Every year, the Driving Sales Executive Summit is the premier educational event of the fall. It has been growing progressively since its inception and more dealers are learning that the education level at the event is very high. A best practice that I would like to share with dealers attending this year in October is to never rely on memory or educators to help you bring the takeaways back to your dealership.

Bring a camera and make sure it's wide open. For most of us, that means our smartphone or tablet. Humans are visual creatures and keeping an image/video catalog of the event will make it much easier to apply what you learn when you get back.

Here are some best practices for this (and any) conference:

1. Bring plenty of memory - Make sure you have tons of space available on your device, particularly if you're shooting videos.
2. Unload in the evening - You should be gathering so much useful data that a day's worth of pictures and videos can take up all of your memory. Whether you email it bit by bit to yourself or transfer it to another device, be sure to start the day off fresh.
3. Use your best note-taking - The visual aspect is the most important, but sometimes you'll need to take notes. If you're like most and you write it all down on a hotel-supplied noteopad, be sure to take a picture of your notes as well.
4. Get contact information - If you're like many, you collect business cards and brochures that end up in the garbage before you pack up or when you unpack at home. The real juice that you'll get is from the people that impress you, so be sure to get their contact information.
5. Set video quality to low - Some will try to record an entire workshop or speach, but this can take up a ton of memory. You don't want to get the first 15 minutes (which on some devices and some settings could be 3GB) and run out of space for the rest. Go into your camera settings and set it to the lowest possible quality. The audio will be fine and you should get everything you need off of the slides in the video even at low quality.

Everyone at Driving Sales and Dealer Authority wants as many dealers as possible to find a ton of value in #DSES. Don't rely on your memory. Notes are great, but visuals help. Don't hope that you'll have everything sent to you. Use your mobile device and come out on top.

Every year, the Driving Sales Executive Summit is the premier educational event of the fall. It has been growing progressively since its inception and more dealers are learning that the education level at the event is very high. A best practice that I would like to share with dealers attending this year in October is to never rely on memory or educators to help you bring the takeaways back to your dealership.

Bring a camera and make sure it's wide open. For most of us, that means our smartphone or tablet. Humans are visual creatures and keeping an image/video catalog of the event will make it much easier to apply what you learn when you get back.

Here are some best practices for this (and any) conference:

1. Bring plenty of memory - Make sure you have tons of space available on your device, particularly if you're shooting videos.
2. Unload in the evening - You should be gathering so much useful data that a day's worth of pictures and videos can take up all of your memory. Whether you email it bit by bit to yourself or transfer it to another device, be sure to start the day off fresh.
3. Use your best note-taking - The visual aspect is the most important, but sometimes you'll need to take notes. If you're like most and you write it all down on a hotel-supplied noteopad, be sure to take a picture of your notes as well.
4. Get contact information - If you're like many, you collect business cards and brochures that end up in the garbage before you pack up or when you unpack at home. The real juice that you'll get is from the people that impress you, so be sure to get their contact information.
5. Set video quality to low - Some will try to record an entire workshop or speach, but this can take up a ton of memory. You don't want to get the first 15 minutes (which on some devices and some settings could be 3GB) and run out of space for the rest. Go into your camera settings and set it to the lowest possible quality. The audio will be fine and you should get everything you need off of the slides in the video even at low quality.

Everyone at Driving Sales and Dealer Authority wants as many dealers as possible to find a ton of value in #DSES. Don't rely on your memory. Notes are great, but visuals help. Don't hope that you'll have everything sent to you. Use your mobile device and come out on top.

If there's one thing that I've seen in the last 17 years while working on the vendor side of the business, it's that there are often products and services presented to dealers that simply do not deliver what they promise. It's one of the reasons that I partnered with JD Rucker to form our own company. We wanted control to deliver results no matter what, something that we couldn't always promise when working for larger companies.

It's not that the various sales representatives or marketing departments at automotive vendors hope to rip off their customers. We all want our products to be amazing, but sometimes it's hard, particular for the larger companies trying to offer scalable solutions that can somehow serve their individual dealer clients. Then, there are the smaller companies who often bite off more than they can chew. In the competitive automotive industry, finding great products can be challenging.

Here are some of the things that I've learned that dealers can apply to help determine whether or not a vendor will be delivering what they promise.

