The 2012 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference is right around the corner.

Are you attending?

If not, you may want to consider it. Brian and his team have put together a great agenda.

I’ll be there speaking on behalf of HookLogic. I’ll be showing some great examples from my Nissan dealership and what we’re doing around conversion, lead scoring, and incentivizing targeted in-market customers to improve our Lead to Show, resulting in more sales month after month.

My friend Tom White Jr will be joining me in the presentation. Tom will be showcasing some of the Showroom Conversion and  Lead to Show initiatives he has implement at his Award Winning Suzuki of Wichita. Tom is one of the most respected thought leaders in our industry. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to meet and speak with Tom.

Be sure to attend our session Wednesday at 11am – Using Online Targeted Incentives to Increase Lead to Show Ratios. - Jeff Kershner & Tom White Jr.

The 2012 DMSC will be held on February 1st – 3rd in at the Monte Carlo Hotel Las Vegas prior to the 2012 NADA convention.  If you are planning on attending NADA this year, come two days early and join us for a great conference.

DMSC is a unique educational opportunity for dealers.  It is an intimate event that gives all attendees one-on-one time with industry leaders and market experts.

The event is limited to the first 150 dealership employees that register – with currently less than 30 spots left!

Click here to get registered.

If you’re attending – sounds off in the comments and let us know when you’re arriving!!

2012 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

Are you ready to start 2012 with a competitive online game plan?

The Digital Dealer Workshops are bringing you everything you need to succeed online. Two distinctively different tracks will be offered and are customized to your level of experience: the dealer who feels behind on their e-commerce education and the dealer who is prepared but wants to excel.

Topics include social media to website analytics and maximizing your CRM to converting leads. The workshops have been carefully crafted to give you the essential information to grow your business. Digital Dealer understands how critical education is to your success so they are bringing the best information to you.

WHEN:
Tuesday, January 17, 2012, 8:00am – 6:00pm
Workshops begin at 10:00am.

WHERE:
Hilton Houston Post Oak
2001 Post Oak Blvd., Houston, Texas, 77056
Less than one mile from the Galleria area
Tel: 1-713-961-9300

REGISTRATION:
TADA Members: $199
Non-TADA Members: $399

Click here to register

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Dealers, GMs, GSMs, Internet Sales Managers, e-Commerce Directors,
CRM Managers, BDC Managers and Fixed Operations Managers
Dealers, bring your managers. Managers, bring your dealers.

FOUR WORKSHOP TRACKS:
Track 1: 360 Degrees of Automotive e-Commerce
This track is designed for dealers that know they “don’t get it” but understand the importance of it. This classroom style workshop will run the entire day with four consecutive workshops that will take you through the fundamentals of digital marketing and online sales. This workshop will have you leaving with the confidence to approach your Internet strategies.

Tracks 2-4: Intermediate to advanced education: Attendees can choose any workshops within these tracks as desired throughout the day.
Track 2: Social Media and New Technologies
Track 3: Sales, Process and Fixed Operations
Track 4: Websites, Marketing and Analytics

At the one day Digital Dealer Workshop you will learn essential information for online success, including:

• Maximizing online sales
• Improving online marketing
• Developing strategies for SEM and SEO
• Maximizing your social media and reputation management
• Creating e-commerce strategies
• Maximizing brand recognition
• Improving sales processes
• Demonstrations on emerging technologies
• Gaining market share
• Reducing costs and increasing gross profit
• Maximizing other profit centers

AGENDA:
7:00-7:50am Registration and Exhibit Floor Open
8:00-8:50am Breakfast: Dealer-to-Dealer problem-solving roundtable session
9:00-9:50am Exhibitor Floor Open
10:00-10:50am Workshops
11:00-11:50am Workshops
12:00-1:50pm Lunch: Dealer-to-Dealer problem-solving roundtable session
2:00-2:50pm Exhibitor Floor Open
3:00-3:50pm Workshops
4:00-4:50pm Workshops
5:00-6:00pm Cocktail Hour; Exhibit Floor Open

REGISTRATION:
TADA Members: $199
Non-TADA Members: $399

Click here to register

If you’re traveling from out of town we have secured a discounted room block for $129 plus tax per night.  Reservations can be made from the Digital Dealer Workshops website, or ask for the Digital Dealer Workshops when booking.

Questions?
Contact  events@digitalrainmgmt.com
Website:  http://www.digitaldealerworkshops.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/events/272274909491031/
Hashtag: #DDW

Sessions:
360 Degrees of Automotive e-Commerce
April Rain, CEO of Digital Rain Training
Marc McGurren is the Internet Director for the Jerry Durant Auto Group
This workshop will give you the confidence to approach your Internet strategies and will help you build success when handling lead management, e-commerce, digital marketing and online sales. You’ll be empowered by learning about the tools that will maximize your resources. Learn the best practices for working and closing online customers.

It’s all about the Show, Baby!
David Metter, President of Automotive for HookLogic.
The evolution of Internet lead management has lead dealers to understand that their main focus has to be on driving quality customers from their leads into the showroom floor.

Mobile Marketing and the Dealer
Ben Anderson, President of AutoMotionTV
Creating, Promoting, and Executing an Effective Mobile Marketing Strategy for Your Dealership

Using Auto Shopper Data to Learn More about Every Lead
Jason Ezell, President and Co-Founder of Dataium LLC
By collecting every keystroke and click of over 34 million auto shoppers in the market today, we have a better understanding of their behavior, shopping trends, advertising effectiveness and vehicle sales predictions than ever before.

Practices to Improve Customer Retention
Bill Wittenmyer, Vice President of eLEAD CRM
Managing a customers life-cycle for maximum profit and long-term value.

7 Online Strategies to Double Your Fixed Ops Profit in 2012
Jeff Clark, DealerOn Inc., VP of Sales & Business Development
Dealers will learn seven online strategies they can implement in 2012 to double their Fixed Operations Net Profits

LIVE Mystery Phone Shop
Jerry Thibeau, founder and president of Phone Ninjas
How would your dealership measure up if mystery shopped by telephone?

7 Secrets To Internet Marketing
Larry Bruce, CEO of MicrositesByU
This session will help intermediate to advanced internet managers and dealers better understand the components of internet marketing and how they all work together to produce greater results.

360 Degrees of Automotive e-Commerce
Jeremy Anspach, co-founder of PureCars
This is a classroom style workshop running the entire day with four consecutive workshops that will take you through the fundamentals of digital marketing and online sales. If you are a dealer that just doesn’t get it yet, but understands its importance, then this is the workshop for you.

Connecting with Customers in Every Moment of Truth
Ed Parkin, VP of Sales for ContactAtOnce
As the concept of ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth) gains traction within the industry, learn how to be present at Every Moment of Truth during the sales process.

