By Huw Evans and Todd Phillips
Often, Canadian dealers find themselves having to travel to the U.S. to attend major trade shows, which means considerable time away from the dealership and not insignificant travel expenses in many cases. So why not stage a full trade show closer to home? That was the idea behind Ontario Dealer Day, co-hosted by the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) and Co-Auto.
(Left to right), Tom Langton, President and CEO, Co-Auto, Bob Verwey, President, TADA, Todd Bourgon, Executive Director, TADA
“We have so many partners that love to meet the dealers but the dealers can’t all fly to events in the U.S. because it is expensive,” says TADA President Bob Verwey. “So we thought, let’s put it together, let’s create a Canadian event — a one day-shot — and it’s been a huge success. This is just the beginning.”
The inaugural Ontario Dealer Day, which took place on April 16 at the Paramount Event Venue in Vaughan, Ont., had more than 500 dealers pre-registered for the event, some from as far away as Thunder Bay.
AN EVENT FOR EVERYBODY
And from the outset, the intent was to make this a day for all staff from the dealership, whether they work in sales, management, digital marketing, service, parts or collision operations. “It’s not just an event for dealer principals and general managers, or digital marketing specialists,” says Michele Kearney Marketing Manager for TADA, “it really is designed for everybody.”
Dealer Day officially opened its doors at 9.00 am and ran until 9.00 pm (although traffic had slowed significantly and vendors started packing up well before 9 p.m.), giving dealers a full 12 hours to attend and see the various products and services on display. Plus because it was a trade show, dealers and vendors were able to do business on site.
The show floor was a hub of activity
Many attendees said they liked the fact that everything was there, under one roof. “It’s very exciting,” says Larry Lantz, President of Hanover Honda in Hanover, Ont. “It is a one-stop shop for dealers to come and check out all of the different companies instead of having to spend a lot of time in different meetings with different firms.”
One advantage of trade shows like Ontario Dealer Day is it allows dealers to capitalize on opportunities they might not necessarily be aware of. Jason Cawker, Corporate Account Manager, Ontario, for TriCan Tire Distributors Inc. says that dealers are the ones selling cars to customers initially so they need to capitalize on the opportunity to sell products like tires when they come up. “Dealers in Canada only account for 10 per cent of tire sales, so there is a lot of opportunity for them. We’re here to help them capitalize on those opportunities.”
Brent Wees, Director of Client Services at Toronto-based Digital Marketing Agency Glovebox, attends a lot of dealer conferences and trade shows across North America. and says that right off the bat he knew that Ontario Dealer Day was going to be a good idea. “We didn’t hesitate to sign up,” he says. “With TADA and Co-Auto joining forces on this, it gives them a wide audience to reach out to and as a vendor we saw a great deal of value in that.”
IT’S THE SMALL THINGS THAT COUNT
Besides the chance for dealers to visit with more than 70 vendors on the show floor, attendees also got a chance to sit in on two keynote sessions — one presented by Ron Bremner, President of Gold Medal Consulting Group and former President and CEO of the Calgary Flames hockey team and one by Leif Babin, former U.S. Navy SEAL Commander and co-founder of leadership consulting firm Echelon Front.
Ron Bremner: keynote speaker
In his session, Bremner reminded dealers about the importance of doing the small things right and encouraged them to get closer to their customers — and their staff.
Bremner, who now provides business and leadership coaching talked about his humble roots growing up in the east end of Hamilton and says he learned a lot about business basics from watching his mother operate a small beauty shop. She focused on getting to know her customers. “This is not brain surgery. This is meat and potatoes stuff,” says Bremner. “The problem is people don’t take time to do the basics. You have to pay the price.”
When he ran the Calgary Flames, Bremner says he used to personally call season ticket holders at their homes on Saturday mornings and thank them for their business. He would send personal notes and send customers birthday cards. He says he has bought a lot of cars in his life but has never once received a call from a dealer principal thanking him for buying a car. “It would take you 10 seconds,” he says. “Little things make a big difference.”
He says it’s also important for dealers to recognize and thank all the people in their own organizations who make a difference — and help them feel important. “Everybody has a part to play in the success of your organization.”
Bremner also advised dealers to look carefully for positive attitudes in their staff. “I’ve never met an enthusiastic failure,” he says.
EXTREME OWNERSHIP
Leif Babin gave a very charismatic presentation about the importance of building a true high performance winning team. He referred to his time spent as a Navy SEAL in Iraq, where his team found themselves in one of the most dangerous and hostile areas — Ar Ramadi, back in 2006.
“As a SEAL leader I’ve been on the battlefield in dozens of situations when bullets are flying and you’ve got to be able to make decisions, utilize laws of combat and apply lessons learned.”
Leif Babin: keynote speaker
Babin said his experience in Ramadi, which he brought home helped him train future generations of SEALs on what they needed to do to build their own high performance winning teams. He also said that as a leader you need to understand the game from both sides, whether you’re on the front line or in management.
“I’ve been in senior management positions as an operations and executive officer in charge of 150 SEALs and over 150 support personnel deployed across the globe,” said Babin, “so I have seen this from all sides. I’ve been there when the guys on the battlefield say the chain of command [the boss] doesn’t get it and I have been the boss trying to get the guys on the field to understand the bigger picture, so I understand the frustrations of both.”
Babin talked about “extreme ownership,” and that how “continuous, realistic, sometimes brutally honest self-assessment that makes you look at yourself is what really empowers you to change things around and really make a difference, both within yourself and also your team.
He noted that it takes constant training and preparation to be prepared for the toughest environments, whether it’s in the middle of a combat zone or within the walls of the dealership.
DealerSocket was one of many vendors exhibiting
As an additional part of the day both TADA and Co-Auto chose to host their Annual General Meetings on site, allowing board members and attendees to discuss important issues before giving them a chance to get out on the floor — an approach that was welcomed by many.
Based on the overall feedback we observed from both dealers and vendors, it seemed like Ontario Dealer Day was a big hit and many attendees we talked to said they’d love to see TADA and Co-Auto host another one.
Canadian auto dealer was on-site for the entire day providing digital, print and extensive video coverage of the event.
To see more visit: http://canadianautomotivevideo.com/category/ontario-dealer-day/
