The Solutions Lies in Service
Learn how to increase reputation, retention and revenue on your service drive

Whether you are a GM, dealer principal or service director looking to increase your reputation and customer satisfaction, as well as boost retention, or from the sales side of the dealership looking to find innovative ways to increase sales without expending more money, this is the session to attend.

Bryan Armstrong will walk you through simple, easy to implement, low-cost do-it-yourself solutions that answer the woes many of have felt over the last few years. "I am not a vendor; I will give you the 'low-down' on what has worked for me to be up 150% Y:Y with better C.S.I."

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to increase service revenue – specifically C.P.
2. How to utilize your drive traffic to stimulate your online reputation
3. How to conquest market for service
4. How to build an alliance that is mutually beneficial with the sales department

Bryan Armstrong, "an average car guy" has successfully run multiple dealerships' e-commerce efforts and established himself as a leader in implementing digital initiatives that dovetail into traditional processes and mentality. His ability to bridge this often-insurmountable gap is anything but mediocre.

"I am opinionated and outspoken, not a vendor (in fact, I anger several) and consider 'free' my second favorite four-letter 'F' word (Food is number one)." Currently he is the e-commerce cirector for VWSouthtowne in the Salt Lake City, Utah market. He was named "Most Innovative Dealer Group e-Commerce Director" at Digital Dealer 2009 and has been on the dealer advisory board of VinSolutions since its inception.

We Need More Cowbell!
Internet 101 for the sales consultant to the GM

Whatever happened to selling cars? In an era of shiny terms and flashy products, it’s easy to get lured away from what pays your check….the sale of an automobile.  This session reminds you that without the basics, no flashy product will have a significant impact.  We’ll present simple, no or low cost, ways to improve your store’s Internet sales performance.  And as a manager, what should I expect and inspect to make sure that your store is maximizing opportunity.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Internet sales fundamentals to increase sales for sales consultants
2. Internet management fundamentals that will increase opportunities at little or no cost
3. Upper management will have better understanding of what to inspect on a daily basis

Anthony Bartoli, sales director at Don Brown Chevrolet; Richard Lucy, e-marketing director, Tim Dahle Nissan. Bartoli and Lucy have 20 years of shared Internet sales experience, nearly all spent in automotive retail.  Working as sales consultants, BDC managers, and Internet managers, they understand what it’s like to be on the front line of auto sales.

10 Things I Hate (and LIKE) About You
A dealer and a social media guru go head-to-head on the good and bad of social media for dealerships

There are sessions that discuss why not to use social media and there are sessions that demonstrate why social media is a necessity for your dealership, confused yet?

Don't worry – we've got your back! "10 Things I Hate (and LIKE) About You" will be a high energy debate between a successful dealer and a social media expert that will go head-to-head on the hot topics in the industry. With real examples from dealers, we show you both the best and the worst with our top 10 social media "likes" and "dislikes". From train wrecks to home runs, this is much more than a best practice session…it's also the worst practices that you need to know about in order to avoid the pitfalls. Does inventory on Facebook even matter? How can Twitter make you money if you have no followers? The answers may surprise you. This is sure to be one of the most talked about sessions of the show – don't miss it!

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. See real examples of what works and what doesn't on dealer social media sites.
2. Hear both a social media expert and a dealer's perspective – at the same time.
3. Get specific examples of dealer results – not just theory on what could or should happen.
4. Ten areas dealers need to avoid, plus actionable ideas that dealers can implement to finally make social media drive traffic to their stores.

With more than 14 years of experience in automotive sales and marketing, Jim Flint knows what it takes to drive retail sales in tough business climates.  He’s been responsible for the development of integrated business plans for Toyota, Nissan and Mazda.  His combination of sales operations, financial analysis and marketing has given him broad experience in developing solutions that drive real-time, bottom-line results.

Today, Flint is the corporate director of Interactive Sales and Marketing for the John Eagle Dealerships. His focus is on crafting innovative interactive marketing plans that grow leads and increase conversion ratios, sales and profitability.  With the budget pressure that most companies face today, it’s more important than ever to be able to track results and ROI and deliver the greatest efficiency for even the smallest of investments.  So how does that work with Facebook and other social mediums?  He will speak to the 10 things that dealers hate and “like” about Facebook and how the John Eagle Dealerships are doing everything they can to turn the Facebook phenomenon into a relationship-building referral machine.

Alexi Venneri is co-founder & COO of Digital Air Strike, one of the fastest growing full service social media marketing and reputation management companies in the automotive industry. The solutions have been built by dealers for dealers and have a track record of generating more web site traffic and more loyal customers. Venneri was most recently president of Auto Media/Blue Flame 6, one of the largest automotive advertising agencies, owned by The Van Tuyl Group. Prior positions also include vice president of marketing, PR and investor relations at DealerTrack; chief marketing officer at Who's Calling; and director of marketing for the Major League Baseball team Seattle Mariners.

Your Web Identity is at Risk
Discover the 20 most important ways to protect your dealership's online identity

As a dealer, you work hard to create an identity, a brand and a company culture. How do you communicate that message online? Your brand can get fragmented when you have many providers trying to interpret your identity. Are you creating synergies in all aspects of your marketing? If you look at your web site, does it convey who you are? Is your social media strategy an illustration of how you do business? We will provide a checklist for managing your web identity so you can take control of who you are.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Checklist of how to manage their online identity
2. What to look for in their digital marketing
3. How to create synergy between your online and offline brands
4. How to increase your online reputation

Richard Herod III has worked with the Saint Paul Auto Group for 15 years. His roles over the years have included sales consultant, general sales manager, business development center manager, Internet director and now general manager. Prior to those roles, he helped design web sites for his alma matter, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and helped work on corporate marketing and communications efforts at a summer internship with 3M. In his current role as general manager at the new White Bear Mitsubishi Suzuki, Herod enjoys a experience knowledge base rooted in "real-world" Internet marketing and sales. In less than one year, White Bear Mitsubishi Suzuki became the #1 Mitsubishi and #1 Suzuki dealer in the five-state area.

April Rain has been in sales and marketing for more than 13 years. As the digital development and training supervisor at Cuneo Advertising, she consults and trains dealerships regarding sales processes, time management, marketing strategies and technologies implantation. She helps to enhance their online marketing and maximize their resources, reduce their cost of customer acquisitions, increase their digital presence, monetize third-party lead providers and create real world steps for their success. She strives for excellence when managing digital media and creating significant presences with e-commerce, reputation management, lead management, social media strategies, sales analytics, online marketing and web site optimizations.

Double your Internet Department's Profit in 2012
Online strategies that are proven to sell more cars for higher margins

Session attendees will learn strategies that they can easily implement before 2012 to increase their web site leads, appointments, show rate, and ultimately sales by 100% in the coming year.

Amir Rezvani will outline several systems that he has successfully employed at Van Tuyl and DarCars, as well as with hundreds of his clients. Jeff Kershner will discuss how he implemented these strategies at the Younger Auto Group and the dramatic impact that he's seen since he took over in 2010.

Amir and Jeff will detail how to effectively use coupons and incentives to increase your web site lead volumes by 50%, while simultaneously increasing the quality of your leads. They will also provide easy to implement tactics to increase the show rate on all of your Internet leads.

They will detail how to optimize your Google Places to maximize your local Google reach and finally show you how to measure the results from all of these efforts to prove that you doubled your sales from these efforts.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to create a web site coupon strategy that will increase web site lead volume by 25%
2. How to setup an online incentive system that will dramatically increase appointments and show rates
3. How to leverage Google Places to increase web site leads and calls
4. How to increase your web site lead capture by 25% by optimizing your lead forms
5. How to optimize online marketing spend with Google Analytics, dynamic call tracking, and an incentive reporting system
6. How to increase appointment rates by 30% and increase show rates by 50% by implementing simple, inexpensive technologies and creatively leveraging low-cost incentives

Jeff Kershner is the director, new media for the Younger Automotive Group. He was the Internet director for the Mileone Group for several years prior to joining Younger in 2010. In his 18 months with Younger, his stores have seen a nearly 100% increase in sales. He is best known as the founder and editor of the leading and most influential online forum for automotive Internet marketing—DealerRefresh.com.

Amir Rezvani oversees the client results team for DealerOn. Rezvani co-founded DealerOn in 2002 with his partners to help auto dealers increase the effectiveness of their online marketing efforts. A seasoned retail sales veteran, rezvani has an impressive track record of process development and sales management. He has 15 years of hands on experience working with large dealer groups such as Van Tuyl and Darcars Automotive Group, which allowed him to gain extensive experience in training, devising CRM strategies, and managing SEM campaigns.

QR Codes – Defining the History… Unlocking the Mystery
Discover how QR codes will help identify your invisible shoppers and generate sales 24/7
Is your dealership open 24/7… we are!

Have you ever stayed after hours to catch another up or hand out a business card just to get that customer’s name and phone number? Have you driven your lot after closing or on Sunday and found it filled with customers and thought to yourself, “I wish I had a way to get their information so I could sell them a car.”  Do it with a QR code! Whether it’s after-hours, on Sunday, or during a Saturday afternoon rush… QR codes are the future of car shopping.

QR codes have been spotted on direct mail pieces, magazines, and business cards in Times Square and even on your utility bills… 

Attendees will get a jump on their competition with a clear understanding of “What is a QR code”, “The benefits of QR codes” and “How to market, advertise and generate sales with QR codes.”

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. You will learn the history, features, advantages and  benefits of using QR codes.  
2. You will learn how to generate QR codes, use code scanners, and URL shorteners.
3. You will learn how to use QR codes for advertising and marketing and how track their ROI.
4. You will learn the five big mistakes to avoid in your QR code marketing campaign.

Ric McCoy, e-commerce director, Andy Mohr Automotive Group, Indianapolis.  McCoy studied public relations and journalism at Indiana State University and has 26 years of automotive experience, 12 with Andy Mohr. He has worn numerous hats including GM and executive manager. McCoy was instrumental in building Andy Mohr Ford into Indiana’s #1 Ford dealer and one of Ford Motor Companies top 100 dealers.

As e-commerce director for a seven-roof top organization, he manages a staff of 20, and is responsible for e-commerce, CRM, sales training, and all things digital. He uses his vast experience, communication and leadership skills to increase e-commerce sales year over year.

McCoy gleaned knowledge from Gart Sutton and the legendary Clint McGhee while peddling automotive training workshops door-to-door and coast-to-coast. He was the first marketing team to sell Grant Cardone when he was just a start up. He is a member of the Dominion Dealer Solutions Dealer Counsel.

The CRM – Your Money-making Machine
Utilize your CRM and its unique features that will help you maximize time and financial investment

Use your CRM to not only store sales and service data, but to gain insight to the performance of your entire organization. Generate reports to determine your e-commerce related expenses, track lead response times, performance of your lead providers and so much more. Some CRMs will allow you to fully customize your Internet department’s follow up program, while others take a laid back approach.  When you select a CRM, you want it to be user friendly and expect it to perform to your company’s needs. By using your CRM to capture information, you’ll be able to follow up consistently with your customers and prospects, inspect the performance of your staff and monitor the effectiveness of your marketing dollars.

If your dealership is using a CRM but your employees haven’t fully embraced the system or if you are considering a change to a new company, we have insight as to some of the most useful tools and features your CRM should have available and what potential impacts it will have on your Internet department and dealership.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1.  Discover ways that your CRM is providing valuable information about your customers
2.  What questions you should ask your CRM provider or prospective provider to ensure you get the most out of your system
3.  Ways to monitor the effectiveness of your lead providers and marketing methods
4.  Use the CRM to streamline business while getting your staff’s full participation

Dan Petermeier is the Internet director for Lupient’s Brooklyn Park Imports in the Twin Cities. With a background in finance and marketing, he has over 12 years in the auto industry. Having been a finance manager and an Internet director for Lupient’s five Minneapolis area Saturn stores, he now leads a department that has experienced a 400% growth in web site traffic and Internet sales over the last four years.

Beth Petermeier is a sales and finance manager for Lupient’s Brooklyn Park Imports. Her automotive background include GM, GSM and ISM positions. She now incorporates her leadership skills to close sales, train and mentor sales consultants, and is the resident expert for CRM/DMS training and all technology related issues in the dealership. She used her banking and legal background to springboard herself into the auto industry in 2001 where she quickly became a top producing sales consultant.

Knowledge is Power 2
Everything you need to know about digital marketing from a panel of dealers, not vendors

Shaun Raines – director of automotive, ReachLocal (moderator/facilitator)
Nicki Allen – operations, Classic Chrysler Jeep Dodge Mazda
Vinnie Micciche – e-commerce director, Group 1 Automotive
Kris Legg – Internet & CRM manager, Huffines Auto Dealerships
Bryan Armstrong – Dealer practitioner; founder, BAMarketing

If you missed the first Knowledge is Power panel at DD10 you now have the chance to make up for it. After overwhelming feedback requesting a follow up, we're bringing the panel back to DD11. You come to the Digital Dealer Conference to learn, so don't miss this session.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Ability to make better product, service and vendor decisions
2. Ability to know if your Internet staff has a clue
3. Confidence to make budget changes
4. Fresh knowledge on leads, web sites, CRM tools, social media and more

Shaun Raines is the director of automotive at ReachLocal and the founder of Dealer Advisor LLC. Always a top rated speaker at Digital Dealer Conferences and industry events, Raines delivers relevant presentations with a unique mixture of knowledge, conviction and humor. With 20 years of automotive experience covering sales, parts, service and all things Internet, Raines has worked with teams that launched and supported groundbreaking services such as Carpoint.com (Microsoft), CarsDirect Connect and Yahoo! Autos.

The Power of a Plan!
If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail!

Peter Drucker once said, “Action without planning is the cause of all failure!”  In the fast paced and ever changing world of automotive e-commerce more true words could not be spoken. Come take a look into the plan that has lead Gunn Honda to achieve placement on Ward’s eDealer 100 and which has the Gunn Automotive Group on the path to e-commerce success.

Vince Lombardi is well known for starting every season with, “Gentlemen, this is  a football.” In this session we will take a similar approach as we break e-commerce into bite size pieces, provide a means of analyzing where you are today and share ideas to help you chart a course into the future. Whether you are an e-commerce veteran or just learning the ropes, this is one session you don’t want to miss. 

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Step-by-step plan for analyzing your current e-commerce operation.
2. Step-by-step method for creating a solid e-commerce game plan for growth.

Tony Rhoades, director of e-commerce for Gunn Automotive Group first entered automotive sales after six years in the Air Force and a short stint detailing cars.  After selling his first car in 1996 he stumbled into a career at Gunn Honda in 2001.  After working as an F&I manager, new and used car sales manager and general sales manager, he became the director of e-commerce for Gunn in September 2009. His strengths in process improvement and technology allowed him to take what were unstructured groups of salespeople and add structure, process and accountability to achieve significant results. In 2011, Gunn e-commerce continues to thrive with year over year results up 57%.

Lessons from the Best of the Best: Demystifying SEO and Organic Search
You know that organic search is critical but can you really influence how customers find your web site?

Panel:
Wayne Ussery: Jim Ellis
Andy Graff: Galpin Motor Company
Michael Donovan: Lia Cars

Moderator: Phil Sura

With 80% plus of both new and late model used shoppers using Google in the search process, you could be losing market share if you rely strictly on your web company for direction with SEO. Stronger search results with Google will lead to higher unique visits, which will lead to increased retail sales. Strong Google search results can accomplish what multiple full page color ads did in the major papers 20 years ago.