The Future of Digital Finance
Pete MacInnis, founder of DealerCentric
How Dealers will respond to consumer demand for terms of loan approval, while car shopping online!

How Search Has Radically Changed The Way Consumers Shop For Cars
Julio Gonzalez, Internet Director at Moore & Scarry Advertising
Figures and Stats on why Search Engines are changing the search landscape and what you need to do to stay ahead. How to target, budget, and increase traffic to your website.

Digital Dealer Workshop – Houston, Texas on January 17th 2012 is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

Learn How to Implement the Latest Internet Strategies to Increase Dealership Profits in 2012!

*NOTE: Contact me if you would like to attend – I have access to a few free tickets!

Don’t create your 2012 Digital plans until you’ve attended the Digital Edge Summit to learn the latest internet strategies to supercharge your business! This seminar will change your business and is guaranteed to increase your profits in 2012.

Dec 6, 2011
Conference – 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Reception – 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Los Angeles Marriott
5855 West Century Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045

If you’re looking to propel your business and increase profits in 2012, this one day event will give you the EDGE to dominate your competition.

Attendees Will Learn:

• 7 Proven Digital Strategies to double your Internet leads and your Fixed Operations profits in 2012.
• How to Win the Google Game and Dominate Your Competition in Search, PPC, Places, etc.
• Best Practices for Managing a Dealerships’ Most Valuable Source of Leads – the Phone Prospect.
• How to Implement Internet Sales Processes to Get the Most Out of Third Party Leads
• And Much More…Read More

There is limited seating available so reserve your seat today! Register here: http://digitaledgesummit.eventbrite.com

This event is packed full of best practices, will include lunch and a reception from 5-7pm.

Event Agenda

8:30 – 9:00       Registration/ Meet and Greet
9:00 – 12:00     Presentations

• Jeff Clark, DealerOn:  7 Proven Digital Strategies to double your Internet leads and your Fixed Operations profits in 2012
• Julio Gonzalez, Moore & Scarry Advertising: How Search Has Radically Changed The Way Consumers Shop For Cars
• Kate Balingit, Google: The 10 Google Tools Car Dealers Can Use to Cultivate a Successful Online Presence

12:00- 1:00      Lunch (will be provided)
1:00 – 5:00       Presentations

• Dennis Colome, eXtéresAUTO: How to Win the Google Game and Dominate Your Competition
• Pogo Par, Call Source: Best Practices for Managing a Dealerships’ most valuable source of leads – the phone Prospect
•      Clayton Stanfield, eBay Motors: Selling Cars, Parts and Accessories in 2012 and Beyond
• Mike Paradies, eXtéresEDU: How to increase conversion rates of 3^rd party leads with Internet sales process training

5:00 – 7:00       Cocktail Reception

7 Proven Digital Strategies to Double your Internet Leads and Your Fixed Operations Profits in 2012

Presenter: Jeff Clark V.P. Sales & Business Development, DealerOn
What You’ll Learn:

• How to create the appropriate content footprint to maximize their organic search traffic for service and parts.
• How to conquer service brand traffic and drive profitable fixed operations-related paid search traffic.
• How to increase effectiveness of e-mail and other outbound marketing to maximize retention and revenue per customer.
• How to build online content to increase parts and accessories sales.
• How to measure their efforts so that they can understand what’s working, what’s not, and how to continue to increase profit each month.

How to Reach Today’s Auto Shopper – The New Online Path to Purchase

Presenter: Kate Balingit, Account Manager, Automotive Industry Development Team, Google
What You’ll Learn:

• The changes in how automotive shoppers use online tools to make purchase decisions
• How to adapt to these changes
• What’s the SoLoMo effect and what should dealers do about it
• Insider look at the latest Google developments including Google+
• And you’ll have a chance to ask the expert your Google questions!

How to Win the Google Game and Dominate Your Competition

Presenter: Dennis Colome, V.P. Sales & Marketing, eXtéresAUTO
What You’ll Learn:

• Tackle Google’s new social platform Google+.
• How to be powerfully and completely optimized for Google Places.
• How to best take advantage of Google Adwords (and not pay for useless keywords).
• Convert significantly more search- and review-driven traffic for both sales and service, and measure your SEO and reputation management ROI.
• The lowdown on Google’s evolving algorithms, and why cookie-cutter sites and regurgitated, ‘canned’ content won’t fly.

Best Practices for Managing a Dealerships’ Most Valuable Source of Leads – the Phone Prospect

Presenter: Pogo Par, V.P. Sales for the Auto Division, CallSource
What You’ll Learn:

• Build a strategy to harness this valuable source of leads.
• Calculate their “true” cost per phone prospect.
• Determine which Ad sources are really providing the right ROI.
• Calculate the call to appointment ratio.
• Use tracking and recording data to provide a 2nd chance to convert more prospects to sales.

The Digital Edge Summit – 2012 is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

Kevin Frye reviews Digital Dealer 11

What happens in Vegas no longer stays in Vegas … as shared by Eric Qualman in his keynote presentation at Digital Dealer 11 – and how appropriate considering the explosion of social media the last few years.  While many of you have been waiting for this semi-annual review of the Digital Dealer conference on DealerRefresh, many others have been getting a “play by play” analysis of the conference via Twitter, Facebook, industry blogs, and more, with real time updates, photos, and even video.

Could any of us have imagined how much our market would have changed just since Digital Dealer 1?

I think we are all familiar with this…

I arrived on Sunday morning for an early start to the week with the VinSolutions Dealer Advisory  Board running from Sunday evening through Tuesday.  Before the chaotic week began, I figured I would spend a few hours at the Mirage pool, and wow, the people-watching was first class.  I have never seen so many tattoos in my life, and then I learned that “The Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth” was just wrapping up its convention at the Mirage.  Maybe I should review The Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth next year…

While this review is about Digital Dealer, I think it is important to share a few words about my experience with the VinSolutions Dealer Advisory Board.  VIN has really made itself an exceptional player in the industry by making significant efforts to listen to its customers, and to implement their end-users’ ideas into their solutions.  I have been able to tap into the knowledge base of some of the top performers in this industry at these boards.  VIN treats each of us with a first class experience and I extend my sincere thanks.

Chip Perry of AutoTrader Talks about recent acquisitions

As we wrapped up the VIN Dealer Advisory Board, I had the pleasure of meeting Chip Perry with AutoTrader, who spoke about the recent acquisition of VinSolutions, as well as Kelly Blue Book, Homenet, and vAuto.  While I have to respect the confidentiality of much of what was shared during this discussion, I can share that I was impressed that Chip Perry and Mike Dullea (CEO of VinSolutions) would take the time to speak with us as end-users and explain many of their long term goals.

