DealerRefresh

Obstacles, Observations and Opinions of an Automotive Internet Sales & Marketing Manager

Archives for May 2008

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When do you release your dealers inventory?

Brian Tucker (Internet Director at Swope Toyota) and I (Alex Snyder) had a long conversation about this the other evening and we wanted to hear what you guys have to say.  This is the email Brian sent that sparked the conversation:

I would like to hear some feedback on what is considered “best practice” on listing your inventory with third party sites such as AutoTrader.com or Cars.com. When is the best time to release inventory and what processes do you guys
and gals have in place to ensure that it is done correctly?

  1. DMS sends the inventory live without any prices or info and use default stock images until the proper photos and comments can be placed?
  2. Send inventory live after initial quick review and use a place holder such as a “out for bath” icon in place of the stock images until photos and info are ready?
  3. Do not release inventory till it is completely web ready and all pictures, custom comments and service inspections have been completed.

I have tried variations of all three and have some different opinions on each but would love to hear some feedback from the PROS!

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Happy 3 to DealerRefresh!!

Dealerrefresh_3years

I almost forgot, the month of May marks the BIRTHDAY for dealerrefresh.com. It’s hard to believe it’s been 3 years.

Dealer.com interviewed me a few weeks back for their newsletter, I figured what better time to post the interview on DealerRefresh.

Thanks to EVERYONE for making DealerRefresh what it is!!

The Interview:
———————————————————————-

DealerRefresh: Straight Talk about “New Marketing”
Interview with Jeff Kershner

Jeff Kershner heads up Internet process training at Mile One Automotive, the large dealership group with stores in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. But that’s not how most people know him. Most people know him as the man behind DealerRefresh, www.dealerrefresh.com, the blog that he started three years ago.

DealerRefresh’s focus is Internet sales and marketing – but don’t call it that if you talk to Jeff, who prefers the term “new marketing.” As he explained when we spoke with him recently, “Calling it ‘Internet sales’ or ‘Internet marketing’ makes it sound like a niche part of the business. Increasingly, it is the business – the fundamental way for dealers to reach and win all their customers. Dealers who don’t accept this won’t survive.”

Helping dealers thrive, and not just survive, has become DealerRefresh’s primary mission. Here’s more of what Jeff had to say.

Dealer.com (DDC): Where did the name DealerRefresh come from, and how did it get started?

Jeff Kershner (JK): It’s like the refresh button on your browser: every now and then you need to hit the refresh button to make sure you’re seeing the most up-to-date version of a website. I found myself thinking about how we dealers need to refresh our thinking in order to be on top of all the change in the business. And that’s what the website tries to provide.

When I came over to the sales side of this business, the Internet was just starting to have an influence on dealers and consumers. Since I knew how to type, I was appointed as the guy that takes care of the “Internet stuff”. The problem was, nine years ago there were no valuable resources for dealers on how to leverage the Internet. There was no one to share ideas and communicate with. So I decided to start blogging about my ideas and opinions.

Since then, DealerRefresh has become something much larger. Over 3,000 people read it every month, and many of those visitors are active participants who respond to the posts and publish ideas of their own. It has morphed into a community of dealers – ISMs, mostly – who are helping one another refine their practices, share ideas and opinions. And it’s a great place for someone new to the whole thing to find basic information and guidance.

DDC: Why do you think it’s become such a supportive community? Don’t dealers worry about giving away their secrets?

JK: Some dealers like to hold their cards close to their chest, but you find that mostly in places where the Internet effort is already very well established. Meanwhile, there are still plenty of dealerships in the U.S. that have no Internet presence at all, and the vast majority are somewhere in the middle, still finding their way. The general feeling throughout the industry is that there’s so much work to be done that it makes sense to help one another.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there’s a certain amount of thinking out loud that goes on at DealerRefresh. In a lot of dealerships, the ISM is a pretty lonely position. You’re at your computer all the time, and there may be no one else at the store who’s dealing with the same issues you’re dealing with. When you share what you know online, sometimes you’re figuring out what you know – you put an idea out there, someone responds, and the idea gets refined in a way that profits everyone.

