DSES 2022, Oct. 9-10

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Get ready for the DrivingSales Executive Summit. Plan out your agenda and get the most out of your DSES experience

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Oct. 9-10, 2022 | The Bellagio, Las Vegas

DSES 2022 Agenda

Check back frequently for agenda updates!

Oct 9
Oct 10

	Breaking the Silent Roadblocks of Growth and Progress In a hyper-connected, consumer experience driven world, both internal and external culture is crucial to attracting and retaining both customers and employees. Dealership culture seems to be considered almost impossible to influence or course correct due to the connotation of difficulty. Many don't even attempt to address it. Others don’t even see there are culture issues to address that are prohibiting growth and progress. Both ideologies are wrong. Let's bust those myths, dive in, and fix your culture! By breaking down dealership culture into 4 focused key steps (Strategic hiring and placement, Breaking silos, Effective leadership, and Total accountability), Subi & Ashley will help you create a roadmap with easily digestible pillars that can quickly influence a dealership’s overall environment and a plan to continue to evolve and grow with your community and employees. Presented by: Subi Ghosh & Ashley Cavazos Track: Hire and Develop Better Talent

	Employee Management Game Theory: Progressive Dealer Framework to Solve the Current and Future Workforce Problems Let’s face it, we’ve always struggled with recruiting, engaging, and retaining our employees. COVID and supply-chain issues forced us to rethink the way we price, service, and communicate with our guests. For many dealers and employees, this was an unexpectedly-prosperous time. As dealerships and employees enjoy this temporary shift in supply-demand power, it’s important to remember that it is temporary. As the markets normalize and the power shifts back to the consumer, most employees will be left with poor habits and lower incomes. At that point, money will no longer be the only motivating factor and many employees will be enticed by other industries and their employee management practices: work-life balance, work from home, guaranteed compensation, etc. To future proof our dealerships, we must implement modern solutions and be more aligned with the needs of the modern workforce. In this session, you will receive the framework used by progressive dealers to engage, manage, and retain your employees. You will be provided with an assessment to help you measure your current employee management processes and compare your results against others. Finally, you will be provided with templates, examples, and step-by-step instructions on how to build, implement, and manage these key processes to help you drive engagement and high performance of your employees. Presented by: Jason Volny & Courtney Paschal Track: Hire and Develop Better Talent, Leadership in a Remote World

	How to Modernize Your Sales Operations, Stay Compliant, and Become More Efficient To stay relevant and competitive in the rapidly changing automotive retail industry, dealers need to refine their practices and incorporate new technology into their operations. Join this Q&A session to hear directly from two successful dealers who have committed to modernizing the car buying experience. Updating your tech stack will improve profitability and reduce friction throughout the sales process Attract, convert and retain loyal customers through a more transparent customer experience Implement operational efficiencies to grow and protect your bottom line Presented by: Natalia Griner, Neb Yonas & Adam Silverleib Track: Modernize The Sales Process

	What HELPs and What’s just HYPE—Decoding Brilliance from BS! Data Transparency, Marketing Automation, & AdTech, AI and more! Keeping up with automotive marketing trends is a BIG job. Learn top trends and implementation tips from top industry leaders. How to use audience and real targeting data to drive better results, how to use Business intelligence and analytics to increase your ROAS, and what’s just a Buzzword! How to do more with less – Less New and Used inventory, Less CO-OP, Less marketing budgets, and less wasteful spending. How to use the newest Buzzwords for your advantage, examples of real marketing platforms and automations that work, the newest real Google and Facebook AI campaigns, the latest LSEO and SEO best practices that drive measurable results not just the HYPE! Presented by: Sean Stapleton & Bryan Armstrong Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

	A Case Study in First-Party Data with the Germain Motor Company and Clarivoy: How to Look at Your Consumer Data in 2023 There is a lot of buzz around utilizing your first-party data in your marketing. Why? Attend this session to learn how Germain utilizes its first-party data and cookieless targeting to sell more cars. -What % of your customers are actively shopping on your website in last 60 days? -What % of your customers are defecting every month to another dealership? -What are the most efficient in-market audiences? Presented by: Steve White & Shaun "Niff" Kniffin Track: Implement Agile Inventory Management

	What Your Still Missing About Marketing: Eliminate These Common Mistakes And Your Operations Will Thrive Understand how to find areas of your marketing that are delivering vanity metrics and discover the real metrics that will drive your dealership forward. Take steps to understand your metrics and what needs to be reviewed to deliver real results. Stop spending pointless money (including co-op) before developing an effective budget and strategy based on real-world data. Gary and Nick will show you how to dig deeper into the data that your “trusted” vendors don’t want to talk about. Nick will speak to the decision making at the store level and how he drives month-to-month results. Presented by: Gary May & Nick Degnan Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan, Increase Fixed Ops Absorption

