Bill Knight Automotive Group
Ryan Knight on Pam working alongside a BDC
Ryan Knight · Director of Operations
Bill Knight Automotive Group
Across Bill Knight Automotive Group rooftops. Last 90 Days.
THE BDC QUESTION
If you already have a business development center (BDC), you want to know where Pam would fit in the day. At Knight, the starting point was work the team wanted to do but struggled to reach.
In a July 2026 interview, Ryan Knight, Director of Operations at Bill Knight Automotive Group, described the arrangement. Pam’s Receptionist Agent gave the existing team additional phone coverage. The BDC continued answering calls, following up with customers, and making proactive outbound calls.
01 / THE CHALLENGE
Knight already had a centralized BDC. Its day filled with incoming calls and the work those calls left behind.
Ryan said the outbound calls the team did make were largely reactive: returning missed calls, responding to voicemail, and following up. Proactive calls competed with that work.
He wanted Pam to support the team’s existing job. In Ryan’s account, overflow coverage gave his people room to make proactive calls. He also credited Ford’s vehicle care resources in that work.
For your BDC, that distinction matters. Answering the next incoming call and reaching a customer proactively are different responsibilities. Knight wanted its people to keep doing both.
Ryan Knight, Director of Operations
02 / THE HANDOFF
The arrangement Ryan described starts with Knight’s BDC. If a call goes unanswered after five rings, it reaches Pam.
Pam speaks with the caller and confirms their information. If she can complete the service appointment request, she books it. If the customer needs further help, she sends a message to the team for follow-up.
Ryan gave the example of a caller asking what a repair might cost because their check engine light was on. That request could need a person’s answer. A supported appointment request could be completed during the conversation.
RECEPTIONIST AGENT
Knight’s example gives you a specific division of work to consider: people taking calls and following up, with Pam covering overflow and after-hours conversations. Supported requests become bookings. Requests needing more help come back to the team.
Ryan Knight, Director of Operations, Bill Knight Automotive Group
KNIGHT’S OVERFLOW ARRANGEMENT
Incoming call
Knight’s BDC
Unanswered after five rings
Pam speaks with the caller
Supported appointment request
Appointment booked
Further help needed
Message to the team
Human follow-up
AFTER HOURS
Five rings was Knight’s overflow arrangement. Ryan also described using Pam for after-hours coverage. That is a separate situation: the BDC’s staffed day has ended. The five-ring sequence above describes unanswered calls during the BDC-first arrangement, not a required sequence for every after-hours call.
03 / THE DIVISION OF WORK
The division is easiest to see at the end of a conversation. A booked appointment and a request awaiting a person’s answer leave different work for your team.
Speak with callers reaching overflow and after-hours coverage
Confirm customer information and book supported service appointments
Send messages when requests need further help
Answer calls during staffed hours
Make proactive outbound calls
Follow up on requests that need a person
The follow-up branch is part of Ryan’s description of the operation. Pam can leave the request with the team when she cannot complete it. Your people still need to respond.
Keeping that responsibility visible helps a GM understand the fit. The arrangement includes both completed bookings and conversations that continue with a person.
Inbound Reporting recorded 6,091 calls in the selected period. It reported 520 appointments booked. The Home dashboard showed $13,410 in estimated after-hours revenue. These figures cover the selected rooftops, not a single dealership. Revenue is a dashboard estimate, not verified collected or incremental revenue.
Ryan said overflow coverage gave his team room to make proactive calls. He also credited Ford’s vehicle care resources. The BDC kept its calls and follow-up responsibilities, with Pam supporting overflow and after-hours coverage. This is Ryan’s account of the operation, not a measured revenue or staff-time result.
A SUPPORTING EXAMPLE
Ryan also described Knight’s use of outbound service texts. His example was a customer receiving an oil-change reminder, replying with a time they could come in, and arranging the appointment by text.
He saw that as a convenient way for busy customers to book service. These were Pam’s outbound text conversations, separate from the proactive calls the human BDC team wanted to make.
04 / THE PRACTICAL LESSONS
Early on, some callers thought they were speaking with a person or realized partway through that they were speaking with AI. Ryan said that did not feel right to the team. Knight chose to identify Pam as AI at the start of the conversation.
“Like I said, we don’t need to apologize or try and hide it.”
Ryan Knight, Director of Operations
For Knight, the introduction was part of setting a clear expectation before helping the caller. Ryan described it as a choice the team made early in its experience with Pam.
Ryan described hands-on testing, regular check-ins, and making sure Pam worked the way the team expected.
“I mean, it’s not something that you can set and forget.”
Ryan Knight, Director of Operations
His account included the team learning how Pam worked and Pam learning how their business operated. That involvement mattered to the arrangement he described. It is useful context if you are thinking about how your BDC would work alongside Pam.
Knight kept its BDC first in line. Ryan described unanswered calls reaching Pam after five rings and separate after-hours coverage. The team continued answering calls, making proactive calls and handling follow-up.
Ryan discussed Xtime in the interview. He described Pam confirming caller information and booking when she could complete the appointment request. Requests needing more help went back to the team. This describes Knight’s arrangement, not a promise that every dealership setup follows the same path.
The figures are a Last 90 Days dashboard snapshot across four selected Knight rooftops, captured October 6, 2026. Inbound calls and appointments booked come from Inbound Reporting; estimated after-hours revenue comes from the Home dashboard. The call count does not mean every call became an appointment or would otherwise have gone unanswered. The revenue estimate is not proof of collected revenue, additional revenue or staff time saved.
HIRE PAM
Experience why 850+ dealerships trust Pam to book more service and sell more cars.