Ask an outsourced BDC 30 questions in six groups before you sign: who the agents are, how they work your leads, what they touch in your CRM, what they report, what it costs and how you leave, and who carries the compliance duties. A good vendor answers every one in writing without stalling.
How to Use This List
Send the questions by email before the second meeting and ask for written answers. A written answer is what you will point to in month four when the report looks different from the pitch.
Sort each answer into three piles: plain, vague, refused. A refusal on anything about data, reporting or exit is a reason to stop. Send every vendor the same list so the answers line up. Our list of outsourced BDC companies for car dealerships has five first-call questions; this is the longer version, and one part of the Dealership BDC Guide.
People: Questions 1 to 5
1. Where do your agents sit, and are they your employees? A good answer names the location, says whether agents are employees or contractors, and rules out subcontracting without your knowledge.
2. Do the agents on my account take calls for anything other than dealerships? Good: automotive only, or an honest description of what else the same agent answers in the same hour.
3. Will I have dedicated agents, a shared pool, or a mix? Good: a clear statement of which, and who covers when a dedicated agent is out.
4. How is a new agent trained before taking a live call for my store, and who does the training? Good: a described program covering phone skills, objection handling, appointment setting and CRM notes, with a sign-off step.
5. What is your agent turnover, and what happens on my account when someone leaves? Good: a number they will say out loud, logins closed the same day, and a replacement trained on your playbook before going live.
Process: Questions 6 to 10
6. Whose talk tracks do agents use? Good: yours where you have them, theirs where you do not, and one written playbook you approve before launch.
7. What exactly counts as an appointment? Good: a specific date and time, a named salesperson or advisor, entered in your CRM or scheduler, and confirmed back to the customer.
8. What is the follow-up cadence for a lead that does not answer? Good: the touches written out by day and channel, and the point where the lead comes back to your store.
9. How does a live customer get from your agent to my manager or advisor? Good: a warm transfer to a named list of people by hour of the day, with a fallback when nobody picks up. If the answer is a blind transfer, read why cold transfers cost you customer trust.
10. What will your agents never do on a call? Good: quote a payment, value a trade sight unseen, promise a loaner or diagnose a repair, unless you have written the rule that allows it.
Systems and Data: Questions 11 to 15
11. Do agents work inside my CRM and service scheduler, or in your platform? Good: inside yours. If they use their own, ask how long a note takes to reach your CRM.
12. Does every agent get a named login? Good: yes, one person per login, multi-factor authentication on each, and a current access list you can request any day. See giving a BDC vendor CRM access.
13. Where are recordings, texts and chat transcripts stored, and for how long? Good: a named system, a stated retention period, and your own access without having to ask for a file.
14. Who owns the customer records, the notes and the recordings? Good: you do, in writing, including everything created during the engagement.
15. What do I get back when we part, and how fast? Good: a full export in a format your CRM can import, logins closed on the last day, vendor copies deleted and the deletion confirmed in writing.
Reporting: Questions 16 to 20
16. What report will I receive, and how often? Good: a sample they can send today showing calls offered and answered, leads worked, contacts, and appointments set, shown and sold. Compare it with the weekly report an outsourced BDC should send.
17. What is the denominator of each rate on that report? Good: it is printed on the page. A set rate over contacts and a set rate over all leads are different numbers. The definitions we use are on our dealership BDC benchmarks page.
18. Can I see results by lead source, and sales separate from service? Good: yes, by source and by department.
19. How do you find out whether an appointment showed and sold? Good: from your CRM or DMS, matched to the customer record.
20. Who scores calls for quality, and can I see the scorecard? Good: a named reviewer, the scorecard shared with you, and your right to listen to any call on your account.
Money and Term: Questions 21 to 25
21. What is the pricing model? Good: one model (per seat, flat fee, per lead, per appointment set, or per appointment shown) and a straight account of what behavior it rewards.
22. What is not included? Good: a list. Setup, phone numbers, text charges, CRM seats and outbound campaigns are the usual candidates.
23. What happens to the price when my volume jumps or drops? Good: a stated band and the rate outside it, agreed before an event month and not after it.
