This Sunday (10/12/14) marks the beginning of the best annual event in the Automotive community and if you’re plans aren’t already made to be there then you’re missing out. However, the goal of this post is to educate you on what you are likely missing so that it doesn’t happen again.

I’ll give you a brief example: I haven’t seen Game of Thrones. I feel like I’m missing out on something huge! I mean there are even meme’s about 

Game of Thrones and I have no idea why they’re funny to people. You don’t want to be the person that’s missing out on the Automotive community’s “Game of Thrones” - The DrivingSales Executive Summit. 

(If you're like me and may not get that reference. Take DirecTV then. Don't be ugly Rob Lowe) 

See...I don't even know who this guy is! 

Driving Sales has had some of the best Keynotes:

• Gary Vaynerchuk talked to us about understanding the power of our peers and the world we lived in in 2011 with about as much passion and speed as Jared does when he opens the show. Funny thing. It’s been 3 years and as fast as things move, Gary is still right about this one and continues to pump out innovation.
• Billy Beane graced us with a powerful story of his Oakland A’s in 2012. This one hits home with me and dealers a like. Because when it comes right down to it, numbers are everything. We are in an emotional buying business, yes. But the path to get there is through the numbers.
• Last year, Bruce Kimbrall of Disney took the stage and shared why Disney is who they are today. One thing I took away is that they focus on the details. Everyone is equal, from the street sweeper to Cinderella. Their employees are their focus and in turn their customers are their employees focus.

And those were just the Keynotes!! I didn’t even mention the dozens of breakouts by people like Eric Miltsch, Dennis Galbraith, Dale Pollak, Joe Webb, Jeff Cryder, Megan Barto, Tracy Myers in 2011 (we need you back soon!), Shaun Raines, Tom White Jr, Gary May…. I could type a list of awesome speakers a mile long and it wouldn’t even touch on the context of what these pros have given the dealers in attendance to take back to the store. If you’ve read this far I hope you’re shaking your head in disgust for not being here before.

How about 2014?!?

This year features another all-star lineup that I’m sure you’ve read about already so I will just touch on a few for a minute:

Just a couple Keynotes:

• Rand Fishkin (co-founder of Moz) comes back to discuss “Cracking the SEO code for 2015”
• Bryan Eisenberg (Managing Partner of Eisenberg Holdings) is going to discuss “The difficult task of aligning metrics with hard-to-measure marketing, sales and customer service processes.” I think this will hit home with oh about 100% of you.

Awesome Breakout Speakers:

• Eric Miltsch – Tech Extraordinaire discusses wearables and connecting with your customers!
• Shaun Raines and Tom White Jr. – Brand! Brand! Brand! Are you different?
• Christian Salazar – You got brand…now are your customers getting you? Are they even finding you?
• Megan Barto – How Culture in your dealership affects long term profitability.
• Jason Stum – Are you creating original content for your dealership?
• Jeff Kershner – Leveraging Mobile technology for your customers.
• Jerry Thibeau – One of your first touches to a customer is the phones. Are you doing it right?

I just realized that I may need to partner up with someone to try and retain the amazing amount of content that is available this year…again!  Here’s a full list of all the awesome people speaking this year. (Breakout Speakers)

And here’s one last piece of advice for those of you coming: Network. Make it a point to meet and engage with new people. Follow up with them. Drop them a line a week after the show just to thank them for shaking your hand. If there is one thing that I love about the automotive community, it’s that it feels like a big extended family. Sometimes there’s fighting and disagreements and sometimes even worse, but at the end of the day, we do what dysfunctional families do best - stick together. #automotive

Oh and come sing Karaoke or at least laugh/cheer with the ones doing it on Monday night. Look for details at the show. 

This Sunday (10/12/14) marks the beginning of the best annual event in the Automotive community and if you’re plans aren’t already made to be there then you’re missing out. However, the goal of this post is to educate you on what you are likely missing so that it doesn’t happen again.

I’ll give you a brief example: I haven’t seen Game of Thrones. I feel like I’m missing out on something huge! I mean there are even meme’s about 

Game of Thrones and I have no idea why they’re funny to people. You don’t want to be the person that’s missing out on the Automotive community’s “Game of Thrones” - The DrivingSales Executive Summit. 

(If you're like me and may not get that reference. Take DirecTV then. Don't be ugly Rob Lowe) 

See...I don't even know who this guy is! 