	Our Data Has Failed Us. Why This Happens and How to Fix It. It starts by (fully) accessing and using your own data. Learn how to take advantage of “actionable data” to set your dealership up for success. See through the “fuzzy data” to spot new opportunities and drive powerful, positive change. Lead your organization through a framework that allows people to interact with data more effectively. Presented by: David Steinberg & Chip Alvey Track: Modernize The Sales Process

	AI: The Hidden Secret to Decreasing Your BDC Costs In this workshop, you'll uncover the weakest link in the dealership, along with the #1 automotive chatbot myth that's driving up BDC costs. We will unpack the communication process problems as well as the solutions that conversational AI provides to dealerships. Attendees will listen to real mystery shop phone calls and identify opportunities for improvement. Case studies will be reviewed so that dealers can learn from the successes of their peers. This workshop will then take a look at the future of AI in automotive so that dealers can be better prepared for future trends. If you want to find out how conversational AI can eliminate dropped calls, and dramatically decrease the time it takes to set service appointments, then this workshop is for you! Presented by: Josselyn Boudett Track: Modernize The Sales Process

	Constructing a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy in Today's Times: Looking at Insights and Trends on Consumer Buying Behavior In this panel, Kristin Thompson, Sales Director at Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, along with Robert Baugh will discuss how to leverage the insights and takeaways from the Cox Automotive Car Buyer study to help dealers construct a winning digital marketing strategy. We’ll examine the top 6 takeaways from the Cox Automotive Annual Car Buyer Study and how they’re affecting your dealership - such as the online search journey, digital engagement and retailing, and the benefits of a streamlined purchase - but backed by extensive research and data from all of our brands, we’ll provide ways for you to construct a winning digital marketing strategy in today’s times. Increase exposure and reach - innovative ways to stay alongside customer during buying journey A deep look at insights and data and the top challenges dealers are facing and how to navigate and use them for opportunity and innovation How to close deals faster (deal seeker to Deal Doer) / Lifecycle ROI - winning digital marketing strategy Presented by: Kristin Thompson & Robert Baugh Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

	Bookend Your VDPs Like a Pro! High-impact strategies to drive quality traffic to your VDPs while ensuring timely engagement after the consumer leaves your website. As a dealer, you invest significant money and time in maximizing the value of your Vehicle Details Pages on your website. The VDP is the heartbeat of your website, providing consumers valuable insights to make an informed vehicle purchasing decision. Key takeaways for this session include: Data-driven strategies to drive high-performance traffic to your VDPs Timely, scalable, and quality consumer follow-up post website: you invest a lot of money driving value on the VDP… What are you doing to ensure you are maximizing your return? Hear how the Don Hattan Auto Group, one of the most progressive and longest-serving groups in the Midwest, upped their game by using cost-effective and targeted technology to merchandise their inventory to beat local and national competitors and attract more online car buyers to their three stores. Presented by: Jason Barrie & Erika Maley Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

8:00 - 9:00 AM PDT

Breakfast

Fuel up for another impactful day of training, discover, and insight!

9:00 - 9:10 AM PDT

Kick Off Day Two!

Day two picks up right where we left off with exclusive insights, actionable tactics, and inside looks from industry experts. Make sure you have a pen and paper handy.

9:10 - 9:50 AM PDT

Sneak Peak at the Latest Google Updates

Harika Komandoor Ranganathan, Senior Google Consultant

Dominating Google search has always been a moving target. You need the latest information to help you develop an effective strategy to maximize the ROI of your marketing efforts.

Plus, get an inside look at the 2023 Dealer Playbook, emerging trends uncovered by Google, and the impact of Vehicle Listing Ads into the new year!

