A trained sales BDC agent can do 21 things you can hear on a recording or see in the CRM: answer with a name, ask before quoting, offer two appointment times, confirm the visit, leave a note the salesperson can use. Rate each agent on each skill from real calls, then train only the lowest two.
Skills You Can Hear, Not Traits You Hope For
Most BDC job descriptions list traits: confident, friendly, persistent, good with people. Traits help you hire. They are no use in training, because nobody can practice "confident" for fifteen minutes or score it on a recording.
A skill, as this checklist uses the word, passes one test. Two managers listening to the same call, or reading the same lead record, would agree on whether it happened. "Builds rapport" fails that test. "Uses the caller's name at least twice" passes it. "Creates urgency" fails. "Offers two specific appointment times" passes.
Write every expectation that way and new agents know what the job is, coaching stops being an argument about attitude, and training can be aimed at a gap instead of at the whole room.
This page does not teach the wording. The 20 core word tracks give the phrases, and the dealership call framework gives the order of a call. The checklist tells you whether the agent is using them.
The Checklist: 21 Skills in Ten Jobs
The example lines are illustrations. Use your store's own word tracks.
| Job | Skill | What it sounds or looks like | How to check it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inbound call | 1. Opens with the store, their own name and an offer to help | "Thank you for calling Smith Honda, this is Dana. How can I help?" | First ten seconds of any recording |
| Inbound call | 2. Gets the caller's name and a callback number early | Asks before answering the question | Recording and CRM record |
| Internet lead | 3. Answers the question the customer asked | The reply names the vehicle and answers in the first two lines | Sent email or text |
| Internet lead | 4. Calls as well as writes | A logged call attempt sits next to the email or text | CRM activity log |
| Discovery | 5. Asks at least two questions before giving details | Current vehicle, what matters most, who else is involved | Recording |
| Discovery | 6. Finds the timeline | "When were you hoping to be driving it?" | Recording and note |
| Value in the visit | 7. Gives a reason to come in that is about the customer | "I'll have it pulled up front and ready so you are not waiting." | Recording |
| Firm appointment | 8. Asks for the appointment with two specific times | "I have 4:15 today or 10:30 tomorrow. Which works better?" | Recording |
| Firm appointment | 9. Locks a date, a time and a person to ask for | Repeats all three back to the customer | CRM appointment has all three fields |
| Confirming | 10. Sends a written confirmation right away | Text or email with the address, time and who to ask for | Lead record |
| Confirming | 11. Reconfirms before the visit and reschedules instead of dropping | A logged confirmation contact, or a new time | CRM tasks |
| Objections | 12. Price-first caller: answers what policy allows, then returns to the visit | No dodge, no argument, then the ask | Recording |
| Objections | 13. Trade value: explains what a real number needs | No guessed figure; the appraisal becomes part of the visit | Recording |
| Objections | 14. "Just email me the price": sends it and still asks for a time | The email goes out and a follow-up call is scheduled | Recording and CRM task |
| Objections | 15. "Still shopping" or "need to talk to my spouse": sets a specific next contact | "I'll call you Thursday at 6. Does that work?" | CRM task |
| Outbound | 16. Opens with a reason for the call | The unsold visit, the lease date, the vehicle they asked about | Recording |
| Outbound | 17. Leaves a short voicemail with a reason to call back | Name, store, one reason, number said slowly | Recording |
| Outbound | 18. Works the cadence on schedule across phone, text and email | Tasks completed on the day they are due | Overdue-task report |
| CRM notes | 19. Leaves a note the next person can act on | Vehicle, trade, timeline, objection, next step | Read five notes cold |
| Handoff | 20. Briefs the salesperson or manager before the customer arrives | The note is complete and the floor knows | Ask the salesperson |
| Handoff | 21. Introduces the customer on a live transfer | Stays on the line, gives the name and the reason | Recording |
The library has pages on CRM notes and the confirmation steps behind show rate.
How to Rate Each Agent
Use three grades, because finer scales invite arguments nobody needs.
- 0, not seen. The behavior did not appear in the sample.
- 1, sometimes. It appeared on some calls or records and not others.
- 2, every time. It appeared every time the situation came up.