Suffice it to say, the integration of each of these vendors and their data is being approached slowly so as to ensure minimal to no disruption to current customer service, as well as to optimally leverage the power of having all of these tools and data under one umbrella.  Why do I share this?  Because is segues into…

Exhibit Hall at Digital Dealer 11

Behold the Behemoth!  Was there any bigger statement to attendees of Digital Dealer 11 than the first 3 feet they walked into the exhibit hall?

Front and center, from left to right was VinSolutions, Homenet, AutoTrader, Kelly Blue Book, vAuto, and Kelly Blue Book.  As I thought about all of the vendors I visited, and all of the dealers I spoke with, the pink elephant in the room was the merging of these powerful vendors under common ownership.  If the future of our industry lies in greater efficiency and greater power by merging some of the most important tools we utilize under one umbrella, then where does a dealership stand if they are not using that “one” solution?  Are you at a disadvantage by using a solution outside of this group because you have more cost by not taking advantage of economies of scale?  Do your competitors using a “one” solution have an edge on you because of the significant inside look they have with their online shopper traffic by having integrated data?

If you know me, you know that I can be outspoken, and I am compelled to share this as this is the unspoken concern that many dealers (and vendors) are thinking about at this time in our market.

Sometimes the first bite is the best…  I kicked off Digital Dealer 11 by participating in the roundtable discussions in the Grand Ballroom.  Our table had an animated discussion about several issues, including how we measure ROI accurately, what the expected benchmark closing rates on lead providers should be, what new online tools were working for us and we would recommend to others, and much more.  I had the pleasure of meeting Jane Garzona with Longo Toyota during this discussion who was very impressive and I can now add to the long list of invaluable network connections I have made at prior Digital Dealer Conferences.

It’s understood that you are good…  I think one of my biggest dilemmas in attending these conferences is in choosing which presentation to attend.  While I have listened to many presenters that I know are great, I try to balance which ones I go to see with whether I have reviewed them in the past.

So…  I am sorry I was unable to see Shaun Raines and his great panel,  Jeff Kershner,  April Rain and Richard Herod (who were presenting at the same time as me and I hear they did great!), Pat Ryan, Ralph Paglia, my great friend Joe Webb (who helped me tremendously in my speaking presentations), Phil Sura (does anyone else agree that Phil is the nicest guy in this industry), Sean Stapleton, Jack Simmons, Tony Rhoades, Larry Bruce (always sparks a lively debate), Rich Lucy and Anthony Bartoli (two of the smartest and funniest guys in automotive) and more…  Believe it or not, I was actually “splitting sessions” this year, going to one session for about 25 minutes, and then switching to another, just to be able to maximize my exposure to the great talent that is shared at each conference.

Vivian Holmes with IntellaCar and Paul Rini of Jeff Wyler Florence Buick GMC

First on my list was “Creating the Apple Store Experience in Dealerships” by Jim Hughes and Bruce Polkes with IntellaCar.  Jim and Bruce shared how Apple does a great job bringing their products to life when you visit an Apple store as they aspire to “wow” each and every customer that comes in their front door.  Apple clearly understands how customer satisfaction drives customer retention – and can anyone argue that most Apple customers are loyal to their brand?

I found this presentation to be very important to me as I am always looking forward, and it is readily apparent that the younger generation is drawn to tech-savvy businesses.  What message is sent when you demo a new car with multiple high-tech features, and then hand your customer a pen and a paper application to fill out?  Can we say DISCONNECT with our upcoming future customers from this tech savvy generation?

If your cars have the latest and greatest in technology, then why don’t your people have the same?  I spent some time later with Vivian Holmes of IntellaCar looking at their iPad solution as well as with Rich Lucy (a current user) and was very impressed.

I pity the fool who doesn’t listen to his customers!  I was presenting for the second session with “Shut Up and Listen to Your Customers!” and I shared multiple video clips with actual customers who directly answered many of the questions we bring to these conferences.  Take a minute to watch the clip below and see what customers have to say about what they think when they see your inventory online without a price.

If you would like to see the entire playlist of videos that I shared to utilize in training your dealership personnel, just email me at kevin.frye-at-jeffwyler.com and I will send you the playlist (it is a private playlist and I must send you the links to be able to see).

Make like a banana and split…  Next up was a split-session, where I attended Nikki Allen’s “Listen Up Kool Aid Drinkers” where she shared some inside information on how she has taken her dealerships to a premiere level, and then I ran down the hall to catch Bryan Armstrong’s “The Solutions Lie in Service”.  If you have not figured out now how explosive the growth has been in eCommerce for service, then you are being left behind.

I understand that ALL of us have started out with sales as the primary priority, but Bryan shared how important our online presence is for service customers. Bryan brands himself as “the average car guy”, and his easy going manner and great sense of humor allows him to easily identify with his attendees, who walk away with simple, easy to implement ideas and strategies that help build your online service reputation while increasing service revenue.  Sounds like a recipe for success to me…

There are dollars in the data…  Eric Brown, CEO and co-founder of Dataium moderated a panel that discussed advanced cloud intelligence data solutions.  “Advanced cloud what?” you ask?  Let’s just say that the power of data and analytics with our modern Internet allows us to better recognize our visitors’ pathway into our website, along with a whole bunch of other data that gives us invaluable insight on how they are shopping for a car online.

Hmmm, how’s this – what if a customer started shopping online and found himself on KBB.com, researched some trade-in values as well as read some reviews on great fuel efficient cars, and then went to AutoTrader to search some inventory. While there, the shopper found some inventory that was priced very competitively within the market (maybe that dealer was using vAuto…) and then went directly to that dealer’s website, where they looked at several pages and then submitted a lead.  When you receive that lead, you are able to see the entire path of how the shopper found their way to you, and with that information, you know that they are researching a great fuel economy car priced between 15k and 20k and they have a preference for the color blue.  All with the power of integrated data.

Did anyone pick up on the relationship between several of these vendors? I strongly believe this is the next wave of technology which will drive our eCommerce efforts.

Tom Harsha with iMagicLab and Kevin Gordon with the Jim Pattison Group

Did Homenet finally lose the blue softball jerseys???  OK, I don’t know if they were a hockey jersey, softball uniform, or what, but I think the folks at the Homenet booth were relieved to be wearing something different at this Digital Dealer conference J. While visiting at the exhibit hall, I was able to see many great friends, including Nick Cybela (“Digital Nick”) with Ford Digital Marketing who shared some great insight on some recent changes with Google that could help me with my search engine marketing efforts.

Joshua Fichter of 5 Star Ford shared how they are changing their showroom experience to greatly streamline the dealership visit and cut down on time spent in the purchasing process.  I was very happy to see another great friend, Tom Harsha, who continues to grow and improve iMagicLab with another mutual great friend, Keith Latman.

Chad Smith with Three Birds Marketing

Word on the street – no major items of excitement at this conference imho.  It seems the primary question and concern I was seeing was how the industry will shake out with the recent acquisitions of many of our major providers.  Several people were excited about Three Birds Marketing, which provides a powerful integrated marketing and communications platform for delivering creative, content driven marketing services.  Chad Smith gave me a demo of their solution which emphasizes to “listen, engage, convert, and retain”.