DDC: By now, most people are aware of the issue of civility – or a lack thereof – on Internet forums. It’s something that started with email, and now we read about “flame wars” on some blogs and other participatory websites. What would you say the civility level is at DealerRefresh?

JK: This is actually one of the things I’m most happy about. Being respectful of others is the number one rule on the site, and people really are 99% of the time. I recently spoke with someone who runs a prominent blog outside of the automotive sphere. He had looked at DealerRefresh and was amazed at the great way that people interact with one another there.

Listen, I don’t want to give the impression that it’s boring. We’re not wearing white gloves and drinking tea; in fact one of the things the website is known for is its no-B.S. attitude. People say what they really think, and there are plenty of critical judgments expressed. But when you get right down to it, most of what contributors have to say is productive and helpful.

DDC: Are you pushing a particular viewpoint when you write for DealerRefresh?

JK: Naturally, I say what I think when I write my posts. But the only consistent viewpoint expressed on the site as a whole is one I don’t need to push. The readership and the people who post all believe that “new marketing” – all the techniques opened up by the Internet – is the future of automotive sales. What motivates me, and what brings people to the website, is a compelling interest in figuring it all out. That can mean something really specific, for example, how to format an email template. But we take up plenty of big issues too: ad spend distribution, the value of third-party leads, and so on. Maybe I have a strong opinion on some of these issues, but it doesn’t dominate the site because people are free to disagree – and, believe me, they sometimes do!

DDC: What’s next?

JK: Wow, that’s really hard to say. DealerRefresh has already become so much more than what I originally envisioned. That’s because of the way that dealers have flocked to it and made it their own forum. I’ll keep writing my posts, of course, but the future of the website itself is really up to the readers. The readership isn’t just growing in size, by the way. I’m hearing from more sales managers and even GMs these days who write to tell me how their dealership has benefited from help they’ve found at DealerRefresh.

DDC: Jeff, thank for your time. Keep fighting the good fight!

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Special Internet Pricing?

For quite awhile now, many dealerships and trainers have been promoting the benefits of special internet pricing. I am having trouble convincing my GM’s and owner that our department would benefit from having a set price. They are afraid that they will sell a car to a
walk-in and then the customer will go home and see it online for a
lower price.

How are other dealerships handling this objection to
internet pricing?

The way I see it, every other type of major
retailer Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart etc. specifically state on their
website and in the store that the online pricing may not be available
at the physical store. Why is that ok for them, but when we try it we
are scamming the public?

Amanda Marsal
Internet Manager

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2008 SYNERGY SESSIONS New Orleans – Review by Brian Tucker

Synergysession_board

Monday, May 12, 2008, I departed for New Orleans to get my fix of DGI, I canceled the Google alert after Jeff Kershner filled me in, thanks Alex for hours of endless search trying to figure that one out!

This would be my first trip to New Orleans and my first attendance to an event of this magnitude. My endless e-mails to Jeff and Sean V. Bradley begging to go finally paid off in a big way! The W Hotel was a great location for the event, and I really dug the contemporary décor of my room. I had Jeff convinced that Sean reserved me a Penthouse Suite on the top floor. All joking aside, Sean, AutoSuccess Magazine, DealerRefresh and Dealer Synergy went above and beyond putting this together for me. Sean, I will be reporting back to you as I build my library of videos with my new Flip Video Camera and utilize some of the tips you presented on Video Search Engine Optimization (No worries — I will keep the end result in mind).

There was so much info presented at this event — I took close to 20 pages of notes — I will have a hard time recapping everything that I found useful in this post, but as Deverl from Franklin Covey put it, I’ll try to give you a drink of water from a fire hose.

One of the speakers from the first day that I thought brought their “A” game would include the people from Dealer.com, I thought that Dean Evans and Mike DeCecco put together a classy presentation that touched on many thought-provoking topics such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) defined within the guidelines of Google Webmaster, content organization, used-car brochures and robust sitemaps.

