It makes sense that dealership topics are so prevalent at the DrivingSales Executive Summit presented with WardsAuto.
After all, dealers helped shape the agenda for the third annual event Oct. 9-11 at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas.
A list of topics and speakers, picked by dealers from an array of submissions, rounds out a diverse agenda that already includes keynote speeches by digital-marketing visionaries Gary Vaynerchuk, Rob Siefker and Aaron Strout.
The conference brings together progressive dealers and renowned speakers focused on pushing boundaries and leveraging new trends and business realities.
âThe content is completely dealer-drivenâ and designed for the most-advanced dealership principals and executives, DrivingSales Founder and CEO Jared Hamilton says.
âWe ask dealers, not vendors, to set our agenda, and this yearâs list of topics is a true snapshot of where the nationâs most progressive dealers will be putting their emphasis in 2012,â he says.
Dealers voted to hear from a variety of industry digital and data experts. Presentations include a groundbreaking study on social media, new strategies for improving dealership rankings in 2012 and how to analyze social-media return on investment and spot wasteful investments.
Presentations from some of the nationâs most-successful dealerships make up 50% of the agenda. Among the topics:
- How one dealership achieved the nationâs best closing ratio.
- How a dealer increased sales 230% through social media.
- Best practices for managing dealership websites and converting leads into sales.
Dealer speakers include Jeff Cryder of Lebanon Ford, Mark McGurran of Jerry Durant Auto Group, Tracy Myers of Frank Myers Auto Maxx, Eric Miltsch of Auction Direct and Mark Beithon of Rudy Luther Toyota.
âFor the most progressive dealers, some topics never get old, whether it is how to improve Web conversion, or best practices for effective lead management, or the more recent debates about the importance of integrating social media and mobile into daily dealership practice,â Hamilton says.
He says the conference will infuse those enduring dealership topics with fresh approaches and grounded wisdom of dealer-presenters âwho are achieving exceptional results.â
The event will include âvisionary ideas from leaders outside our industry who have solved many of these issues in innovative ways,â Hamilton says.
The conference will include collaborative and interactive breakout sessions and a best-idea contest highlighting successful dealership sales strategies.
Vendors will vie for the DrivingSales Innovation Cup, a contest that spotlights new products and services for dealers.
For more information and to register, with a $100 discount for WardsAuto readers, visit the Driving Sales Executive Summit presented with WardsAuto home page at http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com.