You know that organic search is critical but can you really influence how customers find your web site? Each panelist has done a great job of focusing on SEO. Both Jim Ellis and Lia mange their own SEO initiatives. We will hear how the Jim Ellis Group is driving 190,000 unique visitors to their sites, how Lia Auto was able to improve their organic traffic by 39% and keywords leading to a click by 44%. We discuss how a leader like Galpin is focused on Google and organic search.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. SEO – how are dealers managing this aspect of their business
2. Google's web master tools 101 – You will learn how to use free tools being offered by Google to determine if you have duplicate content, duplicate titles
3. Content management – own organic real estate. You will learn the importance of setting up backlinks, blogs and using directory listings

Phil Sura, UnityWorks Media, VP, has been involved in the automotive industry for the past 25 years. Sura has worked both in launching new technologies and managing dealerships. Most recently he has spent eight years with UnityWorks Media, showing dealers how to drive organic search results through video search engine optimization and increasing web site conversion through a video strategy. Sura has been a regular contributor to Digital Dealer magazine and a speaker at all but one of the Digital Dealer Conferences. He has earned high marks with previous Digital Dealer Conferences earning top ratings.

There's an App for That, But it Sucks!
You can be successful without the added cost of an app

"There's an app for that". Yes, there is, and likely an app for everything else you can think of under the sun too. My question to you is, is it useful? I mean does it provide consumer engagement that ultimately drives leads and sales? Apps can be useful depending upon the nature of the app. But what does that mean for you, the car dealer? Do you have a phone that is app friendly? What about your consumers? You may be asking yourself, do I need to have an app for my dealership? Simply put, no.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Why mobile apps do not make sense for the average car dealer
2. How QR codes play into the app space for dealers
3. Cost effective ways you can engage consumers in the mobile space without the need for an app

Steve Bell is currently a product manager for Naked Lime Marketing with a background that includes digital marketing for a diverse range of clients of all types and sizes as well as in-house for a large online electronics retailer. His experience includes serving as a digital product manager for an agency while directly working with clients such as Cooper Tire, Safelite Auto Glass, Roto-Rooter, Rite Aid, Allstate Insurance, and Meineke Car Care.

Helping Dealers Bridge the Gap Between Retail and Wholesale Sales

How to maximize the Internet for increased profits and efficiency while minimizing risk

In this highly competitive industry, automotive dealers are constantly in need of more efficient and profitable means of selling cars. Taking advantage of every sales opportunity and sales channel available is the first step in offloading vehicles more quickly and facilitating higher turnover rates. The best way for dealers to do this is to use both retail and wholesale channels in complement with each other to appeal to various audiences at the same time. By using retail and wholesale channels simultaneously, aged inventory has a better chance of selling and increasing a dealer's bottom line. In addition, working both channels in parallel maximizes the revenue opportunities for retail while dealers can still hedge their bets with wholesale. This presentation will provide dealers with the tactics they need to utilize both channels simultaneously and revamp their current operations to compete in today's market. Dealers will walk away with a better understanding of the benefits of online auctions and how utilizing a dual sales channel strategy can increase operational efficiency and revenues.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1. How to apply retail discipline to the wholesale process
2. Learn how to bridge the gap between wholesale and retail, and maximize gross profit potential and lower costs
3. How to post inventory to wholesale sites using existing retail ad data
4. Best practices for wholesaling online

Ed Berkowitz serves as vice president, Open Auction at OPENLANE and is responsible for driving solutions to improve the online buying and selling experience.Berkowitz brings 20 years of experience in transforming traditional business processes to reduce costs and improve performance. For 10 years, Berkowitz has worked in various aspects of the automotive space, including retail sales, insurance, and auctioning. He's also helped drive adoption of new approaches to old problems in the role of vice president of customer solutions at Closedloop Solutions, an enterprise financial planning software company acquired by Lawson Software in 2003. Additionally, Berkowitz brings process, product, and marketing experience from Travelers Insurance Company, Ernst & Young and SGI.

The 3Dimensions of the Modern Mobile Marketer – in 3-D!
Now in theaters – join this 3-D presentation unlocking the keys to succeeding in local search in a mobile world.

Mobile searches have increased 500% since 2008, 93% of adults will have a smartphone by 2012, 74% of Internet users perform local-based searches; the trend is clearly overwhelming growth in the mobile space – but is your dealership leveraging the new mobile marketing channel right in your customer’s pocket? Join Chad Polk, AutoRevo CEO, as he unpacks the powerful session on mobile dealer websites, local search related to mobile, and the value of QR codes that will digitize your non-digital marketing channels.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1. How to empower your mobile dealer website to leverage these high converting leads
2. How to claim your local map listings and how to enhance your ranking factors in local search
3. How to optimize your local map listings for better search ranking
4. How to set up and track QR codes to digitize all of your non-digital marketing assets

Bill Berry is vice president of Sales for AutoRevo. He is involved in the strategic direction of the company, with regard to sales, product development, and partnerships.  With over a decade of automotive experience, Berry has been a driving force behind AutoRevo's success as a top provider of Internet marketing in the auto industry. For the past two years, AutoRevo has been named to both the Dallas 100 Fastest Growing Companies and the Inc. Fastest Growing Companies in America.

288 Mind-blowing Internet Marketing Stats and the Marketing Plan You Can't Afford Not to Use
Learn what inbound marketing is, how to do it, and why it's vital for your continued success

The old methods of "interruption" marketing simply aren't working anymore. In this session, we'll show you some mind-blowing statistics that will prove beyond a doubt that inbound marketing is absolutely vital to your dealership's continued success. Web sites, SEO, blogs and social media have been around for a while now, but in most cases, dealers aren't using them correctly. This session will show you the correct way to use each piece of the puzzle, backed up by proven facts. Dealers will be able to return home and implement a truly effective multi-channel inbound marketing strategy that will boost web site traffic, leads, and conversions – and ultimately, vehicle sales.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1. Learn the three elements of inbound marketing and how to implement it at your dealership.
2. Learn how to be what people are interested in across multiple marketing channels.
3. Learn how to blog correctly and the optimal time to post blog articles.
4. Learn why social media isn't a fad, and how to use it correctly in conjunction with all marketing channels.

Bill Berry is vice president of Sales for AutoRevo. He is involved in the strategic direction of the company, with regard to sales, product development, and partnerships.  With over a decade of automotive experience, Berry has been a driving force behind AutoRevo's success as a top provider of Internet marketing in the auto industry. For the past two years, AutoRevo has been named to both the Dallas 100 Fastest Growing Companies and the Inc. Fastest Growing Companies in America.

What is your Web Site Hiding?

Your web site is the first impression of your dealership to the majority of your customers. The perfect web sites optimize your success by putting all the tools you need in one place.   

Learn what happens behind the scenes of a dealership web site. Knowing what and how your consumers search will give you powerful data to improve your business. We will be presenting data points from over 20+ million visitors touching 100+ million pages. This behavioral data will break down top pages, best call to actions for conversions, statistical data measuring customers preferred search and operating systems and how to use this to the dealerships advantage.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1. Learn the customer behavioral paths when searching web sites and how you can use this to your selling advantage.
2. Should we redesign our web site? If so, what how should we begin?
3. Best statistics to measure a web site.
4. What are the common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Kendall Billman is VP of Interactive Marketing for VinSolutions.  He earned his MBA in Marketing and has over 18 years of automotive experience.  He is an industry-leading expert in web site consumer behavior, web site development, SEO, SEM and digital marketing to automotive consumers. He is a member of the American Marketing Association, is Google Adwords Qualified and has spoken at numerous Digital Dealer Conferences. He has trained staff members at Google about automotive lead process, along with a detailed history with OEMs in web site lead tracking, follow-up, endorsements and certifications. Billman was instrumental with the development of AutoOne Media, Reynolds Web Solutions (Third Coast Media), developing the national accounts team for Who's Calling and has consulted with top vendors such as DealerOn. His philosophy of an educational approach ensures complete satisfaction and helps dealers understand how to increase web site conversions.

Case Study: Cerritos Dodge Chrysler Jeep Uses Intelligent Marketing Strategy to Increase Sales and Service
How Cerritos Dodge Chrysler Jeep increased sales 75% and service 410% in three months by using an intelligent marketing strategy with an integrated customer communications that positively promotes all their profit centers

Cerritos Dodge Chrysler Jeep uses an intelligent marketing strategy to help them attract, sell, service and retain more customers for less cost than traditional mass marketing. Learn the science behind effectively targeting customers, "perfect prospects", with the highest statistical probability of doing business with your dealership, learn how to implement integrated campaigns that affect all your profit centers, new, used, finance, service and parts and create customers for life – all for less cost than traditional mass marketing.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to implement and intelligent marketing strategy via an integrated communication system to positively promote all profit centers, new, used, finance, service and parts.
2. How to target customers with the highest statistical probability of buying or     servicing with their dealership.
3. How to improve customer retention and create customers for life.
4. How to increase sales and service for less cost than traditional mass marketing.

Budd Blackburn, owner of Team Velocity Marketing, combines his retail and training background to bring best practices to many of the nation's top automotive groups. As co-founder of Team Velocity Marketing, one of the nation's leading and newest targeted marketing companies, Blackburn has architected a strategy that identifies dealers' top prospects for sales, service, warranty renewal and more.

Case Study: Herb Chambers Improves Results with Integrated Marketing Strategy
In this session you will hear how Herb Chambers has dramatically improved their profitability by improving how they market to consumers

This case study will show you how Herb Chambers uses technology to target in-market consumers who have the highest probability of buying and servicing with their dealership today and staying loyal tomorrow. Herb Chambers' new marketing strategy uses extensive market research to identify their 'perfect market' and combines the power of digital targeted marketing with traditional advertising to attract, sell and service more customers for a lot less money than traditional advertising. Learn how results-oriented marketing strategies can increase your market share and profitability by building your brand, attracting more high-quality opportunities, improving sales and service revenues, and increasing your customer satisfaction and loyalty.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Learn how to use integrated marketing strategies across multiple mediums to improve your sales and service profitability and positively affect all your profit centers: new, used, finance, service and parts.
2. Learn how to implement a holistic marketing strategy that combines market research, traditional advertising, digital, social media, reputation management, publicity, targeted marketing, niche, point of sale merchandising and retention to attract, sell, service and retain more customers profitably for less cost.
3. Learn how to make your advertising have the same look, feel and messaging so consumers are exposed to a consistent message and creative with clear calls-to-action across all marketing mediums.

David Boice, president, Team Velocity Marketing, a digital targeted marketing company exclusively devoted to the automotive industry. Team Velocity Marketing serves dealers and associations throughout the U.S., providing data research and a broad range of marketing services for new and used car sales and service marketing programs. Boice previously owned and operated one of the largest Internet and consulting companies in the automotive industry, AutoMark/CyberCar that served 18 manufacturers and over 4,000 automotive dealers nationwide, as well as major manufacturers, distributors, and automotive groups. Boice sold AutoMark to Reynolds and Reynolds in 2001 and served as their vice president through 2003.

Turn Dead Leads into New Sales – Bet on It!
New technology and advanced Cloud Intelligence analytics now empowers dealers to review dead leads into new leads and greater sales

Advanced web 2.0 visitor recognition technology and advanced data analytics provides unprecedented visibility into auto shopper behavior and online shopping activity. By combining these technologies dealers can identify which current and past leads are currently shopping for a new car on the Internet and what they are shopping for. Further, free "in market" lead analysis services can take a dealer customer database and identify those with current auto shopping activity as well.

Next step is to use the customer's behavior to customize your phone and email messaging and reanimate those dead leads or past customers into new prospects.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to identify "dead leads" which are still actively shopping for a new car
2. How new technical advances change current industry paradigms
3. How to use auto shopper behavior to engage and motivate auto shoppers to reengage
4. How to use advanced analytics to close more sales

Eric Brown is CEO and co-founder of Dataium. Dataium provides advanced analytics and visitor recognition technology to the auto industry. Currently the company serves four of the top 10 OEMs, automotive portals and research companies along with numerous dealership groups, across the United States and Canada. Brown is a Fox Business Network contributor and author for various publications. He once appeared on NBC hit show, ER. He is a graduate of Missouri Southern State University with additional studies at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA and eCommerce Strategies, Columbia University, New York, NY.

SEO vs. PPC Study: A Study by MicrositesByU on the Behavior of Different Traffic Sources Online

This study had several goals:
1. To see how visitors behave based on the traffic source used to get them to your site
2. To look for opportunities to customize the experience for customers based on traffic source
3. To find the best budget optimization between SEO, PPC, inbound marketing and branding
4. To see the effect of pricing on visitor behavior

This study was compiled from several data sources that included 15 million tracked in market customers, over the last six-month period.
We focused on three behaviors we felt were most closely related to ROI and dealership brand awareness:
1. Visitor likelihood to convert
2. Effect of price on visitor conversion and value per visitor
3. Visitor engagement and behavior

Larry Bruce, partner, MotorTrends Online and president/CEO, MicrositesByU. Bruce has 20-plus years of retail automotive and technology experience including: partner, MotorTrendsOnline.com; VP, Managed Marketing Solutions Reynolds & Reynolds; founder, president and CEO AIMData; founder, president and CEO ClickBuyDrive.com; president CarmallUSA.com; GM, Sanddollar Autoplex; finance director, Jay Marks Automotive Group.

Stand-alone Service Web Sites
Why you need one and how to build one

Session attendees will learn about the current competitive landscape of online marketing for service center, parts, and accessories profit centers of the dealership. Clark will illustrate why dealers are typically losing the digital marketing battle against national service brands such as Sears Auto Center, Jiffy Lube, Meineke, and Firestone.

Dealers will learn five ways they can begin to fight back against these brands:
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 create content to build credibility and customer satisfaction in their service department to keep customers coming back.

Jeff Clark, DealerOn Inc., VP of sales & business development, oversees the sales and business development initiatives for DealerOn. He has 17 years of business to business sales and management experience. He helped launch the retail division of NewCars.com, later positioning it for acquisition by Classified Ventures (Cars.com).
Clark began his sales career at CocaCola as a sales/marketing manager after serving in the U.S. Navy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He is the recipient of numerous sales performance awards including the 2003 Outstanding Achievement Award from Car.com. He helped guide StoneAge Media and Car.com into one of Inc.'s 500 fastest growing private companies.

Total Conversion, Total Control, Total Customization
How to make any web site vendor more effective

Everyone has a web site these days, but technology moves very quickly, are you keeping up?  We’ll discuss a few elements of the digital marketing age that you should expect to get when purchasing a web site. Is your site converting all the leads possible?  How do you know?

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1.  What is happening in the digital space today as it relates to auto dealers?
2.  What should you expect of your web vendor?
3. How do you measure your success?
4.  As technology progresses, what’s coming next?

Tim Clay is COO/founder of ClickMotive. He began working on the retail side of the automotive business in 1994 where he was able to study all aspects of the dealership world.  He graduated from NADA Dealer Candidate Academy in 1996.  Clay was a national sales manager for Automark, and then held several positions when it became Reynolds Web Solutions. Clay, along with Stuart Lloyd and Ray Myers founded ClickMotive in 2005. Today ClickMotive is one of the largest and most respected automotive software companies in the business.

Third-Party Leads – Are They Still Necessary and if So, How can you be the Most Successful with Them?
Veteran performance coach Dennis Colome shows how to make your Internet department the envy of the dealership.

Millions of consumers submit a purchase request for a vehicle at a third-party web site every year. Over 50% of those requests eventually result in a vehicle purchase.* Ninety-three percent of dealers surveyed say that third-party leads play an important role in how they generate business,** however, their value is often dismissed or taken for granted in the rush for the next great digital media fad. Where does the truth lie? How do dealerships in 2010 ensure they are getting the most out of third-party leads? How do they differ from OEM and dealership site leads? How have these online customers changed and how should dealership processes change to meet their expectations…or should they?

