I have invested my time, energy and of course money in attending The NADA Convention throughout my 35 plus year career in the retail auto industry.  As my role in the industry changed, so did my goals in attending the convention.  The purpose of this post is to share some of my experienced benefits so others may realize the ROI that I have enjoyed through my support of the NADA.  Frankly, I also hope to surface other experiences to add to my own. 

The next convention will be in Orlando, FL February 8th through February 10th, 2013.  

As a General Manager and then dealer for the first twenty five plus years my goals for attending the NADA Convention were clear.  I went to:

• listen and learn from industry experts so I could bring best practices back to my dealership,
• to attend Make Meetings to stay on top of developing industry trends and product launches,
• to develop factory and dealer relationships to help me navigate the political landscape,
• to review next generation vendor solutions,
• to meet with present vendors to renew relationships and evaluate existing agreements,
• to connect with industry friends both professionally and most importantly socially,
• to look for key employees with like minded focus on improving their skills
• and generally to better understand the auto industry to further my career and network of friends.

For the past thirteen years, after shifting my focus from retail to automotive advertising and technology based vendor solutions focused on improving dealer processes, my goals have changed.  Many of my activities remain the same in regards to networking and listening and learning from experts, however my objectives have shifted to seeking out B2B relationships to enhance my own offerings.

As a partner with several vendors providing varied complimentary solutions I will be attending the NADA Convention to:

• Support the booths and sessions hosted by my partnered companies,
• to seek new technologies to integrate with and enhance my present solutions
• to add to my list of things I do not know so I can prepare for the next best thing
• to understand new trends in the industry
• and to continue building on the friends and knowledge base acquired at previous Conventions.

Now, I would appreciate any additions to my list and/or suggested activities that you will be attending in Orlando so I can continue to listen and learn so I can presume to teach.

After all, what are friends, and Dealerelite for!