Sean Bradley and his presentation on Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO) rocked! I’ll touch on one of the most impressive stats he brought to our attention: Online video reached an astronomical number in March, to the tune of 11.5 billion videos viewed in the U.S.! It’s not the next big thing — it’s already a very big thing!

The tricky part is coming up with content that will have the viral effect, such as those Badger commercials we have all come to love. I have some video ideas I have been kicking around and I’m very excited to get them into production — thanks for the tips, Sean!

Ken Potter from CarsDirect had a unique style to his presentation — laid back but very informative. One of the points he made, and I am guilty of it myself, is that we are in an industry of copycats (I sometimes refer to myself as the “The King of Copy and Paste”). I liked his suggestion to include a search bar on your homepage to track what is relevant to your customers. I also liked his suggestion to become a servant to your customers and employees, and finding out why your customers did not buy from you via e-mail was a point well-taken by me — I plan on getting that e-mail together very soon.

I will let Kershner comment on the VIP party at the House of Blues, as someone spiked my tonic water with Grey Goose. I will tell you that the party was off the hook and no expense was spared! The Hummer Limo at our beck and call was a nice touch.

The second day at Synergy Sessions was even more impressive then the first day, with high-energy speakers clearing the fog in my head rather quickly (was it the jet lag or the spiked drinks?).

Howard Polirer from Autotrader.com spoke on bridging the gap with Internet customers and brought up so many relevant topics that I found so useful I could write five pages on his presentation. I will just recommend catching this presentation at the next Synergy Session.

DeVerl Austin from Franklin Covey presented “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and did a great job breaking down the process using the formula in the book. I have found this very helpful as I read through the book; needless to say DeVerl is a true professional and a great presenter.

Sean Bradley spun his version of the process, implementing a plan for building a rock-solid Internet Department using the core fundamentals found in the Covey book. I am currently building my action plan for my dealership based on the info that Sean presented.

The last presenter that I really got to interact with the second day because of work commitments was Mark Dubis from Carfolks. Mark had a very compelling presentation, spun off some of the recent hiccups we have seen lately with dealers managing their online reputations. I have spent many hours myself on Google trying to make sure we address those stealth posts that can silently damage sales. We as auto industry professionals must realize that customer concerns must be addressed at quantum speeds – not in days or hours. The old adage about disgruntled customers telling 10 people has been magnified to the beat of about 1 million views on the last PR disaster that I followed involving a dealership and one upset customer. Looks like we will all need to step it up on the customer satisfaction side of things and make sure we are in tune with what is being posted about our dealerships.

In closing, I would just like to thank everyone for the knowledge I gained from the two days in New Orleans, and I apologize in advance for not naming everyone that contributed to my successful trip.

Guest Posting by: Brian Tucker
Internet Sales Director for Swope Toyota

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Building the right computer for your Internet Sales Manager

Applead
I know this isn’t an area we typically think about, or talk about for that matter, but it is a very important piece in our arsenal.

Warning:  Some of this article (and any following comments) may get a bit on the technical side.

We talk about vendors, leads, CRM’s, site hosts, and all kinds of other automotive eCommerce tools but fail to ever bring up Intel, Microsoft, Dell, Apple, Adobe, Sony, etc.

Let’s talk about the thing that let’s us do our jobs:

The Computer

First off, you can get a lot more for your money if you build your own.  And you can get extremely specific with how your machine operates too!  I’ve been building PC’s since I got my first 386 machine, and there has never been more options for a PC builder than there are today – on top of that, it is waaaay easier than ever!  Yeah, you can buy a Dell or an Apple and piece-meal some small components, but you’re stuck with whomever those companies are partnering with for the most critical parts that month.  If you go Apple, you’re seriously limited (but their Operating System is impressive).

1.  What are you going to do with it? Build websites, create graphics, splice video, multi-task, monitor things, are you mobile….  how many programs will you be running at the same time?

