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I was sad at the closing ceremony for the DrivingSales Executive Summit.

I can’t recall feeling this way at the end of an automotive conference; this event was special.

One of those reasons was that 15 members of the PCG Automotive SEO Study attended. It was great to meet SEO Study members who I have just known through our webinars and emails.

The event attracted great leaders and speakers of the automotive industry as well as heavyweights from social media and digital marketing.  Chip Perry, John Holt, Dale Pollak, Dan Zarrella,  Grant Cardone, Ralph Paglia,  JD Rucker,  Allan Cooper, Jeremiah Owyang, and Scott Monty just to name a few. The general sessions were powerful, engaging, and provided a Q&A opportunity for attendees to interact with the presenters.

Live Streaming Keynote Speeches

I was blessed with the opportunity to present one of the keynote addresses as well as conduct a workshop on Automotive SEO.   I would love to get some feedback on my speech from anyone who attended so that I can continue to improve my speaking skills as well as tailoring the subject matter to reach my audience.

My presentation was live streamed on the Internet so hundreds of additional people were able to see the keynote speakers.  That was groundbreaking and future DrivingSales events will continue to stream broadcast to reach more automotive professionals that seek to grow.  A number of clients emailed me that they were watching and cheering me on; that was very encouraging.

After my keynote, it was encouraging meeting so many dealers who are now engaging and implementing SEO as part of their marketing strategies.  A few years ago this would not have been the case so the awareness is growing as well as adoption.

DrivingSales Innovation Cup

One of the most unique elements of the Summit was the DrivingSales Innovation Cup awards, which had two categories; dealers and vendors.  In the dealer category, five dealer finalists had 5 minutes to present their innovation in front of their entire conference.  The same held for vendors who also had 5 minutes to make the case why their innovation was the best of their peers.

When the judging was completed, Marc McGurren from the Jerry Durant Group in Weatherford Texas won the dealer innovation prize for his after hours website marketing strategy.  For the vendor Innovation Cup, eCarList won top honors for their mobile application.  The competitive spirit and passion that each finalist demonstrated was inspiring.

I’m a big fan of creating a positive competitive spirit in our industry and this was a great element of the DrivingSales Executive Summit.

The Atmosphere Was Electric

There was something else about the Summit that is hard to describe but it was felt by all that I asked.  There was a sense of intimacy and engagement that I have not experienced at other conferences.

Some of that was due to the size of the conference but there was more that established a feeling that this event was valuable.  It will be important to ensure that this spirit is preserved as the show grows in attendance.  Next year there are already plans in place to create more small group engagement.

Another element of the conference that impacted me was the quality of the accommodations at the Encore.  The Winn/Encore properties are just amazing and the Winn Buffet was off the charts.   The hotel air was clean and not smoky and the service attitude for the hotel employees really enhanced the Summit.  Jared picked a first class hotel to hold this first class Summit.

Looking Forward to 2011

I predict that the 2011 DrivingSales Executive Summit will double in size next year and that may be conservative.   The number of top quality speakers, market experts, and trainers that have committed to support this conference each year is staggering.

Jared Hamilton and his team created tremendous value for all that attended and that will be rewarded with strong word of mouth recommendations at future 20 Groups.    If you enjoyed the 2010 DrivingSales Executive Summit, I encourage you to send Jared Hamilton an email and express your thanks and feedback to make next year an even greater success.

Look forward to a number on announcements in coming weeks about additional educational opportunities for car dealers throughout the year organized by DrivingSales.  2011 will be a very exciting year for automotive education and best practice networking.

The 2010 Driving Sales Executive Summit (DSES) will be held in Las Vegas on October 18-20th.  The second annual conference attracts to the top executives from the automotive retail industry.  The conference is unique in its format and the subject matter that will be discussed.

The event is by invitation only and the Top car dealers across the country will be receiving their invitations in the coming weeks.  The 2010 DrivingSales Executive Summit will be held at the Encore hotel, in Las Vegas Nevada. The organizaers have negotiated an excellent package for all attendees to enjoy the luxury of the Encore, at a very low rate.  When registering for the event, please notify DSES if you will be staying at the Encore and they will book your reservation for you.

2010 DSES Conference Format

The DrivingSales Executive Summit is an exclusive automotive event, laser focused on cutting edge dealership operations.  It features an invitation-only guest list of the most successful and innovative dealership operators in the country and world-renowned speakers to educate and inspire the collaborative process.  This years Executive Summit will be held at the beautiful Encore hotel in the electrifying city of Las Vegas, Nevada.

The event kicks off with a 30,000-foot view of the latest media and economic trends just starting to touch the industry.  These high level discussions are then translated down to the 15,000-foot view of how some of the leading dealership innovators are incorporating these trends into new strategies that drive sales at the dealership level. 

To complete the event are strategy collaboration sessions at the 10-foot dealership view where dealer operators participate with their peers in round table discussions about implementing specific aspects of these newly inspired strategies.  The program will inspire you and leave you with a strategic plan to drive measurable results at your store.

The topics and speakers presented are selected by group of dealer attendees. This insures the topics are timely, relevant and that the speakers are of the highest quality for the audience.  The agenda is not sponsor driven, it is dealer driven.

PCG Digital Marketing

Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing will be attending the event and summiting a case study of their digital marketing work for the automotive industry.  If you would like to book a private consultation with Brian Pasch out in Vegas, give our office a call at 732.450.8200 x12.