Driving Sales has had some of the best Keynotes:

• Gary Vaynerchuk talked to us about understanding the power of our peers and the world we lived in in 2011 with about as much passion and speed as Jared does when he opens the show. Funny thing. It’s been 3 years and as fast as things move, Gary is still right about this one and continues to pump out innovation.
• Billy Beane graced us with a powerful story of his Oakland A’s in 2012. This one hits home with me and dealers a like. Because when it comes right down to it, numbers are everything. We are in an emotional buying business, yes. But the path to get there is through the numbers.
• Last year, Bruce Kimbrall of Disney took the stage and shared why Disney is who they are today. One thing I took away is that they focus on the details. Everyone is equal, from the street sweeper to Cinderella. Their employees are their focus and in turn their customers are their employees focus.

And those were just the Keynotes!! I didn’t even mention the dozens of breakouts by people like Eric Miltsch, Dennis Galbraith, Dale Pollak, Joe Webb, Jeff Cryder, Megan Barto, Tracy Myers in 2011 (we need you back soon!), Shaun Raines, Tom White Jr, Gary May…. I could type a list of awesome speakers a mile long and it wouldn’t even touch on the context of what these pros have given the dealers in attendance to take back to the store. If you’ve read this far I hope you’re shaking your head in disgust for not being here before.

How about 2014?!?

This year features another all-star lineup that I’m sure you’ve read about already so I will just touch on a few for a minute:

Just a couple Keynotes:

• Rand Fishkin (co-founder of Moz) comes back to discuss “Cracking the SEO code for 2015”
• Bryan Eisenberg (Managing Partner of Eisenberg Holdings) is going to discuss “The difficult task of aligning metrics with hard-to-measure marketing, sales and customer service processes.” I think this will hit home with oh about 100% of you.

Awesome Breakout Speakers:

• Eric Miltsch – Tech Extraordinaire discusses wearables and connecting with your customers!
• Shaun Raines and Tom White Jr. – Brand! Brand! Brand! Are you different?
• Christian Salazar – You got brand…now are your customers getting you? Are they even finding you?
• Megan Barto – How Culture in your dealership affects long term profitability.
• Jason Stum – Are you creating original content for your dealership?
• Jeff Kershner – Leveraging Mobile technology for your customers.
• Jerry Thibeau – One of your first touches to a customer is the phones. Are you doing it right?

I just realized that I may need to partner up with someone to try and retain the amazing amount of content that is available this year…again!  Here’s a full list of all the awesome people speaking this year. (Breakout Speakers)

And here’s one last piece of advice for those of you coming: Network. Make it a point to meet and engage with new people. Follow up with them. Drop them a line a week after the show just to thank them for shaking your hand. If there is one thing that I love about the automotive community, it’s that it feels like a big extended family. Sometimes there’s fighting and disagreements and sometimes even worse, but at the end of the day, we do what dysfunctional families do best - stick together. #automotive

Oh and come sing Karaoke or at least laugh/cheer with the ones doing it on Monday night. Look for details at the show. 

Thanks to a special friend for pointing out that some of our conversation could work towards a great post. As we dive headfirst into conference season, we all find ourselves at these events networking and reconnecting with friends and colleagues and there always seem to be a few certainties

• Useful/useless swag
• Keynotes/Breakouts (These will be the best people you listen to at any conference!) 
• After-hours events likely hosted by vendors to show their appreciation to dealers and meet new customers. 
• People looking for an open outlet 

I would like to address my peers today from a vendor perspective. We often come to these events due to our sponsorships (that big booth!) and our relationships to the industry. Depending on the conference, you may find the majority of your time is spent at the booth trying to demo your product or service. I won't dispute that this is necessary; however, I encourage each and every one of you, including your sales people, and anyone wearing your Vendor badge, to take in as many breakout sessions and keynotes as you/they can. This is absolutely imperative - not just to get a better idea of how to sell your products or to see what your competition may be doing - but also to get a better understanding of what your customer, the dealer, is doing and possibly planning to apply in their store. 

Lately the word vendor seems to have a negative connotation to it and frankly I understand that. Dealers pay vendors for a product/service and understandably expect to receive it, but it's the Vendors who need to take the next step in becoming a partner that excels in business and in our industry.

It is a privilege to attend conferences like DrivingSales and attendance gives you the perfect opportunity to educate yourself on your costumers in addition to your own products and services so that when the time comes you can step in and help them by being their partner and not just their vendor focusing on the sale. 

The takeaway from this post:  DrivingSales is one of the best conferences to meet the most progressive dealers in the country and learn from them as well as other topnotch individuals, so as a vendor, bring your people to learn everything they can from this opportunity and the sales will follow (… and this is where I could’ve inserted a Field of Dreams photo).

And now, go register! 