2.  Processor: Single-core processors are dead.  Dual-core processors are almost dead.  Think Quad-core!  Yeah, that’s basically 4 processors in one!  Intel is currently dominating this area and prices aren’t that bad.  The new Q3000 just came out and it is less than $300.  More CPU cores allow for more applications to be handled faster at the same time.  Of course, there are a lot of other things about a PCU (FSB, clock speed, ability to overclock, etc), but for the average user those items aren’t super important – just buy a Quad core and the rest will fall in place.

3.  Motherboard: This is extremely important.  It needs to be able to handle the communication between all the different components of your computer.  When looking for a motherboard, first look at the Front Side Bus (FSB), which is a measure of the speed communication happens at across the components.  Then look at how well it can handle a RAID configuration or how many components if can handle (USB ports, Firewire ports, PCI slots, sound).  Motherboards can be somewhat tricky too because they come in different chipsets such as P35, X38, X48, 680 with SLi/CrossFire capabilities.  I don’t have the time to get into all the details here, but I will say the P35 chipset is probably the most stable one, and the one I recommend the most.

4.  RAM: this is also tricky because it completely dwells on your motherboard selection.  For the most stable system, check with the company who makes your motherboard and buy as much RAM as you can.  Windows XP & Vista (32 bit) only recognize up to 4GB of RAM, and can get funky based on how many RAM chips are filling the RAM slots.  I recommend buying 2 2GB sticks instead of 4 1GB sticks if you’re going for 4GB of RAM.  In XP & Vista 64 bit systems you can go up to 8GB currently (there is support for much more, but nothing you’ll do will ever take advantage of that).  I recommend staying away from the 64 bit systems right now, unless you really know what you’re doing.  DDR2 is the fastest and most affordable right now.  Take a look at the ones with a rating of DDR2 800 or DDR2 with a higher number – I would not go any slower here.

5.  Video Card: for people that don’t play with graphics or video games, this is usually an afterthought, but I’ve always figured you’re silly to pack the latest & greatest into a machine and then what you see on the monitor is slow.  The real question here is:  do you want to use multiple monitors and how many?  Workstation cards (NVidia Quadro series are my favorite) are built for multiple displays where as gaming cards (NVidia GeForce are my favorite) can do this pretty well too.  Spend at least $200 in this area and you’ll have a plenty fast card for automotive eCommerce.

6.  Hard drive:  you need space to store things on, and you need space for your software to cache to.  Storage is stupid cheap these days.  Super fast 500GB drives are less than $90 now – there really is no excuse in this area.  I like to go with 4+ hard drives in my desktop systems.  I run two drives in RAID 0 configuration for speed and storage, 1 10,000 RPM drive for graphics and video editing (a scratch disk), and an external backup drive, so I don’t lose my important stuff if something breaks.

7.  Power: this is another area people don’t pay attention to, but it is absolutely essential.  Clean power will make your components last longer and operate smoother.  If you ever get into overclocking, you’ll need to invest a lot of time in learning about voltage and the number of rails a PSU (Power Supply Unit) has.  If you’re going for a kick-ass automotive eCommerce system, you should invest in a 650W or higher PSU.  PC Power & Cooling probably makes the best PSU’s, but Thermaltake, Cooler Master, and Corsair make some excellent PSU’s too.

8.  Case & Cooling: Buy a big enough case to fit your components in.  The bigger the case, the more/better fans you should have for cooling (unless you’re water cooling) too.  Most cases in the $100 – $300 are adequate for cooling without needing more fans.  If you’re getting into overclocking, you should also look at upgrading your PCU fan.  The more expensive cases come with a decent Power Supply Unit (which addresses item #9).

