Mike and Jared actually worked together at the earlier DD conferences. Jared offered to work with Mike when he wanted to to do what he is doing now. Mike told him, "No." Mike is his own worst enemy. He has done some great things and then he turns around and screws people or threatens people, etc..... his ego and mouth kill a guy who is really not that bad...until he's bad. He's a guy you love to hate and hate to love. Unfortunately, he has pissed off several people after his most successful conference ever.

How interesting. I got heat for daring to suggest that DSES was a better event than DD9 and it was suggested I would not be welcome at DD10.

As Layton mentioned, it is a huge industry that has room for many conferences, and I'm sure they all offer something useful to all who attend.

I will say this.

We as an industry know the importance of relationship building, follow up and staying connected with previous buyers, the 'repeat' segment of our customers is one of the easier sales.

If my budget meant I could only attend one event next year, I would choose DSES over DD9, simply because Jared responded to everything I asked, or tweeted, the positive and the negative.

The actions of the people connected with DD9 and their attitude to any negativity suggests to me if I did attend and had an issue, it would not be resolved professionally. It's a shame as I certainly learnt from both events. Just goes to show customer service affects future buying decisions.

To those (who shall, for now remain anonymous) who suggested I would not be welcome, fair enough. Why would I pay $1,600 to feel unwanted. Be very careful, though, in this world of new media, bad news spreads far and wide my friends, and you never know, someone with influence and reach might decide to bite back.

Thanks once again for a great post, and to all who commented too, excellent discussion!

My take on this situation for what is worth - DSES is a far superior conference for where we are at as a store than the DD8 conference I attended. DD is more 101 as IM@CS stated - call it like it is. Own it.

Did I get a ton a benefit from DD8? Yup. I met a ton of vendors, got exposed to industry leaders, and was challenged to raise the bar. All great things but the majority of the breakouts were sales pitches (I didn't know any better). Hey - if that is what DD8 is about - showing a wide dealer base about emerging technologies that vendors offer - that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Will I most likely go back another time - probably so.

Why did I like DSES more - it was virtually vendor neutral except for a few plugs - but hey - you can't blame them. Matt Murray did a phenomenal job talking about PPC yet never pitched their product. Yes - the name of his product was on some of the screen shots - but the talk was more about educating the dealer body about the importance of PPC in todays market - not how his product can take you there.

Also - less car people - more outside influences. We get in a bubble and like to pat ourselves on our back about how "innovative" we are yet - we are so far behind the curve as a industry it is sometimes scary. My head was spinning listening to some of the speakers we had as DSES.

Lastly - I truly believe there is room for everyone in this conference arena. I have learned relationships sell cars - not the car itself. If the rumors are true about how DD folks are handling all this - it will eventually bit them in the rear by burning those relationships...especially given the great alternatives being presented to us #DSES.

Hopefully this post won't get me banned from DD myself. I heart DealerRefresh.

Ryan- If you knew me then you would know that peachy fuzzy is not what I am about. I will tell you that as a vendor in this space for a long time; we need to have more conferences! To put down Mike or Jared is the wrong approach support both and move on.

@Layton that's all peachy fuzzy but it's clearly not how Roscoe sees it.

2 Years ago 2 friends of mine and I were doing a series of small speaking events around Texas, Oklahoma, and the Southeast called Auto Training Events. The group still exists on Linked In. I started it, and have not even logged on in over a year. During those events I had the AAISP links up on the site. I figured since 3 of us had opened the Digital Dealer booth at NADA (nobody was there) I would post the links that went to the Conference. I still have the rotten ass e-mail saved from our friend Mr. Roscoe and have been tempted to post it. I did not return to 3 conferences after that until this year. I thought it was a great conference but if these rumors are true I will not be surprised. The words in these posts are true, the people that made Digital Dealer can un-make Digital Dealer.

Wake up!!!!!!!

Sad to see people putting down any conference in the automotive space. There should be more and more information shared. Mike Roscoe stepped to the plate when no one else was willing and created a niche conference that has benefitted both the vendors and dealers. Jared has created another format that will allow dealers and vendors share ideas. Both conferences are excellent and with the size of our industry we should be glad that both Mike and Jared are planning on continuing to move forward.

Ah...so that cat is out of the bag on Roscoe. I will politely take this opportunity to share why I have completely avoided Digital Dealer for the past 4 years - because I stopped supporting Mike Roscoe after he shit on one of the best friends the auto industry has, whom I will leave unnamed for his own sake. There are a lot of good people doing great things in the auto industry and I get the feeling that this post will end up drawing a line in the sand between them and him.

I will also share that it was really cool to see the DSES via live stream. Hats off to Jared and his team for such a job well done all around. Feedback on the event has been great and I imagine that DSES will become (if it hasn't already) the premier event for cutting edge auto professionals.