Blackbook was also promoting their free credit score estimator tool while hosting R. Lee Ermey, “the Gunny” for photos.

We don’t have a choice about social media, it’s about how well we do it…  Eric Qualman, author of Socialnomics, gave the keynote address, while dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt in remembrance of the passing of Steve Jobs the previous day.  While Eric shared many great points, I think one that you will enjoy is klout.com, where you can determine how influential you are within your industry.  What better tool for a competitive crowd like the automotive industry?  Hmmm, let’s take a look at my friends with the “most klout”

1)     Bryan Armstrong (65)
2)     Jeff Kershner (52)
3)     Sean Stapleton (51)
4)     Joseph Little (44)
5)     Allison Carpio (40)
6)     Jeff Wyler (26)

Am I surprised Bryan Armstrong is the leader?  Absolutely not – Bryan has raised over 20 foster children and I have the highest respect for him both in and outside of the industry, great job!  If you are serious about social media, Klout is a great tool to see how well you are doing in your efforts.

I’m always suspicious of guys wearing bow ties…  Another split session on the board, with Tim Clay’s Total Conversion” presentation that shared how a dealer can significantly improve the strength and presence of their website online by making sure to claim and match up the multiple sites online that list your dealership.  When is the last time you audited your high profile portal sites online???

Tim is one of the best speakers I have seen, very professional, and he is great at making complex things easy to understand.

The other session I attended was Jim Flynt and Alexi Venneri who shared “10 Things I Hate and Like About You”.  Jim and Alexi shared a key point when it comes to social media – when you are not trying to sell, you do sell.  Jim also shared how important Facebook is when it comes to our service departments, as our service customers visit our dealerships way more often than sales, and they are more likely to share their experience online.  Jim is a personal friend and a true leader in the industry, great job Jim and Alexi!

Packed and stacked…  Yes folks, the rumor is true.  There are real, living people that work at Google, and one of them descended from the heavens to visit us at Digital Dealer 11.  And the house was packed (note to Mike Roscoe and Arnold Tijerina, if you bring Google in, make sure to provide a large room to accommodate the crowd).

Google shared in detail exactly how their search algorithm works and how to guarantee to be in the first position on page 1 for every search.  If you failed to attend Digital Dealer, your loss!  I came away with 3 key points straight from Google in this presentation.

First, they shared that Google’s current philosophy is “Mobile First”.  Is your dealership preparing for mobile?  Google shared that when it comes to mobile, it is NOT about filling out forms on your phone, it is about hitting the live link to make a phone call to your dealership from the mobile site.

Second, 81% of car shoppers are deciding within 3 months on their car buying decision. The buying cycle is starting to shorten with the readily available access to information.  Is it time to adjust our Internet lead workflows and shorten them???

And finally, Google shared what works when it comes to being successful online – Be found, Be relevant, Be engaging, and Be accountable.  Does your website fit this profile?  If so, something tells me that Google will reward you in the search engine results if so.

I really enjoyed Matt Murray’s Presentation on why “Social Media” works

Matt Murray doesn’t know squat about social media!  Absolutely kidding.  Matt and I have had some back and forth about social media after my “Social Media is BS” presentation at DD10, and I certainly wanted to attend his presentation on “Social Media Works”.  Matt had the best PowerPoint presentation and an incredibly smooth speaking style that I truly enjoyed, he is a natural when it comes to speaking in public.

I think Matt shared the true secret of success when it comes to social media.  When you provide superior service and an exceptional experience, then your customers will talk about this on social sites and you will be successful.  Hmmm, maybe Matt and I are really on the same page when it comes to social media…  He also shared some innovative ideas on how a dealership can work to identify the “influencers” in their market and then work with them to be successful in social media.  Note to DD team – bring Matt back, he is good!

Show me the money!…  Jerry Thibeau of PhoneNinjas wins my highly official contest for best give-aways and most engaging presentation.  Jerry opened his presentation by showering the front rows with dollar bills.  Alex Jefferson injured some attendees in his effort to gather some “penny slots” money for later while the folks in the back regretted not sitting up front. Jerry held a contest with great prizes where he would randomly mystery shop dealerships that were in attendance and measure their phone skills. When we work SO HARD to convert website traffic into phone calls, why do we do such a poor job at answering the phones? Highlight of the presentation was a live mystery shop where the guy who answered the phone at the dealership and did the worst job identified himself at the end of the call as the General Sales Manager….

Give it to me straight…  No holds barred in Kendall Billman’s presentation about “What is Your Website Hiding”.  Kendall had researched the websites of attendees and showed many deficiencies in their current websites, including lack of good page titles and meta-tags, failure of content to be read by the search engines, and having very few indexable pages for the search spiders to read. Sometimes the truth hurts, but when your highest source of store traffic is your website, can you afford anything less than the full truth?  Kendall is witty and entertaining, and when people saw that he was throwing out $25 casino chips for questions, he was suddenly quite engaging as well (kidding Kendall!  Great job!)

What do shoes and cars have in common?  Perhaps more than you can imagine.  One of the best presentations I attended was by the folks at Zappos.com.  Zappos shared with photos, PowerPoint, video, and songs how they have become one of the most successful eCommerce businesses in history.  How do they do it?  Like their motto says, they are “powered by service”.

Zappos delivers such an exceptional service experience that they differentiate themselves from their competition, and their incredibly satisfied customers are loyal and they share their experiences on the social sites.  Sounds like what most dealerships are trying to figure out. HOME RUN.  Attention Mike Roscoe and Arnold Tijerina – please bring in more “outside industry” success stories like this to Digital Dealer. I can share from personal experience that some of the best ideas I have applied in our eCommerce efforts at Jeff Wyler were learned from innovative thinkers outside our industry.

Alex Jefferson and friends enjoying Las Vegas

Bitch and moan, gripe and groan…  I only heard a few complaints about Digital Dealer 11. While the new registration process was a success for many (It took me less than 3 minutes to check in and get my badge and bag), there were several others who had to wait over an hour when they found their badge had not been pre-printed, etc.  I also heard a few complaints about the food/drink service this year (no fruit for breakfast, not as organized).  Maybe we are just getting spoiled?

Keeping an automotive industry person satisfied has got to be worse than dealing with a high-maintenance spouse – ouch!

Arnold Tijerina, April Rain, and Larry Bruce enjoying “Old Vegas”

And that’s all folks!  OK, ok, I know you want to know about the “after-hours” part of Vegas.