9.  Monitor(s): I can’t stand working on a machine with only a single monitor.  I like at least 2.  If you’re developing video or graphics for the web, you should have one really good monitor and one of a lesser quality.  You need to see what your audience will see.  If you’ve been playing on a 17 to 19″ LCD monitor at a 1024×768 or 1280 x 1024 resolution, you’d absolutely love a 22″ or higher widescreen monitor at 1680×1050 or higher resolution.  Look for a monitor with the highest refresh rate:  60 Hertz is okay, but faster is even better.  Response rates are measured as 2ms, 5ms, 6ms, 8ms – the lower the better.  You should also pay attention to contrast ratios 500:1, 800:1, 1000:1 – the higher the better, but this isn’t as serious as it used to be.  Most of today’s monitors are pretty good here.  The contrast ratio is a measure of how well the monitor can display blacks (basically).  Monitor calibration is a good idea too, but that’ a whole ‘nother topic.

10. Going green/conserving energy: Major advances have been made in this area recently.  You can check specs on any component to see the kind of wattage it eats.  Obviously, the lower, the better.  In my house, I have 2 desktops and a laptop.  When I fire-up the 4 year old machine for a long period of time, I notice a difference on my power bill.  When I only use my newer stuff, my power bill is significantly less.  Over time, a newer system will pay for itself!  Microsoft’s Vista OS and Apples OSX are excellent at power saving if you leave your computer on all the time.  By the way, I don’t recommend leaving your computer on all the time.

11.  Laptop: the above components also apply to laptops, but you’re a bit more limited when you want to go mobile.  I don’t suggest building a laptop from scratch.  Buy a laptop that appeals to your mobility.  I use a medium-powerful Sony VAIO from 2005 that is small enough not to be a burden when I travel.  Laptops are mostly about your own needs and budget.  I love Apple laptops though – the new Air is awesome!  But if a laptop is going to be your only computer, the MacBook Pro is damn good for this – especially now that you can dual boot an Apple to handle Windows applications.

I am a heavy Photoshop user and store tons and tons of images for creating new promotions.  I also run about 8 different RAM-intensive applications at once.  I am probably on the extreme of what most of you would use a computer for, but here are some lists based on my needs that you can simply purchase and go to town with:

Build your own desktop for under $4,000 through NewEgg:  Click Here
Pick out a monster at Dell for under $8,000 (not nearly as good as building yourself):  Click Here
-Comparing my NewEgg build and Dell will show you how much money you can save doing it yourself.  It makes me wish I owned Dell – just profiting on people’s laziness!
Apple’s MacBook Air:   Click Here
Apple’s MacBook Pro:  Click Here

Next up:  selecting the right software and photography equipment.

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Don’t fall for this junk!

I came across this report and didn’t know what to think.  It wasn’t sent to me by BZ, so I’ve covered over the URL’s used for this report.  You can click on the image to see a larger version.

Bzwhoops

This report was sent by BZ to solicit business from a non-BZ customer.  That dealership is denoted as “DEALER A” and one of their competitors is “DEALER B”.  The funny part is the third competitor’s URL is very similar to a national furniture store, so the person who created the report used the furniture store’s URL.

The second mistake is the use of Compete.com.  Don’t get me wrong, Compete.com is an awesome resource – I use it all the time, but I would never use it like this.  I understand web-hosting competition is fierce, but this just seems like a way to sucker someone who isn’t that educated on the Internet.  It is under-handed in my opinion, but I’ve been wrong in the past.

What do you all think?  Under-handed?  Fine piece of salesmanship?  Preying on the uneducated?  At least you laughed when I told you they’re comparing two car dealerships to a national furniture store!

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4 Letters That Will Sell You More Cars This Month

How many times have you heard or even said to yourself…

“I’ve sent this customer 5 emails and I have yet to hear anything back”
or
“These Internet customers never call me back”,
maybe even
“I send them a price and I never hear back”..

No doubt about it, sending emails to someone who never responds is frustrating. But who is really to blame..you or the customer?

You’re already aware there’s no Silver Bullet, no sure fire way of making every potential customer respond to your emails. However, many times your emails or email templates are an over looked vital element of your success in transitioning the customer from behind the computer to the phone and ultimately your showroom floor. There are proven methods that will increase your response rate and help transition your customer to the phone quicker.

