(Warning, 1000 words below!)

OK, who's got their 2013 game face on? Nobody? Good, let's make things difficult!!! 2012 was one heck of a year: consumer demand is still up and growing for cars (although demand still outstrips what sold), mobile use is skyrocketing (albeit not remotely matched by dealers providing strong solutions), digital demand is still growing at a breakneck pace (while use of traditional media by dealerships is up), vehicle technology, especially in-car, is amazing and overwhelming (while we still can't truly get a MPG sticker correct without driving like we're dying) and quality is better than even with IQS improving (hand-in-hand with more "media" coverage of massive recalls). Yup, 2012 was quite the year...

So ask a car dealership what they're doing and about 16,500 answers will flutter around "more _________ and less ________ while focusing on our key strengths in _____________". And that, by the way, will be the answer around January 5-15th because, unlike other industries that revolve around retail, we seem to be focused on a date non later than January 5 to close the year. Newsflash: 2012 is done. Make more calls, send more emails, offer more dealer cash/rebates/incentives/consumer cash/financing discounts and leases and you're still not going to sell more. Hello?!?! The "Oh, we pulled 10 more from our competitor" crap doesn't fly. You'll sell what was essentially already in the hopper and be happy with it.

Over the last twelve months we saw highs and lows in the automotive industry, mostly driven by International factors like economy, emerging markets, regulation, partnership and bankruptcy. As a matter of fact, we are more tied than ever to what happens in Europe and Asia, even considering how insular as we tend to be. Whether or not we get to see a new Cadillac in the States depends more on what happens in Germany than ever while BMW's success likely depends on what happens in South Carolina. 2012 saw the continued demise of storied as well as soft brands everywhere.

In the passing of this last year, it's important to reflect on how we actually invited people into showrooms while not making it any more enjoyable (except for the new showrooms which mostly made the factory happy while getting better looking floor tiles and slightly better tasting coffee to customers and some of those neat kids' play rooms we desperately needed). We switched website CMSs, dealership CRMs, DMSs, SMSs and POPs but did satisfaction with dealerships actually go up as much as 2012 IQS? Jaguar is still tops (well, 2nd behind Lexus for 2012 models) on the list and they can't seem to sell the damn cats...

What did 2012 deliver to your business? If you've not asked your customers more than your factory reps, your salespeople and your accountant, you will miss the boat by a larger gap in 2013. Yes, you will continue to sell cars next year and maybe, fortunately more again, but where does that stop based on solely looking back or not at all?

Where your concentration needs to be, right now, is around March 2013 because your next 6-8 weeks are already figured out for the most part. No matter how many "cycles" we have, after 100 years of automobile sales most think that there is some magic to the last few weeks of the year. Bullhooey.

If you want to succeed starting next Tuesday, there is no other way to do it than be steadfast in every aspect of your staff, processes, facility and follow through. Your greatest efforts need to be put into place around the touch points (hint: it's not the cars!). Those are showroom (real and virtual) and people. Nothing else matters without those. We are asked regularly how to "jumpstart" sales to the effect that many talk about in the industry. If you've not been bombarded by spam marketing and videos, it usually sounds like "100 to 500 cars overnight with our processes" and "our sales events will have people driving in from everywhere" and don't forget "our websites will optimize so well (or drive leads so easily), no other dealer will be able to touch your numbers, you'll dominate and just have to deliver cars". Rat dung!

Get the best assets in your business today that understand how everyday people use technology and expect to be communicated with. If that means more green peas, then do it! Training?!?! Tearing down your salespeople to build them back up means you have the wrong people and wrong processes! It's not "that Internet thing" any more than your cars are "those things that have engines and tires". It's time to grow up and look forward. If you 15-pounder 15% of your customers, expect 50%+ of your reviews to scream you suck.