Seems like this “staying in Vegas thing” is getting harder every year.  There were LOTS of VIP events and parties hosted by more vendors that I have ever seen.  An attendee at Digital Dealer really gets spoiled with the first class treatment provided by multiple vendors.  While I cannot attend every event, I can share big thanks for the hospitality and generosity shared by all.  I would like to thank Larry Bruce who took April Rain, Arnold Tijerina, and myself zip lining over Fremont Street in old Vegas (make sure to check out the video, looks like Larry needed to be rescued!)  What a great time and if you have not visited this part of Vegas, it is a blast.

Had a great time in the limo with this crowd, and wow, if I could bottle Larry and April’s energy, I could build the pyramids in 3 days.

Joe Little of VinSolutions gets a Tattoo at the VIN King Ink Party

The VinSolutions party at King Ink was a big draw, and there was a line of people who wanted to get a free tattoo care of VIN (fake and REAL).  Speaking of which, if you got a QR code tattooed on your body, where would it point to if someone scanned it?

I want to see your answers in the remarks below.

Having fun at the ActivEngage Party at the Venetian

The always awesome crew at DealerRater (Chip, Heather and Matt) treated me to dinner at the Mirage, where I spent time with Kevin Gordon and Nick Williams, Alex Jefferson, Jeff Kershner, and many more. Todd Smith with Activengage is “money in the bank” when it comes to entertaining, and I thank him for a great time while eating at Bouchon at the Venetian. I had a wonderful time playing penny slots with Katie Richter (GREAT friend!), and when I was down to my last nickel, I gave it to Alex Jefferson who then won $30. Who votes that Alex owes me half???

Was also able to spend time with another GREAT friend, Su-Lin Jasicki, and meet new friends like Sean Pettley.

This is how the “High Rollers” live!  – Ok, it’s just $40.10 on penny slots, but FREE drinks!

I’m getting  too old for this sh-t!  OK, five total hours of sleep the last two nights was tough, but I was still there in the morning, though Alex Jefferson showed up with only 10 minutes to spare. He better be thankful, because our motto is you can party hard, but you better be leading the pack in the morning, and I would have tortured him relentlessly if he was late J.

As I wrap up this conference review, I have found over the years that the biggest benefit I have found in these conferences is the acquaintances I made at the shows, that turned into associates, who then turned into friends, and who have turned into some of my best friends. My biggest complaint is that I feel torn in where to spend my time when I attend Digital Dealer now as there are SO MANY great people I know in this industry.

Cheers to all, and I look forward to seeing you at Digital Dealer 12!

Digital Dealer 11 Review by Kevin Frye is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

If you’ve ever been to an industry conference or have been doing this as long as I have, at some point I’m positive you’ve had the opportunity to meet Jennifer Suzuki in person and have maybe even the opportunity to catch her speak.

With over 15 years of Internet sales experience, Jennifer and her consulting company E-DealerSolutions, have been working with dealerships across the country. Her philosophy focuses on process that can further raise the performance and profit bars for your dealership.

I’ve always been a fan of Jennifer and her eDealerSolutions training and philosophy and she’s about to introduce a new Sales Training System for dealers – “Converting The Internet Shopper To A Dealership Buyer!”

Beings that I like Jennifer so much and the fact that much of her training aligns with my own personal training, I wanted to extend some DealerRefresh real-estate to Jennifer with a quick interview and introduction of her new Training System.

Here we go..

Jennifer, how exactly did you get started in this wonderful business?

I got a job selling cars at a huge Toyota dealership in 1994. I sold cars for several years and even during my college years at Northwood University. I landed a job with Autobytel.com in their early years and was responsible for selling internet leads to dealers. After that, I held the Internet Director position for a top 25 dealer group.

How did you get into training?

When I was an Internet Director for over 20 dealerships, I trained all the Internet Manager’s on sales processes to convert the leads into sales. After perfecting a propriety model, I started e-Dealer Solutions so that I could share my knowledge with more dealerships and salespeople.

What types of dealerships do you work with?

I have clients that sell 20 new cars a month and over 300 a month. The processes work for franchise and independent dealerships.

What does your training program do in a dealership; what does it look like?

I do all my in-house training live in dealerships. I bring in the digital presentations as well as detailed, adult-learning, training manuals. I lay out the foundation for all internet and incoming sales call processes. All salespeople develop their own personal phone call guides that allows for personalization while the core structure they learn is incorporated.

I don’t believe in scripts but I believe all salespeople should be professional enough to have a guide that is well-thought out. We cover effective voicemails that increase call backs as well as email correspondences that engage and encourage responses.

A clear follow up process is outlined as well as the CRM and daily operating procedures. It’s pretty intense and at the same time, it’s fun! The following days of my visit are my favorite! We hit the phones! I take the incoming calls as well as work the internet sales process they learned in our class. I implement everything I trained on and it gets pretty excited because it works…every single time! I set appointments, people show up and they buy! Then the salespeople get a chance to implement all processes while I am there so by the time I leave enhanced methods and processes are in play. It’s pretty exciting to watch the whole thing go down in just a week!

How can a small dealership take advantage of your training content without hiring you to come to their store?

We just releases a replication of my in-house visit to a complete DVD package. The users watch me train on all the processes as well as get real life examples of the phone call, voicemails, emails, etc. They can take online tests as well as keep the training content alive by jumping on a weekly webinar that goes a bit more in depth on the most important aspects of 21st century selling.

What follow up programs do you offer dealerships after you finish your in person training visit?

I have an amazing team! We have all worked together for about 6 years now and each dealership receives an Account Manager that listens to call tracking every week and provides recommendations for improved outcomes. They also log into the CRM and report on the processes the salesperson learned in my training class. It’s all designed to maintain improving upon processes and ensuring accountability to the training information. Dealerships can take advantage of a personalized Account Manager and the reports through the DVD training too!

Dealers have options for training, what sets your training apart from the others?

The difference in e-Dealer Solutions is that I approach training salespeople from an auto salespersons perspective. It’s the only business I know inside and out from various dynamics. I am sympathetic to the workload, the stress and the daily fires. I speak to people as an equal not as a superior. I ensure that salespeople receive multiple “live” examples so that they can further understand the educational content and be able to implement an improved approach and process.

I’m not a trainer that says this is what you should do, I actually take incoming calls with the sales team and I call internet leads back…I put myself out there on every dealer visit because I will set appointments and they will show up and they buy cars! It works! I’m not afraid to do the job in which I am training on! My team at e-Dealer Solutions have all sold cars and they provide recommendations based on salesmen calls and emails that are from an auto salespersons perspective which helps the salesperson succeed.

What upcoming events will you be speaking at or be attending?

We will be launching the DVD training package at the Digital Dealer conference in Las Vegas, October 5-7, 2011. I have also been selected to be a NADA speaker at this years NADA convention also being held in Las Vegas, February 3-6, 2012. Come see my class on, “Use Phone Calls to Set Appointment That Show.”

Thanks for taking to time to answer a few questions Jennifer and I look forward to seeing you next week in Las Vegas.