When writing to your potential customer remember to include these 4 key elements in your email and email templates.

1. Grab your customer’s ATTENTION fast!

There are 2 main elements for grabbing your customers attention: the subject line and the opening paragraph of your email. You want your subject line to create trust while also creating interest and enticing the customer to open your email. Yes, I know we have all heard too much about the importance of your subject line..but what about after that? The opening paragraph of your email sets the tone and needs to keep your customers attention. If your message in the opening paragraph is weak you will quickly lose the reader.

2. Create the INTEREST.

You have now grabbed your customers attention so it’s time to deliver the information and create interest. How do you create interest? With options! Provide your customers with inventory options. If your customer is interested in a new Volkswagen Passat, provide them with information on one that closely matches their request. Provide a base model, the cheapest one you have on the lot, along with a more expensive one with more equipment. What about a used Certified Volkswagen Passat? Over 60% of your new car buyers will consider a certified or well maintained pre-owned vehicle. Think about that!

3.  Hint on the URGENCY

Urgency can be used to grab your customer’s attention in the beginning of your email as well as towards the end. I’m not necessarily a fan of statements like “Prices Only Good until this date” though this strategy can sometimes work. I prefer using phrases that hint at the urgency. For example: “Mr. Smith, we have some great specials this month” or “the incentives this month are some of the best we have seen”. Let your customer know that this is the month for a great deal. Also, when selling new cars and using availability to hint at urgency, you could refer to the model of interest as a “best seller” or “limited availability”. The point is to plant the seed of urgency rather than being blatant.

4. Keep the momentum going with the next step to ACTION!

I’ve read so many emails that end in..”I look forward to hearing from you” or “Call me at your convenience”. Why would you wait for the customer to contact you? If you get anything out of reading this, this is it! The “A” the “ACTION” at the end of your email is the most important of the four letters. End your emails by asking your customer to take the next step of action! That may be picking up the phone to accept your call or clicking on the link to your online credit application. I prefer transitioning the customer to the phone. A question as simple as “Kristy, would it be OK to call you in the next 10 minutes?” can yield you some great results.

Your emails need to grab your customers ATTENTION. Once you have their attention, quickly turn that attention into INTEREST. While you have their interest, establish a sense of URGENCY and keep the momentum going with your next step to ACTION.

The next time you think you are ready to click the Send button, give your email a once over to be sure you have included the 4 letters that will sell you more cars this month; A I U A.

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A BIG CONGRATS to Alex Snyder and CheckeredFlag.com!

I know Alex is going to kill me for this but I didn’t want it slipping by. If you’re not already aware,
AutoDealerMonthly awarded Checkered Flag with top honors for Dealer Web Sites!
Checkeredflag.com swept the #1 spot with not even a close second or third (third was a Cobalt site?? No disrespect to Joe Carlson of course).

Checkered_flag_number_1_2

Alex_snyder_kingI know we sometimes make light of the all the dealer magazine awards here on DealerRefresh, but this is one award that I think is well deserved.

Alex was thinking out of the box with his hybrid Dealer Website/Blog design and in my opinion hit a homerun. It takes courage, knowledge and great support to move the needle like this. I’m sure Alex would like to thank
Dealer.com for providing him a
flexible platform and customer service that allowed him to move forward with his vision.

Therefore DealerRefresh is recognizing Alex Snyder as "KING OF DEALER WEBSITES".

Congratulations Alex!

Checkered_flag_website

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Would You Rather….

Let’s all gather ‘round for a nice Internet Sales version of the game, “Would You Rather”.

It’s easy to do… just pick one situation (or all of them), and tell us which outcome you’d go for, and why. And remember folks, this is all hypothetical, so don’t go getting your britches in a bunch about having to choose one or the other. I don’t want to see any “well I’d do something entirely different” or “I have a solution for both”… just put on your crisis management hats and pick a side, okay?

Trust me, it’s good for the brain.