If you want to look at things in a nutshell, read another whitepaper about how great a solution is (6- to 12-months after it's relevant while you signed up to get marketed like mad by the same company) and look backward. Our industry is depending on people who look forward with only what's needed about past performance as indicators, nothing else. Improve incrementally prior to making the huge, sweeping changes like we hear about so much and maybe, just maybe, you'll see about 3-4 months that the big stuff is not so big after all because you were able to move the needle consistently. Overnight success is a short-term facade over impending disaster. Count on it.

2013 can be great for many, even amongst the raising concerns about economic and other pressures. The best always raise to the occasion, it's just that it needs to be done in newer ways more consistently. And remember to make changes with anything that you do by benchmarking and recording first because so many will pull the wool over your eyes and scream "we did it for you!". We see it every day. There are some great dealership partners out there. Remember that opportunity is missed by most because it comes dressed in overalls. It's work and most of the time it's slow.

So relish in the success you've had in 2012, you deserve it! At the same time try not to look back all that much. It will take longer to catch up than you realize. The automotive world moves at the speed of retail. That is the only truth. So stop slowing yourself down more than needed.

Much success in 2012 and thanks for continuing to read...

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

You can read more IM@CS posts here on DrivingSales.com or on our blog

(Warning, 1000 words below!)

OK, who's got their 2013 game face on? Nobody? Good, let's make things difficult!!! 2012 was one heck of a year: consumer demand is still up and growing for cars (although demand still outstrips what sold), mobile use is skyrocketing (albeit not remotely matched by dealers providing strong solutions), digital demand is still growing at a breakneck pace (while use of traditional media by dealerships is up), vehicle technology, especially in-car, is amazing and overwhelming (while we still can't truly get a MPG sticker correct without driving like we're dying) and quality is better than even with IQS improving (hand-in-hand with more "media" coverage of massive recalls). Yup, 2012 was quite the year...

So ask a car dealership what they're doing and about 16,500 answers will flutter around "more _________ and less ________ while focusing on our key strengths in _____________". And that, by the way, will be the answer around January 5-15th because, unlike other industries that revolve around retail, we seem to be focused on a date non later than January 5 to close the year. Newsflash: 2012 is done. Make more calls, send more emails, offer more dealer cash/rebates/incentives/consumer cash/financing discounts and leases and you're still not going to sell more. Hello?!?! The "Oh, we pulled 10 more from our competitor" crap doesn't fly. You'll sell what was essentially already in the hopper and be happy with it.

Over the last twelve months we saw highs and lows in the automotive industry, mostly driven by International factors like economy, emerging markets, regulation, partnership and bankruptcy. As a matter of fact, we are more tied than ever to what happens in Europe and Asia, even considering how insular as we tend to be. Whether or not we get to see a new Cadillac in the States depends more on what happens in Germany than ever while BMW's success likely depends on what happens in South Carolina. 2012 saw the continued demise of storied as well as soft brands everywhere.

In the passing of this last year, it's important to reflect on how we actually invited people into showrooms while not making it any more enjoyable (except for the new showrooms which mostly made the factory happy while getting better looking floor tiles and slightly better tasting coffee to customers and some of those neat kids' play rooms we desperately needed). We switched website CMSs, dealership CRMs, DMSs, SMSs and POPs but did satisfaction with dealerships actually go up as much as 2012 IQS? Jaguar is still tops (well, 2nd behind Lexus for 2012 models) on the list and they can't seem to sell the damn cats...

What did 2012 deliver to your business? If you've not asked your customers more than your factory reps, your salespeople and your accountant, you will miss the boat by a larger gap in 2013. Yes, you will continue to sell cars next year and maybe, fortunately more again, but where does that stop based on solely looking back or not at all?

Where your concentration needs to be, right now, is around March 2013 because your next 6-8 weeks are already figured out for the most part. No matter how many "cycles" we have, after 100 years of automobile sales most think that there is some magic to the last few weeks of the year. Bullhooey.