Small Anouncement:

Jennifer has invited all DealerRefresh readers to attend a party for the launch her Sales Training System.

A Quick Intervew with Jennifer Suzuki right before Digital Dealer is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

A good industry and friend and a great assets to our industry is holding a FREE webinar tomorrow. It’s only 15 minutes – get in, learn something and get out!

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/696623118

This meeting will highlight several options for leaving follow up voicemails. You will learn how to avoid sounding repetitive while increasing your value and separating yourself from your competition! More importantly, you will be able to increase your call-backs!

Title: e-Dealer Solutions and Jennifer Suzuki present “Effective Follow-Up Voicemails”
Date: Thursday, September 8, 2011
Time: 12:00 PM – 12:15 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

After the webinar, slide back over here to DealerRefresh and use the comments to let us know what 1 thing you picked up.

Effective Follow-Up Voicemails – Free Webinar is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

A quick reminder – the Ignite! Dealer Summit is right around the corner. Considering the vendors and speaker line-up, I should figure out how I too can make may my way to the Twin Cities…

When:
Wednesday September 7th 2011 8:00am – 6:00pm

Where:
Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America
3800 American Blvd East
Bloomington, Minnesota 55425-1658
952-854-2100

Click here to register!

Who Should Attend:
Just about anyone involved in the growth and continued success of your business. Ignite will feature workshops that will benefit every role and position at your dealership. Dealer principals/owners, general managers, senior dealership managers and directors, Internet sales managers, business development managers, F&I managers, key dealership leaders, sales leadership, advertising and marketing consultants, controllers and key decision makers.

Why Should You Attend:
You’ll have access to the best vendors, hear industry keynote speakers, see product demonstrations and choose from a number of specialized workshops. The agenda includes breakfast, lunch, cocktail hour…and many door prizes including an IPAD GIVEAWAY!

In one day, you will learn valuable and proven methods to:

• Increase sales
• Maximize online marketing
• Manage SEM and SEO
• Increase brand recognition
• Improve sales processes
• Learn about emerging technologies
• Gain market share
• Reduce costs
• Increase gross profit
• Maximize your social media
• Maximize your additional profit centers
• Create digital dealer strategies

Workshop topics will include:
The latest digital trends and products as well as many other topics to help your dealership succeed. Sales and Process Training, Phone Coaching, Reputation Management, Social Media, Digital Strategies, Conversion Marketing, Analytics, E-commerce, Marketing SEO, SEM, Websites, Mobile, Behavioral Marketing, Traditional Media blends, Innovative Technologies.

Speakers Include:
Todd Smith
CEO, ActivEngage

Brian Pasch
CEO, PCG Digital Marketing

Katie Jackson-Richter
Director of Accounts, Cuneo Advertising

John Hanger
CEO, Contact at Once!

Joe Webb – Read Joe’s latest article here on DealerRefresh
Founder, Dealer Knows Consulting

Kristen Judd
President, 3 Birds Marketing

Phil Sura
VP Sales UnityWorks Media

Jerry Thibeau
President, Phone Ninjas

Ben Anderson
CEO, AutoMotion TV

David Metter
President, HookLogic

Jason Ezell
President and Co-Founder, Dataium LLC

Click here for the updated list of speakers..

Agenda:
Wednesday September 7th 2011
7:00 – 8:00 Registration
8:00 – 9:45 Breakfast/General Sessions
10:00 -11:00 Four breakout sessions
11:00 – 12:00 Four breakout sessions
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch/General Session
1:00 – 2:00 Exhibitor Tour
2:00 – 3:00 Four breakout sessions
3:00 – 4:00 Four breakout sessions
4:00 – 6:00 Cocktail Reception

Registration:
Dealer Registration
First person from dealership/group price: $499
Additional persons from dealership/group price $399
Early Registration (Before August 1st) SAVE $100
First person from dealership/group price: $399
Additional persons from dealership/group price: $299
Industry Professional price: $499
Day of Registration price: $599

Please contact info@ignitedealersummit.com for group discounts.

Ignite! Dealer Summit is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

Beat the Competition and Increase Quality Leads to your Showroom

Everyone here on DealerRefresh by now is familiar with my deep love for HookLogic. It’s a tool I never thought would work quite as well as it does. Not only for capturing additional leads from your dealership website but also increasing your show rate from all your other lead providers.

As dealerships get better and better at generating leads online, the challenge becomes developing processes to drive the best leads to your showroom. But how do you determine which leads are most likely to actually buy – and how can you ensure they allow you the opportunity instead of your competitor?

Targeted incentives are a proven effective way to get motivated buyers into your dealership showroom. Choosing the right prospects to incentivise will help improve your Lead to Show, while keeping your cost per sale down.

HookLogic will be doing another webinar this Wednesday, May 18th (yes, that’s tomorrow). This time David Metter will be in the spot light. I worked with David at MileOne for 3 years, so he too has seen the results that HookLogic is able to yield for your dealership.

Take a lunch break and join in.

Date: May 18th, 2011
Time: 1:00-1:30 p.m. EST <<–
Location: Your desk
Website: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/547206774
Phone: 646-467-8226
Event Type: Free webinar
Host: HookLogic, featuring David Metter
Contact: Aimee Kessler Evans, HookLogic
Email: aimee.kessler@hooklogic.com

In this free 30-minute webinar with David Metter, you’ll learn the critical importance of scoring leads from all sources, and how to drive only the best leads to your floor.  Metter will discuss:

• Quality over quantity – how to offer incentives to only the leads most likely to buy
• Adding incentives to direct and email campaigns that will dramatically increase show rates
• Re-incenting based on lead score: How to get the best leads to come back
• Great processes for handling those leads once they’re in the door
…and much more.

With the summer months approaching, there’s no better time to master the art of identifying and incenting top-quality leads!

Sign Up Here

Beat Your Competition and Drive Quality Leads to Your Showroom – Webinar is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

You did not attend Digital Dealer 10?

What kind of Jackwagon, Mamby Pamby are you?
As only the infamous R. Lee Ermey “The Gunny” could scream, Digital Dealer 10 in Orlando was a lot of fun, with great presentations, multiple vendors with useful products for the industry, and of course lots of networking and after-hours entertainment. Many thanks to Blackbook for bringing in R. Lee Ermey to their booth. I had to share with the Gunny that I never forgot the welcoming words from my Drill Instructor many years back – “Your heart may belong to Jesus, but your ass belongs to me!”

Getting a bone-crushing handshake from the Gunny…. Kevin Frye and R. Lee Ermey

I actually arrived early this year to attend the VinSolutions Dealer Advisory Board. We had 40 dealerships on the board to discuss pressing issues and challenges within the industry. It took no more than 5 minutes for a huge debate to break out regarding how dealers felt about social media (more on that later), and while there were many differences of opinion on various issues, I learned quite a bit.

