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DrivingSales 2016 / #DSES - How was it for you?

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but of the four DSES events I have attended (of 8 total), this one seemed to lack in energy and attendance compared to previous events. Keynote speakers were ok, with the exception of Ken Schmidt of Harley Davidson who brought great content and energy to his session.

Brad Paschal did great with winning the best idea contest with his "Community Impact Calendar" and I am going to use his idea. Per the Innovation Cup, the word on the floor was that this was an easy win for Dealer Teamwork, but Clarivoy took home the title. Both are great ideas, but I can see where folks saw the Clarivoy solution as the most innovative as it is attempting to break through the attribution obstacles for traditional to digital. Either way, the Dealer Teamwork solution is great and I am a fan of what Dan Mondello has built with this idea.

Speaking of which - the judging panel for the Innovation Cup was getting a bit silly. Seemed like it was turning into a "How can I make the presenter look like a fool" event with the questions, many of which were already answered if they had listened to the presenter more closely. For me, it's about the presenters (and their hard work) rather than a judge trying their best to find a "gotcha" question...

Breakout sessions were ok, nothing that really caught my attention as "leading" ideas EXCEPT for one. I have seen Brent Wees speak multiple times, but his presentation of "Marketing to Millennials is for Suckas" was brilliant. Great content, always great delivery, and he brought brutal candor to showing that millennials want the same thing that boomers and everyone else in between has wanted - integrity, passion, etc. Maybe ad agencies are working hard to create a "problem" that we need to pay them to solve, hmmm....

I also attended the Women in Automotive session and really enjoyed it. Got some invaluable perspective and ideas on how to hire and retain more women in our dealership. Looking to send some folks to their upcoming events next year.

Overall, I wonder if attendance is lower and content not as edgy since there are now so many choices with automotive conferences for dealers (and vendors) to choose from now. One thing is for certain, it is always GREAT to see the awesome folks at DSES and network. Cheers!
 
Overall, I wonder if attendance is lower and content not as edgy since there are now so many choices with automotive conferences for dealers (and vendors) to choose from now. One thing is for certain, it is always GREAT to see the awesome folks at DSES and network. Cheers!

One does have to wonder if the increasing amount of industry conferences over the last few years has any effect on the attendance for any and ALL of our industry conferences. And unfortunately meeting a swarm of NEW key decisions makers - Dealer Owners, Principles, General Managers, Sales Managers, SERVICE MANAGERS isn't the norm.
 
Speaking of which - the judging panel for the Innovation Cup was getting a bit silly. Seemed like it was turning into a "How can I make the presenter look like a fool" event with the questions, many of which were already answered if they had listened to the presenter more closely. For me, it's about the presenters (and their hard work) rather than a judge trying their best to find a "gotcha" question...

Kevin I was noting the same thing about the "judges."
 
I didn't attend DSES (though I was in Vegas for meetings during the conference), but the feedback I continue to hear is that there is little "actionable advice" at the conferences these days. Lots of cool pie-in-the-sky and "what ifs," but very little I can take back to my dealership and implement today.

For DSES, I think the attendance challenge is greater, because (IMHO) those that will get the most from attending are Dealer Principals, GMs, big group executives, CMOs and eCommerce Directors. These guys are harder to draw, while a single-point Internet or BDC Manager is an easy draw (but not a fit for this higher level conference).
 
Duly noted on the judges. It became a look at me contest instead of lobbing up softballs for them to knock over the fence.

As far as content, I really enjoyed it. Sure there was tons that made me go, I've heard that before but it also made me feel guilty because I've yet to implement so many of them consistently. It feels like the summit has shifted to leadership in automotive more than digital marketing and at times seems like an awkward teenager trying to find it's identity. I mean that with love. All in all it was a blast and still, by far, my favourite conference to attend.
 
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Was fairly disappointed this year.
I really enjoyed Auto Ventures, but DSES was pretty lacking in excitement and/or new information.
Many of the sessions I attended were labeled very poorly and not at all about what they claimed to be.

Some of the keynotes were good, but not nearly as good as years gone by.
Jared did great as always, I just wish the rest of it held up to that standard.

There were a few speakers that should have been vetted out as well.. some were just plain misinformation.
 
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There were a few speakers that should have been vetted out as well.. some were just plain misinformation.

That's especially disappointing to hear, as DSES was always known as the more "exclusive" (if you will) conference; as opposed to the "Pay-to-Play" crap that's out there (at nearly every other conference/meeting) or the strangely blah/timid NADA sessions.

Growing can be tough, as you have to delegate more. I would guess Jared has delegated quite a bit given DS' tremendous growth over the years.
 
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