Helping make the cash-out process as smooth as possible.
Where would we, as advisors, be without a stellar BDC? In the mental ward lacing up a pretty white coat in the back, that is where!
Imagine how many more things would be on your plate without a great BDC? They answer 95% of the inbound calls. Many of which, I am told, are YOUR customers trying to track you down to spend their money with you.
Most BDCs are set up so that they answer the majority of the inbound calls. This does not mean that the phone should never be answered if you are an advisor.
They also, usually, are the ones cashing out the customers at pick up. Or your dealership may have a dedicated cash office to do this.
Either way, if this is how your BDC is organized then here are some tips on how to make the day-to-day operations and the cash-out process as smooth as possible.
Tip 1: In my humble opinion, there should rarely be a time when the customer comes to the counter to pick up, and cannot answer this question with a "Yes"
"Did your advisor review everything with you?"
Part of our job as advisors is to explain and re-explain and explain one more time what we will do, what we are doing, and what we have done to their vehicle. When you make the final call to let them know it is ready, you should be asking, "Do you have a moment so I can review and answer any questions so when you pick up you can just pay and run?"
Trust me, you want to be the person doing this. Do you really want someone, with limited car knowledge, and absolutely zero familiarity with what you have done to that vehicle, going over your potential "CXI survey" generating invoice with a customer? Especially when they are likely reading it for the first time. No!
No matter if it is a straight oil change or a $6500.00 bill. I want to be the person explaining what we have done, and review any potential services that are coming due the next time around. In fact, it would be best to have the advisor, whenever possible, complete the active delivery after service and cash them out. This way, if there are questions, objections, or issues, there is an answer or a solution immediately.
Tip 2: Complete status updates to your customers as changes happen.
For a detailed explanation of this please see our previous blog post on the importance of the customer update process, and how it can eliminate a lot of stress for you and your team.
On this point, I will only add that as the BDC takes most of the incoming calls when customers are just looking for a status update, and they have to try and find you to follow up with your customer, this takes them away from their primary goal of booking appointments for you. So instead of answering more calls, they are now chasing you down to update your customer. Not cool!
As well as this run down, they have noted that when advisors choose not to return messages promptly, they have to field further incoming calls from angry customers looking for information. Also not cool!
Tip 3: Have the paperwork ready, reviewed, and in the right place when the customer comes to pick up their vehicle.
We need to look like we are a well-oiled machine here. It should be seamless. I know we are all in a hurry, but whatever process you have here, it should be quick and as easy as possible for the customer.
Depending on the setup and organization of your department, there may be ways to streamline it to allow a smoother pick-up process for the customer.
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Message me at: adviseme@goldstandardservicetraining.com
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