This was a very impressive event, where Vin was really working to get dealers’ input on where they could improve – that says a lot for this organization. Many thanks to the entire VinSolutions team for this great event and for their hospitality.

The Website Wizards at VinSolutions – Kendall Billman and Patti Glaspy

I left the VinSolutions Dealer Advisory Board to moderate a roundtable on Tuesday morning for the start of Digital Dealer 10 in sunny Orlando. There was a huge, packed room of dealers who wanted to talk to others and learn how to become better. I must share first, a big thanks to Maria Burkel at Dealer Communications who went the extra mile to make sure the moderators were organized and prepared to run a smooth event. I had a full table of folks who were full of questions, such as “Do you work leads with a BDC or with your sales reps?”, “Is it better to dealership have live chat that you handle yourself or should you outsource your live chat?”, “What type of pay plan do you have in place for your people?”, and much more. I think you could have gone all day with just the roundtable portion! The best part of this kickoff session is that dealers can meet other dealers and swap business cards, and have some networking connections before things really get started.

Digital Dealer 10 Roundtable Attendees Eager to Learn!

In my best Blazing Saddles accent – “I don’t need no stinking projector!”
For my first session, I attended Tim Jenning’s YouTube Video Walk around presentation. I knew Tim was good, but wow, a presentation about YouTube without video? All kidding aside, there were some technical difficulties in the beginning (no Internet) but Tim worked like a pro around them, and shared how he used YouTube videos to encourage his shoppers to “Get off the mouse and get out of the house”. I liked how he shared that folks can brand themselves with the videos to prevent being skated, while building up a following as the “Video Guy” at their local dealership. Tim encouraged participants to utilize a great tool called Jing that allows you to take a picture or make a short video of what you are doing on your computer monitor. When you get the same question over and over again on the phone from folks at your dealership asking how to change their password, upload their videos, etc, why not make a short walk-through video that you can email them? Visit Jing to learn how.

Next, I presented on “Likes or Links – Which One Stinks, and Why Social Media is BS”. Wow, I used to think that the subjects of politics and religion should be avoided as they are controversial, but Social Media should be on that list as well, as there was a full house, and not everyone agreed with me… Since I was selling nothing and had nothing to lose, I spent some time sharing what the Jeff Wyler Automotive Family has learned across the last 3-4 years with our social media efforts, and where we are looking for future success. Simply put, Facebook “likes” look to be the new links of the future, along with Tweets, and more, as the search engines are indexing the social media sites heavily as they look for the personal endorsements that help them serve up relevant results. Our social media efforts have shifted to embrace that, and you can see some of the integration we have completed with the search engines by looking at our Cincinnati New and Used Cars website portal (lol – another great SEO effort, now don’t forget to go to the bottom of the page and click on the Facebook Like button!). I have to be honest, I still feel like a rookie with this speaking thing, but I want to thank Joe Webb for helping me (congrats on your new baby Joe!), as well as a shout-out to Shaun Raines, who gave me the courage to go out on a limb and share my Navy “giving experience” video. I hope that everyone found the information I shared useful, and for the vendors I aggravated by calling “BS”, sorry…

That Boston Bean is a Speaking Machine…
Chris Fousek was packing the house with his presentation “Travel the Road to the Internet Sale”. I had strongly encouraged Kevin Gordon and Nick Williams of the Jim Pattison Group in Canada to attend this session as they were working on their workflows and processes on how to work an Internet lead. Who better to learn from than the master, Chris Fousek. Chris mapped out the road from Internet lead to sale, while sharing how to build rapport, get the appointment, stay off price, and build value so that you will ultimately win the sale. Great job Chris!

Jim Bell, Arnold Tijerina, April Rain, and Kevin Gordon

Well, Davey Jones and the Monkees may be believers, but I am still cynical…
The first general session was “The Role of Independent Internet Leads: How progressive dealers are driving true ROI from their Internet operations. David Kain and Steve Stauning shared a lot of great data on lead providers and ROI from several dealerships, and how they were using a mix of lead providers and tools to drive profits for their organizations. Where I differ is in regard to third party leads. In my humble opinion, TRUE ROI is measured when you also take into account the cost of labor for working your leads, hence my cynicism with someone who claims great returns with these leads. Wow, I know I can ignite a firestorm with this statement, but that is the nature of my personality. If you are nice, perhaps I will write on this subject in more detail later…

Drinks are on the house!
Well not exactly, drinks were on Team Velocity, Tier10 Marketing, Car-Mercial and CallRevu at the opening meet and greet appetizers and cocktails as the exhibit hall opened. I had a great time meeting up with old friends while meeting new ones as well. I always spend my first exhibit hall visit taking the time to talk with our established vendor partners, such as DealerRater. Chip Grueter flew his own plane down with the DealerRater crew to setup their booth, while also taking the time to entertain their clients. Sounds like Chip is a great pilot, though Heather thinks the flight could have been smoother… After enjoying a few drinks with both dealers and vendors, it was time to eat…

The Proctor Honda and Acura Group joins Paul Rini, GM of Jeff Wyler Florence Buick GMC

Big Brother is Watching…
Everyone always wants to know about the “word on the street”, and what the buzz is about. For me, the biggest difference at this conference was the shift in who was attending. I saw a significant increase in how many dealer principals and General Managers attended with their folks who handle eCommerce and all things Internet. This included myself and Alex Jefferson, and I also saw several competing dealer principals in our market. When I think back to the earliest conferences, I remember that some of the biggest challenges facing the attendees (mostly Internet managers) were getting their GM’s and owners to understand the importance of the Internet and our market, and how to get their support. Now, I am seeing that our owners and GMs’ are taking an active role in learning about and supporting our eCommerce efforts. With that in mind, I expect to see continued growth for the Digital Dealer conferences in the future. And btw, I had a great dinner with one of my Dealer Principals and GMs that night, where we had a great conversation about what we were learning at the conference, and how we could become better when we returned.

The work never ends…
Some of the best networking takes place “after-hours”, and I met several of my great friends poolside at the Rosen Shingle. I had a great time talking with Mike Roscoe as well as Rich Lucy with Courtesy Chevrolet, both of whom are outspoken and keep me on my toes. Mike shared with me his support of embracing speakers that have different views and opinions on some of our biggest challenges today – and I support him. Yes, I know there were some issues with some prior speakers not being at this current conference. Regarding this “Pink Elephant in the room” for several – I can say that I truly desire for all speakers to be present, and I hope that any differences can be resolved, because it would benefit all dealership attendees. On a side note, I have to share that Mike’s team setup a first-class event with the Rosen Shingle. When I was in the exhibit hall, I was constantly being asked if I wanted an appetizer, and if I set down a plate or glass, it was immediately picked up, and when I presented, there was someone there to greet me, setup my laptop and audio, and more – Wow! Many thanks Mike! And if I can go out on a limb and be a peace-maker, I hope that we can see Brian in the near future…

With Mike Roscoe and Rich Lucy – I hope to see Rich speak at a future DD event!

