Ask a BDC trainer 25 questions in five groups before you book: who will actually be in your store, what the content covers, how much of the time is practice on your own calls, what happens after the visit, and what it costs in dollars and in hours off the phones. Good answers are specific and arrive in writing.
How to Use This List
Send the questions ahead of the call and ask for written answers to the money and follow-up groups. Run the same list past two or three trainers and put the answers side by side. A vague answer stands out fast next to a specific one.
If you are still deciding between companies, our shortlist of dealership sales training companies covers who is out there. For an outside call center instead of a trainer, use the questions to ask an outsourced BDC.
The Trainer (Questions 1 to 5)
1. Who will be in my store, by name? A good answer is a named person, and the same person on every return visit. If the one selling is not the one training, ask to speak with the trainer before you book.
2. When did that trainer last work a BDC desk or manage one? You want a specific store, role and period. Recent time around live leads matters more than a long resume.
3. Which stores like mine have you trained, and can I call two of them? A good answer is two managers' names and numbers, from stores near your size and brand mix. Ask them what was still in use three months later.
4. What do you sell besides training? A trainer who also sells software, leads or an outsourced BDC is not disqualified, but you should know which way the recommendations are likely to lean.
5. Will you listen to our calls before you quote? The good answer is yes, followed by a request for recordings from every agent. A proposal written before anyone has heard a call is a standard package with your logo on the cover.
The Content (Questions 6 to 11)
6. What does the agenda cover, block by block? Ask for it in writing. Compare it with what a sales BDC training curriculum should cover.
7. How will it be adapted to our brand, lead sources and OEM rules? A good answer names what changes: the examples, the lead types practiced, the response standards your manufacturer scores you on.
8. Is it taught in our CRM? Yes, at the agents' own desks with their own logins.
9. Do you bring scripts or work from ours? The best answer is both: the trainer reads yours first, keeps what works and explains every change.
10. Does it cover text, email and chat, or only the phone? All of them, with written first-response examples. For a lead who never picks up, the written reply is the whole first impression.
11. What do the sales managers get? A session of their own on the handoff. An appointment that arrives and is not greeted by name undoes the work of the call that set it.
The Method (Questions 12 to 17)
12. What share of the time are agents practicing instead of listening? Ask for a number and a schedule that proves it. Our opinion, not a research finding: if practice is under half of the time, it is a seminar.
13. How do you run role-play? Short rounds, one skill at a time, a realistic customer, a clear pass or fail, then again. Agents should also bring their own hard scenarios: a review of 117 studies of behavior modeling training found transfer to the job was greatest when, among other things, practice included trainee-generated scenarios and trainees' superiors were also trained (Taylor, Russ-Eft and Chan, Journal of Applied Psychology, 2005). That research covers workplace training in general, not dealerships.
14. Will you coach on live leads? Yes: the trainer sits beside each agent on real calls and real internet leads.
15. How do you score a call? The trainer should show you the scorecard before you book. Look for yes or no behaviors you can hear, such as "offered two specific times," and compare it with a working BDC call scorecard.
16. How do you give feedback to an agent who is struggling? About the call, one behavior at a time, never about the person. A review of feedback studies found that feedback improved performance on average, yet more than one-third of feedback interventions made it worse, and that it gets less effective as attention moves away from the task and toward the self (Kluger and DeNisi, Psychological Bulletin, 1996).
17. What is the BDC manager's job during the training? In the room for all of it, then a separate session on how to coach it.
The Follow-Up (Questions 18 to 22)
18. What happens in the 30 days after the visit? Dated contacts on a calendar: call reviews, a check-in with the manager, a return visit or a remote session. "Call me if you need anything" is the answer that explains why BDC training fades.
19. Who reviews calls once you are gone, and how often? A named person and a cadence. If it is your manager, the trainer should teach them to score the same way.
20. How does a new hire get trained after someone quits? Either a refresher option or materials your manager can run alone.
21. What do you leave behind? The scorecard, the drills, the scripts as edited and the manager's coaching routine, in files you can edit.
22. How will we know it worked? A baseline taken before the visit, then the same measures per agent afterward, with the definitions agreed in advance. Our guide to measuring BDC training results lays out the 30, 60 and 90 day checks.
Money and Logistics (Questions 23 to 25)
23. What is the total cost, travel and follow-up included? One figure in writing, with what it covers and what the follow-up costs after the first period ends. For how trainers price and what dealers forget to count, see what BDC training costs.
24. How many hours will agents be off the phones, and in what groups? A schedule that splits the room so leads are still answered.
25. What results do you promise, and what are they based on? The honest answer is a range from past stores and no promise, because your lead quality, pay plan and managers are outside the trainer's control. We have not found an independent study that measures the sales effect of BDC training, so every figure you hear is a vendor's own. Put your numbers and the quote into the BDC training ROI calculator and see what improvement the fee actually requires.
Answers That Should Make You Pause
- A price before anyone has heard a call or seen a number.
- No role for the manager. The trainer leaves; the manager is the one who is there on Tuesday.
- A result promised as a single number. Nobody outside your store can know that.
A good trainer may also tell you training is the wrong purchase. Leads that go unanswered because nobody is scheduled are a coverage problem, not a skills problem. Our piece on whether to train, fix or outsource sorts the three.
What Pinnacle's Page Already Answers
We sell this training, so hold us to the same list. The Sales BDC Training page answers several before you call. On content: it covers inbound calls, internet leads and chat, outbound follow-up, appointment setting, scripting and word tracks, and CRM and workflow, and it is customized to the store's brand, OEM standards, goals and current performance metrics. It is taught on the store's own CRM. On method: trainers work directly with the BDC staff, using role-play and evaluation of live calls and internet responses with feedback. On follow-up: the page says "We don't believe in train and leave," and lists weekly or monthly performance reviews, live call audits, refresher courses for new hires or underperforming staff, and leadership coaching for BDC managers.
What the page does not publish: the price, how long a visit runs, how many people are in a session, or who your trainer would be. Those are questions 1, 2, 12, 23 and 24, and you should ask us all of them. The rest of the Sales BDC Training Resource Center is there to help you judge the answers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many BDC trainers should I talk to before booking?
Two or three is enough. The point is not to collect quotes but to hear how differently trainers answer the same questions. After the second conversation you will know what a specific answer sounds like, and the trainer who has not listened to a call before quoting will be easy to spot.
Should a BDC trainer have automotive experience?
Yes. General phone-skills trainers can teach tone and listening, but a sales BDC call turns on trade values, payments, availability and a showroom appointment. A trainer who has not worked those conversations will teach around them. Ask where and when they last handled dealership leads themselves.
What should be in a BDC training proposal?
The named trainer, an agenda by block, what the trainer needs from you beforehand, the schedule that keeps phones covered, what is left behind, the follow-up dates, how results will be measured, and one total price. If any of those is missing, ask for it in writing before you sign.
Can I ask a trainer to listen to our calls for free first?
Ask. Many will review a handful of recordings before quoting, because it lets them propose the right thing. Check your state's recording rules before sharing files outside the store. A trainer who refuses to hear any call before pricing is telling you the content is the same for every store.
Summary
Twenty-five questions, five groups: who the trainer is, what the content covers, how much is practice on your own calls and CRM, what happens after the visit, and what it costs in money and phone time. Good answers are named, dated and written. Be wary of a quote that comes before anyone has heard a call, a plan with no job for the manager, and a promised number. Ask us the same questions, especially the ones our page does not answer.