Skip the Trophy Client Recommendations

Every vendor has a set of clients that they can count on for good references and good results. There's no need to talk to them. Find the ones that the vendor does not offer up. You can do this by checking the website for testimonials or case studies and then asking the sales representative for references.

Finding the other clients can be easy with larger companies but harder for smaller companies. Either way, compile your list of dealerships that the vendor is highlighting on their website and during their presentation. Ask for examples. THEN, ask for more examples. They should be able to do this on the spot. If they can't there's a potential problem (unless they're really, really small, in which case you might have to press harder).

It's okay to tell them what you're doing AFTER you've received their list of people they want you to talk to. Letting them know is important because it immediately lets them know that you're going to be aggressive in your monitoring of the results. Believe it or not, this makes a difference in how your account is treated. As sad as it is, the concept of the squeaky wheel getting the oil applies for most vendors, big and small. It's okay to be a little squeaky.

Request Month-to-Month Contracts and No Setup Fees

There are many dealers who have been doing this for some time. Some vendors simply won't do it. Despite the concept that a company that believes in itself won't need contracts or setup fees, there are still too many risks for some products such as CRM and DMS. However, most products that can be delivered on a monthly basis have few upfront costs other than a setup that normally falls within the cost collected for the first month.

With that said, it's not worth passing on a great product for the sake of contracts or setup fees. There are those who simply do not offer month-to-month contracts or that cannot waive setup fees. That does not mean that their products are inferior, necessarily, but making the request and putting out a little fuss is a good way to find out exactly what is entailed with the initial setup.

Ask Why Dealers Leave

This is a tough one and not every sales representative is prepared to answer this question. You might even want someone who isn't able to answer the question well so that you can ask to have the name of a couple of dealers who have cancelled recently.

Be careful. If you're looking for a perfect vendor you'll have to keep looking regardless of the segment. Nobody is perfect. Everyone messes up. Sometimes, the expectations are too high. Sometimes, there are things that happen that make a product or service ineffective. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of a new GM or ISM who came in and made a bunch of changes.

Speak to the Doers

The sales representative is trained to answer sales questions. Ask the same questions of the people doing the actual work. If you're strongly considering a company, ask for the customer service or operations people to be on the second call. They're more inclined to under-promise.

Put the Guru on Notice

Most companies have a guru or a "micro-celebrity" who represents the company at conferences or in the blogs. Get them on the phone and ask them to personally take interest in your cause. They do not want to get a bad personal rap against them in most cases and will help you to perform better.

Doing this goes beyond asking. This is where the power of reviews and public testimonials can come into play. Be willing to speak out whether they do a great job or a poor job and make certain they know about it.

Have a Panel Interview

When you're narrowed down to a handful of candidates, bring them all in together. Let them know that they'll be going head to head with other vendors. Get multiple people on your side to ask questions of everyone. The way they present their products will be different when they know a competitor or two is on the phone with them.

---

There are plenty of things you can do to get the real picture, but the best thing you can do is to do a ton of research. That's not to say that you need to work slowly. Believe it or not, there are times when a dealership can do more damage than good by establishing up front that they'll be "high maintenance" clients. Keep it fair. Stay polite. Make great decisions.

If there's one thing that I've seen in the last 17 years while working on the vendor side of the business, it's that there are often products and services presented to dealers that simply do not deliver what they promise. It's one of the reasons that I partnered with JD Rucker to form our own company. We wanted control to deliver results no matter what, something that we couldn't always promise when working for larger companies.

It's not that the various sales representatives or marketing departments at automotive vendors hope to rip off their customers. We all want our products to be amazing, but sometimes it's hard, particular for the larger companies trying to offer scalable solutions that can somehow serve their individual dealer clients. Then, there are the smaller companies who often bite off more than they can chew. In the competitive automotive industry, finding great products can be challenging.

Here are some of the things that I've learned that dealers can apply to help determine whether or not a vendor will be delivering what they promise.

Skip the Trophy Client Recommendations

Every vendor has a set of clients that they can count on for good references and good results. There's no need to talk to them. Find the ones that the vendor does not offer up. You can do this by checking the website for testimonials or case studies and then asking the sales representative for references.

Finding the other clients can be easy with larger companies but harder for smaller companies. Either way, compile your list of dealerships that the vendor is highlighting on their website and during their presentation. Ask for examples. THEN, ask for more examples. They should be able to do this on the spot. If they can't there's a potential problem (unless they're really, really small, in which case you might have to press harder).