Would you rather…

A. Get three third party email leads
Or
B. Get one phone lead

A. Spend $2,000 on PPC
Or
B. Spend $2,000 on high-level SEO

A. Get an email from a customer saying “your price is too high”
Or
B. Get an email saying “you don’t have what I want”

A. Have a Service Appointment form on your site that never gets responded to
Or
B. Have no form at all

A. Have a competitor directly under you in the SERPs
Or
B. Have a negative consumer review directly under you

A. Have a payplan that pays out for previous Internet customers
Or
B. Have one that pays out for Internet-based Service revenue

A. Remove all the phone numbers from your site and rely only on the email forms
Or
B. Remove all the email forms from your site and rely only on the phone numbers

A. Lose your domain name
Or
B. Have your mail server blacklisted

Remember…it’s either one or the other. None of this.. "I’d do something entirely different". You have to choose form the given situations. Give each "Would You Rather" some deep thought and share your feedback. Have FUN!!

Guest posting by Mitchell Turck
Internet Consultant with
WebNet Services

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The Digital Dealer Conference – a week later

Digital_dealer_conference_image
*Actual photos taken at the Digital Dealer Conference.

Was the Digital Dealer Conference a Smashing Success??

“We sold out everything,” said Michael Roscoe, Chairman of the event. “We sold out all our booth spaces, all our food and beverage sponsorships, all our title sponsorships, our room block…if it was for sale, it got sold,” Roscoe continued. “We beat the 300 dealership registrants from last fall by more than 83%. This conference was a smashing success!” – Mike Roscoe

This is a 2 part post. First mine then Alex.

Well it’s been a week since the Digital Dealer conference. Wait..is it the Digital Dealer Conference or is it the AAISP Conference? I’m always confused about that!!

Anyways, I had intended to write the post tracking it day by day but that never happened. 🙂 So I thought I would give a brief run down from my side of the conference, the good, bad and maybe some ugly.

I didn’t fly in until mid-day Monday so I missed out one the 101 sessions. Props to Jesse over at
HomeNet for having me picked up in the stretch Hummer at the airport!

The Likes:

  • The Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center was very nice! Great place for a conference like this.
  • Meeting and placing faces with all the dealerrefresh readers and contributors that attended. (Alex has listed everyone below, sorry if we missed anyone!)
  • Mr. Shaun Raines had a most excellent session "Why Most Dealers Can’t Solve the Internet Puzzle" was an excellent session. I always enjoy your message Shaun.
  • The exhibit hall was decent, none of the vendors go way out like they do with NADA obviously but there are some players in there.
  • TKCarsites was the center of attention in the middle of the exhibit hall for more then one reason. Wheeew.
  • Apparently I won some Internet Sales Manager award.?

The Dislikes:

  • Tuesday mornings general session ""Putting all the Pieces Together" was a waste of time. I’m sorry but that was not good at all.
  • I almost fell asleep during the Marketing Mixology session. What was that?
  • Technology-Assisted Relationship Sales with Jim Ziegler was really out there. Even for me! That was just enough information for a green pea to become really dangerous, and not in a good way.
  • Dinner at Norman’s at the Ritz Carlton. The company was excellent but the food wasn’t.
  • Missed some of the sessions because we couldn’t figure out the class layout
  • I won an award but had do idea, so I wasn’t there to accept it. So TJ over
    at Homenet accepted it on my behalf. THANKS TJ!! LOL

The Neutrals:

  • The Panel Discussion: "Technology:  What is Moving the Sales Needle from Some of the Best and Brightest" I thought was average at best. David Metter was the 1 person on the panel that I was impressed with. Someone kept talking about how they work to make their sites "sticky".
  • I sat in on a session by Pat Ryan Jr. "Winning in Today’s Internet-Driven Pre-Owned Market". He focused on 360 degree used vehicle pricing and the 4 different type of buyers. The end of the session became a sales pitch for one of the many used car price to market software companies that seem to popping up all over the place. It was a decent session.

