Action–packed event delivers insightful and thought provoking messages
Now in its fourth year, the DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) has grown from a small, by invite only event into essentially, a must-attend convention for dealers across North America. As it has grown, DrivingSales has made an effort to attract keynote speakers to the event, covering the topics that are relevant in today’s auto retailing industry.
At this year’s event, heavy hitters included Professor Florian Zettlelmeyer, of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Rand Fishkin, CEO of software firm SEOmoz, veteran auto industry consultant Jim Dance and special guest Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A’s baseball team.
Panel discussions were a key part of this year’s DrivingSales Executive Summit.
Zettlelmeyer talked about the need to effectively harness big data and that by leveraging it and testing it, dealers are then able to try and apply new ideas. He also said that dealers need to carefully manage information and that marketing requires involvement of everybody in the entire operation.
Special guest Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A’s baseball team, shared his insights on the “Moneyball” theory of management.
GO FOR THE TAIL
Fishkin’s seminar was particularly noteworthy. He talked about the need for dealers to find good SEO vendors and how those who are most effective don’t tend to be the ones that freely advertise or guarantee their services. He also talked about the head, middle and long tail of Search Engine Optimization and that the long tail is where dealers really have the chance to make a difference. He emphasized the need for good quality content and keywords and for those dealers who haven’t already done so, to hire somebody that slots in between IT and marketing.
Dance’s address was particularly hard hitting. He said that too often senior management at dealerships don’t invest enough in their employees and that when questioned many staff members say they could be more productive. He said that developing the right culture is key to productivity and a shared vision, sense of values, behaviour and tolerance is what enables true growth.
ON THE MONEYBALL
Beane, recognized as the man that changed the face of baseball management via his “Moneyball” approach, spoke to a packed ballroom on Monday afternoon. What was interesting were the parallels between baseball and the auto business, with techniques that Beane has applied being equally relevant to dealers in many cases, such as relying on experts to gather data, which if managed effectively can prove a key driver to success.
As in previous years, awards were given out for the best new idea and also innovation in the auto retailing industry.
The general consensus of the event was that the industry is really on the cusp of a major revolution and although changes have begun, in many respects the surface of this revolution has barely been scratched. Although the economic outlook continues to look uncertain for many, opportunities abound in many areas — ranging from greater transparency and profitability in used cars, to improved and expanded service programs to more tailored and targeted web strategies. It’s simply up to dealers to identify what those opportunities are and develop a strategy that works specifically for them (Look for more in-depth coverage of DSES 2012 both online and in our next issue).