It's okay to tell them what you're doing AFTER you've received their list of people they want you to talk to. Letting them know is important because it immediately lets them know that you're going to be aggressive in your monitoring of the results. Believe it or not, this makes a difference in how your account is treated. As sad as it is, the concept of the squeaky wheel getting the oil applies for most vendors, big and small. It's okay to be a little squeaky.

Request Month-to-Month Contracts and No Setup Fees

There are many dealers who have been doing this for some time. Some vendors simply won't do it. Despite the concept that a company that believes in itself won't need contracts or setup fees, there are still too many risks for some products such as CRM and DMS. However, most products that can be delivered on a monthly basis have few upfront costs other than a setup that normally falls within the cost collected for the first month.

With that said, it's not worth passing on a great product for the sake of contracts or setup fees. There are those who simply do not offer month-to-month contracts or that cannot waive setup fees. That does not mean that their products are inferior, necessarily, but making the request and putting out a little fuss is a good way to find out exactly what is entailed with the initial setup.

Ask Why Dealers Leave

This is a tough one and not every sales representative is prepared to answer this question. You might even want someone who isn't able to answer the question well so that you can ask to have the name of a couple of dealers who have cancelled recently.

Be careful. If you're looking for a perfect vendor you'll have to keep looking regardless of the segment. Nobody is perfect. Everyone messes up. Sometimes, the expectations are too high. Sometimes, there are things that happen that make a product or service ineffective. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of a new GM or ISM who came in and made a bunch of changes.

Speak to the Doers

The sales representative is trained to answer sales questions. Ask the same questions of the people doing the actual work. If you're strongly considering a company, ask for the customer service or operations people to be on the second call. They're more inclined to under-promise.

Put the Guru on Notice

Most companies have a guru or a "micro-celebrity" who represents the company at conferences or in the blogs. Get them on the phone and ask them to personally take interest in your cause. They do not want to get a bad personal rap against them in most cases and will help you to perform better.

Doing this goes beyond asking. This is where the power of reviews and public testimonials can come into play. Be willing to speak out whether they do a great job or a poor job and make certain they know about it.

Have a Panel Interview

When you're narrowed down to a handful of candidates, bring them all in together. Let them know that they'll be going head to head with other vendors. Get multiple people on your side to ask questions of everyone. The way they present their products will be different when they know a competitor or two is on the phone with them.

---

There are plenty of things you can do to get the real picture, but the best thing you can do is to do a ton of research. That's not to say that you need to work slowly. Believe it or not, there are times when a dealership can do more damage than good by establishing up front that they'll be "high maintenance" clients. Keep it fair. Stay polite. Make great decisions.

Dealertrack Technologies, a leading provider of financial services software to auto dealers, has agreed to purchase digital-marketing newcomer Dealer Authority for about $1 billion.

The deal will not be finalized until it goes through regulatory approval and is expected to be complete by the end of 2nd quarter, 2014. Around half of the purchase will be made in cash with the other half coming in the form of common shares.

"We thought about holding out for more, but then we recounted the zeroes in the number and decided to take the offer," said Tyson Madliger, CEO of Dealer Authority. "There's really no need to be greedy at this point."

Dealertrack finished last year with another blockbuster deal, buying Dealer.com for around the same price. Their hope is that this latest acquisition will add another element to their impressive digital marketing repertoire.

Some in the industry are skeptical. With the news being released on April 1st, it's possible that it's all just an April Fool's Day joke. After all, who would expect Dealer Authority to sell for so little?

Dealertrack Technologies, a leading provider of financial services software to auto dealers, has agreed to purchase digital-marketing newcomer Dealer Authority for about $1 billion.

The deal will not be finalized until it goes through regulatory approval and is expected to be complete by the end of 2nd quarter, 2014. Around half of the purchase will be made in cash with the other half coming in the form of common shares.

"We thought about holding out for more, but then we recounted the zeroes in the number and decided to take the offer," said Tyson Madliger, CEO of Dealer Authority. "There's really no need to be greedy at this point."

Dealertrack finished last year with another blockbuster deal, buying Dealer.com for around the same price. Their hope is that this latest acquisition will add another element to their impressive digital marketing repertoire.

Some in the industry are skeptical. With the news being released on April 1st, it's possible that it's all just an April Fool's Day joke. After all, who would expect Dealer Authority to sell for so little?