10:00 - 10:40 AM PDT

Breakout Sessions #3

	In Market Shoppers are Destroying Automotive Digital: Why Coca Cola Doesn't Only Advertise to Thirsty People Instead of "magic moment marketing", dealers need to adopt a long game strategy to advertising. "In Market Shopper" chasing commoditizes your business down to inventory and price. You've missed the chance to build a relationship, a brand value, by waiting to the last minute to communicate. Build gross and build loyalty by talking to people OUT of market about the meaningful "who" and "why" of your store. When they're in market, you'll know...because they'll call you. Stop defections by continuing to market to your existing clients from day 1 post sale to the next sale instead of paying thousands to vendors to tell you when you should finally advertise to them. Presented by: Dave Lemmon & Brody Dezember Track: Increase Fixed Ops Absorption

	A Leader's Only Silver Bullet: Creating a Coaching Culture at Your Dealership This presentation shows how coaching impacts business. Training and coaching are contrasted. Four coaching processes will be taught along with implementation techniques (Metric, Aspirational, Turn-Around, and Observational). Overall, creating a coaching culture can be any dealership's ticket to trusting your team, eliminating employee turnover, ongoing growth regardless of market conditions, and true fulfillment for yourself and each person on your team! Learn the difference between training and coaching Take-home frameworks for the 4 types of coaching Find out how to create a coaching culture Uncover your leadership gaps around communication and employee engagement Presented by: Sean Kelley Track: Hire and Develop Better Talent

	From Stressed to #Blessed Fire up Your Sales Staff using Tik Tok! Promote a Fun Culture at the Dealership in Sales, Finance, Service & Parts while driving brand awareness and optimizing Sales using Tik Tok!! Empower your Sales Staff to create their own videos for brand awareness! Learn the 8 Must have steps for ALL departments in the Dealership to be successful on Tik Tok! Leave with Real Life Video Practice so you can guide your team when you return to the Dealership! Presented by: Gail Rubinstein & Mark Rask Track: Modernize The Sales Process

	The Definitive Guide to SEO in 2023 Every sale starts with a search. Learn how to maximize your visibility in local searches with a customized SEO strategy. Learn why the OEM-approved SEO providers won't help your dealership Learn which signals influence your visibility in local searches - and how to optimize them Learn how to optimize your Google Business Profile to stand out from competitors Presented by: Greg Gifford & Max Lopez Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

	Laws Have Changed! Stay in Compliance While Saving Thousands The laws have changed! Learn how to recapture up to 75% of your Credit Card expenses without disrupting CSI. Create awareness about Credit Card Processing expenses and the hidden fees in your statements Educate on legal & compliance requirements Best training practices for customer experience and mitigate any CSI issues Presented by: Amberly Allen & Laura Mellencamp Track: Increase Fixed Ops Absorption

10:40 - 11:00 AM PDT

Morning Break

Time to stretch, get the blood flowing, and grab a quick snack before our next Breakout Session!

11:00 -11:40 AM PDT

Breakout Sessions #4

	The Most Important Investment You Will Make The way inventory is acquired and sold is often segmented and one department doesn't see the value of the next. Bring the inventory lifecycle full-circle and create operational efficiencies that will withstand the coming recession and volume slow-down. How to treat your inventory as an true money investment How to acquire inventory more efficiently How to connect the inventory journey/lifecycle (will compare to the customer journey/lifecycle) Presented by: Hugh Hathcock & Jeremie Leach Track: Implement Agile Inventory Management

	Setting Up Your Service Advisors for Success Online Like You Do Your Salespeople In Depth look at what we do on your website to setup salespeople for success and reverse engineering for service advisors. We have all our vehicles on the site and get upset when one is missing but we don't have all our services we offer on our websites Examine the Customer Experience path on website: Sales vs Service Sales GBP setup vs Service GBP setup Presented by: Brad Paschal & Bryan Armstrong Track: Modernize The Sales Process, Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

	Personalized Video Bootcamp: Interactive Training Workshop Increase engagement, enhance customer experience, and have fun doing it! We all know video is a valuable engagement tool to break through today’s noise. But how can you use personalized video techniques throughout the sales cycle to connect, convert opportunities and close deals more quickly? In this session engagement experts, Steve Roessler & Heath Patterson will share what types of videos to make, when to use them - from prospecting to closing - and how to get your team on board. So you can start leveraging personalized videos like a rock star to fast-track higher conversions and crush your sales quota. Proven tactics dealers are using to close more deals. Tips for personalizing videos that engage customers faster. Tricks for team collaboration to stand out from competitors. Presented by: Steve Roessler & Heath Patterson Track: Modernize The Sales Process

	Hi, My Name is A.I. Will You Hire Me? Absolutely! Discover how using AI can enhance the customer experience, reduce or enhance your current headcount, and grow revenues! In this session you will see how a Dealer Executive has used AI to streamline the buying and appointment setting process, maximize budget efficiency in advertising, market to the people who need to be marketed to when it’s appropriate, and reduce friction on internet leads when they hit the CRM. Presented by: Gray Scott Track: Modernize The Sales Process, Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

	Family Feud: Digital Marketing Edition An incredibly interactive digital marketing session done in the style of everyone's favorite game show: Family Feud. Top digital marketing & operational benchmarks to help align your targets & set expectations The newest marketing strategies that reduce costs, increase brand exposure & increase profits. Exclusive campaign tactics that significantly improve your performance, improve your business & make you look like a true marketing rockstar! Presented by: Eric Miltsch & Joe Stroffolino Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

11:50 - 12:50 PM PDT

Best Idea Presentations

$10K for the Dealer Who Presents the Best Idea

See the results as the winners are announced on the main stage.

