I am not sure if it was because of the simultaneously scheduled “King of Cars” TV marathon on A&E or that the all male review “The Thunder Down Under” was completely sold out this past week, but Jeff and Alex were unable to attend the Spring Digital Dealer Conference being held in Las Vegas, and I kindly stepped up to provide this friendly review for each of you…

Located at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, this year’s spring conference promised some great entertainment combined with a strong agenda of current issues within our fast-moving market.  I teamed up with Alex Jefferson of Proctor Honda and Acura to attend multiple sessions, as well as to meet with several vendors to share some useful information with our DealerRefresh readers (please note the well-coached GQ pose that Alex prompted me to take…).

Kevin Frye and Alex Jefferson

“Please God, what does it take to sell a car?” That is certainly a strong opening statement, and this session led by Gil Chavez, Joe Webb, and Kim Clouse reviewed some strong fundamentals to what it takes to utilize the Internet successfully to sell cars. This was a great session for the first day as it reminded everyone of the skills that build a strong foundation for your Internet strategy. With such a challenging market, and with so many things to do, Gil, Joe and Kim emphasized that today’s Internet manager must be “God-like” – which begs the question “What type of pay plan does a God-like Internet manager deserve…”

The 6th Digital Dealer Conference will be held on April 19-21, 2009

I’m not going, are you?

The agenda looks jammed packed, and If I were going…here are the a few of the speakers I would go see:

Increase Your Web Traffic 30 Percent in Just 30 Days
Over a dozen real-world ways to immediately increase your web traffic and build a strong foundation for the future will be discussed. Even if you are having great success with your current tactics – learn more to add to your arsenal. – Duncan Scarry (I’ve never seen this dude nor heard of his company, it’s always interesting to see someone you have never heard of before.)

Please, God, What Does It Take to Sell a Car? General Session
Personalizing the process with the newest technology and putting the prospect’s desires before your own will lead to higher closing ratios, stronger profits, happier sold customers, and enlightenment – Gilbert Chavez, Joe Webb, and Kim Clouse (I’d have to go support Gilbert, Joe, and Kim – what a great group of guys!)

Sean is offering DealerRefresh readers a substantial discount to his Dealer Synergy Internet Director Immersion Program for April.

Internet Sales 20 Group presents the POWERFUL Internet Director Immersion Program as a 3 or 5 Day Workshop!

For: Dealer Principles, General Managers, Internet and BDC Directors
Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
When: April 13th – 17th 2009

Over the span of this 3 or 5 day course, attendees will learn:

• Create your new Internet Sales 20 Group Network, go over benchmarks and statistics and learn the secrets of Dealer Synergy’s “4P” strategy.
• Learn how to unleash the true power of today’s most advanced technology to utterly CRUSH your competition, even in a down market.
• Learn how to create the highest ROI on your lead generation and increase your conversions.
• How to become a world-class Internet Director, team leader, coach and mentor.
• Take a field trip to dealerships who have utilized these strategies and seen surreal success.
• Create action plans, get tested and achieve your certification

Sean has not offered any vendor discounts on these events, but for the first time Dealer RefreshReeaders are eligible for $1000 off the standard rate.

Three Day Event is $3000 – $1000 DealerRefresh Discount = $2000
Five Day Event is $4000 – $1000 DealerRefresh Discount = $3000

Be sure to mention DealerRefresh when you call to register for this event. Call 1-888-379-6374 or register online

My favorite is the fact that Sean Incorporates the FranklinCovey- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Training. He did a great job with his 2008 Synergy Session (you can read Brian Tuckers review here). Good Stuff!

If I know Sean, I’m sure he’s doing it up right so take advantage of his offer, save some money and get some training.

Date: Thursday, April 9, 2009
Time: 12pm to 1 p.m. (Eastern)
Location: Your Computer
Cost: FREE – Register Here

Description: Industry roundtable discussion with:

• Mitch Golub, president, Cars.com
• Art Spinella, president, CNW Marketing
• Paul Taylor, chief economist, NADA

With sales of used cars expected to return to 40 million-plus units in 2009, used-car sales stand out as a bright spot in automotive retail. For consumers concerned about their purse strings and possible job losses, buying a pre-owned car allows them to get the vehicle they need and maintain their peace of mind. This webinar examines the current outlook for the year ahead and outlines the practical steps dealers must take to survive and even thrive in this changing economy.

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

• Fine-tune your advertising strategy and media mix to reach in-market shoppers.
• Capitalize on economic uncertainty and pent-up demand to drive more used-car sales.
• Stock your store with in-demand cars that turn quickly and hold gross.
• Leverage third-party vehicle history reports and factory certification programs to build buyer confidence in your listings.

This Free Webinar registration made its way into my inbox, so I thought I would share it with everyone. If you’re not leveraging PR announcements to help with your dealership website SEO efforts then you could be missing out. Lee Odden is the real deal and just spoke at this years PubCon Search Marketing conference.

Register for this webinar today to learn how you can achieve SEO success.

Topic: Using Your News TO Drive SEO
Speakers: Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Online Marketing
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Time: 2:00pm Eastern Time
Cost: FREE
Register: http://tinyurl.com/anbcsu

With more than 70 million people getting their news online every day, your news is about more than just reaching the media.

Your news can be a powerful tool to directly reach the millions of people searching for information online, drive traffic to your website and maximize your online visibility.

News search engines like Yahoo! News and Google News offer a great way to direct targeted traffic to your website and help you generate awareness about a topic or your company.

Join Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing to learn how to make use of tactics such as press release and news content optimization to take advantage of the potential traffic news search can generate.