The sample matters more than the scale. Pull five recorded calls and five lead records per agent, chosen by you and spread across the week. When a situation never came up (no trade question on any call), test that skill in a role-play.
Three rules keep the rating honest:
- Rate from the sample. What you remember from last month does not count.
- Rate the behavior, not the result. A call that ended with no appointment can still score 2 on the ask.
- Have a second person rate two of the calls. Where you disagree, the skill is worded too loosely.
For weekly call-by-call scoring, use the shorter yes or no sheet in how to score a BDC call. The checklist is the fuller picture you draw monthly.
Train the Lowest Two
When the sheet is full, ignore the total. A total hides what you need. Circle each agent's two lowest skills and stop there.
Two is a practical limit, not a research finding. An agent on live phones can hold one or two changes in mind. Give them six and they go back to what they did before.
When several skills tie at 0, pick the one that sits earliest in the chain. An agent who never asks for the appointment gains little from a better confirmation text. The page on reading your BDC numbers for skill gaps shows which rate each skill moves, which helps break ties.
Then work each skill the same way:
- Play one recording where it was done well and one where it was missed.
- Drill it for a few minutes a day. The role-play drills are built around the same situations as the checklist.
- Score for that one behavior on the agent's next calls and say what you heard.
- Re-rate in 30 days. When it holds at 2, move to the next lowest.
When the Whole Team Scores Low on the Same Skill
Lay the sheets side by side. If one agent scores 0 on reconfirming, that is a coaching conversation. If every agent scores 0, the store probably never built the step: no confirmation task in the CRM, or no one owns it.
A quick way to tell a skill gap from a process gap: ask the agent to do it in a role-play.
- They cannot do it in practice. That is a knowledge and skill gap. Training fixes it.
- They can do it in practice and do not do it live. That is a habit. Scored calls and weekly coaching fix it, and a class will not.
- They can do it and the system gets in the way. That is process: routing, cadence, CRM setup or staffing. Our guide to choosing between training, consulting and outsourcing sorts those cases.
Using the Checklist With New Hires and Outside Trainers
For a new agent, the checklist is the syllabus. Hand it over on day one and use it alongside the weekly gates in a 30-day plan for a new BDC agent. The BDC handbook for new agents is written for the agent's side of the same month.
For an outside trainer, the filled-in sheets are the best briefing you can send. They show which skills the room has and which it lacks. Pinnacle's Sales BDC Training covers the same ground as the checklist: inbound lead management, outbound follow-up, appointment setting, scripting and word tracks, and CRM workflow. It is taught through role-play and evaluation of live calls and internet responses, on the store's own CRM. A trainer who arrives knowing each agent's lowest two can start there.
Keep the sheets. Rated again a month later, they are the plainest record of whether behavior changed. The rest of the Sales BDC Training Resource Center covers how to choose, book and measure a program.
Frequently Asked Questions
What skills does a sales BDC agent need?
The ones a customer can hear and a manager can see: a clean greeting, getting a name and number, answering the actual question, discovery questions, a reason to visit, an appointment ask with two times, confirmation, the common objections, follow-up on schedule, a usable CRM note and a briefing for the floor.
What is the difference between a BDC skill and a BDC KPI?
A KPI is a result counted over many leads, such as the share of contacts that become appointments. A skill is a behavior on one call or one lead record. Skills move KPIs, but only skills can be practiced. Coach the behavior and watch the number to confirm it worked.
How often should I rate my BDC agents on the checklist?
A full rating once a month is enough for most stores, and once a quarter is workable for a steady, experienced team. Between ratings, score a few calls each week on a short sheet and coach one behavior. New hires need a rating at the end of each of their first four weeks.
Should agents rate themselves?
Yes, alongside the manager and on the same calls. Have the agent listen to one recording and fill in the sheet before you compare. The gaps between the two ratings are the most useful part of the conversation, and agents who hear their own missed ask tend to need less convincing.
Summary
A trained sales BDC agent is one who does 21 specific things across ten jobs, from the greeting to the handoff, and each one can be heard on a recording or seen in the CRM. Rate every agent 0, 1 or 2 on each skill from five calls and five lead records. Circle the lowest two per agent, drill them, score them and rate again in 30 days. When the whole team misses the same skill, check the process first.
