Storytailer

STORYTAILER LLC
CHAPEL HILL

Digital Dealer 23 Session – Wonderland: An Interactive Exercise in Leadership and Management – A Journey Down the Rabbit Hole

By

This interactive session will open your eyes and give you a fantastic new point of view into what leadership, management & company culture really means. There won’t be a Powerpoint and you probably won’t be sitting down much so come prepared to participate. You WILL go through an emotional roller coaster on this ride but by the end, you will KNOW the impact different leadership and management styles mean and which is right from wrong. Guaranteed. Participate and you will leave learning how to be a better leader through this live, in-person activity. This isn’t for the faint at heart. Be warned. You will be diving down the rabbit hole and only you will know who you will be at the end.

Join me at Digital Dealer 23 in Las Vegas, NV from September 18-20 and participate in a session unlike any ever done before. Learn more here and I look forward to seeing you at my session… if you dare.

Getting The Most From The 10th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition

By

As people are getting prepared to depart for Orlando and the Digital Dealer Workshops followed by the 10th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition, I thought some advice from someone who’s been to 6 of the 9 previous conferences would be helpful for those first-timers. This will be my first conference as an employee of Dealer Communications so these tips are derived from my experience gained from attending as a dealer.

1. Registration: Show up early to pick up your badge. Unless you like to see and wait in a line similar to one at Disneyland, make sure to find out when registration opens and get there early. Many people show up at the last minute and end up having to wait spending time they could be using for more productive purposes.

2. Planning: (click here to print the agenda before you go.) Read the session descriptions and plan (even if it’s tentatively) which ones you want to go to. There’s not a lot of transition time from one session to the other and there’s nothing worse than having to decide in-between sessions which to go to and then having to find the appropriate room and be late to a session.

3. Dress: Dress is business casual. These is an intense day of training. Be comfortable so you can concentrate on what’s being taught. You’ll be doing stuff from 7:30am-7:30pm on the second day so make sure whatever you wear (including shoes) will work for you for 12 hours of activities. Also keep in mind that there are plenty of post-conference opportunities to network so it could even be longer.

4. What to bring: You don’t want to be carrying around 20 pounds of “stuff” for 12 hours, I promise. It will get old fast. Bring only the necessities. Pads and pens are provided at every session. Refreshments are provided throughout the day. If you feel the need to bring your laptop, remember that electrical outlets are at a premium. If I could rent them out, I’d make a fortune. Also, while the rooms do have outlets, the setups may not make it convenient to charge items while paying attention to what’s being taught. Veterans carry only what’s necessary. Keep in mind that you will be provided with a bag to carry any exhibitor information or swag that you attain. Oh, and bring lots of business cards. You’ll need them. Keep in mind that most speakers will be happy to e-mail you their Powerpoints after the conference. All you need to do is ask them after their session.

5. Round–tables: Don’t miss the Peer Networking Round-tables on Tuesday morning. This offers you the chance to meet and ask questions of your peers. We’ll have 40 tables all split into different categories for you to choose from. This is a great way for you to meet some non-competing dealer peers that you can utilize as future sounding boards and/or share information with after the conference.

6. Exhibit Hall: Don’t be afraid of it. This is a unique opportunity to explore and see what new services and products are available. Nobody likes getting 20 solicitation calls per day while they’re in their store trying to sell a car so look at this is an opportunity to get all of your questions answered (and curiosity satisfied) in one place and at the same time. I always discovered at least one new thing. Whether or not you’re looking to add something to your store, knowing what your competitors may be using is valuable information. It’s also a GREAT opportunity to collect some cool swag and enter drawings and contests for some sweet prizes. Most vendors restrict their prizes to dealers so you’ll have an excellent shot at winning just for dropping off your business card with them. By visiting them, you may also get invited to some post-conference networking event that they are hosting.

7. Networking: Another valuable activity at the conference is the ability to network with your peers. We provide several opportunities to so this during our cocktail receptions. Use this time to get to know and meet new people. The exhibit hall is also open during this time so you could use this as another opportunity to visit with the exhibitors as well as enjoy a beverage and some appetizers.