If you want to succeed starting next Tuesday, there is no other way to do it than be steadfast in every aspect of your staff, processes, facility and follow through. Your greatest efforts need to be put into place around the touch points (hint: it's not the cars!). Those are showroom (real and virtual) and people. Nothing else matters without those. We are asked regularly how to "jumpstart" sales to the effect that many talk about in the industry. If you've not been bombarded by spam marketing and videos, it usually sounds like "100 to 500 cars overnight with our processes" and "our sales events will have people driving in from everywhere" and don't forget "our websites will optimize so well (or drive leads so easily), no other dealer will be able to touch your numbers, you'll dominate and just have to deliver cars". Rat dung!

Get the best assets in your business today that understand how everyday people use technology and expect to be communicated with. If that means more green peas, then do it! Training?!?! Tearing down your salespeople to build them back up means you have the wrong people and wrong processes! It's not "that Internet thing" any more than your cars are "those things that have engines and tires". It's time to grow up and look forward. If you 15-pounder 15% of your customers, expect 50%+ of your reviews to scream you suck.

If you want to look at things in a nutshell, read another whitepaper about how great a solution is (6- to 12-months after it's relevant while you signed up to get marketed like mad by the same company) and look backward. Our industry is depending on people who look forward with only what's needed about past performance as indicators, nothing else. Improve incrementally prior to making the huge, sweeping changes like we hear about so much and maybe, just maybe, you'll see about 3-4 months that the big stuff is not so big after all because you were able to move the needle consistently. Overnight success is a short-term facade over impending disaster. Count on it.

2013 can be great for many, even amongst the raising concerns about economic and other pressures. The best always raise to the occasion, it's just that it needs to be done in newer ways more consistently. And remember to make changes with anything that you do by benchmarking and recording first because so many will pull the wool over your eyes and scream "we did it for you!". We see it every day. There are some great dealership partners out there. Remember that opportunity is missed by most because it comes dressed in overalls. It's work and most of the time it's slow.

So relish in the success you've had in 2012, you deserve it! At the same time try not to look back all that much. It will take longer to catch up than you realize. The automotive world moves at the speed of retail. That is the only truth. So stop slowing yourself down more than needed.

Much success in 2012 and thanks for continuing to read...

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

You can read more IM@CS posts here on DrivingSales.com or on our blog

From time to time, it’s good to get a strong dose of perspective or reality, depending who is describing reality. It’s easy to see why business owners, and especially car dealers, are so confused when it comes to doing anything, let alone well, in the digital/online space. Diluted solutions that favor data over results and backed more by marketing genius than true muscle are more common than wannabe starlets at Hugh Heffner’s gigs at the mansion.

Our reality comes in doses while checking out new markets, our client’s competitors, vendors’ pitch materials or the information the factory eCommerce rep brings around to dealers, from time to time.

The information age is lacking in one large area for businesses; in correct information! In a day where so called experts are giving misleading or incorrect directions, ad agencies are still F-bombing (oops, errant posts to) client social media accounts, SEO companies are still using offshore link/content farms and studies show, for some reason, that 2009 data still needs to be shared on stage as new, not enough people are calling folks out. No, those companies are still getting hired and you’re still using them!

Reality check is you have to consume large amounts of correct information at breakneck speed today to keep up. Mind you, we’re not talking about leading, just keeping up. And most dealers aren’t doing that.

Sure, everyone knows how to eat an elephant. Right? one bite at a time. But trying to take a sip of the digital waters, for most, has been like drinking from a fire hose or the bottom of a waterfall. A little overbearing! Car dealers…get out of your comfort zone and take a big gulp!!

As you prepare to start 2013, here are a few things to think about and maybe, just maybe, put to action:

• Your website should not be the same as your closest in-brand competitor. This is not a vendor thing; it’s a content thing.
• Your emails should not be the same as any local competitor. This is not a vendor thing; it’s a people thing.
• Your social network content should not be the same as any local competitor. This is not a vendor thing; it’s a smart thing.

