Outsourcing Your Business Development Center: Pros & Cons

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Are you thinking about outsourcing your Business Development Center? Needless to say, outsourced business development has strong pros, as well as some potential drawbacks you should be aware of. That’s why we’ve curated a list of “pros and cons” to help you decide what’s best for you and your dealership.

Pros

Business Control Overhead

Outsourcing a BDC means you are hiring their team, for a contract, and a flat rate. A dealership’s labor expense can be one of their highest after accounting for taxes, vacation, bonuses, insurance, office space, personnel support, office supplies—you name it! Not to mention the time and money allocated to recruit, train, and retain employees. By outsourcing, you are able to control overhead and maintain a steadfast budget. Any changes to their internal structure or team is not on the dealership, and your service agreement remains the same.

Access Greater Talent For Your Business

An in-house BDC is limited to a few people, given space and salary requirements. Companies like Customer Traac, who focus on customer service for dealerships, are going to have dozens of people dedicated to your cause, whose talent and expertise goes leaps and bounds beyond the capabilities of hiring internally. You will always have more than one person focusing on your business and providing top tier customer service.

Don’t Have to Expand Business Space

Business Development Departments can produce a lot of noise—making phone calls, receiving phone calls, etc. and would require their own space. We all know moving can be a hassle, especially in an office setting. There is no need to make room for offices, or desks when outsourcing your BDC.

Streamlining Customer Service

Having a team devoted 100% to the customer service of your dealership not only streamlines customer service, but improves it tenfold. Call wait times will decrease, appointment scheduling will be proactive and timely, and service managers and other employees can focus on what they do best.

Cons

BDC Outsourcing Is Expensive

Although a BDC can save you money by decreasing overhead costs, it doesn’t mean it’s cheap. A contract with a business development center can depend on a number of things, especially for those that charge incentive fees. Watch out for BDCs looking for extra compensation based on sales. The cost-effectiveness of the service can sometimes waver, so choose your BDC wisely. And remember, a BDC should be a revenue center, not a cost center.

Employees Outside of Your Company

You may not be able to take part in the selection process of the people dealing with your customers and representing your brand. This means putting your trust in people who your dealership didn’t hire directly. It’s important to develop a good relationship with your BDC managers right off the bat, and feel comfortable utilizing their employees for your services. This can be difficult (but not impossible) for some managers.

Negative Impact on Company Culture

Having members of your team outside the organization could impact company culture by not being able to get to know the outsourced team. An in-house team can focus on getting to know each other on a more intimate level. However, through regular communication and account check-ins with your outsourced BDC, you can develop a relationship built on trust that rivals those of colleagues you see every day.

In Conclusion…

Outsourcing your to a BDC might make you worry about communicating with the team. But there is a team of people you can communicate with via email or phone.

Customer Traac ensures there are no communication snags. By keeping one point of contact, you can streamline communication with your BDC. Which saves you time and increases our effectiveness. That’s how we help dealerships focus on what they do best, and they trust us to do the same.

Learn more about Customer Traac’s automotive BDC solutions today.