I really wanted to attend more of the sessions. Sorry I missed the " Selling Vehicles, Service, Parts and Accessories Online – Like Books and Music" session Wednesday morning, maybe Alex can talk more about that one since he caught it.

This was my 1st time attending a Digital Dealer conference and overall the conference wasn’t bad, good actually. A lot of information for the green pea. There were some sessions (apparently on Wednesday) that I missed out on that I heard were really good.

If you’re on the fence on whether or not to attend, I’d have to recommend it. If the conference keeps going with the same amount of steam it will definitely continue to grow.

I will say though..PLEASE, lets get some people outside of the industry to speak. I get a little worn out hearing the same people in our industry over and over.

A few side notes:

Buzzwords – "Sticky" and "Meta"
OEM’s were in attendance albeit incognito
Hangovers were still pretty bad
The camaraderie was awesome
Some returning link love to Chad over at
AutoRevo.

-Jeff

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Dgimofo

As Jeff stated, it has been a week since the DD Conference….and we’re just weak for not posting this recap till now.  Sorry guys!

Mike Roscoe and the gang deserve high marks on picking the venue this year – the Gaylord resort had just about everything the Conference could need.  The only issue we had was on finding some of the classes.  It doesn’t seem this was the fault of the Digital Dealer crew, but more the resort’s infusion of what seemed like three different conferences sharing space on the second floor.   A big THANK YOU for having Dasani water readily available all the time!

After check-in, I got lost trying to find my room. I think the hotel staff intentionally give bad directions as a joke.  However, I eventually found my room and all the accommodations (especially the alcohol-serving ones) the Gaylord had to offer (yes, that sounds bad).  Many meals were had in the Italian/Med restaurant; where I grabbed dinner with my boss Monday night, and ran into Brian Hoecht (AI-Dealer), Shaun Raines, Jamie Adams (Reach Local), and Ken Lees & Jeff Clark (Skoots) who had pioneered the phrase DGI. 
DGI is what it is all about in 2008!  The dealer with the biggest DGI has no problem getting a date to the prom…or selling more cars – however you wish to think of it.

I also didn’t get started on the classes till Tuesday. It was definitely school for green peas:  Internet 101.  There were some good sessions though: Jeff mentioned Shaun Raines’ class, and I found Brian Hoecht’s panel to offer some good points as well. David Metter definitely owned the panel he sat on, and Jim Ziegler helped me bust a gut a few times. Some of Jim’s proposals on how to use social marketing frightened me though.  I also enjoyed a session from someone at Cobalt, but I cannot remember his name. This was the Wednesday morning session Jeff missed. It was an excellent presentation on how to incorporate most areas of this "new marketing" mix we’re in by putting it all in plain terms.

I want to say it was nice seeing some old faces: Gilbert Chavez, Ken Lees, Jeff Clark, Tom Bernardcyk (sorry if I butchered that), DJ Ports, Mike Dee @ Dealer.com, of course – Jon Bon Kershner, and many more.  Even better, I had the pleasure of meeting these folks:  Dean Evans (you would have thought I’d have met Dean before now being a Dealer.com customer for so long – Vermont is slacking 🙂 ), Patrick Workman, Mark Rikess, Jennifer Picheco, Shaun Raines, the rest of the MileOne crew, Alex Bravvy, the HomeNet gang, Kevin Frye, Ralph Paglia, Andrew Difeo, Jaime Adams, Brian Hoecht, and many more…if I listed everyone, we’d be reading for a much loooonger time.

The best part of the conference was actually having my boss, Pete Lively, there. It was great to see him grow a better appreciation of things – not to say he didn’t appreciate this side of the business before.  Having him there made the conference invaluable for me!

I’m looking forward to 2009’s Digital Dealer/AAISP conference….or whatever it is called?

-Alex

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So what did you think of the Digital Dealer Conference?
What was your fav?
What was your least fav?
Will you attend again and would you recommend it to others?

The 5th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition,
will be held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in
Grapevine, Texas, six minutes from the DFW airport, October 5th-8th.