I was talking to an internet manager yesterday about their marketing when I brought up Hook Logic. His challenge was that he only gets credit for leads, so while he definitely wanted to help the dealership with our SEO and social media products, he wasn't crazy about the concept of increasing more showroom visitors that did not fill out lead forms or call ahead.

As we discussed Hook and other similar products, he wondered about my angle. What was I getting out of it to suggest a solution to his challenge? Was I affiliated with them? Did I get a kick back?

As a company, we form strategic relationships with those who we feel are the best at what they do. We know we (and every other vendor regardless of size) can only focus on and dominate a couple of arenas in the digital marketing world, so we like to partner with the best of the best. Sometimes, partnerships aren't practical, so we simply make recommendations of products and services we've heard about "on the street" in order to assist clients and even prospects.

That's how it should be. We have no affiliation at all with Hook Logic, but I've always appreciated what their product brings to the table. When the ISM brought up their challenge, I had no partnerships in place that could solve that specific problem.

Two things I've learned over the years as a vendor are that:

1. Everyone is fighting for the same share of the dealership's spend
2. Even indirect competitors are technically competitors if they're taking money that could be yours

When I formed our company, I threw both of those lessons out the window. Everyone should. From the vendor side, much of this industry has been built on kickbacks and relationships. This is the biggest reason that we're in the mess that we're in where the wrong vendors get more exposure than the right ones and the wrong products are forced onto dealers when the better ones are left in obscurity.

To the vendors of the world, please take note. There's plenty of business available for everyone. If you do what's best for the dealers even if it's not necessarily what's best for you, you'll still succeed and will have no problem sleeping at night.

To the dealers of the world, it's okay to question motivations. I am glad that I was called out by this ISM. I'm encouraged that they wondered what I was getting out of the recommendation. Sometimes, we recommend partners that we've selected because they're the best at what we do and we do have an incentive to make those recommendations. Sometimes, we recommend non-partner vendors, not because we have an affiliation but because we believe in their product. In both cases, we make those recommendations because we believe wholeheartedly that it's what's best for the dealership.

If more in our industry did that, we wouldn't have so many bad products being pushed onto dealers for the wrong reasons.

/rant

I was talking to an internet manager yesterday about their marketing when I brought up Hook Logic. His challenge was that he only gets credit for leads, so while he definitely wanted to help the dealership with our SEO and social media products, he wasn't crazy about the concept of increasing more showroom visitors that did not fill out lead forms or call ahead.

As we discussed Hook and other similar products, he wondered about my angle. What was I getting out of it to suggest a solution to his challenge? Was I affiliated with them? Did I get a kick back?

As a company, we form strategic relationships with those who we feel are the best at what they do. We know we (and every other vendor regardless of size) can only focus on and dominate a couple of arenas in the digital marketing world, so we like to partner with the best of the best. Sometimes, partnerships aren't practical, so we simply make recommendations of products and services we've heard about "on the street" in order to assist clients and even prospects.

That's how it should be. We have no affiliation at all with Hook Logic, but I've always appreciated what their product brings to the table. When the ISM brought up their challenge, I had no partnerships in place that could solve that specific problem.

Two things I've learned over the years as a vendor are that:

1. Everyone is fighting for the same share of the dealership's spend
2. Even indirect competitors are technically competitors if they're taking money that could be yours

When I formed our company, I threw both of those lessons out the window. Everyone should. From the vendor side, much of this industry has been built on kickbacks and relationships. This is the biggest reason that we're in the mess that we're in where the wrong vendors get more exposure than the right ones and the wrong products are forced onto dealers when the better ones are left in obscurity.

To the vendors of the world, please take note. There's plenty of business available for everyone. If you do what's best for the dealers even if it's not necessarily what's best for you, you'll still succeed and will have no problem sleeping at night.

To the dealers of the world, it's okay to question motivations. I am glad that I was called out by this ISM. I'm encouraged that they wondered what I was getting out of the recommendation. Sometimes, we recommend partners that we've selected because they're the best at what we do and we do have an incentive to make those recommendations. Sometimes, we recommend non-partner vendors, not because we have an affiliation but because we believe in their product. In both cases, we make those recommendations because we believe wholeheartedly that it's what's best for the dealership.

If more in our industry did that, we wouldn't have so many bad products being pushed onto dealers for the wrong reasons.