Thanks to a special friend for pointing out that some of our conversation could work towards a great post. As we dive headfirst into conference season, we all find ourselves at these events networking and reconnecting with friends and colleagues and there always seem to be a few certainties

• Useful/useless swag
• Keynotes/Breakouts (These will be the best people you listen to at any conference!) 
• After-hours events likely hosted by vendors to show their appreciation to dealers and meet new customers. 
• People looking for an open outlet 

I would like to address my peers today from a vendor perspective. We often come to these events due to our sponsorships (that big booth!) and our relationships to the industry. Depending on the conference, you may find the majority of your time is spent at the booth trying to demo your product or service. I won't dispute that this is necessary; however, I encourage each and every one of you, including your sales people, and anyone wearing your Vendor badge, to take in as many breakout sessions and keynotes as you/they can. This is absolutely imperative - not just to get a better idea of how to sell your products or to see what your competition may be doing - but also to get a better understanding of what your customer, the dealer, is doing and possibly planning to apply in their store. 

Lately the word vendor seems to have a negative connotation to it and frankly I understand that. Dealers pay vendors for a product/service and understandably expect to receive it, but it's the Vendors who need to take the next step in becoming a partner that excels in business and in our industry.

It is a privilege to attend conferences like DrivingSales and attendance gives you the perfect opportunity to educate yourself on your costumers in addition to your own products and services so that when the time comes you can step in and help them by being their partner and not just their vendor focusing on the sale. 

The takeaway from this post:  DrivingSales is one of the best conferences to meet the most progressive dealers in the country and learn from them as well as other topnotch individuals, so as a vendor, bring your people to learn everything they can from this opportunity and the sales will follow (… and this is where I could’ve inserted a Field of Dreams photo).

And now, go register! 

What have you implemented at your dealership? 

A little recap:

• Fixed Ops Stats:
  • 62% of customers research what your service tech recommended before they come in.
  • 43% of customers search for “where” to take their car for service. How do those reviews look?
• How’s your Merchandising?
  • Scott Hernalsteen of AutoTrader told us that VDPs increase by 34% on New Cars when vehicles are listed below MSRP.
  • He stated dealers receive 186% more VDP views when priced below the market and have multiple customer photos.

Pausing on the topic of Merchandising for a moment, I’m fortunate to work for vAuto as well as Dale Pollak, and everyday I help dealers understand that when they actually stop and look at the market around them and manage based on what consumers want (pictures, competitive prices, custom comments, etc), all the cards start to fall into place. 

The world we live in today is one of instant gratification and unhindered reach – I call it the "Amazon Age."  As a car dealer, your costumer is the same one that orders groceries by subscription from Amazon Prime, uses their phone for everything but phone calls, and uses the limitless resources of the internet for research…including researching your service reviews, pricing, and everything in between.  With that in mind, consider this:  A vehicle is the second most expensive investment the average person makes.  Do you think that city, county or state lines matter to them when they make that investment? That's doubtful if all that information is at their fingertips, right? 

• Leadership: (We were honored to have Leif Babin, US Navy SEAL Officer as our keynote speaker)
  • As a manager, have you made sure the message you want to send is clear?
  • Have you accepted that you are just as (if not more so) responsible as your team for the success of your organization?
• What specific goals have you set for the first quarter of 2014, the first half of 2014, and beyond?
• Dealer Innovation! 
  • We got to see:  Megan Barto of Ciocca Honda, Mark Brady of Fisher Honda-Kia, Zack Freed of McCombs Automotive, Jason Stum of LaFontaine Automotive, and of course the winner, Robert  Karbaum of Weins Canada present their ideas:  Picture Perfect Reputation, True Internet ROI, Sell My Car, Big Data in the Dealership and the winner, Appointment Boarding passes.
  • Have you applied any of their ideas or others since you got home? If not, what are you doing to enhance the overall experience for your customers? 

The goal of this post was to remind you that you went to an amazing conference filled with content that you won’t find anywhere else; you spent time, money, and resources to be there. Utilizing just a fraction of what you learned can only help enhance your organization, revenue, and customer experience. Don’t hinder yourself from the greatness that you can instill within yourself, your team, and your company. Don't fear change – implement the ideas, face the fear, and embrace the future. 

What have you implemented at your dealership? 

A little recap:

• Fixed Ops Stats:
  • 62% of customers research what your service tech recommended before they come in.
  • 43% of customers search for “where” to take their car for service. How do those reviews look?
• How’s your Merchandising?
  • Scott Hernalsteen of AutoTrader told us that VDPs increase by 34% on New Cars when vehicles are listed below MSRP.
  • He stated dealers receive 186% more VDP views when priced below the market and have multiple customer photos.

Pausing on the topic of Merchandising for a moment, I’m fortunate to work for vAuto as well as Dale Pollak, and everyday I help dealers understand that when they actually stop and look at the market around them and manage based on what consumers want (pictures, competitive prices, custom comments, etc), all the cards start to fall into place. 

