7:02 am, January 23, 2015
They’ve got flags and everything
CAR DEALER likes to be early – and we’ve arrived a full day ahead of the NADA Convention & Expo opening its doors proper – but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy.
Despite the fact the Expo doesn’t open until Friday our biggest problem today has been deciding which of the pre-Expo workshops to attend.
There were dozens to choose from covering all areas of the motor industry so James and I picked carefully so we (he) could report back to you the latest trends in the next issue of Car Dealer.
We wanted to make sure that we (he) could report on the most relevant sessions for you, while at the same time we’re on the look out for some key note speakers who can bring their knowledge and expertise to the Car Dealer Conference & Automotive Expo that we’re holding at Silverstone on the June 9.
While I’m on that subject, registration to our FREE event is open now and you can sign up quickly in a matter of seconds by clicking this link.
But back to NADA.
The first thing that struck us both is the sheer size of this event. We have big plans for our Car Dealer Conference in the next few years and this event shows what can be achieved. This is huge – small village huge!
You will be able to read all about today’s sessions in the next issue of the magazine when James has one-finger-typed his way through 400 pages of notes, but until then (you’ll probably be waiting a while) here are a handful of facts that I picked up from today’s sessions.
Companies who are actively engaged with their staff see revenue on average over 3.9 per cent higher than those that don’t. Basically, happy staff make you more money.
We were a bit early for the Expo – they still hadn’t laid the carpets
A recent survey of US citizens asked them to rate their trust of a number of different professions – car sales people came rock bottom. Lower than Congressmen!
Some even said a trip to the dentist was preferable to visiting a dealer. Maybe that’s why the Americans have such pearly white smiles…
In less than 10 years, 75 per cent of car sales will be to people born after 1980, dubbed the millennials, and in the last two years there has been an 80 per cent growth in web pages accessed on mobile.
We also learned about Russian cyber hackers causing dealers untold problems with their PPC budgets. Read the full story here.
The sessions gave advice and help on how to address or make the most of these issues and we’ll (he’ll) be covering this in the mag. Even though we’re only one day in, we’ve already got pages of useful advice and help for you, our readers, and a few potential speakers lined up for our very own conference.
In case you missed my blatant plug earlier that will be held on JUNE 9 at SILVERSTONE. Make sure you’re one of the first on the registration list by CLICKING HERE.
I think that got my point across…
Right, it’s nearly bed time here. Got to go and have some Horlicks and a cookie. Absolutely no beer, dear wife, none at all. Not even the whiff of a pint. Absolutely not. Never. Ever ever.
Did I get my point across there too? Hope so…
More tomorrow, until then have a good Friday.
Andy Entwistle, Car Dealer Magazine operations director