12:50 - 1:50 PM PDT

Lunch

Time to catch your breath, connect with colleagues, and tuck in for a delicious lunch.

1:50 - 2:50 PM PDT

Innovation Cup Presentations

Innovation Cup finalists

Listen to finalists compete on stage and present the year's top solutions to help dealers increase profitability.

2:50 - 3:30 PM PDT

CEO Visionary Panel

Deep Dive into What's Lies Ahead

What is looming on the automotive horizon? How will dealers handle the next 12, 24 months? Listen in as top CEOs discuss what's coming around the corner and what opportunities will be there to capitalize on.

3:30 - 3:50 PM PDT

Afternoon Coffee Break

Grab a pick-me-up, stretch those legs, and prepare for our next Breakout Session!

3:50 - 4:30 PM PDT

Breakout Sessions #5

	Adopting a Less-Is-More Approach in Modern Fixed Ops In a world of excess everything, savvy dealership operations are learning that less is best when it comes to fixed ops. Learn how less paper (or none at all), less need for face-to-face interaction, less manual or double data entry, and less money handling all means increased efficiency and a better experience. How to improve your fixed op processes to become more efficient and better manage parts inventory Transitioning your service department to a paper-less operation How to improve customer experience by communicating and transacting digitally Presented by: Ashley Fedor & Joe Castelino Track: Increase Fixed Ops Absorption

	Single Point of Contact: How to Create a Customer-Centric Experience for Gen-Z and Millennials Single point of contact is a modern way sell cars that creates a smoother and more customized car-buying experience. Increasing transparency in structuring deals Empowering salespeople to take on more of a robust role Reducing friction in the car buying experience Presented by: Heather Finkey & Mike Anderson Track: Modernize The Sales Process

	What Are the Advantages of Building New Technology Rather than Buying? More and more auto groups are building their own technology instead of going with a vendor. There are some tempting advantages, but it comes with a cost. I'll explain how to decide if it makes sense to develop your own tech and give you insights on some of the bumps you may experience while navigating the build process. Presented by: Colton Ray Track: Hire and Develop Better Talent

	A Deep Dive into Vehicle Listing Ads Vehicle ads, the latest SEM functionality from Google, are a performance-focused, lower funnel ad format which allows auto advertisers to promote their entire inventory of vehicles to interested customers shopping for vehicles on Google. This session will take a deep dive into what they are, how to implement them, and how to get ahead of your competition. Learn about Vehicle Listing Ads See Case Studies of how they are implemented Walk away with key examples on how to jump start your car sales with VLA's Presented by: Alex Melen & Ben Stewart Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

	How to Buy 100+ Cars a Month from the Public MasterClass Learn how Danny, Rob and other dealerships have transformed the way they acquire, merchandise, market and sell vehicles resulting in a $3.4 million yearly increase of profit. Adopt a multi-channel sourcing strategy that combines auctions, dealer networks, and private-party acquisitions channels to ensure healthy and stable inventory levels and profitability. Communicate the highest authentic value of each one of your vehicles through leveraging leading edge technology that helps master each marketplace your cars live in - all to increase gross and turn. Learn how leading dealers are spending a fraction of their marketing on cars through dynamic vin-specific targeting. Each vehicle's market day supply and scarcity is unique - the spend should be too. Gain access to transforming your approach from the race to the bottom to achieving the “highest value” for each of the vehicles on our lots. The race to the bottom ends today. Presented by: Danny Zaslavsky & Rob Ruth Track: Implement Agile Inventory Management

4:30 - 5:10 PM PDT

Breakout Sessions #6

	Bridging the Gap for Women in Automotive Presented by: Kathy Gilbert Track: Hire and Develop Better Talent

	Using Google Analytics 4 to Power Your Online Service Marketing In this session, you will learn how to implement and inspect online service marketing campaigns using the new Google Analytics 4 platform. Session Takeaways: Uncover the importance of GA4 and dealer-specific tricks to properly integrate tracking How to set up events and build audiences within GA4 for service campaigns AND specials management Access use cases and documented data and ROI when implementing online service campaigns Learn best practices for GA4 reporting to measure the results of your online service marketing campaigns Presented by: George Nenni & Owen Moon Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

