Award-winning author Brian Solis to show dealers how to navigate and embrace disruptive technologies (from wearables to sharing economies)-- and drive better customer relationships and more sales by becoming part of the ‘disruption’

Salt Lake City, UT – June 5, 2014 – DrivingSales today announced that Brian Solis, an award-winning author and globally recognized thought leader on how digital technology is transforming society and business, will keynote the sixth annual DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES). This year’s summit will be held Sunday, October 12^th through Tuesday, October 14^th, 2014 at the Bellagio Las Vegas.  Solis’ keynote, Be the Disruptor! Embracing Innovation and Technology To Build Better Customer Relationships in 2017 offers attendees a choice: Be disrupted by technology and lose sales…or Be the ‘Disrupter!’ and drive sales.

“Disruptive technologies are already wreaking havoc with traditional consumer interactions, meaning dealers are constantly racing to keep ahead of (and in some cases fighting) the next digital disruption. Today it is social media and mobile; tomorrow it will be ‘wearables’ (i.e. Google Glass), by 2017, things are going to get really crazy – driverless cars anyone?” said DrivingSales founder and CEO Jared Hamilton. “Not only will Brian forecast some of the wilder innovations in our future, but he will also hone in on how dealers can embrace, rather than race, the technology. We love getting things started with the big bang of the future at DSES and Brian, one of the most popular and inspiring speakers on digital technology, will not disappoint!”

Hamilton added that each attendee will receive a copy of Solis’ most recent book, What's the Future of Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences (WTF), and Solis will be on hand to sign copies at a special reception.

A digital analyst, anthropologist, and futurist, Solis studies the effects of disruptive technology on business and society. In his DSES keynote, he will share his views about how innovation and ‘connected consumerism’ are affecting behavior at every step of the customer’s journey and demonstrate how dealers can drive sales and build relationships by becoming part of the disruption, instead of reacting to it. Among the topics he will cover are: Wearables, Social Media, Mobile, The Internet of Things, and the Maker and Sharing Economies. 

Solis is a sought-after keynote speaker and award-winning author on digital transformation, and his most recent book, What's the Future of Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences (WTF), explores the landscape of connected consumerism and how business and customer relationships unfold in four distinct moments of truth. His previous book, The End of Business as Usual, explores the emergence of Generation-C, a new generation of customers and employees and how businesses must adapt to reach them. In 2009, Solis released Engage, which is regarded as the industry reference guide for businesses to market, sell and service in the social web.

Solis’ keynote is part of a soon-to-be announced line-up of insightful and inspiring experts and innovators from in- and outside the auto industry – all providing actionable tactics for issues critical to dealerships. The summit, which had record attendance in 2013, and has sold out every year since inception, is unique in the industry because auto dealers determine the speakers and agenda, as well as the finalists and winners of the annual Innovation Cup and Dealer Best Idea Contest.

DSES is currently accepting applications for breakout session presenters, the Innovation Cup Award and the Best Idea Competition, all selected by dealers. For more information go to:

Breakout Speakers - http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com/agenda/breakout-speakers/

Innovation Cup - http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com/innovation-cup/

Best Idea Competition - http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com/best-idea/

To register before the event sells out, go to http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com/registration/.  For more information about the DrivingSales Executive Summit and to register, visit: DrivingSalesExecutiveSummit.com or contact dses@drivingsales.com.  Stay tuned for DSES news as it develops on www.twitter.com/drivingsales and on facebook.com/drivingsales. Participate in the conversation with the #DSES hashtag as preparations continue throughout the year.

Check out today's blog on DrivingSales at: http://www.drivingsales.com/blogs/DrivingSales/2014/06/04/brian-sol....

About The DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES)

The DrivingSales Executive Summit is where the most progressive dealers gather to collaborate and learn forward-thinking trends in automotive operations. DSES features world-renowned experts on marketing, technology and retail operations from inside and outside the industry who provide the most valuable and actionable insights for today’s dealership professionals.

The DSES agenda is dealer-driven, ensuring the content is 100 percent focused on the needs of progressive dealers.  Only the top 10 percent of speaking applications selected by DrivingSales members make it on the agenda.

To protect the quality of the event, seating is limited and always held at a 5-diamond venue.  DSES has sold out every year. For those interested in attending, securing seating as early as possible is recommended.  For more information, visit DSES.com

About DrivingSales

DrivingSales is a professional network serving the auto industry with dealer-driven news and information, online training, and performance data, all to enable dealers to make critical business decisions at their dealerships.  DrivingSales’ mission is to connect progressive dealership professionals to the people and information they need to maximize their success.  Founded by a third-generation car dealer, and opened up to the industry in 2008, today DrivingSales has registered users in over 50% of new car dealerships in the US and is active in several other countries around the globe.  To learn more about the DrivingSales community, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, DrivingSalesUniversity.com and DrivingSalesData.com

DrivingSales Executive Summit Media Relations:
Melanie Webber
melanie(at)mwebbcom(dot)com
mWEBB Communications
424.603.4340

Crystal Hartwell
crystal(at)mwebbcom(dot)com
mWEBB Communications
714.987.1016