Veteran dealership trainer and performance coach Dennis Colome of Autobytel shares insights and best practices, from an over 30-year career in the auto industry, that are proven to not only make the Internet department the envy of the dealership, but to ramp up ROI and efficient car sales to make the entire dealership the envy of its region. Here are some things you will take away from the talk:
• Use best practices to increase your close rate
• Use third-party leads to make great gross profits
• Use third-party leads to strategically grow your business
• Understand the thinking of the third-party shopper and use it to your advantage

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. A clear understanding of what third-party leads are all about and how to close a higher number of them.
2. A very clear cut way to establish an ROI and determine what it is worth it to the dealership.
3. New techniques for all third-party leads and how to maintain a higher gross average.
4. The latest in techniques to get the people to the showroom so you can do what you do best!
R.L. Polk/Autobytel Study
**Autobytel 15th Anniversary of the Internet Survey, 2011

Dennis Colome of eXteresAUTO and an Autobytel consultant is known nationally as one of the best dealership process trainers in the industry and is a pioneer in helping dealership sales personnel adapt and improve their sales practices for the rapidly evolving Internet customer. Colome has helped establish Autobytel as an industry leader in empowering dealers with the processes, best practices and knowledge they need to deal effectively with today's car buyer. He has trained thousands of dealerships in the U.S. and countries as far away as India. In his current position with eXteresAUTO, Colome leads the ongoing adoption of the company's innovative search and online reputation management solutions by dealerships nationwide, oversees the expansion of the company's national sales force and spearheads the introduction of new products and services. Colome has been in the automotive industry since 1976 and was a former dealer.

Leading Edge (not Bleeding Edge) Search and Reputation Management Game Plan
How to embrace all the changes Google has placed upon our industry and use the consumer behavior to create more sales and service business. Conducted and measured right dealers can eclipse their competition and get up to 1,500 more phone calls to the dealership a month. You will get a how-to plan for using Google to your advantage.

Google and search is the 800-pound gorilla of all Internet strategies: the number one way your customers find and (with the heavy integration of online reviews in search results today) select dealerships (Not Twitter. Not Facebook. Not even close). When Google makes major changes, consumer behavior is transformed. And there have been more changes in the search and online review worlds this year than in the last decade. The news has been rapid-fire: from the mother of all developments impacting dealers, Google Places – to new algorithms punishing duped, low-quality content – to new social ratings platforms like Google's +1 - to "Boost," "Offers," "Instant," "Previews," or "Latitude." From Bing's new business portal – to spawning new dealer review platforms – to the continued explosion of mobile search usage and features. Attendees will not only get a crash course in these new developments, they'll receive insider training and tips on how to really tackle them. No hype or hot air: an online game plan based on actual consumer behavior, what's fundamental to your business, and the highest ROI early-adopter opportunities. (No vendors please, this is for dealership personnel only.)

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
• How to be powerfully and completely optimized for Google Places, and why a truly successful search strategy needs to shift to 50-50 places/web site
• The lowdown on Google's evolving algorithms, and why cookie-cutter sites and regurgitated, 'canned' content won't fly
• How to best take advantage of Google Boost (and not pay for useless keywords)
• Get positioned right at the all-new Bing Business Center
• The smartest online 800# strategy, preventing calls dialing into oblivion
• Tackle new social review platforms, i.e., +1 and "Hotpot"
• Exploit new online deal/coupon platforms at Google, Bing, Facebook
• Put your web site's best face forward in mobile search
• Crack the Yelp review code
• Implement Schema.org to improve how your dealership and reviews appear at Google, Yahoo! And Bing
• Use Google Places' Reports, to track how people found you, click activity, etc.
• Convert significantly more search- and review-driven traffic for both sales and service, and measure your SEO and reputation management ROI
• A game plan for getting more calls from their review sites
• A clear cut way to turn the increase in calls into thousands of dollars and how to measure the results
• A chance to discuss their Google issues openly and objectively
• An entertaining fun and informative presentation

Dennis Colome is vice president, Sales & Marketing at eXteresAUTO, the leading search assetmanagement (SAM) provider, combining the #1-rated SEO and online reputation management solutions for dealerships. Colome started selling cars in 1976 and spent 14 years running his own dealership before consulting dealerships. He's widely recognized as one of the country's top dealership trainers, and a pioneer in helping auto retailers adapt their businesses to meet the needs of the ever-evolving Internet customer. With nearly three decades of industry experience, his career spans positions at Autobytel Inc., izmocars, Half a Car Group and Reynolds & Reynolds prior to joining eXteresAUTO.
 

Eight Ways Mobile can Improve your Bottom Line
Len Critcher will deliver eight critical ways mobile applications improve a dealership's bottom line and operational performance

In today's marketplace, dealers need to be "in-sync" to make the most of their team capabilities and inventory opportunities. In this presentation, Len Critcher will illustrate eight critical ways that mobile applications can improve a dealership's bottom line and operational performance. Current and emerging mobile applications will touch on all of the major areas of a dealer's business, including vehicle appraising, monitoring and merchandising.The ability to take advantage of mobile applications could mean the difference between success and failure for dealerships in the future.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Attendees will learn how mobile technologies can dramatically improve their business.
2. Attendees will learn what mobile applications will be the most cost-effective and important for appraising, monitoring and merchandising their inventory….and for the future of one's dealership.
3. Attendees will learn how to more efficiently turn inventory in and out of their showroom and off their lot more quickly and more profitably using a combination of the latest mobile innovations.

Len Critcher, chief product officer, DealerTrack eCarList. In 2006, Critcher founded eCarList and has led the organization in its record growth as CEO and chief architect of the company's product development. Critcher established one of the first Internet focused dealerships in the United States in 2001. As a pioneer in online automotive sales, Critcher was profiled in Forbes Magazine for his success in online automotive retailing. Leveraging proprietary software his dealership facilitated the online sales of over 120 cars monthly with a limited staff of just four employees. Recognized as an authority in online inventory management and marketing, Critcher and his businesses have been featured in People, Time Magazine, USA Today, CNN, American Way, Dallas Business Journal and more. Critcher was recently named 40 under 40 in 2011 by the Dallas Business Journal.

How to Build a Pre-owned Department Storybook
Storybook pre-owned selling system is the pre-owned future
And the winner is "the private individual," not only in the US and Canada, but in every country we have ever trained in. The private individual sells more current to six-year-old pre-owned vehicles than the new car dealers. Not only do they sell more vehicles but they average approximately $1,800 per selling price more "Thank you, software." They do three things better than us. They prepare their vehicles for sale; they do a knowledgeable and enthusiastic product presentation; and they ask for what they think their vehicle is worth. This is all done in proper "storybook" fashion.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Understanding and building a storybook
2. Explaining storybook in a sales meeting
3. How to implement the storybook selling system
4. Closing a deal using storybook

Tim Deese founded Progressive Basics in 1981 as a training company dedicated to training dealers and used car managers to improve the used car department in their dealerships. Starting from an independent dirt lot to owning two new car dealerships, Deese sat in every seat in the dealership from porter to manufacturer before opening Progressive Basics. He has spoken numerous times for NADA, FADA (Canada), Hong Kong, AADA (Australia) and Fenabrave (Brazil's NADA). You can read his articles in Dealer magazine and several other national publications. Deese has had the honor of training over 50,000 dealers and managers around the world.

More to Fixed Operations Compliance than Just ‘Right to Know’
We need to be concerned about safeguarding customer information both physically and digitally.

There is now an affordable way to secure your customer information through a managed gateway to comply with the Gramm Leach Bliley requirements, as well as preventing civil action. When we look to safeguard information we always think of the F&I office and tend to ignore the fixed operations area and this is just as important when you think of the wealth of information that is collected on an R/O.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. What is a managed gateway and why having just a firewall is not enough
2. The problems that can occur when an R/O gets into the wrong hands
3. How to create a process to attain total compliance with safeguarding customer information

Terry Dortch is the founder and CEO of Automotive Compliance Consultants, Inc. Founded in 2003, it is the largest and most established strictly automotive compliance consulting group in the United States. Their team of professionals has extensive knowledge in the retail automotive industry and specializes in compliance with Gramm-Leach-Bliley, EEO, Patriot Act, HR, OSHA, EPA, Red Flag, F&I Compliance and a host of other laws and regulations.

Match Media Spend with Audience Consumption to Increase Returns

Dealers need timely empirical data that shows how people actually consume media today. This allows them to more efficiently allocate marketing dollars across the mediums and services that will maximize reach and frequency to their target audiences.

New mediums, technologies, and content continue to fragment audiences, making marketing more challenging than ever before. This complexity causes dealers to be inconsistent, further reducing efficacy. The primary reasons are straightforward: (1) data – they lack a clear understanding of how their target audience consumes media today; (2) planning – they struggle to create and execute an annual marketing plan; and (3) because of (1) and (2), conviction – they lack the confidence to be consistent.

Attendees at this session will leave with a clear picture of how people consume media today. This will make it obvious that there is no single medium, service, or solution that will ensure the greatest return on marketing dollars. Consumers do want to be reached, but on their terms as to where, when, and how they use media. The empirical data shared in this session will provide the benchmarks necessary to analyze current plans and allow dealers to more effectively allocate marketing dollars going forward.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1. Empirical data on how people consume media today
2. The ability to assess their current marketing plans
3. An action plan to match advertising spend to consumption of target audiences

Jim Dykstra – Comcast Spotlight – Automotive Lead. As a third generation auto industry executive Dykstra has hands on strategic and tactical experience working for dealerships, manufacturers, and digital auto companies. Moving from the retail car business Dykstra joined GM first with Cadillac, and then GMAC. From there he built and led a sales and training team that launched cars.com to over 100 newspaper affiliates including Tribune, LA Times, and The Washington Post. At Comcast, Dykstra continues to share his expertise in an effort to improve the products, service, and value delivered to Tier 1, 2, and 3 clients.

Betting on your Future Business Using Predictive Analysis
Having access to real-time shopper behavior data and trends now enables dealers to place bets on what will be selling in the weeks and months ahead with more accuracy than ever

If you could see the next card in the deck while playing poker, would this not help you win more at the tables? Now, in our industry, tracking active auto shopper data in real time, we can see trends, analyze shopper behavior, and actually predict and forecast what vehicles will be selling in the weeks and months ahead. This allows dealers to better align their inventory, marketing, incentives and sales pitches to each shopper based on where they are in their shopping cycle. Dealers have never before had the ability to "see" into a shopper's mindset during their shopping session by looking at every click and keystroke before they ever send a lead, if they send one at all. By collecting, analyzing and reporting this data, we can now proactively adapt to these trends and behaviors well before the shopper reaches your dealership or web site. Having this knowledge allows us, for the first time, to make better and safer bets on the future of your dealerships' sales.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Better align current inventory to fit today's shoppers' demands
2. Know what online marketing is actually producing the most leads and buyers, not just traffic
3. Customize marketing e-mails, banners, certificates and incentives right down to the individual shopper
4. Harness your own data to "place bets" on all facets of your business well before trends affect actual sales

With almost 25 years experience in the automotive industry, Jason Ezell started one of the most unique and respected web site companies in the industry, Dealerskins. As a member of JD Power's Internet Round Table, an NADA 20 Group Preferred Speaker and a Digital Dealer Conference speaker, to writing for several industry magazines for years, Ezell is well known as an expert in automotive Internet for his statistical approach to analyzing user data to better understand how to sell cars on the Internet. Ezell is currently president and co-founder of Dataium LLC providing consumer behavioral analytics to the automotive industry.

The Future of Fixed Operations in the Digital World
Covering fixed operations digital management and marketing from electronic commerce to mobile commerce to cloud commerce

In this session you will walk away with an understanding and tools to gauge your entrance and success in the digital space. If you are looking for dealer candy this session is not for you. But, if you are looking for the latest easy-to-use tools for e-commerce, want to gain a further understanding of how mobile commerce and technology may be integrated into your Internet program, or want to gain a clearer picture of cloud computing – this session will be packed with how to, when to, where to and what to information, as well as takeaways.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to integrate and blend our digital programs for fixed operations and variable operations and maximize ROI.
2. When to use e-commerce, m-commerce, and c-commerce and pay for click advertising in Google or other social media to obtain qualified low cost leads.
3. Where to put your limited resources of time, money, and people to effectively market, promote, increase absorption, and gain sales in this competitive digital world.
4. What are the best Internet tools, content, processes, platforms, and sources for moving the needle of profitability today, tomorrow and in the future.

Raynard M. Fenster, president/CEO, RayFenster.com LLC, has spent the last several decades working in the digital space with specific expertise in developing innovative e-commerce solutions for Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C). As an e-commerce director for quality organizations, Fenster pioneered cutting edge applications for vendors and OEMs such as ImagicLabs, AVV, Autobase, Reynolds, ADP, Dealerskins, Blackbook, Carfax, eBay, AULtec, Autobytel, Ford, Lexus, and Saturn. He was one of the first Internet professionals that moved e-commerce into fixed operations and social media. He continues to coach and train personnel and has provided training to many of the top Internet managers and directors in the country, both one on one and through his workshops at industry events. His ability to understand technology, how to apply it efficiently online and integrate multiple mediums combined with his passion for developing industry best practices allows him to demonstrate success and improve an organization's ROI. Ray is a regular contributor to several publications and has presented at numerous popular workshops, forums, and conventions. His passion for training personnel, business development, leadership coaching, developing and applying new cost effective technologies, pioneering improved methods for communication and assisting others to grow and prosper.

Mining Sales at ‘The Edge of the Net’
Learn how to mine the sales opportunities available through technology, such as mobile devices and sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to reach consumers where they live and work

In the late ‘90s, as automotive consumers flocked to the web to conduct vehicle research, dealers responded by creating the industry’s first generation of Internet marketing – large portal sites with a wide array of vehicle information designed to educate consumers and capture sales leads.  With the emergence of search engines as traffic drivers, dealers harnessed the power of SEM, SEO and e-mail by creating ever more sophisticated web sites designed to capture this traffic – and the second generation of Internet marketing was born.  

Today, in an era when online users spend more time on Facebook than on Google, auto dealers must change their focus yet again to mine the sales opportunities that lie at “the Edge of the Net,” in places such as mobile devices and sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, where their consumers live and work.  Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to reach your consumers on these platforms and the true business results obtained in this new era of Internet marketing – on the “Edge of the Net.”

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1.  Ways to reach consumers through social sites like Facebook and Twitter
2. Ability to use mobile campaigns and technology to drive business results
3. Ability to post video and use the format to engage and attract additional customers

David A. Fish is chief executive officer of IMN. Fish has over 20 years of leadership experience in electronic publishing, online marketing, data management, direct response and database marketing. 