In 2013, the manufacturers clearly want their stores to be as uniform as possible: experience, showroom, content, website/mobile, email and more. Fight it tooth and nail.  The majority of endorsed vendors are not there for you, they are there for them.  The norm sucks…so don’t settle for it.

The more consumers expect a unique experience, the more our industry fights it. Why? Because it’s not easy to do things that way; even though more of you are just giving in.

The smallest portion of the budgets in our industry, still, happens to be the digital ones. This is a top-down mentality, starting with the manufacturers. Oh, and don’t let the desire to govern response times and having your wrists slapped over a vehicle image with the wrong lug nuts stop you from having a kick ass digital presence and drive more customers to your front door. Do things right the first time and get wet. Get really, really, really, really wet from the digital hose. It’s the only way to lead.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results
 

You can read more IM@CS posts here on DrivingSales.com or on our blog

From time to time, it’s good to get a strong dose of perspective or reality, depending who is describing reality. It’s easy to see why business owners, and especially car dealers, are so confused when it comes to doing anything, let alone well, in the digital/online space. Diluted solutions that favor data over results and backed more by marketing genius than true muscle are more common than wannabe starlets at Hugh Heffner’s gigs at the mansion.

Our reality comes in doses while checking out new markets, our client’s competitors, vendors’ pitch materials or the information the factory eCommerce rep brings around to dealers, from time to time.

The information age is lacking in one large area for businesses; in correct information! In a day where so called experts are giving misleading or incorrect directions, ad agencies are still F-bombing (oops, errant posts to) client social media accounts, SEO companies are still using offshore link/content farms and studies show, for some reason, that 2009 data still needs to be shared on stage as new, not enough people are calling folks out. No, those companies are still getting hired and you’re still using them!

Reality check is you have to consume large amounts of correct information at breakneck speed today to keep up. Mind you, we’re not talking about leading, just keeping up. And most dealers aren’t doing that.

Sure, everyone knows how to eat an elephant. Right? one bite at a time. But trying to take a sip of the digital waters, for most, has been like drinking from a fire hose or the bottom of a waterfall. A little overbearing! Car dealers…get out of your comfort zone and take a big gulp!!

As you prepare to start 2013, here are a few things to think about and maybe, just maybe, put to action:

• Your website should not be the same as your closest in-brand competitor. This is not a vendor thing; it’s a content thing.
• Your emails should not be the same as any local competitor. This is not a vendor thing; it’s a people thing.
• Your social network content should not be the same as any local competitor. This is not a vendor thing; it’s a smart thing.

In 2013, the manufacturers clearly want their stores to be as uniform as possible: experience, showroom, content, website/mobile, email and more. Fight it tooth and nail.  The majority of endorsed vendors are not there for you, they are there for them.  The norm sucks…so don’t settle for it.

The more consumers expect a unique experience, the more our industry fights it. Why? Because it’s not easy to do things that way; even though more of you are just giving in.

The smallest portion of the budgets in our industry, still, happens to be the digital ones. This is a top-down mentality, starting with the manufacturers. Oh, and don’t let the desire to govern response times and having your wrists slapped over a vehicle image with the wrong lug nuts stop you from having a kick ass digital presence and drive more customers to your front door. Do things right the first time and get wet. Get really, really, really, really wet from the digital hose. It’s the only way to lead.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results
 

You can read more IM@CS posts here on DrivingSales.com or on our blog

Stop what you're doing. Right now! Look back, quickly. Look back for a while. No, not over your shoulder silly. If you've been at least somewhat involved in the digital realm over the past 3-6 years, take a hard look back. What have you done? Where did your advice come from? How much time have you lost? How much momentum have you gained? How many wins have you had? And how many losses?

Everything changes, we know that. We also know that one man's garbage is another man's treasure. So in your looking back, what have you really learned? This is a little beacon asking you to close the door (or if you're in a cube or BDC or somewhere without a door, pretend to) and think about who, what and to where you were following. This is not a call to go back to basics, which is garbage, however it's a call to think. For yourself.