24. How long is the first term, what is the notice period, and does it renew by itself? Good: three plain answers. More in outsourced BDC contract terms.
25. Can I start with one scope and add to it later? Good: yes, with a defined first scope such as after-hours or overflow and measures agreed up front. See how to pilot an outsourced BDC.
Compliance: Questions 26 to 30
These five rest on rules that stay with the dealership (checked October 2026). The FCC's do-not-call rule says that when a third party records the requests, "the person or entity on whose behalf the call is made will be liable for any failures to honor the do-not-call request" (47 CFR 64.1200(d)(3)). Federal law requires the consent of at least one party to record a call, and a number of states require every party's consent, according to the Reporters Committee recording guide. A dealership that finances vehicles, or leases them for longer than 90 days, is a financial institution under the Safeguards Rule, and 16 CFR 314.4(f) has it select capable service providers, require safeguards by contract and assess them periodically (FTC dealer FAQ). The FCC also adopted changes to its consent-revocation rule on September 30, 2026 (FCC 26-67); they are not yet in effect, so ask how the vendor is tracking them. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the details with your counsel. Our longer pieces cover TCPA rules for dealer outreach and the Safeguards Rule and your vendors.
26. How is recording announced, on inbound and on outbound calls? Good: at the start of every call in both directions. A message on your inbound phone tree does not cover an agent dialing out.
27. Which do-not-call lists do you scrub against, and how often? Good: the national registry on a stated schedule plus your store's own list, with records kept.
28. When a customer says stop calling or replies STOP, how does that reach my CRM, and how fast? Good: it is marked in your system the same day, not held on a spreadsheet at the vendor.
29. Is AI voice or AI text used on any contact, and where does a person take over? Good: a straight answer by channel, including outbound.
30. Will you sign Safeguards Rule service-provider terms and tell me promptly about a security incident? Good: yes, with a named contact.
Where Pinnacle's Published Answers Stand
We sell this service, so run the same 30 past us. Here is what Pinnacle already says in public about BDC On Demand, and nothing more than that.
- Questions 1 and 2: agents are based in the United States and take automotive calls only.
- Question 4: agents are trained on the same methodology Pinnacle teaches in its in-store BDC training: phone skills, objection handling, appointment setting and CRM discipline.
- Question 6: Pinnacle learns the store's brands, CRM workflows, appointment process and service menu, and agents follow the store's own processes and talk tracks. If the store has no playbook, Pinnacle's trainers help build one.
- Questions 13 and 16: a launch comes with call recordings, performance metrics and regular reporting.
- Question 25: Pinnacle names full BDC outsourcing, overflow support, after-hours coverage, event-specific call handling and a hybrid with an in-house team.
- Question 29: BDC On Demand is a staffed, human call center. It is not an AI product.
Pinnacle does not publish pricing, term or notice period. Each engagement starts with a complimentary consultation and a custom plan, so bring questions 21 to 24 to that meeting and get the answers in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many outsourced BDC vendors should a dealership interview?
Two or three is enough if each one gets the same written list. With more, nobody at the store reads the answers. With one, you have nothing to compare a vague answer against. Line the replies up question by question, and pay most attention to the questions where one vendor went quiet.
What is the biggest red flag when talking to a BDC vendor?
A vendor that will not define an appointment, will not show a sample report, or will not let you listen to calls. Each of those is a way of keeping you from checking the work. The ability to see what happened on your own customers' calls cannot be added later.
Should I ask an outsourced BDC for dealer references?
Yes, and ask for a store close to yours in size and brand. Ask the reference what the first month looked like, what the report shows, how appointments are defined and whether the floor trusts them. The vendor chose the reference, so treat it as the best case.
Who from the dealership should sit in on the vendor meeting?
The general manager, the sales manager who will receive the appointments, the service manager if service calls are in scope, and whoever administers the CRM. The CRM administrator will catch access and data problems the others miss.
Summary
Send the 30 questions in writing, compare vendors answer by answer, and weigh the refusals more heavily than the polish. The definition of an appointment, access to your own recordings, the denominators on the report and the terms of your exit tell you more about a vendor than the price does. Hold Pinnacle to the same list.
