Comment

Comment by Michael Roscoe on January 25, 2016 at 11:58am

Good article David, thanks for sharing, I learned a lot!

We don't pay much attention to other events, don't attend them, but if David Metter says they are bad enough to cause a "Jerry McGuire moment", I believe you David!

I know you haven't been to Digital Dealer for a while, but I'd like to share with you why you might want to attend the next Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition. You will find we are doing the things you like, and not doing the things that have apparently caused you much consternation.  

For example David, we had 25 speakers from dealerships at the 20th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition in Orlando last week, including the VP of Digital Marketing and Customer Experience for AutoNation, the COO of the #4 eDealer group in the country, and more similarly progressive dealers. This is more dealership presenters than we have ever had, so while you have apparently noticed a trend towards less dealership speakers at other conferences, Digital Dealer is trending more dealership presenters. There were two dealership speakers in every concurrent session slot, meaning if an attendee didn't want to attend even one session where vendors such as yourself were presenting, they didn't have to…and they had a choice of two dealership presenters in each time slot. Add to that former dealers and managers speaking such as former GM Joe Orr, and trainers / consultants such as former dealer Tim Deese and former ISM Joe Webb, and over 1/3rd of the 100+ speakers at Digital Dealer 20 work in a dealership or are now vendors who have dealership backgrounds such as yourself. 

We get over 300 speaking applications for the 100 concurrent sessions we offer at a Digital Dealer Conference. A committee of dealers and managers grades each one.  

Speaking applications from current dealers and managers always get first consideration. Even so, we have to go looking for some to get as many as we feature. I don't think "all of the progressive dealers" have "gone away" as you asked David. And I guarantee you they are not "afraid to speak" as you suspected. They love this industry as much as you and me…they are still going into dealerships every day! But they do have businesses to run and iron to move. Maybe they don't speak at these other events to which you refer because they don't think it's worth their time? 

In the last 9 months, the Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition has attracted over 3,100 dealers and managers, around half of what an NADA Convention & Exposition attracts, and also hundreds of OEMs. Not bad considering Digital Dealer is focused exclusively on the Internet and technology (NADA addresses the gamut of dealership issues and concerns). 85 of the top 100 dealership groups in the country have attended Digital Dealer. 

None of this happens by accident. It happens because from day 1, starting with Dealer magazine over twenty one years ago, and now with the Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition, the priority has always been educating dealers and managers. If we do a good job of that, the dollars will follow. With Dealer magazine we focused on how-to editorial and as we got readership, advertising dollars followed. With Digital Dealer we focused on how-to content and sessions and as we grew attendance, both new and returning attendees, exhibit and sponsorship dollars followed. Maybe these other conferences and events to which you you referred in your post go for the money first? Maybe they are doing an event to build their own vendor business? I don't know, like I said, we don't pay much attention to them.  

David, I started the Digital Dealer section of Dealer magazine, and subsequently the Digital Dealer Conference, because I saw the only way dealers and managers were learning about the Internet and technology was when a vendor was trying to sell them their product. I myself asked the same question you posed above…"Is this really the best way to educate our dealer audience?" The answer was "No".  I believed if we provided dealers and managers education in a print magazine, a website, webinars, newsletters and live events featuring the country's most progressive dealers, managers, executives, consultants and trainers sharing their knowledge, experience and expertise, it had to be a better learning environment than a salesperson trying to sell them their product. 

I have yet to meet a vendor who did not believe in their product…who did not think dealerships would benefit from what they had to offer. Not for me to judge. We just try to pick the brains of dealers, managers, trainers, consultants and vendors by having them share their knowledge, experience and expertise in a non-promotional, non-proprietary way that imparts to the reader / attendee how-to knowledge they would not otherwise have acquired. 

Our goal is not to sell product and also educate dealers and managers. Our goal is to educate dealers and managers. Period. If we are successful in educating them, they continue to read and continue to attend. When this happens advertising, exhibit and sponsorship dollars follow. This has always been so simple to me, but apparently, the events you referred to in your post do not see it this way. 

Over the last 21 years we have literally lost millions of dollars in advertising and exhibits/sponsorships because we always put our dealership audience first. We can replace lost revenue, but if we lose readership or attendance…we will lose all the revenue. We once lost what was at the time our biggest customer at Digital Dealer because we wouldn't do what they wanted. Lost $250k per year. But we cannot play games with our attendees…they are our most valuable asset.  