Previous positions include president/CEO of Avaki Corporation (now part of Sybase); chief operating officer at Engage Technologies, Inc.; and vice president of systems for Epsilon Data Management, Inc. He has also been involved with several private ventures in electronic publishing, including Narrowcast Technologies, Context Media, and Rocket Science Software. He holds a B.S. degree in computer science and electrical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. in information sciences from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Advertising and Selling to 50 Million iPad Owners
Profit from understanding how iPad users shop or lose business to dealers who do

Over three million consumers per month are joining the ranks of iPad lovers, and it is changing the way they shop. Tablets are the first device that bridges the gap between technological touchpoints and human touchpoints in the auto shopping process. They also make it possible for decision makers and influencers to share information side by side, allowing them to pick up facial expressions and other non-verbal cues while discussing what they see on the device. Tablet users are an affluent and trendy section of the car buying public. They are far more likely to purchase new and late-model used vehicles, making them a key target segment franchise dealers cannot ignore. Tablet users have Internet access, but they prefer apps over web sites. This will change dealership marketing and sales metrics. Also covered will how consumers differ in their use of tablets and smartphones within the store.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Check inventory and store exposure across iPad apps and adjust
2. Train on store practices for handling iPad and other tablet-using customers
3. Consider using an iPad to share the transparent marketplace with shoppers and demonstrate the superior value of your offerings
4. Adjust marketing and sales metrics to account for iPad and other tablet shoppers

Nick Gidwani is the CEO and founder of CarZen, the first auto-shopping application exclusively designed for the iPad. After leaving MIT, Gidwani worked at Bain Capital, focused on automotive investments, where he managed $1B in investments. He moved from there to a strategic development role at WebMD.

A popular and dynamic repeat Digital Dealer Conference presenter, Dennis Galbraith is the owner of Revenue Guru and the dealer guru of CarZen. Author of Sales Integration, his list of past clients includes dealer groups, vendors, and nearly every OEM. Galbraith ran $300M in advertising products at Cars.com and the automotive Internet division of J.D. Power and Associates.

Managing Your Online Presence
Learn how to use digital media to tie your reputation, inventory and e-mail together with traditional marketing

Tony Giorgione and Mark Rankin will present straightforward solutions for reputation management, ad words, inventory management and e-mail marketing. Together, Giorgione and Rankin combine over 30 years of proven processes gathered over the years while working in retail and the technology industries.

As the industry has changed over the last several years, participants will learn advanced methods of becoming more efficient and improving the return on campaigns by combining real-time marketing with traditional media. Highlights will be given of how dealers have used SEO, text messaging and call centers to improve customer show rates and capture more market share. Giorgione will identify the power behind Google Local and best practice techniques of reputation management. Find out how creating buy-in of key fundamentals and tools you may already have produce measurable and successful results… selling more cars and increasing service ROs.

Action items attendees will take back to the dealership:
1. Targeting the right customer, at the right time
2. Increase efficiency and return on marketing campaigns
3. Best practices digital strategies
4. Easy reputation management and online culture

Tony Giorgione currently serves as vice president of eLEAD Digital, a division of Data Software Services. His duties include managing dealer web sites, SEO, SEM, e-mail marketing, social published blogging and local publishing for Google, Yahoo and City Search. He has over 20 years experience in the automotive industry with a primary focus on e-commerce, process generation, web site, SEO and e-mail marketing. Prior to starting at eLEAD, Giorgione held a senior executive position for United Auto in Las Vegas. Under his leadership, his team increased sales 40% and maintained a lift in the Internet department through 2008-09, as the economy slipped.

Giorgione’s accomplishments include consistent Internet sales at United Nissan, making them #1 in the nation five out of six months, and increased lead closing by 2.5% at United Hyundai. As a leading member of the automotive community, he has sat on various dealer panels and boards, including Kelly Blue Book, Cars.com, J.D. Power and Chrysler Internet Advisory Committee IAC during 2007-2008.

Mark Rankin has over 25 years experience in technology development and an extensive background in customer relationship management and loyalty marketing. Rankin currently leads eLEAD’s technology efforts from their state-of-the-art development facility based in Florida. He previously served as CTO of American autoXchange prior to its sale to JM Family in 2005.
Prior to starting American autoXchange, Rankin held senior executive positions for such companies as United Airlines Silver Wings Plus, On-Call Vacations and Brierley & Partners. Rankin’s portfolio contains such prestigious companies as Hertz, Neiman Marcus, Jaguar, United Airlines, General Cinemas, Borders Books, Bonus Mail (now MyPoints, a division of United Online, UNTD) and MinderSoft (now Lifeminders).

Six Best Bets for Dealer Online Retailing Success
Get the jump on six advances that will forever change the way dealers sell cars

The demand for complete end-to-end online vehicle sales is growing, and companies are beginning to prove that it can be done efficiently and effectively. Yet most dealer sites still serve as digital brochures that try to immediately push consumers into contacting the dealership, instead of allowing them to progress at their own pace through a number of self-qualifying stages. This presentation will present the six stages of the vehicle digital retailing process and demonstrate how integrating them into a well-defined, continuous cycle will encourage consumers through the sales funnel and maximize the probability of a sale, while allowing for dealer monitoring and control of the entire process. Learn about innovative new tools integral to online success – such as configuration to inventory and payment calculators tied into real bank rates and OEM rebates – and benefit from real-world examples of successful implementations by early adopters.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Attendees will be able to define and describe the stages of the vehicle digital retailing process
2. Attendees will be able to expand digital retailing capabilities to allow consumers to self-qualify themselves and maximize the probability of a dealership visit and sale
3. Attendees will be able to define and implement innovative new tools to develop successful digital retailing applications, including: configuration to inventory, the latest online payment calculator technology, and the most advanced online credit applications
4. Attendees will understand how to maintain control of the sales process despite the fact that more of the steps are completed remotely by consumers online

Robin Goodyer is director of product management, Chrome Systems, and drives product development and enhancement to streamline business processes and promote digital retailing for all facets of the automotive industry. During a 13-year career within sales and marketing with Ford, he held roles in product management and sales analysis, as well as serving as district sales manager and export operations manager. He leveraged this experience in automotive marketing into positions with leading marketing companies including research manager for JATO Dynamics, MD of Polk Marketing Systems (GB) and chief information officer for RoadtoData GmbH.

Jock Schowalter is a technology entrepreneur who formed his first Internet related venture in 1995.  He is now president and founder of DealerPeak; a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) CRM Platform serving the automotive retailing industry.  Schowalter is a thought leader in using Internet technologies to drive efficiencies and increase competitiveness in dealerships across the country. He recently conceived and brought to market an innovative product called WideStorm, which allows buyers and dealers to negotiate directly using a web-based platform.

Over the past couple of years, dealership inventory and sales operations have gone through significant changes. And while these new ways of doing business have been met head on and with much enthusiasm, the benchmarks against which your sales and inventory has been measured have hardly moved at all. John Griffin, a veteran in the automotive industry, will review new key performance indicators and how to hold management teams accountable to ensure compliance and success.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1.  A review of traditional sales metrics and their limitations given the dynamics of today's Internet-driven marketplace
2.  The new key performance indicators and how to use them to improve your used car department
3.  How to hold your managers accountable; focusing on what matters
4. The challenge, evidence and result of change … solutions for success

John Griffin is senior vice president of Performance Management, vAuto, Inc. He brings a wealth of automotive retail experience to the vAuto management team. Griffin has more than 20 years of executive management experience at some of the most successful dealer groups in the country. Designing and implementing highly effective sales and operational management processes throughout his career, he has developed a specialty as an accomplished trainer, providing results-driven best practice programs for all levels of dealership personnel. Griffin has also provided consulting services to manufacturers, re-marketers, auctions and suppliers in the automotive industry. Griffin received his B.S. in economics from the University of Dayton, and his M.B.A. from DePaul University's Graduate School of Business. He has also completed comprehensive management training through OEM executive and dealer development programs.

Taking Control of your Internet Leads and Phone Ups
How to communicate with prospects you cannot see – Internet leads, phone ups and more…

The road to the sale has changed. Our meet and greet is now done electronically either through e-mail or over the phone. Ninety percent (90%) of our prospects search nine different web sites and e-mail or call five different dealerships before ever walking onto any dealership lot.

This means we are one of five dealerships competing at "Who is best answering e-mail inquiries and phone ups?" Are you better than the other four dealerships?

Thanks to the new electronic Internet world, these leads are the fastest growing traffic driver into our stores, yet this continues to be the number one most mishandled area in most dealerships today.
In this session you will learn how to best communicate with these "people we cannot see" and be sure you are the best at getting them from their computers to your showroom.

Halfman's companies were the first to record incoming sales calls in any industry; the first to open a call center to take incoming phone ups for the dealerships; and the first to handle Internet leads. He has listened to, critiqued, and analyzed millions of calls to develop the top automotive words and phrases and scripts for you to take away from this session.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Phone up scripts – new car
2. Phone up scripts – used car
3. Training manual for best words and phrases
4. Internet templates – 90-day e-mail templates for Internet lead follow up

Danny Halfman, president, Halfman Consulting – helping dealers get prospects from their computers into the showroom. After selling cars while attending college Halfman was a founding partner in Marcom Technologies – the first in any industry to record incoming sales calls. With thousands of dealership clients spanning seven countries, Marcom recorded, listened to, critiqued, and charted millions of automotive calls annually. Marcom was purchased by Pat Ryan of AON Corporation. With AON, Halfman started Intercept – the first automotive call center to handle phone ups for dealers. Halfman has twice been a number one rated speaker by attending dealers at the NADA Convention.

Harness the Cloud
Strengthen Internet presence, increase sales, reduce cost

Do you currently list your inventory online? How much do you pay each month to do so? Internet technology is continually evolving, becoming more effective and less expensive. Those who remain in-tune with change stand to profit the most from these changes. Would you like to increase sales and reduce marketing costs (by up to 99%)?  Listening to the needs of consumers and providing them what they want is the very heart of this. Today's consumer knows what they want, they want it now, and they want a deal. You could spend money advertising trying to bring customers to you, or you could integrate all of their needs into your business model and reach them on their terms.

Harness the Cloud: Strengthen Internet Presence, Increase Sales, Reduce Cost promises to be an exciting, moneymaking, cost-cutting session centered on the Internet's newest, hottest practices. Nearly 80% of the U.S. population uses the Internet (over 245 million users); how you can use it to consistently increase sales and save money will be discussed, along with the current state of the auto industry and the direction it is going (in terms of consumerism). Attendees will leave with a newfound understanding of the Internet, namely how it can help them reach more buyers easily, effectively and for the price of their morning coffee.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Simplify and streamline your customer's car shopping experience
2. Engage your customer on his or her terms and listen to your customer's needs
3. Control the conversation while providing the interaction, rich media and information your customer seeks in a transparent, headache-free, on-demand manner
4. Harness the Cloud to accomplish all of the above, while reaching more interested buyers, increasing sales and significantly reducing advertising/listing cost(s)

Jonathan Hedy is executive vice president of BookItOut. He is a graduate of the Fisher School of Accounting, University of Florida. After working with leaders in the BHPH and finance industries, he was hired by BookItOut, Inc. to facilitate its expansion and position it as an innovative, web-based solution that empowers car buyers and sellers. Hedy has been BookItOut's executive vice president since 2009. BookItOut's patented process of data aggregation provides the most accurate vehicle value and market insight. BookItOut now expects to further increase dealers' sales and reduce dealers' costs with its new, consumer-centric web site.

Creating the 'Apple Store Experience' in Dealerships
A look at how a technology-enhanced sales process creates an engaging customer experience that makes your dealership unforgettable

There's a reason why it's packed every time you go into the Apple Store – it's because they've built an "experience" that keeps customers coming back for more. With information readily available online and competition at every turn, people need a compelling reason to buy from you. Professionals in every industry would be wise to take notice of what their customers want and to strive to deliver the ultimate experience. Learn how dealerships can apply these principles to their branding strategy.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to create an engaging experience for customers that also increases sales.
2. How to take advantage of the mobile revolution.
3.Ways to meet today's customers' increased retail expectations.

Jim Hughes, strategy & business development/co-founder of IntellaCar, has been a successful entrepreneur, winning awards and delivering the wow for well-known brands for over 30 years. With an extensive background in creating powerful solutions for both dealers and OEMs, Hughes brings his passion and expertise to the mobile space – with groundbreaking innovations that accelerate the sales process and enhance the customer experience.

Bruce Polkes, marketing, technology & operations/co-founder of IntellaCar has a keen sense for technology and over 25 years of world-class marketing experience. With over a decade of bringing insightful solutions to dealers and OEMs (such as Hyundai, Toyota, Lexus, Honda and Acura), Polkes is a leader in leveraging mobile technology to drive dealership sales and increase customer engagement.

Merchandizzle
To market your inventory profitably, you've got to add more sizzle to the steak, yo!

The majority of your calls and e-leads come from specific inventory listings found online. The content and quality of your online vehicle ads will single-handedly determine your profitability.  Your best bet for success is to incorporate the new, proven fundamentals in online merchandising that maximize all of your online touch points (your web sites, online classifieds, mobile/text, QR codes, Facebook, Youtube and other social media). Utilizing these new digital tactics will improve your organic SEO, lead volume and dealership brand by converting more online lookers into in-store buyers. 

In this fun and informative session, two automotive Internet and inventory merchandising experts will teach you the key elements to improve the way your inventory ads are created and showcased, along with multiple inventory marketing strategies that will earn your dealership street cred (whether you're a little bit country or a little bit rock n' roll… or maybe even a little rap).

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. The attendee will understand the best team structure, staff, time and costs associated with inventory marketing.
2. The attendee will have specific "how-to" best practices to both promote their inventory through inventive pictures, social marketing channels, and technology.
3. The attendee will have a detailed six-step process to write engaging and creative vehicle descriptions to connect to a range of customers (from rural to urban) and convert more lookers to buyers than ever before.
4. The attendee will know how to best utilize video to increase consumer clicks to their inventory listing pages and through to their web site.

Joe Webb is the founder of DealerKnows Consulting, an automotive Internet sales training firm specializing in advancing dealers through both on-site and virtual consulting. Webb has been called "the funniest guy in the car business" and consults nationwide, showing dealerships success by instilling proven Internet marketing practices. He's been a top-rated speaker at Digital Dealer Conferences (eight-time speaker) and a previous writer for Digital Dealer magazine. In the past, he found success in the trenches when he created and managed an award-winning e-commerce department for a Chicago dealer group.

Timmy D. James is a leading automotive digital marketing expert and a well-respected industry trainer. He is the founder of Tim James Consulting and the former director of sales with HomeNet Automotive, where he lead the rapidly-growing automotive digital marketing provider's direct-to-dealer marketing, sales and product initiatives. James has helped thousands of dealers dramatically increase their sales by implementing proven Internet marketing 'best practices' that are consistently employed by top e-dealers nationwide.   

Consumer Perception is your Reality
How to use online channels to overcome consumers' negative perceptions of dealership service departments

Ask consumers to tell you their thoughts about automobile dealership service departments and, chances are, you'll hear that, apart from warranty or recall work, many consumers believe that getting a vehicle serviced at a dealership will be more expensive and/or less convenient than going to an express service chain or an independent repair shop. You can disagree until you're blue in the face, but flatly rejecting consumers' negative perceptions about dealership service departments as wrong does little to dispel these commonly held beliefs. This session will give you actionable ideas for using a variety of online channels and touch points to tackle these misconceptions head on and establish your dealership and service staff as trusted authorities for customers' service needs.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Ideas for branding the service experience at your dealership
2. How to use online channels, such as your website, email and social media sites, to share valuable service information and expertise with consumers and build credibility and trust with consumers in the process
3. How to handle online criticism of your dealership's Service Department in a way that can turn a negative into a positive
4. How these efforts have the added advantage of helping your dealership's service department to be found online by prospective service customers

Kristen Judd is the president and one of the co-founders of 3 Birds Marketing, a hybrid interactive marketing technology company and a marketing agency. 3 Birds provides its automobile dealer clients with content and data driven integrated marketing solutions. 3 Birds is enjoying rapid growth and delivering strong results for leading edge dealer groups nationwide.