	Controlling Your Subprime Market With the economy in flux, credit score changes as a result of inflation, and bank programs tightening up dealers' financial well-being are frustratingly out of control. In order to thrive in these new conditions, Paul Sansone Jr and his team have created a new system and process for financing that give control back to the dealership. The strategies shared in Paul's presentation will help your dealership tap into new target markets, learn that outside-the-box thinking can be extremely profitable, and generate extreme profit from customer loyalty by providing unique value to your sub-prime market. Presented by: Paul Sansone Jr Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

	If You Build it, They Will Stay: Build a Scorecard for Any Role Workshop In this hands-on workshop, discover how to build a scorecard to fit ANY job, ANY role to improve performance and output. - Learn why scorecards work - Help your employees know what they are being measured against and avoid spending time & effort on unimportant tasks - Create custom scorecard that you can implement the day you return home - Receive immediate feedback from Jason & Bart Presented by: Jason Volny & Bart Wilson Track: Hire and Develop Better Talent

	Meeting Changing Consumer Appraisal Expectations Learn how consumer expectations have significantly changed and what dealers need to do to win trade-ins today based on research. How to position the trade-in/appraised amount to a consumer that already has 2-6 cash offers in hand when they come to your dealership for an appraisal. How to meet consumers emotion need of “feeling knowledgeable” that is deciding force for 60% of consumer’s trade-in needs as well as how to meet the “10 unmet needs” consumers have identified as missing from their dealer trade-in process. How to build a trade-in follow up process to win trades that do not transact after the first appraisal. Presented by: Micah Tindor & Jonathan Hakes Track: Build a Progressive Marketing Plan

5:20 - 6:10 PM PDT

One-Degree Shifts: The Future of Automotive Retail

Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales

Jared Hamilton presents his insights on the future of automotive retail. Discover how dealers can approach different types of innovation. Uncover how recent innovations will impact the dealership business model. Learn the threats and opportunities dealership executives need to be aware of and how they can thrive in the coming years.

6:10 - 6:20 PM PDT

Summit Wrap Up

Soak up a few final thoughts as we wind down DSES 2022

6:20 - 7:30 PM PDT

Closing Reception & Awards Ceremony

Wrap up the event in style at the closing reception

Get Registered Today

Reserve your spot to join the top dealers at this year’s DSES, Oct 9-10, 2022 at The Bellagio, Las Vegas

A Special Thanks To Our Sponsors

Breaking the Silent Roadblocks of Growth and Progress

Employee Management Game Theory: Progressive Dealer Framework to Solve the Current and Future Workforce Problems

How to Modernize Your Sales Operations, Stay Compliant, and Become More Efficient

What HELPs and What’s just HYPE—Decoding Brilliance from BS!

A Case Study in First-Party Data with the Germain Motor Company and Clarivoy: How to Look at Your Consumer Data in 2023

What Your Still Missing About Marketing: Eliminate These Common Mistakes And Your Operations Will Thrive

Our Data Has Failed Us. Why This Happens and How to Fix It.

AI: The Hidden Secret to Decreasing Your BDC Costs

Constructing a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy in Today's Times: Looking at Insights and Trends on Consumer Buying Behavior

Bookend Your VDPs Like a Pro!

In Market Shoppers are Destroying Automotive Digital: Why Coca Cola Doesn't Only Advertise to Thirsty People

A Leader's Only Silver Bullet: Creating a Coaching Culture at Your Dealership

From Stressed to #Blessed Fire up Your Sales Staff using Tik Tok!

The Definitive Guide to SEO in 2023

Laws Have Changed! Stay in Compliance While Saving Thousands

The Most Important Investment You Will Make

Setting Up Your Service Advisors for Success Online Like You Do Your Salespeople

Personalized Video Bootcamp: Interactive Training Workshop

Hi, My Name is A.I. Will You Hire Me? Absolutely!

Family Feud: Digital Marketing Edition

Adopting a Less-Is-More Approach in Modern Fixed Ops

Single Point of Contact: How to Create a Customer-Centric Experience for Gen-Z and Millennials

What Are the Advantages of Building New Technology Rather than Buying?

A Deep Dive into Vehicle Listing Ads

How to Buy 100+ Cars a Month from the Public MasterClass

Bridging the Gap for Women in Automotive

Using Google Analytics 4 to Power Your Online Service Marketing

Controlling Your Subprime Market

If You Build it, They Will Stay: Build a Scorecard for Any Role Workshop

Meeting Changing Consumer Appraisal Expectations