That's why we are so focused on keeping sessions involving vendors from being sales pitches. Speaking applications include clear instructions to avoid pitching, we review sessions in advance to make sure they are sharing how-to information that has value to the audience regardless of if they do business with the presenter's company or even ever speak to them again. We place a very direct reminder on each podium so the speaker sees it before they get started and we have signs in each room asking the audience to text us if there is any pitching going on. Is it 100%? Is anything? But we get only a handful of texts each conference (mostly from vendors). And while our post conference attendee surveys show us we are not 100%…it's really not an issue with our audience. There was one speaker at DD20 who had a few pitch complaints from DD19. I sat in on their session at DD20. Not only did he not pitch, it was so good, I called my marketing people to the session to learn for this expert!

Now, we do have a sponsorship that involves a speaking slot David. It is a Title Sponsorship and they get to choose what day they want their session. But they are scrutinized the same as any other session to be "sales pitch free" and they have to receive a passing grade from our dealer committee. Unless the Title Sponsor decides they want to talk about their product or do a demonstration, Titles are allowed to do this IF they have told us so we can clearly mark the session as "Informational" not "Educational".

Either way, there are always 7-8 other sessions taking place at the same time as these Title Sponsor sessions, so nobody is forced to attend any session, Title or otherwise. As far as room size, that is determined by the registered attendees indicating what sessions are going to be the most popular. I don't know how these other conferences you referred to do it David, but this works very well for all parties involved for us. 

By the way, attendees are free to attend any session they wish at Digital Dealer, they don't look at any slot or room as better than any other. That's the vendor perspective, vendors are the only ones who ever complain about room, time or room size. The biggest complaint we get from dealers and managers…"I have too many sessions to choose from in each time slot…I can't decide!"

Which brings me to this you wrote David, "It seems that more often than not, my experience, my name, and my brand are simply not enough to secure a speaking position at a conference. It's sad to say, but as an industry, we need to be better than that." Can't speak for the other conferences you referred to of course, but we go by one factor when selecting a speaker…the content of their session. If the session is compelling and will draw attendees, if it will be a reason why a dealer or manager will leave a dealership for 3-4 days and spend $2,000…we want that session! We don't care about the experience, the name or the brand. It's all about the session. We didn't get to 3,100 dealership attendees in the last 9 months by having crap sessions. Other events have come and gone, some others have stagnated. Digital Dealer attendance is up 50% from the previous 12 month period. The #1 reason is the quality of sessions we offer. 

Mainly through our sessions, but also with our keynotes and the peer networking that takes place when 1,000 progressive-minded dealers and managers gather, we give our audience the knowledge they need to truly take their business to the next level. Just ask the COO of the #4 eDealer Group in the country, Erich Gail…he will go on and on about how attending their first Digital Dealer Conference changed their entire perception of how dealerships should operate, and they haven't missed a DD in six years, coming twice each year. 

I had one attendee come up to me at DD20 in Orlando last week, Jim Faust, Marketing Director at Universal Ford Lincoln…he had just been to DD19 3 1/2 months ago, but said it was well worth coming again so soon. The reason? The sessions.  

Oh, and since you are a fan of the 20 Group style of learning David, you will be glad to know we have an extended session at Digital Dealer, Peer Strategy Roundtables. wherein we have breakout tables of ten, categorized by title and size of dealership / group. The participants take turns expressing their biggest challenges and the group attempts to share / find solutions. Dealership attendees only, no vendors allowed.  

Also, for clarification, any of these conferences, from NADA to Digital Dealer to the ones you referred to…"the industry" does not "host" these events as you stated. The industry is invited to these events. The NADA Convention & Exposition is hosted by NADA, their dealer members and the fabulous NADA staff. They commit to room blocks years in advance and risk millions of dollars to be able to put on live shows that benefit their members and raise money for the association. As an exhibitor at NADA for 20 years, I don't feel I have ever "hosted" NADA. I don't think anyone at NADA feels they are hosting my event by buying booth space. NADA affords me the privilege of taking a booth in their exhibit hall so we can communicate with our constituents…their members. They have a staff that makes it look easy, but trust me, an event that size…or even just the size of Digital Dealer, is not as easy as great teams with experience make it look. 

With that out of the way David, and with you perhaps now having a better understanding of what has been going on at Digital Dealer in your absence, I would like to take this opportunity to personally invite you to submit a speaking application for DD21 in Las Vegas August 8-10. I would very much like for you to share your wealth of knowledge in order to help others and to inspire our audience. You are exactly the type of person we want speaking at Digital Dealer! But it won't happen if you don't even make a speaking proposal. 

I would also like to invite you to exhibit and sponsor at DD21, but I can assure you, your speaking application will be judged on the merits of the contents of the session you propose, not on money spent (or not spent). 

Good luck!

Mike 

ps- we would be open to publishing your white papers as well…we connect with over 130,000 dealers and managers.