In her past life prior to starting 3 Birds, Judd spent 15 years working as a criminal defense and civil rights attorney in California. She was one of the original members of the law office of Bustamante, Gilg, Rahn, Judd, Schultz and Meier in San Francisco.

Social Service Marketing: The Next Frontier for Driving Retention
Learn how digital and social strategies can integrate with your traditional marketing to retain service customers

While many dealerships have invested both time and money into developing a digital and social strategy to attract customers and sell cars, few have considered how to use this new technology to help them build trust and retain customers. In fact, the way dealers integrate their social, digital and traditional marketing approach can significantly improve service retention and fixed absorption.

This session will provide you with ideas and tools you can begin implementing immediately to drive customers to your service department and generate more engagement with your web site and social media. Also learn which social and digital strategies are actually pushing your customers away from your dealership.

We will help you answer these important questions: How can I incorporate social media into my day-today service marketing? Am I providing today's tech-savvy customer with the tools and information they want and expect? How can I leverage these tools to build trust and increase ROs?

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to leverage what you are already spending on digital and social to grow business on the service drive
2. Understand the tools available to not only make your job easier, but how to "wow" your customers
3. How to incorporate social media into your day-to-day service operations
4. Learn how using various technologies can build rapport and trust with customers
5. How to use social and digital to highlight your dealership's value
6. How to use service, parts and body shop to enhance your social and digital strategies
7. Discover which actions could actually be driving customers away from your dealership

Gary Kalk is president and CEO of Dealer-FX, a leader in automotive retail marketing, providing consulting services, marketing and brand effectiveness programs, as well as integrated service retention tools to both dealers and OEMs throughout North America. Kalk is a 25-year veteran of the automotive industry and has worked with and deployed programs for numerous OEMs such as Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Acura, Suzuki, General Motors, Mitsubishi and Subaru, serving over 3,000 dealers.  His awareness of all aspects of dealership operations, his strong understanding of retail marketing systems and processes and his recognition of the importance of the "customer experience" have enabled him to be a leader in driving customer retention and improving dealer profits.

Lombardi, Landry, and Wooden…Great Coaches, Great Managers
How the greatest coaches in sports history would manage your dealership team, and lead them to greatness in the car business

Find out why the greatest coaches in sports history could also have been the greatest managers in the car business. The secrets that were well known to the most successful coaches in organized sports are the same ones used in the new world of ‘organized management’ by the most successful corporations in the world.

They can teach us how to transform our sales teams into champions by using the same principles that they used to create their dynasties. Learn how Lombardi’s method of implementing his ‘work hard, play hard’ philosophy on the field was instrumental in motivating his Packers to crush their competition. And why ‘Winning isn’t a sometime thing, it’s an all the time thing’, and ‘Winning is a habit’ were not just motivational catch phrases, but a culture that the master of the gridiron created in his players and teams.

We will find out why Tom Landry believed that today’s managers are really coaches, and why we must accept the responsibility to lead the players on our teams to ‘do the things they don’t want to do, to get the things that they want’.

And finally, understand why John Wooden became the winningest coach in NCAA history by teaching his players how to ‘tie their shoelaces his way’ and why ‘managing the game was so much more important than managing the score’.

What action items will they take back to the dealerships?
1. Identify and implement the basic processes that were used by the greatest coaches of all time, which must be put into place before any sales organization will be able to transform from mediocrity to greatness. How not to settle for ‘best of the worst’ or ‘worst of the best’ and truly put your team on the path to greatness.
2. How to create a culture of process and accountability in a dealership, and get buy in from your staff to ‘want’ to create this culture, because they cannot imagine going back to doing business the way they used to. They will believe it is the only way to succeed and make the amount of money that they know they should be making.
3. Learn how to create 60% closing percentages instead of the average 18% that most dealerships accept. Learn a simple method for getting your staff to ‘do the things they don’t want to do’.
4. How to teach you sales staff to become their own marketing director, and why business development from within is so vital in the success formula in today’s automotive environment.

Pat Kelly is a 32-year veteran in the auto business. He started his career selling cars in Texas in 1979. He worked his way up to director of finance for Sterling McCall Toyota, the second largest Toyota dealership in the U.S. at the time. He was hired as a district manager for Gulf States Toyota Financial Services (GSFS) and from there moved on to become a general manager for various dealer groups for 14 years. Kelly is currently senior VP for CAR-Research, and devotes a great deal of time as a motivational speaker throughout the U.S. and Canada to automobile dealers and groups.
 

More Facebook Fans Equals More Cars Sold
Seven ways to attract visitors, build genuine fans and generate leads

Facebook is the fastest growing marketplace in your community.  Fifty million current and future car buyers share their 'Likes' with each other every day.  When the goal for your store is to be "liked" by hundreds or even thousands of enthusiastic fans, 30-year car business veteran and social media expert Kathi Kruse shows you how to get them. She shares proven ways to get engaged and motivated fans on your Facebook page. Recent changes by Facebook make quality content the primary way to obtain fans.  Join Kruse as she shows you seven ways to attract and engage your customer, generate leads and sell more cars.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to actively manage and integrate Facebook relationships into your stores' operation.
2. Why 'buy-in' from managers and staff matters.
3. Why gaming the system won't work.
4. How to engage genuine fans to generate leads.

Kathi Kruse is an automotive social media expert, blogger, coach, author and founder of Kruse Control, Inc. Born in the heart of Los Angeles to a family of "car people", her passion for the car business spans a 30-year career managing successful dealerships in Southern California. Krusei is co-author of the book "Next Up – Essential Social Media Strategies for Auto Dealerships". Her Kruse Control blog is the leading automotive social media blog in the U.S.

Why Won't They Speak to Me? Reach, Engage Receptive Car Shoppers
Take the 'curse off the call' with a customer service-type approach

A frustration often expressed by salespeople who regularly follow-up on web-generated leads, no matter the source, is not being able to engage the customer in conversation when they reach them in person. Salespeople often are met with resistance and cannot understand why a customer would voluntarily submit their personal contact information in the form of a lead, yet balk when the dealership reaches out by phone to answer their questions, making it difficult to sell to them if you cannot speak to them. In this session, we can identify the problem and work toward a solution. Attendees will walk away with a better understanding on how to reach more receptive customers with proven word tracks and techniques.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to properly set up the call so you reach and engage more receptive, attentive customers quicker and more often than ever before and minimize follow up notes in your CRM.

2. How to "take the curse off the call" with a "customer service" type approach to remove resistance. Once the door is opened then it is time to switch to "sales" mode

3. Logical and actual real life tested and proven word tracks that can be quickly and easily mastered so you can get started today!

4. CRM notes don't pay the bills; conversations with customers do. Learn how to increase your contact rate to increase your appointment rate and ultimately sales.

Rob Lange is the national sales training director for Kelley Blue Book. His responsibilities include providing educational materials to dealers to enhance their sales processes using Kelley Blue Book Values and services and conducting dealer webinars to educate dealerships on the power of the Kelley Blue Book brand. Lange develops "best practices" documents for dealerships, contributes monthly articles to industry publications and regularly speaks at related conferences. Lange authored "Selling the Online Mortgage Customer," a comprehensive sales guide for maximizing results with online borrowers, and has conducted more than 350 webinars for more than 5,000 attendees.

Increasing Sales through Database Mining and Equity-based Marketing
A practical, hands-on session on how dealerships should mine their customer database to drive qualified traffic and increase customer retention, sales, and market share

Every dealer knows their customer database is their most valuable asset, but most do not know how to leverage it. In this session, we will show how to mine your database efficiently, resulting in 10-30 incremental sales each month. We will discuss how to combine your inventory needs (which models you need to sell, which you need as trades) with your manufacturer's incentives to develop an appropriate campaign, and then determine the precise customer list for that campaign. We will show how to separate your database by transaction type (finance vs. cash vs. lease vs. service-only customers) and treat each differently. We will also cover how to determine the equity your customers have in their current vehicle to determine which of them are likely in market and able to purchase a new vehicle keeping their payment the same or lower with no money down (how many times have you heard a customer say, "I'll buy it if I can keep my payment the same!").

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Ensuring their dealership is retaining at least five years of customer data
2. Developing a plan for communicating with each customer transaction type
3. Determining the equity each customer has in their current vehicle
4. Getting buy-in throughout the dealership to mine their customer data and communicate with customers on an ongoing basis.

Allen Levenson is VP Sales & Marketing for Prospect Vision, a 10-year old company that helps hundreds of dealerships mine their customer database and drive sales and customer retention and whose clients include Autonation, Penske, and many others. Prior to Prospect Vision, Levenson spent eight years as VP Sales & Marketing of Asbury Automotive Group, a publicly-traded dealer group with over 120 franchises. Previously, Allen was founder of a leading business-to-consumer e-commerce site and a consultant with McKinsey and Bain & Company. He has an MBA in marketing from Wharton Business School and a BA from Tufts University.

Loyalty Programs in a Digital World: Why You Need One and How to Build One
Discover what frequent flier programs already prove: loyalty programs will give you the best ROI in your digital marketing strategy

Increase your repurchase loyalty, service loyalty and overall profitability. Learn what the airline industry, hospitality industry and the top auto dealers already know: loyalty programs can increase bottom line profitability up to 85%. Paul Long defines what customer loyalty programs are and why they are essential in today's digital world. From his experience in building national loyalty programs in multiple verticals, Long will share what makes a loyal customer and why you want them in your dealership. He will also provide valuable tips to help your business build a loyalty program to create and keep customers. Loyalty allows you to reap the benefits from customers' ongoing relationships: increased car sales and fixed operations gross profit.

Learn how to build a loyalty program that motivates action. This seminar will give your dealership the tools and know-how to develop a loyalty strategy that will increase car sales and fixed operations gross profit.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. After completing this workshop, the you will know how to unify sales and fixed operations marketing with a loyalty program
2. You'll also be able to calculate the effect which customer loyalty has on bottom-line profitability.
3. You'll learn how to identify and track three main benefits of successful loyalty programs and loyalty marketing initiatives.
3. After completing the workshop you will be able to develop a loyalty marketing strategy that works for all levels of the organization.

Paul Long, president of re:member group, has been increasing customer loyalty for 15 years. He was integral to the development of the Northwest Airlines WorldPerks Program and has since used his extensive knowledge of and experience with loyalty programs to help businesses worldwide. Long particularly enjoys working with auto dealerships, and he has employed new technologies and cutting-edge strategies to create a state-of-the-art infrastructure for effective communications, member tracking, and rewards distribution.

How Technology Can Increase F&I Sales

Discover strategies to increase customer engagement and speed up the F&I process.

This workshop will explain how to identify technology based solutions to dramatically enhance the customer’s F&I experience. Since customer engagement is a key component to increasing product penetrations, this program will showcase a variety of different strategies and platforms to accomplish this objective. As a result, dealerships will increase F&I sales while providing full documentation of each transaction by implementing these elements.

Generation X & Y buyers live in a world of streaming data and electronic content and often become disinterested during traditional paper based transactions. Today’s business manager must be equipped with the most consumer oriented presentation tools to break the preoccupation of buyers. 

Market pressures have diminished profit margins on the sale of both new and used vehicles. Consequently, the need to grow F&I revenue is critical to maintaining strong dealership cash flow. Additionally, factory incentives are commonly linked to customer satisfaction scores that integrate the F&I and paperwork experience as a key component of those survey results.

Participants will learn how to adapt the best technology resources to enhance the customer experience thus achieving superior per vehicle retail profit while maintaining a defensible compliance strategy!

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to effectively engage buyers by integrating both tactile and visual elements into their F&I menu presentation
2. Identify tools to track productivity of individual performance to coach F&I producers and maintain compliance.
3. Attendees will leave with practical strategies on how to increase sales by improving the customer experience during the F&I menu presentation.

Kirk Manzo is president of the The Manzo Group, a firm that specializes in providing dealerships with on-site training and consulting solutions to increase dealership profitability. He has consulted and trained dealerships since 2002 across the U.S. as well as in Latin America in the areas of sales, sales management and F&I. He has presented workshops at the 2008 NADA Convention, the Puerto Rico Auto Show, and NADA 20 groups. Kirk is a member of the American Society of Training and Development & the National Speakers Association.

Driving Traffic to Fixed Operations
 
Learn how to implement cost-effective marketing strategies designed to increase your fixed operations sales. This session will introduce you to 10 marketing approaches for your services and parts departments and walk you through the steps needed to implement each.   Topics will include running effective email campaigns, leveraging YouTube, Facebook and Google coupons, implementing a how-to-blog and more.
 
What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
· Tips for running effective e-mail campaigns
· Tips for publishing content on YouTube
· Implementing a how-to-blog
· Setting up your Google Business Listing
· Tips for running coupon campaigns

Robert McClurg is the co-founder and CEO of Stonemeta, Inc., founded in 2008. Stonemeta is a professional marketing firm offering a strategic suite of automotive social media management services. With more than 20 years of experience working with web-related technologies, leading marketing and creating teams, and launching start-up companies, McClurg brings a unique strategy to social media for the automotive industry.

Unified Marketing: The Importance of Social, Mobile and Video
Learn how to combine the power of social, mobile and video in your marketing mix

Want to dominate your local market on Google? Interested in sharing compelling stories that turn online researchers into buyers? Joe Mescher will teach you how – and why – you need to use the latest digital technologies to capture people's attention on mobile devices in this socially connected marketplace. We'll also discuss why custom videos created by people who are intimately familiar with your dealership are needed to succeed across multiple networks (web site, Facebook and Google Places to name a few). By the end of this intense workshop you will have access to a powerful set of action items for growing your brand presence online in ways that inspire your community of raving fans that await you.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to create and share compelling testimonial videos across multiple social networks
2. How to build the 'perfect' Google Places page
3. How to get first to market with compelling content using mobile devices like the iPad2
4. How to drive positive reviews of your store from fans in the community

Joe Mescher is a digital marketing director at Dealer.com and an adjunct professor of Internet marketing at Champlain College in Burlington, VT. He is a Michigan native and graduate of Michigan State University with a BA in marketing. In addition to five years of digital marketing experience in Chicago, he is Google AdWords Certified. His work is focused on developing new social, SEO, SEM and video strategies for dealers and dealer groups in the U.S. and Canada.

It's all about the Show, Baby!
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.

In this session, dealers will get a great education (and have some fun) on how to focus on the numbers within the numbers, looking at metrics around lead to show and show to close, and how they can affect change with customers that submit leads. We will also focus on how dealers can differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market so that they can win market share at the fraction of the cost of the dealerships down the street.

David Metter brings significant experience and a countless number of integral relationships to the automotive industry. He has the ideal and diverse background to assist dealers and vendors achieve their goals of raising market share and lowering advertising costs through innovative technology and best practices.  

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Have a full understanding on how to influence customer behavior when they are shopping online.
2. Fishing where the fish are! Concentrating on the low funnel and driving the highest quality customer into their showroom.
3. Understanding the real meaning behind the terms lead to show and show to close and seeing how these two definitions can literally change their business overnight.

David Metter is president of automotive for HookLogic. Metter has intimate knowledge of dealerships through his experiences beginning on the retail side where he was ranked as one of the top Chrysler salesmen in the country.  His continued success allowed him to advance through the dealership organization chart to general manager. He also worked on the vendor side of the business with a leadership position at Autobase, Inc., the industry's leading CRM company. As a result of his success at Autobase, Metter was recruited and accepted a position with MileOne- Atlantic Automotive, the Mid-Atlantics' largest automotive group. He was responsible for overhauling organizational practices including operations, advertising, marketing, Internet lead management, e-commerce, recruitment, corporate training, and the effective redesign of more than 90 dealership web sites.
Metter is regarded as one of the foremost experts in the automotive marketing and e-commerce space but his ability to execute on a set strategy is his great strength. He is a highly regarded international speaker and has built significant relationships with key players in the automotive industry.

