyalty. The BDC team must follow certain tactics to increase the show rate for the appointments set, as well as those that materialize into sales.
If the BDC is generating leads, however, is unable to confirm an appointment and get the customer to visit the Dealer, there is a loss of almost 95 percent of sales opportunity from those leads. This indicates the need to strategize, rather than get more leads. Here is what can be done to get the BDC to a better conversion rate.
- Appointments must be set at a specific time
If the appointments are fixed for a specific time with the lead or potential customer, it has been seen that the customer show rate is definitely higher. There is a psychological effect, which leads to the success, as 48 percent of the leads prefer to speak to a business first, by phone. The appointment leads to an increase of almost 37 percent in the show rate, which means there are chances that they will convert 100 percent to confirmed sales. This will also screen and qualify the leads, first.
- There is ‘no response’ from 37 percent of the leads
It is true that sometimes when the BDC calls the leads, they may not be able to contact the customer and leave a message on their TAM or answering machine. It is advisable to get a separate team to proactively contact the customer more frequently and fix an appointment. There could be various reasons for being unable to contact the lead like an unfavorable time and a few other reasons are mentioned later. It is advisable to contact the leads in different ways, including social media; in the automotive industry, the average number of attempts is 1.7.
- Most Automotive leads buy their car from the first dealer who contacted them
It is time to win the customer, as 86 percent of automotive leads tend to buy from the first dealer, who contacted them. According to a survey, people visit the dealer website to save time, and if the BDC contacts the leads with answers, the deal can be considered almost closed.
- 100 percent chance to close the deal
This can happen when BDC contacts the automotive lead, within first five minutes of lead submission. When the customer is online researching car information, they do this on as many as 20 different dealer sites. Those twenty minutes are crucial as the customer is unlikely to spend more time on research.
If the Dealer BDC does not contact the lead within thirty minutes, someone else will, the success rate drops almost 100 times. The team must be responsive and must demonstrate the fact that the customer’s business is appreciated.
- Contact percentage drops after the second attempt
The automotive BDC must keep following up on the leads, even if it is more than two attempts. It is possible that a successful contact, after the second attempt may lead to 100 percent closure of a deal.
Conclusion
Most people manage everything using their mobile and computer, so it is a best practice to send a calendar invite for the appointment. The BDC team must make a personal call to the potential customer, to confirm appointments; this will increase the show rate by 36 percent.
The automotive dealership must be proactive, responsive and automated; the tools must be used efficiently to ensure all leads convert successfully to appointments and sales.