8. SCVNGR: This year we’ve partnered with SCVNGR to offer attendees a fun promotion and way to earn some cool prizes like a MacBook Air and iPad 2 (and more) to dealers and managers just for participating in this fun promotion by completing challenges to earn points. Everyone who participates can earn an extra free drink at one of the networking receptions and unlock a custom DD10 virtual badge! You can also use this promotion as an educational opportunity. It’s a way for you to explore location-based services (if you’re not familiar with them) and see how they can be used to promote interaction with your business. You can find all the information you need to participate by checking in the conference program or, if you want to get a head start, you can text “DDFUTURE” to 48696

9. Opt–in for Text Announcements & Alerts: By opting in for text alerts and announcements, you’ll be up to date on any changes to the agenda or special announcement s. This will also provide you with a mobile agenda for you to use to navigate around from session to session. It’s as easy as texting “DD10” to 48696

10. Don’t Miss A Thing: You’ll be getting a lot of information in a relatively short period of time. Some people get overwhelmed. Don’t. There are plenty of ways in which to maximize your experience. If you missed a session you wanted to hear because there were two sessions held at the same time, track down the speaker for the session you missed and I’m certain they’ll be happy to share their presentation with you. If you can’t track them down, find me and I’ll get a hold of them for you and have them e-mail you the information if I can’t connect you two at the conference.

I hope this was helpful. For first-time attendees, welcome. We are confident that not only will you return for future conferences but will bring more people from your dealership next time. For returning attendees, thank you for your support and patronage. We strive to bring you a bigger and better conference every time. Please feel free to e-mail me at arnold(at)dealer-communications.com if you have any questions you’d like answered before the conference.

See you in Orlando!

Originally published on DealerElite.net and ADM

Digital Dealer’s Hidden Learning Opportunity

By

As we get ready to attend the 9th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, I wanted to talk about a hidden learning opportunity.

Over the past weeks, I’ve seen plenty of blog posts and articles from people with advice on how to get ready for and efficiently attend the conference. All of these articles offered great advice such mapping out your sessions and bringing proper supplies. I agree with all of them. 
One thing I haven’t heard, however, is one of the most beneficial things I used to take advantage of at the conferences and that is the ability to check out all the new technology and services available within our industry that could help me sell more cars.
I was an internet director working for large automotive groups for a long time. I was constantly bombarded – as I’m sure you are – by calls from vendors. Some days it seemed like I appeared on every vendors “to-do” list and, at times, I just stopped taking their calls. We’re all busy and we’re all focused on selling cars. Nobody wants to be “sold” something when you’d rather be doing the selling.
One of the most attractive things for me, at the conference, was the opportunity to visit with all the vendors in the exhibit hall if only to check out what solutions and technology are available. Whether you are in the market for a new solution or not, the knowledge of what’s out there is invaluable because the one thing in our business that is constant is change. 
When your dealer principal, GM, GSM or whomever comes to you with a problem and asks you to fix it, would you rather know what solutions exist and be able to make some suggestions RIGHT THEN, or have to start hunting from scratch. I guarantee you it will waste more of your time hunting for a new vendor for whatever your needs are if you don’t already know what’s out there.
This also gives you the opportunity to ask other DEALERS about their vendors. Every vendor is going to tell you that their product rocks, that they are the best at it, and that they will help you sell a ton more cars than you already are (if you use it properly, of course). So how do you weed out the good companies from the GREAT companies? How do you find the “diamonds in the rough”, so to speak?
Look, we all know that post-conference sales pitches, phone calls, and e-mails only INCREASE – as they should. You can’t blame the vendors. Say you sold Fords and you went to an auto show. At that auto show everyone was educated on the benefits of driving a Ford Explorer. Everyone left with some level of knowledge that maybe I should be driving a Ford Explorer. Now, say the conference decided to give you a list of all of those people who were interested in a Ford Explorer. Would you call them? If you are any type of salesperson you would. 
Just like you get irritated when you call someone that you got an internet lead on because they’re irritated that you called them, so do the vendors. If you took the time to educate yourself about the technology products and services that are available WHILE YOU”RE AT THE CONFERENCE, you would be able to tell the vendors when they call you post-conference that you took the opportunity to check out their service already.
I’m not saying you have to spend your time watching everybody’s demo. Just set aside a block of time to make a quick trip around the exhibit hall to check out what new services and technology products are being offered by companies – both new and old. 
I guarantee you’ll discover something that you didn’t know existed.
You have all the notable vendors within our industry in the same place at the same time. Use that to your advantage. Learning what is available to help you sell more cars is just as important as learning new techniques and processes to do that via the seminars. The vendors are an intrinsic part of what makes the Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition POSSIBLE. They’re at the conference because they want the opportunity to meet you and talk to you. 
Be the go-to-guy (or gal) at your dealership with the solutions and you’ll make yourself that much more invaluable. 
…and pick up some free swag and enter their contests for prizes while you’re at it. We all like free stuff and they like to give it out.
Here is the list of vendors that helped make the 9th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition possible.
I hope to meet everyone at the show. 
Contact Me