Radical Shifts in Car Shopping Behavior from 2007 to Present
And how to harness their implications

Attendees will get invaluable insight into how the online behavior of car shoppers has dramatically changed from 2007 according to Google, YouTube, Facebook, and others, and strategies to capitalize on the shifts in shoppers' online activities throughout the buying funnel. For instance, attendees will learn…

• That 50% of all online car shoppers buy within 6 weeks of first searching for make and model… and how to capture their attention right then, wherever they are online
• That 80% say they used Google when searching for make and model… and how to beat out other Google Adwords advertisers
• That 25% of all car shoppers used mobile web to conduct some portion of their research… and where in the buying process they used it most, enabling you to precisely focus your mobile marketing to their greatest need at that stage in the purchasing process.
• And this is just slide 1!

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Insights into industry trends and online shopping behaviors
2. Strategies to capitalize on the shifts in shoppers' online activities throughout the buying funnel
3. Best practices in inventory management of the top dealerships to ensure your dealership and inventory are in front of shoppers at each decision juncture in the buying process
4. How to engage shoppers online… wherever they are and whatever they're doing

Mike Mitson is director of sales for HomeNet Automotive, the leading provider of online inventory marketing solutions.  Mike and his team are responsible for all direct-to-dealer initiatives in the Eastern half of the U.S.  Formerly senior account manager at Autobytel and southeast regional manager at Zag.com, Mike has over 20 years of sales, management, and marketing experience in the automotive industry helping dealers, large dealer groups, and OEMS to profitably sell more cars.

Becoming a 10x Dealership
It takes exposure, best practice follow-up and competitive pricing to drive maximum sales and profit

There are 10 key building blocks to 10X Internet success. They are:
· Competitive used car pricing
· Effective used car merchandising
· Competitive new car pricing
· Optimized Internet structure
· Optimized lead management process
· Dealer website SEO optimized
· Optimal third party lead buying
· Social media optimized
· Promotions optimized
· A continuous improvement discipline
 
Each key building block entails a series of disciplines that, if mastered, provides an important stepping stone toward Internet success. Lead volume + effective lead management = sales.
 
Maximum lead volume: Competitive pricing, aggressive merchandising, and maximizing visibility (dealer web site, third-party lead providers, social media, promotions) are the keys to driving lead volume.  Leverage these critical success factors intelligently.
 
Effective lead management: When a lead arrives at your dealership, it is the "moment of truth". That lead has gone to two or three other dealerships; it's up to you to win the battle for the customer's trust. Effective structure and Internet lead response process are the keys to ensuring leads turn into sales.
 
Continuous improvement: In every building block on the way to success, the opportunities for continuous improvement are legion. As you increasingly master the 10 key building blocks to 10X Internet success, you will drive more total profit. As you do, you can invest in more leads and more sales reps, creating a virtuous cycle of growth. So the very best dealers are never satisfied—they always stretch to higher levels of performance via a "continuous improvement discipline". The dealer who commits himself to mastery in all 10 building blocks of Internet success is well on his way to becoming a "10X dealership".

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. An understanding of the key building blocks of "10X" Internet success
2. How to sequence these building blocks in the right order to ensure sustainable growth.
3. How to manage the end-to-end lead process so as to optimize the customer experience and increase the likelihood of a sale.
4. How to build lead volume over time to drive continuous profit growth

Tom Mohr is co-founder, president and CEO of ResponseLogix, a venture-backed digital marketing company helping auto dealers improve close rates on Internet leads. Prior to ResponseLogix, Mohr was president of Knight Ridder Digital, where he was on the board of Cars.com. Over the past 26 years, Mohr has held a series of senior roles, including Knight Ridder corporate director for classifieds, where he oversaw $800M in revenue responsibility including $200M in automotive advertising revenue. He has an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BA in Political Science from Queen's University in Canada.

Consumer Communication is Changing, Are You?
Phone and e-mail aren't the only ways consumers are communicating these days. Learn how to broaden your chances to communicate with your customers via new paths

With traditional BDC/Internet departments focusing on just phone and e-mail, the opportunity for disconnect with the customer grows! New communication paths give so many verticals to engage with consumers, forcing us to broaden our scope on how we communicate. Do you want to learn how to create a great customer experience and increase your engagement by using SMS, chat, social media, and webcam? Then don't miss out on this session at DD11.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Acknowledging the communication verticals available to reach and engage customers.
2. How to integrate the different communications into your dealership.
3. Process for each communication vertical, so the customer's experience is the same no matter what method of communication.
4. How to make your smartphone work for you inside the dealership.

Dan Moore is the CEO of Smart Web Concepts, Inc. With his wide array of experience in automotive sales and management, he has a unique perspective: he's a big-idea thinker with boots-on-the-ground experience in leveraging the Internet to increase sales for a number of dealerships and dealership groups throughout Northern California. Today, Moore helps dealers get ahead of the Internet steamroller so they aren't flattened by their competition. He creates smart Internet strategies using social media, search engines, and online advertising to maximize dealers' people, processes and advertising budgets.

Social Media Works
Remember the days of face recognition and outstanding customer service? Well, they're back. Social media allows you to provide unparalleled levels of customer service in a scalable fashion.

When our grandparents were coming of age, businesses in America were truly small and therefore were able to develop an in-depth understanding of their customers. This resulted in personalized customer service that consistently exceeded expectations. Fast-forward to today, and what are considered "small" businesses still have hundreds, if not thousands, of customers. Technology has long promised the ability for businesses to interact with a large number of customers in a personalized way, and social media is no exception. Many view social media as no more than a series of witty comments, groups of followers, and online reputation reviews. However, utilized correctly social media offers the opportunity to better understand customers and provide an experience beyond their expectations.  In this session, Matt Murray will discuss the scalability of personalized customer service in the social age. He'll also provide concrete examples of how to leverage social media to develop insight on customer behavior, create true connections, and convert them into sales.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Know how to find your influencers and what impact they may have on their dealership
2. Clearly understand the long-term potential of a well thought out and executed social media presence
3. Dealers will advocate for better information sharing architecture and process between the manufacturer, their agencies and themselves

Matt Murray is the director of digital marketing at Dealer.com. His knowledge of search and social media has allowed him to become an irreplaceable resource for both employees and clients. He is an expert in automotive Internet marketing and has helped thousands of dealers maximize their investment in Internet marketing and Dealer.com's tools and business processes.

How to Recruit, Screen, Hire and Train Internet Sales Professionals for the Best and Greatest Likelihood of Success and Retention
How important is it to hire and train the right people while building a sales team that can convert opportunities created by marketing into actual sales results?

Organizational development is more important than ever before…with many dealers losing staff while cutting costs during the depths of the recession, those that are growing their business need effective strategies, tools and tactics for attracting, screening and hiring the best Internet sales professionals with the greatest chance of achieving their own personal success, as well as sales productivity for the dealership. This session will explore organizational development strategies, recruiting, screening, hiring and training tools as well as the materials and processes that the most successful dealers in America have been using for years, and are being used today as a means of increasing success in the hiring process. Ralph Paglia will share the tools and processes he has used to build some of the most successful Internet sales departments in America while teaching attendees what the essential "must haves" are, and how to get them when seeking to grow your sales departments into high performance digital marketing to sales conversion engines.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Set up online automotive sales professional screening for their dealership(s)
2. Use "gaming" simulations to attract and recruit the best sales talent
3. How to evaluate which sales candidates are worth the time to interview
4. Create a job description that attracts the best Internet sales professionals

Ralph Paglia has 20-plus years of leadership in information technology enabled automotive marketing strategy and tactical implementation. Widely known as the outspoken director of Digital Marketing at ADP Dealer Services, Paglia is now vice president of Digital at Tier 10 Marketing. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of America's leading social network for automotive marketing and sales professionals. The Automotive Digital Marketing (ADM) Professional Community provides an online exchange for strategies, tactics, best practices, files, images, videos and professional networking amongst marketing professionals working in the car business. Paglia has presented critically acclaimed workshops at each of the 10 previous Digital Dealer Conferences.

Guerrilla Marketing and Competitive Conquest Advertising Strategies for the Web
See multiple case studies and detailed examples showcasing dealers who use the Internet to take market share away from their competition

The online marketing and advertising strategies that attendees will learn in this session are not for the timid or faint of heart. Ralph Paglia will be presenting the current and updated version of his famous 2nd Digital Dealer Conference workshop that identified stealth tactics used by highly aggressive dealers to divert traffic originally intended and bound for the competition to the aggressor's web sites and landing pages. As controversial as several of these techniques are, many of which are banned in over a dozen countries, you will want to learn about them so you can recognize when they are used against your dealership. With today's technologies and the sophisticated messaging and advertising systems available, there are more ways than ever before for aggressive dealers to take their competition's customers away from them. Attendees will be provided with online tools and techniques to see exactly which keywords the competition is bidding on in Google, how much budget they have allocated for their web site's advertising, how to use your dealer advertising association's own web site to take customers from other dealers and how to select the "weakest gazelle" from among the herd of dealers in your market to "take down".

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Create dealership Google Adwords account
2. Register competitive conquest domain names
3. Build guerrilla marketing microsites and landing pages
4. Determine your market's weakest gazelle for conquest

Ralph Paglia has 20-plus years of leadership in information technology enabled automotive marketing strategy and tactical implementation. Widely known as the outspoken director of Digital Marketing at ADP Dealer Services, Paglia is now vice president of Digital at Tier 10 Marketing. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of America's leading social network for automotive marketing and sales professionals. The Automotive Digital Marketing (ADM) Professional Community provides an online exchange for strategies, tactics, best practices, files, images, videos and professional networking amongst marketing professionals working in the car business. Paglia has presented critically acclaimed workshops at each of the 10 previous Digital Dealer Conferences.

A Compliance Process to Increase Sales and Profits while Avoiding Huge Fines at the Same Time
Staying compliant can actually bring consistency to your sales process resulting in higher sales and grosses!

This workshop will show you how to synergize the sales and compliance processes into a single, consistent and effective system of checks and balances. With the lessons you learn, you will be able to show your sales force how to comply with the law and get higher grosses on each sale because they follow the same system every time. We'll help you understand how to use your current CRM to review and monitor your sales and compliance processes. Finally, we will help you identify weaknesses in your sales process and show you how to use your compliance process to bring new strength to it.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. An understanding of the regulations and how they apply to their dealership
2. A new method for combining the sales and compliance process
3. How to use a CRM to monitor and track your sales and compliance performance
4. Methods for identifying weakness and turning it into strengths

John Palmer is the president and CEO of Dealer Marketing Services, Inc., the maker of both ProMax Unlimited and ProCredit Express. After 12 years in the retail auto industry, Palmer started Dealer Marketing Services in 1994 and designed the first version of ProMax to help dealerships desk and maximize their profit opportunities. Today ProMax Unlimited is a complete dealership front end sales application that combines, every type of desking, inventory, CRM, ILM, credit bureaus and compliance in one seamless web based application. Dealer Marketing Services currently has over 1,500 franchise and independent dealerships using its products and services, and is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry.

Driving Female Shoppers to your Dealership: Real Data for Real Results
Leading experts from Polk, Kelley Blue Book and WomenCertified will share critical insights on the female car shopper.

In this panel conversation, you will learn how to build sales and loyalty among women online and throughout her buying process.  This real data, paired with key insights, will revolutionize the way you market and sell to the most influential consumer – women! 

In this session you will learn:
·How women truly differ than men, online and offline
·Key items that will compel her to submit a lead
· Proven tactics on how to really make money with female customers
· Surprising facts on the lifetime value of women vs. men – and how to grow those $$
· The leading loyalty issues that affect women and your future sales!

Moderator:
Delia Passi is CEO of Medelia Inc. and founder of WomenCertified. Passi is the nation’s leading authority on selling to women and the nation’s leading woman consumer advocate as seen on most major networks, as well a regular on Fox Business Network and Lifetime’s morning show The Balancing Act.

Passi advises her corporate clients on how to better understand their female customers, and supports them in becoming the very best when it comes to increasing sales, improving customer service, and retaining the loyalty of these hard-earned consumers. Her series of sales training programs are based on years of research and experience in understanding and translating the nuances of how women approach the buying cycle and how they need to be communicated with during that process. Passi is also the author of Winning the Toughest Customer, The Essential Guide to Selling to Women (Kaplan, 2006)

Panelists:
Brad Smith is director of Polk's Loyalty Management Practice, and leads a team solely focused on helping OEMs and retailers retain their respective customers through diagnostic, predictive and advisory services. In this role, he often integrates disparate data sources to identify the root cause of complex owner loyalty-related issues. Smith is a veteran of the United States Air Force, has a B.S. in Organization Administration from Central Michigan University and has more than 17 years of experience as an information technology consultant and management professional.

Rebekah King is the senior consumer communications manager for Kelley Blue Book. In this role, she works closely with various departments within the company to create and manage new social programs that enhance the overall consumer experience with the Kelley Blue Book brand. She also works regularly with the editorial team to bring the company’s original content to its social channels, including video, reviews and automotive news.  Furthermore, King is charged with socializing all interesting consumer information from the company’s market intelligence team, including vehicle value trends, shopper activity and industry insights.  King also is responsible for developing and implementing programs that increase brand awareness in the consumer marketplace, while increasing traffic to the company’s web site (www.kbb.com) and social channels.

The Emergence of Social Media Marketing
Taking control of the fastest growing marketing channel

Social media is the fastest growing marketing channel. According to the independent research firm Forrester Research, Inc.*, social media marketing will grow annually at a 34% compound rate through 2014. According to this same report, social media marketing will amount to a $3.1 billion industry, surpassing e-mail marketing in terms of spending. Social media marketing is more than just setting up a Facebook page and creating/monitoring the dealership brand. It's time for the dealers to get more sophisticated.
Attend this session to get advice on the play of social media marketing within your existing marketing mix.

*Forrester Research, Inc. "U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2009-2014", July 2009

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

In this session, we will cover the broadening reach of social media marketing and how dealers can benefit from this ever-growing marketing channel. We will also cover and discuss the importance of:
• Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter
• Dealership blogs
• User review sites

Amy Peck is a retail automotive veteran specializing in dealership digital marketing. As a digital marketing supervisor for Naked Lime Marketing, Peck leads the team responsible for helping dealers be first in mind by ranking high in search results. She is instrumental in guiding paid search strategies that help dealers maximize results from paid advertising campaigns. In addition, she is responsible for the various aspects of SEO, social marketing and reputation management around the dealership. With her roots in product planning, she has experience in all aspects of the online dealership, including improving core web site capabilities and fixed operations best practices.
 

The New Normal
Understanding the path to purchase

As a result of two brand new research studies from Polk and KS&R, we now know for the first time ever how much time car buyers spend on the car shopping process, how much time they spend online versus offline, and which sites they spend their time on. Likewise, we have important new insights about consumers' vehicle cross-shopping habits as well as the automotive purchase funnel. Consequently, we can draw some important conclusions about how automotive advertising can effectively influence car buyers during the shopping process. In addition, we will reveal how search engines and social networking sites factor into the equation.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Understand the importance and value of a comprehensive online advertising strategy
2. Delivering contextually relevant advertising messages that effectively influence car shoppers
3. Recommendations for the roles of search and social networking in the dealership's online marketing
4. Insights into consumer cross-shopping behavior and a new perspective on the automotive purchase funnel

Howard Polirer is director, Industry Education of AutoTrader.com. As one of the nation's premier automotive educators, Polirer has taught thousands of dealers about effective online marketing at hundreds of conferences for national, state and local dealer associations. He has also served as a dealership consultant for over 25 major dealer groups across the U.S.