Too often we go with those that have been penned as the thought leaders, gurus, experts, published authorities, subject matter experts, pros, top of their gamers and the like. So that begs a question: what has been constant in your digital presence for the last three years? Four? Five?

Chances are, not much.

Fact is a lot of people, namely business owners and executive management, are scratching their heads over the past months asking themselves "why did we go down the (fill in initiative here) road?". Is SEO alive or dead? Does social media work or not? Did the new close work or deter customers? Was mobile marketing right or wrong? Great questions. Think about it this way: did your last tent event sell lots of cars? But....that's not digital, right? A tent event or massive offsite lot sale is not, true. Neither should your thinking.

All those things promote traffic, sales, new customers, conquest, retention and more. Of course they do...you can ALWAYS sell. Digital strategies are no different than picking up a good book. They're cause to make you think. Not copy! Short term gains never win over long term thinking. And to think you need to know or be on the path to knowing better.

Sometimes it's funny how operators operate. There's a lot to be said about how dealers are afraid. They're afraid to spend or try new things or go off into unchartered territory. Not to defend them, the truth is they're bombarded. And by everyone that has something to sell from $.02 pens to $20M facilities. And the shiny new thingamabob fits squarely somewhere in between.

So in your reflection, look as specifically as possible at what was done over your foray into the digital world, and what was not done. You see a lot of people are selling new mousetraps and reworking the old ones. Yes, for the most part they work better. You can only be a judge, just like with a book or white paper or study at a conference, after the fact. And quite a few have benefitted over the past years due to their desire and ability to win in the digital realm and congrats to those who have.

Just a heads up that you're trying to catch a cheetah, not a mouse. A cheetah can still run at over 60 miles per hour with a mousetrap clipped onto its paw. That is until it gets smashed to smithereens and the cheetah goes on as if nothing ever happened. There are so few mice in the digital realm today and most have mousetrap detectors.

There are some big things coming. Here is a heads up that the next big thing is not in hardware, software, advertising, marketing, mobile apps, CRM, retargeting or templates. You'll have to think about it. For those that do get it the remainder of 2012 and 2013, as well as going forward, will be easier.

If this was a hard one to understand, keep reading and coming back. And thank you.

If you got this, see you at the DrivingSales Executive Summit October 21-23 at Bellagio in Las Vegas...and please keep reading. We'd love to hear from you, you're our kind of business.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

You can read more IM@CS posts here on DrivingSales.com or on our blog

Stop what you're doing. Right now! Look back, quickly. Look back for a while. No, not over your shoulder silly. If you've been at least somewhat involved in the digital realm over the past 3-6 years, take a hard look back. What have you done? Where did your advice come from? How much time have you lost? How much momentum have you gained? How many wins have you had? And how many losses?

Everything changes, we know that. We also know that one man's garbage is another man's treasure. So in your looking back, what have you really learned? This is a little beacon asking you to close the door (or if you're in a cube or BDC or somewhere without a door, pretend to) and think about who, what and to where you were following. This is not a call to go back to basics, which is garbage, however it's a call to think. For yourself.

Too often we go with those that have been penned as the thought leaders, gurus, experts, published authorities, subject matter experts, pros, top of their gamers and the like. So that begs a question: what has been constant in your digital presence for the last three years? Four? Five?

Chances are, not much.

Fact is a lot of people, namely business owners and executive management, are scratching their heads over the past months asking themselves "why did we go down the (fill in initiative here) road?". Is SEO alive or dead? Does social media work or not? Did the new close work or deter customers? Was mobile marketing right or wrong? Great questions. Think about it this way: did your last tent event sell lots of cars? But....that's not digital, right? A tent event or massive offsite lot sale is not, true. Neither should your thinking.

All those things promote traffic, sales, new customers, conquest, retention and more. Of course they do...you can ALWAYS sell. Digital strategies are no different than picking up a good book. They're cause to make you think. Not copy! Short term gains never win over long term thinking. And to think you need to know or be on the path to knowing better.

