You can begin by empowering these agents to move forward as you train them to handle more difficult and/ or more involved conversations. Once implemented, this will free up service advisors' time as well as allow agents to be true customer service representatives, not simply order-takers. While you undergo the changes, are you worried about inbound calls ringing unanswered? Leverage a DVA to handle routine inbound calls. Integrate the DVA with your online scheduling tool and agents will never have to touch simple, routine appointment requests. 2. Train agents on sales skills and overcoming objections. Agents are supposed to be there to develop business, but do they have the necessary training? Often they cannot take ownership of calls because they do not have the skills. The answer is to train agents to plant the seeds of upcoming maintenance or alert the customers to vehicle recalls. The agents do not have to sell MAY JUNE 2022 || FIXED OPS MAGAZINE the services on the call. As you know, the recommendations will likely linger in the minds of the customers. Then the customers will be more likely to approve the services in the drive when the advisors mention it again. 3. Ensure the BDC Manager knows how to identify and fill capacity gaps. Service scheduling is about selling time. Gaps in the schedule are a direct hit to your bottom line. Your BDC Manager must know how much time you have to sell in a day, pay attention to no-shows and cancellations, as well as be able to pivot and use agents to rescue canceled appointment slots. It is massively important to keep the schedule full. It is especially important when many shops are running two to three weeks out. Do not forget that having a DVA answer inbound calls is a proven way to ensure agents have time to call customers and fill those gaps. 4. Prioritize reducing scheduling horizons. With shops across the country running at capacity, it is becoming 39