Previously, he owned his own automotive sales training and consulting company and also served as executive vice president of an automotive training company serving automotive clients, OEMs and associations. With over 30 years of experience in the retail automotive business, Polirer has extensive dealership expertise, having grown from a salesman at a Toyota dealership to sales manager and then to general manager for a Volkswagen, Subaru and Chevrolet dealership.

What Exactly is a Lead Today?
Why '1.0' selling is required in a 2.0 world

In today's web 2.0 world, Internet leads and selling online are nothing new. But too many dealers aren't taking full advantage of the sales potential the Internet brings, causing them to lose sales unnecessarily. The reason? The sales process. Today's consumers – especially Internet consumers – are more educated and have higher expectations than ever before. This session will present data from exclusive CarsDirect.com surveys on the current state of online consumer car shopping behavior and customer expectations. We'll provide actionable tips on how to adapt your current sales process for this new breed of car shopper, including how to better nurture a lead into a sale. Attendees will walk out with a new perspective on what a lead is, and how to convert more leads into sales with a refocused and highly adaptable sales process. We'll also provide tips on how to spread this process throughout your organization to sell more cars store-wide.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1. How to understand a consumer's intent online from the first interaction.
2. How to respond to this intent and show value to the consumer
3. How to share these skills with your entire organization
4. How to use these skills to increase the number of repeat customers to your organization.

Ken Potter is vice president, sales, of CarsDirect.com and oversees all automotive dealer products, dealer sales, and dealer support for the leading Internet car buying service. Potter also oversees all consumer activity across the CarsDirect family of automotive web sites, and ensures CarsDirect delivers both an exceptional shopping experience for the consumer and an incremental ROI for CarsDirect dealer partners. Prior to joining the CarsDirect team in 2001, Potter honed his leadership skills as a general manager at Carmax during the company's initial store rollout. After five years of managing high-traffic stores, he took what he learned offline and brought that consumer experience to online customers.

Riding the Wave of Digital Domination
Strategies for winning in the new, more consolidated, search and social landscape
 
The once fractured digital ocean is now being tamed into a well-tuned communication, collaboration and revenue engine. How does this change the online voyage of a car buyer? What can local car dealers do to stay ahead of the changes, navigate the rough waters, and benefit from the new world order? Ryan Pryor and Michael Sos will lead an interactive discussion on how you can utilize new SEO, reputation management, lead generation and social networking techniques to successfully ride the wave of digital domination.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1. How to get the most out of third party "places" pages and integrate them into your overall digital marketing strategy.
2. How to track and influence user generated content on social and reputation sites.
3. How to implement brand awareness SEO and social search strategies earlier in the lead funnel.
4. How to instill a culture of transparency and reputation awareness that will help you ride the digital domination wave.

Ryan Pryor is director of the search and analytics team at Dealerskins where he is responsible for managing the SEO/SEM strategy and implementation for Dealerskins’ clients. He has experience managing organic and paid search and analytics for a variety of industries including automotive websites, home and automobile warranties, restaurant supply and healthcare products, as well as a number of local and national clients and lead generation companies.
 
Michael Sos is the product manager for reputation management solutions at Dominion Dealer Solutions. He has 15 years of experience working in online marketing and more than 10 years working specifically in automotive. Sos has worked for IBM Interactive Media, as well as several smaller boutique Internet agencies before joining Dominion. As director of product development at Carloan.com, he helped design, build and launch products in third party lead generation, online lead management, direct mail, automated e-mail follow-up and affiliate marketing. His role over the last two years has been to design innovative solutions and strategies for car dealers to manager their reputation. The tools he has helped design are now used across the country in not only car dealerships but also in hotels and other small businesses.

Creating a Dealership Social Media Policy With Teeth
Best practices for building your brand while staying out of court

Millions of people now have social media accounts, and your employees are certainly among them. Chances are that they're interacting with customers, friends, relatives, coworkers, and the world at large about their work and your business. It makes sense to come up with a social media policy that's both practical and legally defensible. In this workshop, the speaker will discuss how to avoid the legal risks associated with improper employee social media use. Topics include:
• Acceptable employee uses of social media
• Social media use in employment decisions
• Potential harassment or defamation claims
• Privacy and copyright concerns
• Posting of reviews, endorsements, and testimonials
• Compensation issues with online reviews
• Advertising on social media sites
• Best practices for maintaining and enforcing your social media policy
• Best practices for creating an overall atmosphere of ethical, transparent disclosure.
• Practical tips on creating a social media policy that best fits your organization's specific needs and operations.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Social media policy ideas and best practices to help protect the dealership's interests by establishing clear disclosure policies for staff, agencies, and vendors
2. Identification of various issues pertaining to development of a solid social media policy that will not only help protect the dealership from legal claims, but help empower personnel to participate in this new frontier of marketing and communications, positively represent their company, and enhance you're their valuable brand.
3. A comprehensive social media policy template that can be used to create your own policy.
4.The information needed to minimize confusion about potential social media legal issues

Jim Radogna is president of Dealer Compliance Consultants, Inc. Before founding Dealer Compliance Consultants, Radogna developed a strong background in dealership operations, having spent over 15 years in dealership management. His experience includes working in diversified roles such as sales manager, F&I director, general manager, and training director. In addition, he served as compliance officer for a large auto group, where he developed and integrated a comprehensive compliance program. Being well-versed in all aspects of dealership operations, he has used his knowledge and industry experience to develop unique, no-nonsense compliance and reputation management solutions for automobile dealerships of all sizes. These programs are designed to not only protect dealerships from liability, but also greatly enhance the company's reputation, increase profitability through consistent processes, and increase customer satisfaction and retention.

The Value of the New Transparent Selling Process
Improve closing ratios and gross profits by replacing negotiation with compelling and credible documentation

One of the greatest challenges that has occurred in the used vehicle industry is the recognition that a vehicle needs to be priced to sell rather than to negotiate. As dealers have come to this enlightened recognition, they have experienced a great deal of difficulty managing profitability.  This session will examine the rules of proper pricing and the corresponding implication for the selling process. Bill Reidy will demonstrate how using documentation in place of negotiation in today’s Internet-driven used car environment will reduce the amount of discount in the showroom to drive bottom line results.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to use a pricing tool with examples in every sales meeting.  
2. How to replace documentation with negotiation.
3. How to change the commission structure at the dealership and institute commission tracking

Bill Reidy, director of sales, vAuto, Inc. Reidy brings a wealth of automotive retail experience to the vAuto management team. He has more than 18 years of executive management experience at some of the most successful dealer groups in the country. Designing and implementing highly effective sales and operational management processes throughout his career, he has developed a specialty as an accomplished trainer, providing results-driven training programs for all levels of dealership personnel. He received his B.A. in History with a minor in Education from the University of Baltimore, and is a graduate of NADA Dealers Academy.

Creating a Gen Y Experience at your Store
Tips for selling and retaining millennial customers
 
The 80 million members of Gen Y are challenging everything about the structure of traditional businesses. From apps, iPads, text messaging, and social media, along with the Internet a new world of retailing opportunities and challenges abound. These "digital natives" seek an experience that is often foreign to businesses operated by different generations. Businesses that don't adapt are falling by the wayside. Dealerships that understand the needs of the new consumer will gain marketplace competitive advantages. Today Gen Y buys 25% of new vehicles; by the end of 2012 they will purchase 40% of all vehicles sold. As long as you remain a dealer or dealership employee they will be your primary customer. Therefore, it is incumbent upon dealerships to deeply understand the new needs of this generation and make significant adjustments to their current processes and procedures. At DD11 Mark Rikess will share insights into what has made this generation so different, the experience in buying and servicing vehicles they prefer, and specifically the changes dealerships need to make in order to create an experience that not only appeals to this generation but most of the previous ones as well.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Specific methods for selling to Gen Y
2. Tips for managing Gen Y
3. Gen Y recruiting strategies
4. Gen Y compensation strategies

Beginning as a second-generation automotive dealer, Mark Rikess began with an early focus on performance improvement and implementation of leading edge dealership practices. He founded The Rikess Group (TRG) in 1991 and is widely recognized with championing the One Price Selling movement employed at over 150 franchises. Corporate clients include AutoTrader.com, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Ford among others. He has been widely quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and the New York Times. He is also the founder of www.digitalairstrike.com – a service that allows dealers to outsource their social media and reputation management activities and www.greendealersupport.com – a company that helps dealers develop a strategy to become "greener" – resulting in cost savings and dealership differentiation.

The Anti-overview: Specific Tips for ‘Customer-first’ Selling 
Our new customer expectations’ study, translated into hands-on techniques

If you’re a pilot, you love a good 10,000 foot view. If you’re a dealer, you need meaty, actionable insight you can bring back to the dealership and apply ASAP. Our brand new Cobalt 2010-2011 Automotive EShopper Experience study delivers just that. This session offers a succinct “news you can use” analysis of current customer expectations across three main areas: online shopping, lead management, and showroom experience. Come hear practical insights you can implement in the dealership on Monday.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1.  A digital marketing action plan designed to exceed consumer online marketing expectations.
2.  An inbound and outbound phone analysis to help increase dealership appointment ratios.
3.  An e-mail lead handling action plan that aligns with consumer shopping expectations.
4.  A showroom “road to the sale” action plan for a better consumer shopping experience.

Rich Rikess, ADP Digital Marketing, Performance Improvement Consultant. Born into the automotive industry, Rikess has emerged as one of the industry’s premier speakers and trainers. His client list includes nearly every top 10 dealer group plus OEM clients such as Infiniti, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen, Lexus, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC.

While Rikess specializes in live seminars and webinars, he is most at home inside the dealership where he carries a thorough understanding of dealer-level concerns and opportunities. He is highly regarded throughout the automotive industry due to his digital expertise and his ability to ‘speak the language,’ which enables his clients to attain higher-than-ever levels of performance.

Five Keys to Achieving Volume with Margin in an Online World
Learn how to drive more traffic, more volume, and stronger closing rates at solid margins

With 88% of consumers going to the Internet before buying a car, and the average consumer spending 6.5 hours online researching, the "amateur" who buys a car every two to three years often knows more than the "pro" in the dealership. The transparency of the Internet can hurt closing rates and pressure profit margins. Yet, the Internet doesn't have to mean the end of solid per vehicle profitability.

INCISENT has researched and analyzed the emerging online behavior and decision-making of the online car shopper. Ryan will share cutting edge insights on how online auto shoppers are shopping, as well as how they are making decisions on where to buy and what to pay. He will identify the specific places where dealers lose consumers online and in the store. Finally, Ryan will introduce five proven keys to overcoming those challenges, driving more traffic, more volume, and stronger closing rates at solid margins.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Share research in to the emerging online behavior of today's online car shopper, and how they make decisions on where to buy.
2. Identify the specific places where dealers lose customers online and in the store and why it happens.
3. Introduce five proven keys to solving these issues that enable dealers to drive more traffic, more volume, and stronger closing rates at solid margins.

Pat Ryan Jr. is the CEO and co-founder of INCISENT Technologies, makers of FirstLook and MAX Systems. He is focused on a single mission: helping businesses achieve unprecedented success by applying new thinking to traditional industries. Through his pioneering work in consumer optimization Ryan often gives insight into how consumers think and make decisions, which he and his team are now applying to transforming online inventory advertising. He is widely recognized as an industry thought-leader and speaker as well as a regular columnist for major automotive publications.

Digitally Inspect and Inform Vehicle Health to Owners

Advances in technology now enable your dealership to perform consistent specification based vehicle inspections and inform vehicles owners of the current health of their vehicle. Mobile devices enable your team members to efficiently and systematically perform multiple point inspections. Digital presentation to owners via their unique personalized microsite permits them to better understand recommended repairs, associated costs and to authorize the work to be performed.Declined services are followed up with complete e-mail campaigns.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1) How to enable mobile technology in the service department of the dealership.  

2) Use of vehicle owner microsite to convey information relevant to their vehicle  

3) Use of systematic digital communication strategy to return owners with unperformed needed repairs to the shop  

4) Utilizing visual tools to understand service department performance and potential increases in service gross profit.

Les Silver is chairman and CEO of MPi. As a leading 30-year automotive industry veteran, Silver has had an influential impact in helping automotive dealers achieve high profitability, increase CSI and has created business platforms that have paved the way for innovative products and services to be introduced to the OEM marketplace. At MPi, Silver has provided strong leadership in developing processes, metrics and software solutions that enable automotive dealerships to achieve World Class results in their service and repair departments.
 
Prior to MPi, Silver spent 20 years as the founder and CEO of Newgen Results Corporation. While at Newgen, Silver was a member of the project team that created the retail business growth strategy for Ford Customer Service Division. This team also developed the QCM and AtW programs and deployed them to over 3,500 Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers.

Seeing is Believing
Using photos and videos to restore trust in the service department

The average car owner does not fully trust or understand the service recommendations of dealerships. This lack of trust not only hurts a dealer's success rate on additional service recommendations today, but also reduces the likelihood that customers will return for future needs. We estimate the average dealer loses at least $5,000 of gross margin every day from declined service recommendations.

Our panel discussion will focus on the importance of multimedia content, including real-time photos and videos, in addressing this problem. The panel will feature the perspective of dealer principals and executives at leading service-focused technology companies.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Incorporate photos, video and other media content into the service department
2. Address trust issues in automotive repair process
3. Focus on clear communication and education of customers during repair process
4. Apply web-based technologies commonly used in car sales department to the service department

Brad Simmons is the founder and CEO of ClearMechanic, a technology company that allows service departments to "visually explain" repairs. Simmons has experience spanning a range of business and consumer services industries having spent time at startups and in the financial services industry as both an investor and advisor. Most recently, he was director of business development for RealClearPolitics, a start-up news aggregator purchased by Forbes Media. He also has experience as a private equity investor at Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer, a $10 billion investment firm, where he oversaw $400 million of equity commitments in business services sectors. Prior to that he worked as an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co. with concentration on consumer services firms.  He graduated with honors from Princeton and received his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Karen Dillon has been involved in the automotive industry for the past 26 years.  She is currently the president/CEO of TimeHighway.com. TimeHighway.com is the premier, online solution for service department appointment scheduling, allowing dealership customers to make a confirmed service appointment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It provides many benefits to the dealership – replacing telephone-based scheduling with Internet technology that enhances the effectiveness and customer satisfaction of the dealership, reduces in-bound telephone calls and drives traffic to the dealer’s website. The tool also assists the service manager in managing the service drive and properly loading the shop.
Previous to her association with TimeHighway.com, she was co-owner of LML Technologies, the company that brought LeaseLink to the automotive industry. 