Sometimes it's funny how operators operate. There's a lot to be said about how dealers are afraid. They're afraid to spend or try new things or go off into unchartered territory. Not to defend them, the truth is they're bombarded. And by everyone that has something to sell from $.02 pens to $20M facilities. And the shiny new thingamabob fits squarely somewhere in between.

So in your reflection, look as specifically as possible at what was done over your foray into the digital world, and what was not done. You see a lot of people are selling new mousetraps and reworking the old ones. Yes, for the most part they work better. You can only be a judge, just like with a book or white paper or study at a conference, after the fact. And quite a few have benefitted over the past years due to their desire and ability to win in the digital realm and congrats to those who have.

Just a heads up that you're trying to catch a cheetah, not a mouse. A cheetah can still run at over 60 miles per hour with a mousetrap clipped onto its paw. That is until it gets smashed to smithereens and the cheetah goes on as if nothing ever happened. There are so few mice in the digital realm today and most have mousetrap detectors.

There are some big things coming. Here is a heads up that the next big thing is not in hardware, software, advertising, marketing, mobile apps, CRM, retargeting or templates. You'll have to think about it. For those that do get it the remainder of 2012 and 2013, as well as going forward, will be easier.

If this was a hard one to understand, keep reading and coming back. And thank you.

If you got this, see you at the DrivingSales Executive Summit October 21-23 at Bellagio in Las Vegas...and please keep reading. We'd love to hear from you, you're our kind of business.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

You can read more IM@CS posts here on DrivingSales.com or on our blog

To better assist dealers attending the 2012 edition of the DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) automotive conference both at the event as well as afterward, Joe Webb (DealerKnows Consulting) and Gary May (Interactive Marketing and Consulting Services) have teamed up to create a new session at the top-ranked event October 21-23 taking place at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

On Tuesday, October 23 Webb and May will conduct a breakout session at 3:55p for the indsutry's most progressive dealers allowing them to best utilize both the new strategies learned at DSES as well as those not capitalized on presently at their dealerships. The forty-five minute session, just before the closing shared keynote by Scott Straten (Unmarketing) for DSES and the J.D. Power Automotive Marketing Roundtable (AMR), focuses on execution, deployment and accountability around digital marketing strategies.

"We want to do something completely different. We want to have them open both their minds and laptops or tablets to get the ball rolling before they get back to their stores. This new breakout will set a precedent and deliver a greater value to DrivingSales Executive Summit participants. And yes, there will be comedy", said Joe Webb in response to having the new format chosen for the 2012 DSES.

"Joe Webb and I share perspectives, operational approaches and a constant drive for accountability that will benefit the dealers. We wanted to offer a change in the way that attendees typically leave the conferences and then first start to formulate their plan(s) by having the foundation for execution happen at the event. We're excited to move the needle for those that are ready at DSES", stated Gary May upon selection by the conference's dealer advisory board.

For dealers not yet registered for the leaing digital automotive conference, the can visithttp://www.dses.com and use discount code IMACS12. The discounted book of rooms at Bellagio Hotel and Casino are sold out and the event is expected to reach 750 attendee capacity prior to the October 21 opening.

**DSES UPDATE**

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) October 02, 2012

DrivingSales today announced that Scott Painter, Chairman and CEO of TrueCar, Inc., will take center stage for a one-on-one interview with DrivingSales CEO Jared Hamilton at the 4th annual DrivingSales Executive Summit(DSES). The DSES, which is the most authoritative profit-building event for innovative dealers, is the only auto conference Painter appears at this fall, and he joins an exciting keynote line-up that includes Billy Beane of ‘Moneyball’ fame, SEO ‘superstar’ Rand Fishkin, mobile experience expert Luke Wroblewski, renowned leadership trainer Jim Dance, prominent Northwestern University marketing professor Florian Zettelmeyer and an exclusive presentation from Facebook and Google.