/rant

This is a rant so I’m going to keep it short and not so sweet. There’s a trend in the automotive industry towards putting out really, really bad webinars. It hits really close to home because I absolutely love them, have been doing them for three years now, and get really annoyed when other professionals in the industry use them as pitch sessions.

In essence, it’s giving one of the most important components of pushing the automotive industry forward a bad name.

Let’s go back a few years. There was a time when many would consider the automotive industry to be behind the times when it came to internet marketing. Things have changed in the last several years and now there are shining examples at every level, from individual salesperson all the way up to the OEMs, where ours is an industry of trendsetters instead of being behind on the times.

I believe that webinars have played an extremely important role in this change and I’m proud to have been a part of it. However, I’ve been listening to some webinars lately that are really light on the educational components and heavy on the pitch. This needs to stop.

Here’s how a webinar should work. A company should pick out an important topic in which they have an expertise. They craft a webinar and use the opening to tell the audience who they are. This should be short – no need for 3-5 minutes (or more in some cases) of “here’s what I do for dealers” or “here’s what we’re selling today.” Then, the education begins. At the end of the webinar or even some time in the middle, ask if there are those in the audience who would like to learn more about your services. Again, make this quick – 1 minute max.

The concept is this – webinars should be 95% educational. We know why we do them. The intention is to stir up business. However, it’s not designed to be a pitch, at least it shouldn’t be. A peer once told me that he educates because he believes that 50% will do nothing with the information, 25% will do it themselves, and 25% will ask for help. If you go through and show dealers how they can help themselves, they’ll have a choice. Give them an opportunity to make the choice. If they choose to inquire about your services, that’s great! If not and they take the information you give them to make their dealership better on its own, that’s great, too!

Education at every level, whether it’s webinars, speaking at conferences, writing blog posts, putting out white papers, or whatever you do to educate the automotive industry, it should be with the understanding that you’re establishing yourself and your company as willing to help and possessing the skills to make a difference. If they want a pitch, they can ask for one.

Here’s the thing: if you’re doing your educating right, there will be people inquiring about your services. If you force them to waste their time listening to a pitch when they came to be educated, you’re not helping the industry, the dealers, or yourself.

Sorry for the rant. I don’t do it often, but when I do, it’s for good reason.

This is a rant so I’m going to keep it short and not so sweet. There’s a trend in the automotive industry towards putting out really, really bad webinars. It hits really close to home because I absolutely love them, have been doing them for three years now, and get really annoyed when other professionals in the industry use them as pitch sessions.

In essence, it’s giving one of the most important components of pushing the automotive industry forward a bad name.

Let’s go back a few years. There was a time when many would consider the automotive industry to be behind the times when it came to internet marketing. Things have changed in the last several years and now there are shining examples at every level, from individual salesperson all the way up to the OEMs, where ours is an industry of trendsetters instead of being behind on the times.

I believe that webinars have played an extremely important role in this change and I’m proud to have been a part of it. However, I’ve been listening to some webinars lately that are really light on the educational components and heavy on the pitch. This needs to stop.

Here’s how a webinar should work. A company should pick out an important topic in which they have an expertise. They craft a webinar and use the opening to tell the audience who they are. This should be short – no need for 3-5 minutes (or more in some cases) of “here’s what I do for dealers” or “here’s what we’re selling today.” Then, the education begins. At the end of the webinar or even some time in the middle, ask if there are those in the audience who would like to learn more about your services. Again, make this quick – 1 minute max.

The concept is this – webinars should be 95% educational. We know why we do them. The intention is to stir up business. However, it’s not designed to be a pitch, at least it shouldn’t be. A peer once told me that he educates because he believes that 50% will do nothing with the information, 25% will do it themselves, and 25% will ask for help. If you go through and show dealers how they can help themselves, they’ll have a choice. Give them an opportunity to make the choice. If they choose to inquire about your services, that’s great! If not and they take the information you give them to make their dealership better on its own, that’s great, too!

Education at every level, whether it’s webinars, speaking at conferences, writing blog posts, putting out white papers, or whatever you do to educate the automotive industry, it should be with the understanding that you’re establishing yourself and your company as willing to help and possessing the skills to make a difference. If they want a pitch, they can ask for one.

Here’s the thing: if you’re doing your educating right, there will be people inquiring about your services. If you force them to waste their time listening to a pitch when they came to be educated, you’re not helping the industry, the dealers, or yourself.

Sorry for the rant. I don’t do it often, but when I do, it’s for good reason.