It don’t matter how late you drink, you better be up early and ready to think…
Despite the best efforts of several to “keep the man down” and fill me up with various drinks, I was up early and ready to go, though I felt bad for Tanesha White who was next to me early that morning while I was sweating out 5 miles on the treadmill, ouch! The morning began with breakfast and networking of course, and I learned about perhaps the strangest product I have seen at Digital Dealer. I met Kathleen Eymann with ClimateClean, a company dedicated to reducing and eliminating and greenhouse gases. What if, when you bought a car, you could buy carbon credits that would offset the emissions from your purchased vehicle? That’s right, now there is a place you can do that. I suppose there might be a few F&I guys that might want to try this as a gross builder, but I am unsure. Some buyers might be angry as they disagree with Global Warming, etc, but on the other hand, there are others who are trying to be as earth-friendly as they can. If your dealership wants to be lean, mean, and Green, this might be something to look into.

What the hell do you know?
Well, I guess I don’t know a lot, so I attended the general session “What you Thought You Knew about Online Car Shoppers”, lead by Larry Bruce, and with a panel including Jason Ezell and Kendall Billman. There was an extensive amount of data shared on over 4 million in – market shoppers and their behavior across a 6 month period. With almost 70% of your shoppers starting at the search engines, I walked away feeling that the majority of my efforts should focus on where my customers are going, and that means having a great organic search presence, along with a superb Google Local places listing, as well as a good performing SEM strategy. Kind of falls in line with “setting your priorities” that I shared in my presentation about social media…

Nick Williams of the Jim Pattison Group and Friends

Rub a dub dub – time for some grub – and business!
Thanks to Cars.com and AutoAlert for hosting lunch in the exhibit hall, where I tried to learn about some of the new things available. Clickmotive was featuring their new QR code tool for dealerships, which when combined with a simple printer, allows you to quickly create a QR code sticker unique to each vehicle on your lot, so that your shoppers can learn about the vehicle from their mobile phone even if your sales rep is not present. Of course, I think the greater value lies in having a sales rep with a smart phone at the car that scans the QR code for the customer and shares that info with them – great! Cars.com was talking about the integration of their new Dealer Reviews feature. I spent some time with PSCars.com that is looking to be the new “practical system”, which allows dealers to attract Internet car buyers and then share information with them securely online. Per all of the folks at the exhibit hall, don’t get mad at me, but I was just not seeing anything that was really getting me excited. Is that bad? No – as there were a large presence of vendors with tools that are needed by dealers who were attending, and were able to get the info they needed at one location, while having their peers present to ask what they thought about various services and products.

Aw shucks, we are one big happy family…
That’s right, we might fight a lot here on DealerRefresh, but ultimately we are one big happy family. How do I know? As we have rookie presenters speak at the Digital Dealer conferences, who is sitting in the front row? Look at the picture below and you will see just some of the folks sitting in the front row for Alex Jefferson’s first ever speaking event at Digital Dealer, along with seasoned pro Jerry Thibeau presenting “Dealer 3.0 Cheat Sheet”. Great job to both Alex and Jerry, who really engaged the audience with some on the spot, live phone call mystery shops.

Jeff Kershner, Su-Lin Jasicki, and Chris Fousek Showing their Support for Alex and Jerry

If content is King, then this review is very SEO friendly…
OK, I better start wrapping this up. I attended several other great sessions, including AJ Maida firing up the crowd about social media, Dennis Colome (VP of Sales & Marketing with eXteresAuto) talking about dramatic changes with the search engines (GREAT job using props and giveaways Dennis, very useful and well-polished presentation), and the very last presentation for me on the very last day – Bryan Armstrong, the “average car guy”, sharing some of his innovative marketing and management techniques to take the dealerships he has worked with to the top with eCommerce. While Bryan shared that this would be his first and last time speaking, I disagree, we want him back. Lots of fun, and lots of great ideas. I think you need to email Bryan about his pay plan ideas at bryanthecarguy@gmail.com – and tell him he is great while you are at it.

Bryan Armstrong – the “average car guy”….

Deep down, all dealers are scavengers…
Great job to Arnold Tijerina who setup the first-ever mobile scavenger hunt using SCVNGR. And what a great way to teach dealers at the same time how to use at tool like SCVNGR or 4Square to build excitement and business for your dealership. I expect to see Arnold on TMZ.com in the near future after all of these mobile phone pics of him…

As my friends in AC/DC say – Have a drink on me!
Many thanks to all of the vendors who entertained at this conference. There were great gatherings hosted by VinSolutions, Blackbook, ResponseLogix, Homenet, Jerry Thibeau and Phone Ninjas (thanks for the great dinner Jerry!), Unity Works, Dealix, and many more! It is hard to pick and choose as there are so many great events to attend. I spent the final night with my good friend Todd Smith who entertained at The Blue Martini with his ActivEngage crew. I was able to meet several of the great people at ActivEngage that I work with, including the lovely Kira Banks, as well as many more of my friends (though I am still angry at the DealerRater Crew and Tanesha White who laughed hysterically as I was drug onto the dance floor by someone who was attempting to actively engage me – you owe me!)

Survey Says! Another successful conference!
Digital Dealer continues to grow in both attendance and importance. It is a MUST for me in continuous training and especially in the Jeff Wyler’s efforts to lead in our markets. What do you do with that huge pile of notes you bring back from Digital Dealer? Get a big cup of coffee, sit down, and start entering all of the great ideas you got into your Microsoft Outlook as tasks. It keeps me busy for months to come. I look forward to seeing all of you in Vegas on October 5-7 for Digital Dealer 11!

Digital Dealer 10 Review with Kevin Frye – #DD10 is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!

I know this is late notice but Dale is hosting a webinar tomorrow.

Many manufacturers and dealers are being affected by the crises in Japan and it could potentially get worse. It’s very important to have a understanding of what’s happening and how this could and will effect our New and Used car sales. If there’s anyone out there that has their pulse on the industry, it’s Dale.

As a Director of Marketing, I’m keeping my eyes glued to this Japan crises and how it’s effecting our industry.

Join is on a thread over on the forums I started a few weeks ago – Crisis in Japan – Is your Dealership Worried?

Join Dale for a Webinar on April 26

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/592326195

Dale Pollak will discuss what is happening in the marketplace today, including the impact of the Japan crisis and rising fuel costs.  All participants are urged to send Dale questions in advance of the webinar.

Questions should be sent to dalepollak@vautoinfo.com.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Market Update – Q&A Webinar with Dale Pollak is a post from: Internet sales manager training

Share the wealth!

Share the wealth!