Painter’s interview with Hamilton takes place on the main stage of the DrivingSales Executive Summit at the Bellagio Las Vegas on Monday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm PT. The question and answer session will cover Painter’s role with, and contributions to, TrueCar, including where the company has been, where it's going and what Painter sees in the future for the auto industry. Painter will also take questions submitted prior to the event by the DrivingSales community.

“We are excited that Scott is joining us for the summit, his efforts have truly aimed to push the boundaries of our industry. All Scott’s auto-related businesses in some way have melded technology, data and car-selling – a theme that we are zeroing in on at this year’s summit,” said Hamilton. “We look forward to a provocative, stimulating and illuminating session with Scott, one that will be of great interest not only to our dealer attendees and community, but also to the industry at large.”

To better assist dealers attending the 2012 edition of the DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) automotive conference both at the event as well as afterward, Joe Webb (DealerKnows Consulting) and Gary May (Interactive Marketing and Consulting Services) have teamed up to create a new session at the top-ranked event October 21-23 taking place at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

On Tuesday, October 23 Webb and May will conduct a breakout session at 3:55p for the indsutry's most progressive dealers allowing them to best utilize both the new strategies learned at DSES as well as those not capitalized on presently at their dealerships. The forty-five minute session, just before the closing shared keynote by Scott Straten (Unmarketing) for DSES and the J.D. Power Automotive Marketing Roundtable (AMR), focuses on execution, deployment and accountability around digital marketing strategies.

"We want to do something completely different. We want to have them open both their minds and laptops or tablets to get the ball rolling before they get back to their stores. This new breakout will set a precedent and deliver a greater value to DrivingSales Executive Summit participants. And yes, there will be comedy", said Joe Webb in response to having the new format chosen for the 2012 DSES.

"Joe Webb and I share perspectives, operational approaches and a constant drive for accountability that will benefit the dealers. We wanted to offer a change in the way that attendees typically leave the conferences and then first start to formulate their plan(s) by having the foundation for execution happen at the event. We're excited to move the needle for those that are ready at DSES", stated Gary May upon selection by the conference's dealer advisory board.

For dealers not yet registered for the leaing digital automotive conference, the can visithttp://www.dses.com and use discount code IMACS12. The discounted book of rooms at Bellagio Hotel and Casino are sold out and the event is expected to reach 750 attendee capacity prior to the October 21 opening.

**DSES UPDATE**

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) October 02, 2012

DrivingSales today announced that Scott Painter, Chairman and CEO of TrueCar, Inc., will take center stage for a one-on-one interview with DrivingSales CEO Jared Hamilton at the 4th annual DrivingSales Executive Summit(DSES). The DSES, which is the most authoritative profit-building event for innovative dealers, is the only auto conference Painter appears at this fall, and he joins an exciting keynote line-up that includes Billy Beane of ‘Moneyball’ fame, SEO ‘superstar’ Rand Fishkin, mobile experience expert Luke Wroblewski, renowned leadership trainer Jim Dance, prominent Northwestern University marketing professor Florian Zettelmeyer and an exclusive presentation from Facebook and Google.

Painter’s interview with Hamilton takes place on the main stage of the DrivingSales Executive Summit at the Bellagio Las Vegas on Monday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm PT. The question and answer session will cover Painter’s role with, and contributions to, TrueCar, including where the company has been, where it's going and what Painter sees in the future for the auto industry. Painter will also take questions submitted prior to the event by the DrivingSales community.

“We are excited that Scott is joining us for the summit, his efforts have truly aimed to push the boundaries of our industry. All Scott’s auto-related businesses in some way have melded technology, data and car-selling – a theme that we are zeroing in on at this year’s summit,” said Hamilton. “We look forward to a provocative, stimulating and illuminating session with Scott, one that will be of great interest not only to our dealer attendees and community, but also to the industry at large.”