The world we live in today is one of instant gratification and unhindered reach – I call it the "Amazon Age."  As a car dealer, your costumer is the same one that orders groceries by subscription from Amazon Prime, uses their phone for everything but phone calls, and uses the limitless resources of the internet for research…including researching your service reviews, pricing, and everything in between.  With that in mind, consider this:  A vehicle is the second most expensive investment the average person makes.  Do you think that city, county or state lines matter to them when they make that investment? That's doubtful if all that information is at their fingertips, right? 

• Leadership: (We were honored to have Leif Babin, US Navy SEAL Officer as our keynote speaker)
  • As a manager, have you made sure the message you want to send is clear?
  • Have you accepted that you are just as (if not more so) responsible as your team for the success of your organization?
• What specific goals have you set for the first quarter of 2014, the first half of 2014, and beyond?
• Dealer Innovation! 
  • We got to see:  Megan Barto of Ciocca Honda, Mark Brady of Fisher Honda-Kia, Zack Freed of McCombs Automotive, Jason Stum of LaFontaine Automotive, and of course the winner, Robert  Karbaum of Weins Canada present their ideas:  Picture Perfect Reputation, True Internet ROI, Sell My Car, Big Data in the Dealership and the winner, Appointment Boarding passes.
  • Have you applied any of their ideas or others since you got home? If not, what are you doing to enhance the overall experience for your customers? 

The goal of this post was to remind you that you went to an amazing conference filled with content that you won’t find anywhere else; you spent time, money, and resources to be there. Utilizing just a fraction of what you learned can only help enhance your organization, revenue, and customer experience. Don’t hinder yourself from the greatness that you can instill within yourself, your team, and your company. Don't fear change – implement the ideas, face the fear, and embrace the future. 

Arnold was absolutely right when he said you can become a superhero, and more importantly, you don’t have to be a billionaire playboy, alien or mutant to achieve it.

I was fortunate to attend the last two DrivingSales Executive Summits, and after each one, I have returned to work more fully equipped with cool tools (Bat Tools, that is). To echo some things that Arnold mentioned, Jared has the unique ability to capture the “it” and bring it to the forefront of the Automotive Industry.

Last Year’s #DSES raised the bar for the entire Automotive Community. We heard from Luke Wroblewski, mobile expert and founder of a few cool startups; Dennis Galbraith, CEO of Moz Rand Fishkin, and we got to hear from Billy Beane of the Oakland A’s, who equipped me with one of my ultimate Bat Tools…

His strategy changed the landscape of the Oakland A's and baseball in general, and it can be applied to almost any industry, including ours.  He talked about how we should make objective decisions in order to better "play the game," and that means taking emotion out of the equation.  I talk to dealers every day about helping them achieve their goals, and that strategy Billy spoke about last October sticks with me every time I sit down with a dealer.  When you take the emotion out of it, you can do some truly great things. In my world, that translates to taking the emotion tied to your inventory out of the game. When you understand Money Ball and the concept of going for On-Base Percentage versus Homeruns, you are simply understanding your market and adapting to it to excel as a dealer – no emotion required. 

I have high hopes that this year's DSES will again allow us all to add tools to our arsenals and provide us with knowledge that we can use in our daily quest to become superheroes.  

Arnold was absolutely right when he said you can become a superhero, and more importantly, you don’t have to be a billionaire playboy, alien or mutant to achieve it.

I was fortunate to attend the last two DrivingSales Executive Summits, and after each one, I have returned to work more fully equipped with cool tools (Bat Tools, that is). To echo some things that Arnold mentioned, Jared has the unique ability to capture the “it” and bring it to the forefront of the Automotive Industry.

Last Year’s #DSES raised the bar for the entire Automotive Community. We heard from Luke Wroblewski, mobile expert and founder of a few cool startups; Dennis Galbraith, CEO of Moz Rand Fishkin, and we got to hear from Billy Beane of the Oakland A’s, who equipped me with one of my ultimate Bat Tools…

His strategy changed the landscape of the Oakland A's and baseball in general, and it can be applied to almost any industry, including ours.  He talked about how we should make objective decisions in order to better "play the game," and that means taking emotion out of the equation.  I talk to dealers every day about helping them achieve their goals, and that strategy Billy spoke about last October sticks with me every time I sit down with a dealer.  When you take the emotion out of it, you can do some truly great things. In my world, that translates to taking the emotion tied to your inventory out of the game. When you understand Money Ball and the concept of going for On-Base Percentage versus Homeruns, you are simply understanding your market and adapting to it to excel as a dealer – no emotion required. 

I have high hopes that this year's DSES will again allow us all to add tools to our arsenals and provide us with knowledge that we can use in our daily quest to become superheroes.