Robert Cannon is chairman/CEO of AutoNetTV Media, Inc. AutoNetTV is a pioneer in automotive television programming for customers in waiting areas to educate and entertain customers. The monthly program provides multiple options for businesses to integrate their branded messages within the programming content. Cannon has been involved in sales and operations management for various companies. His business background includes extensive work with multi-national corporations in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Winning With Mobile
Selling to the smartphone generation

Seventy-eight percent of people looking to buy a new car in the next year will use a mobile device in their process. Jack Simmons will share new data on the growth of mobile commerce and will define how today’s car shoppers are using the mobile web to drive their shopping process both on and off the lot. After this session dealers will be able to implement marketing campaigns and sales processes that effectively reach and convert mobile shoppers. Dealers will walk away being able to establish their store’s mobile presence and with actionable insights to improve close rates among shoppers who research, find inventory, compare prices and get special offers through their mobile device. Attendees will be able to develop a mobile marketing plan and will be able to apply best practices for using mobile as part of the sales process. Beyond reaching and communicating with mobile shoppers, they will also be able to increase productivity of their sales staff using smartphones and mobile devices.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

Learning Objective 1: After this workshop, attendees will be prepared to address the growing mobile marketplace. They will be able to define how shoppers are using mobile devices in the car shopping process and identify how this impacts their purchasing behavior allowing them to optimize their sales process around the mobile customer.
Learning Objective 2: After completing this session, dealers will be able to establish a mobile presence for their store and will be able to apply best practices for mobile marketing.
Learning Objective 3: After attending this workshop attendees will be able to integrate mobile process for their sales staff to improve productivity in their operation.

Jack Simmons is a dealer training manager at Cars.com. Prior to joining Cars.com, Simmons served as the vice president of automotive solutions for WorldNow, where he was the primary architect behind the company’s automotive vertical. Simmons also has served as a national dealer trainer for AutoTrader.com, where he managed and developed training programs for dealers, manufacturers and state automotive associations.

Simmons has more than 25 years of automotive industry experience and has trained 96,000 automotive professionals during his career. He has spoken before NADA Dealer 20 Groups and has served as a workshop presenter at numerous industry events, including NADA, NIADA and national BHPH conferences.

Independent Internet Sites Lead Customers – Do You Really Know Who they are, Where to Find Them and How to Sell to Them?
Key reasons to custom-target your lead purchasing from independent Internet lead providers and leverage information about who your leads really are and what they want before you follow up with them.

The best dealers are able to take any independent Internet lead and turn it into a sale. Learn about how you can tailor your lead purchasing to find the most in-market buyers and discover what types of buyers are submitting leads to your store. Egon Smola will demonstrate how you can optimize your lead buying and leverage the Dealix Buyer Insight study to identify the type of customer you’re attracting. You will learn more about the three types of buyers, their characteristics and what the research discovered on how to most effectively convert your leads into sales.

This session will provide you with practical ideas for how to find your best customers online, identify the most effective way to follow up with them and turn them into a sale.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1.  Identify which ZIP codes contain your most promising buyers.
2.  Tips for how to work with Internet lead providers to target the areas where your most promising customers are.
3.  Understand the difference between three types of buyers and develop a process for how you will convert them in the most effective manner.

Egon Smola, vice president, Dealix Leads Business. At the helm of the most successful provider of sales leads to auto dealers, Smola is responsible for the management and strategic direction of Dealix.

Before joining Dealix, Smola was general manager with P&L responsibility for Yahoo! Personals. Prior to Yahoo!, he was group business manager at Vodafone, where he was responsible for the roll-out of wireless Internet applications across eight European mobile operators. Smola also served as country manager for Amazon.com, Austria and Switzerland. And he held leadership positions as a management consultant with Capgemini and as chief of staff at the largest geriatric hospital in Austria.

Smola received his BA from the Vienna University of Economics in Austria and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Engaged: Delivering More Qualified Leads through your Web Site
Learn the tactics to optimize your web site to convert more visitors into high quality leads by leveraging live chat, web site optimization and analytics

Turn your existing web site into the most powerful lead generation tool you have at your disposal. Learn how to identify shopper persona and develop content that will drive them to convert. You will also learn how to optimize your web site by leveraging A/B split testing to create a continuous improvement web site. Use powerful engagement tools like live chat to convert more of your shoppers into ready to buy shoppers by using a proven consulting selling process.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. How to turn web site visitors from causal shoppers into active buyers
2. Learn how to leverage the power of a/b split testing to improve your web site
3. Understand the power of online engagement with live chat
4. Build organic traffic by leveraging content marketing

Todd Smith is co-founder and chief executive officer of ActivEngage, Inc., the automotive industry's leading live chat service provider. He has over 20 years of successful industry experience and has worked in every facet of dealership operations, including spending 2007 as the general manager of a Chevrolet dealership. Smith has developed some of the most cutting edge e-business, BDC and showroom sales strategies and solutions for a variety of clients including Ford, Ford of Canada, AutoNation, Maritz Inc, Mazda North America, Toyota Motors Sales, ADP AutoTrader.com and over 1,500 dealerships across the U.S. Smith is an avid industry speaker and writer.

eBay Motors – Operational Blueprint
eBay Motors will be releasing its new 150-page operational blueprint at Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition. This class will teach dealers how to use the A-Z manual.

Recently David Greene (local folk hero) and Clayton Stanfield put together an amazing 150-page manual showing dealers, step by step, what they need to do to build their online sales business. This manual will be given to those who attend this class.

The class will introduce the manual and build on previous classes taught at Digital Dealer Conferences. In this class we will look at some of the advanced, day-to-day skill sets required to be successful on eBay Motors.
Most of these skills being taught are universal and beneficial to all sellers who want to sell more cars online. The difference between this class and others is that we are going to show you the exact cars to list, the format to list them in and then what to say to the customers.

This is a well thought out class and should be very productive for your online sales team.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. An understanding of how to use eBay Motors as a lead source
2. Phone scripts and word tracks specifically geared toward remote buyers
3. Daily action plan for listing and managing sales
4. A game plan of where to start and how to manage progress

Clayton Stanfield has been the senior manager of dealer training at eBay Motor for four years. He oversees all training and industry outreach programs for eBay Motors. This includes speaking at industry events, running eBay Motors Training events and management of our Internet Sales Manager Certification Program.
Prior to his experience at eBay Motors, Stanfield worked for five years as a consultant in the auto industry building and training Internet departments and business development centers. It was during his college years that he first entered the industry selling cars for a dealership in Sacramento, California. Clayton has a bachelor's degree in business management and is graduating with his MBA from Pepperdine University in August 2011.

Use the Power of your Data and Current Tools to Sell More Cars!
Use the data you already own in smarter and more efficient ways; decrease waste and increase revenue with an informed and targeted approach with a system that gives you all the tools you need.

Find out how modern dealership software solutions best practices help you sell more cars for less money.  What kind of data sells cars and how does your store stack up against a best practices store?  Let’s talk about how to maximize all your current vendors solutions – does it make sense and is it even possible? We’ll look at a breakdown of all your tools and processes and show you real examples of what works.  The future of automotive software is changing – I’ll give you the best bet for success!

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Current system tools audit for side-by-side vendor comparisons
2. Best practices checklist for the modern dealership
3. Tips on how to use your current tools and data to the max!

Sean Stapleton, CSO at VinSolutions.com, entered the automotive software industry by co-founding IMS, which was later acquired by Who’s Calling. He worked as vice president of National Accounts and as vice president of Automotive Sales for Who’s Calling, where he defined market expectations for the emerging call measurement and monitoring industry. He later co-founded and established Visible Customer as an automotive market brand. Stapleton is a key component in executing the next step in VinSolutions’ evolution: making the industry aware of its successes and new solutions.

Social Media ~ Reputation Management and Online Profile Management
Managing one's online reputation is complex, but essential; learn the ins and outs of this essential aspect of social media marketing

The importance of reputation management – First impressions are the best impressions, and with the explosion of social media, managing one's reputation online has become more important than ever to creating that first impression. A single bad review can quickly spiral out-of-control into a cacophony of bad press, as happened to Dell in 2005, and can permanently poison customers against you. The landscape of online reputation can be daunting, with hundreds, maybe thousands, of reviews across dozen of web sites. However, that same vast territory has provided business with potent new weapons to monitor, counter, and use their online reps as intense new marketing tools to take their businesses to the next level. Learn the most efficient ways to watch your online profile, deal with a bad reputation before it becomes horrible, and turn your reputation around and into a proactive force for good from a leading social media management professional.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Process and methodologies available to protect their online brand.
2. Proactive management solutions to protect their online brand.
3. Tools to directly address negative and positive negative comments.

Nannette Staropoli is president and CEO of MARKIT Group, a brand marketing firm dedicated to helping companies increase revenue and brand awareness through strategic development and execution of traditional and web based marketing. Possessing more than 20 years' experience in executive sales and marketing in a wide variety of industries, Staropoli leverages a heightened level of consciousness when building teams and crafting strategic, innovative marketing solutions for customers.

Mystery Phone Shop
How would your dealership measure up if mystery shopped by telephone?

Jerry Thibeau will randomly mystery shop a select number dealerships from those attending his session. You will hear the live conversation with your staff as Thibeau plays the part of a real customer. Upon completion of the call, he will critique the performance of your dealership and offer suggestions on how to improve. Each attendee will leave with detailed instructions on how to increase appointment ratios with phone shoppers.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. A better understanding of just how much room there is for improvement when it comes to phone shoppers.
2. How to avoid common mistakes made by most dealerships when handling phone shoppers.
3. Attendees will leave with a roadmap on how to increase sales by improving the shopping experience of phone shoppers.

Jerry Thibeau is the president and founder of Phone Ninjas, a company focused on helping dealerships improve phone skills. He has earned the nickname "The Phone Ninja" for his ability to turn even the hardest of phone shoppers into real appointments that show. Having personally listened to and provided coaching feedback on more than 10,000 sales calls, Thibeau is one of the industry's best and brightest when it comes to evaluating a phone conversation.

Three Quick and Easy (No Cost) Ways to Increase your Sales and Net Profit
Joe Verde will uncover three quick and easy ways to increase your business tomorrow with no new expenses – that are hidden right now in plain sight

The recession wound down, people are out buying again and dealers are managing their expenses to turn a profit from lower volume. Now that things are better though, it's also back to business as usual.

Less than a year after the official end to the recession, and after proving they could sell their way out of the toughest of times, dealers and managers everywhere are back to doing the same things, and making the same poor decisions that got them into so much trouble to begin with.

As the authority in growing your business and selling cars to today's new buyer, Verde points out that opportunity is everywhere today, but these three quick and easy ways to increase your business are hidden in plain sight.

Attend this workshop and leave knowing exactly where to focus to sell more units at maximum gross in today's market. Most important, you'll leave with a three-step plan to increase sales and net profit immediately.
In his 37 years in the car business, Joe Verde has been the '8-car guy', the 38-car professional, has held every management title and been a dealer.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?

1. Clarification on the 'explanations' that have become the 'excuses' dealers and managers use for not selling more in today's growing economy.
2. Attendees will work through a side-by-side benefit analysis, and a side-by-side cost analysis of the methods they can use to generate more floor traffic and sales in today's market.
3. A three-stage process will be covered to....
a. Increase unit sales 100% from current floor traffic – at higher gross profit and no additional expense.
b. Increase unit sales by 22 units per 100 unsold customers, at no additional expense.
c. Increase unit sales 500% from currently generated incoming sales calls and Internet leads – with no additional expense.

Joe Verde founded Joe Verde Sales & Management Training in 1985, which has become the most respected training company in North America. Because education is a process, not an event – by offering a combination of classroom instruction, virtual training, and in-dealership courses, the Joe Verde training and support staff provides immediate and long lasting results for our clients.

With 50-plus employees, the Joe Verde Group has just one focus; helping dealers, managers and salespeople grow.

BDC 101: The People, Processes and Performance of a Profitable BDC
A close look at three of the eight cylinders of the BDC, considered the building blocks of an effective and profitable BDC

This session will show you the necessary elements for beginning a BDC or revamping an existing BDC. We will review staffing calculations, compensation plan ideas and the roles of your dealership team both in the BDC as well as the showroom and service departments.

You will also learn the best practice processes for ensuring a healthy ROI , preventing lost sales, protecting your ad dollars and creating a BDC culture that will support future development and incremental growth in the Sales and Service departments.Finally, the performance you should expect from your team. How you should measure the performance, the benchmarks for each process and ways to instill accountability and prevent performance erosion.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. A strategy for staffing your BDC
2. Processes necessary to ensure a healthy ROI and foundation for incremental growth and sales
3. Benchmarks for performance measurement
4. Ideas for preventing process and performance erosion

Greg Wells has spent 22 years in the automotive business with 18 years experience managing BDCs and Internet operations. This uncommon experience coupled with 150 days a year working in-house with dealers to improve their BDC and Internet operations, Wells is truly an expert in automotive BDCs and works with some of the nation's most effective and profitable business development centers. As the senior partner of Kain Automotive for the past two years, he has developed "The Eight Cylinders of the BDC", a master operating guide for any model BDC in today's competitive market. Wells has spoken at previous Digital Dealer Conferences, as well as 20 groups, dealer groups and the 2011 General Motors e-Summits.

How to Integrate Traditional, Digital, Mobile, and Social into One Integrated Marketing Strategy
The implementation of a cohesive marketing strategy across multiple mediums that will help dealers sell and service more cars for less money

In this session you will learn how to sell more for less using a fully integrated marketing strategy. Real dealer case studies will demonstrate how to implement this strategy across all mediums. Learn how some of the best and brightest, like Penkse, Paragon, Hendrick and others have achieved success using this strategy.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Learn how to integrate a holistic marketing strategy to include traditional, digital, mobile, and social to grow your dealerships profitability.
2. Learn how to reach more customers that are in-market to buy or service today with your dealership.
3. Leave with a clear understanding of how you can implement a strategy to attract, sell, service and retain more customers.

Sean Wolfington, chairman and CEO of The Wolfington Companies, is an entrepreneur with businesses in the automotive marketing, technology, real estate and film industries. At the age of 34, Wolfington was a finalist in Ernst & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year Award" and was named the 2010 "Entrepreneur of Year" by Haute Living magazine. By the age of 40, Wolfington has been a partner in three of the leading digital marketing companies in the automotive industry including VinSolutions (sold to AutoTrader in 2011), BZ Results (sold to ADP in 2006) and Automark and Cyber Car (sold to Reynolds and Reynolds in 2001). Wolfington's companies in the automotive industry currently include Tier 10 Marketing, Level 5 Advertising, Team Velocity Marketing, the Automotive Advertising Network, Car-mercial, Call Revu, the American Dream Network, DealerAppVantage, Intellacar and Business Rater.

Appraising Vehicles for Today's Consumer
Transparency: the key to success in the used car market

This presentation will show dealers both why they need to look at appraising vehicles differently to satisfy today's consumer, as well as how to implement the tools necessary to successfully implement this change.
Generation X & Y buyers live in a world of data and access to it is immediate. As a result, the used car market has turned transparent. Dealerships need to recognize this and then use that same access to the same data to validate their appraisal.

And, with dealers looking for ways to improve their customers' trade-in experience, having a good, clear appraisal process in place is more critical than ever. Starting with a realistic trade-in number based on current market conditions will go a long way in ensuring satisfied customers and a better bottom line.
This workshop will introduce dealers to how to effectively use market driven data. Dealerships can then validate their appraisal as well as make better market driven appraisal decisions.

What action items will attendees take back to the dealerships?
1. Handle a used car market that has turned transparent.
2. Work with consumers who research trade-in values before coming to the dealership and arrive with erroneous information.
3. Interpret and apply market data to reach a precise trade-in number through a clearly defined and explainable process.

Stu Zalud brings a dealer-focused perspective and insight to his role as director, dealer services for NADA Used Car Guide. He is responsible for presenting at industry events, and contributing to the development of products and services to meet changing dealer needs.
Zalud's previous experience includes over 30 years as a GM dealer in Cleveland, Ohio and Hilton Head, South Carolina. Additionally, he served on various NADA boards and as chairperson of both the Greater Cleveland and Ohio Automobile Dealers Associations. He also served a five-year term as a member of Ohio's Dealer Licensing Division.