I know you guys don't appreciate anonymous post but I'm doing it because I need to keep speaking at Digital Dealer events. And Chili Palmer is the man telling you how it is (Get Shorty). When (not if) DrivingSales gets to over 500 attendees I will gladly give Roscoe the middle finger he deserves and hedge my bets with Jared.

I am so glad you guys finally put something out in the open about Roscoe. I see that it is all rumors and hearsay but I have seen and heard this stuff too many times going back to third Digital Dealer. It is time someone exposes that bastard for what he is.

I can only imagine the cussing and screaming going on at the Dealer Magazine office today. Mike is throwing a fit while the rest of the team is secretly agreeing with what is being said here. Cliff - get out while you can. Have you heard the saying "When you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas."

Len -I'm glad to see you show some backbone and post up like a man. I'm sorry I couldn't do it myself. But I couldn't resist leaving this completely alone.

ADP's CRM tool is the single worst in the industry followed by a close second with Reynolds Contact Management. Anything they can do to get rid of that POS is good. AutoTrader is a cancer. First vAuto, now KBB. We all know they suck. It is only a matter of time before they destroy both those brands.

We had a serious issue with the Digital Dealer organization as both exhibitor and speaker back in 2008. Our experience has kept us away from the conference since. The purpose of such a conference should be to bring people together - to share in ideas, products, and best practices. The person in-charge should be a politician, not a dictator.

We thoroughly enjoyed the goodnatured and positive content/sessions we saw at the 2nd Annual Driving Sales Summit which we highly recommend as an alternative.

Mike Roscoe is a narccist. DD is a great venue for the dealer body but sadly Mike Roscoe now has developed a "GOD" complex. I expect to receive a email notifying me that I too have been banished! Mike pull your head out of your butt and open your eyes. Try building relationships rather than tearing them down. The same people that made DD successful, can and will bury you. I think this would be a good time to start our own conference. The "DealerRefresh Summit" You heard it here first.

I also heard that Dealer HD bought Ford. True story.

Leslie,

Really now, “like Hitler took Europe”? I don’t know what axe you have to grind with AutoTrader or Chip Perry, but very respectfully the acquisition by AutoTrader of vAuto and KBB is a very positive thing for dealers.

One of the most common frustrations of dealers is the lack of integration between systems and tools. Lack of such integration requires dealers to perform duplicative tasks and importantly prevents them from recognizing the true synergy of critical applications. For example, the union between AutoTrader and vAuto will allow dealers to make pricing and stocking decisions knowing what consumers are searching for in their market in real-time at precise price points.

Further, the Kelley acquisition will enable dealers to have classified advertising exposure in a high traffic trusted medium, where it was otherwise unavailable. Giving dealers exposure, in a medium and manner otherwise not available, is a big win for dealers.

There is one further insight that I would like to share with you and others. Although I have know Chip and some of his executives for several years, over the past 6 months I have come to know much more about him and his broader organization. Without hesitation I can tell you that the executive management of AutoTrader is comprised of many individuals who are intelligent and passionate about building a great company to serve dealers. They are serious about their mission and understand that their success is based on the success of their dealer clients. If there is something in particular that is bothering you, I would be very eager to discuss it, and try to resolve the source of your dissatisfaction. My contact information is as follows: 630-343-9016 and [email protected]. It is important to constructively communicate and work together.

Respectfully,

Dale

Leslie,

Unfortunate and malicious analogy in your October 27th comment on KBB and vAuto.

AutoTrader's acquisition of vAuto and now KBB is not a good thing. It will be only a matter of time before both brands will be destroyed by Chip and his buddy's. Most informed dealers have woken up to the false promise of Auto Trader. Sad to see that the AutoTrader is taking company's like Hitler took Europe.

What does this do to Cars.com ? It is clear these are not the best of times for the media based Cars and their parents they are fighting for their own lives and now AT is just building a fortress of a company.One thing is clear it is all about the data and Cox is getting data from every angle. Things just got a little worse at the newspapers. Who else will be hurt by this?

To me this acquisition makes perfect sense although I'm surprised that the Cox entity making the purchase is Autotrader and not Manheim although I guess it doesn't really matter. Now you have the marquee name in wholesale vehicle valuations (Manheim) partnering with the marquee customer vehicle valuation source (KBB). Again, I guess that is a good thing.

Good for ATC, bad for competition... KBB is a huge acquisition. The thing I'm afraid of is, will this stifle creativity?

Where will they stop? They are on a roll. Just reread your post from last May regarding the investment in ATC by Providence Equity Partners and what might play out (http://www.dealerrefresh.com/autotrader-sold-providence-equity-partners/).

Seems like they still have work to do but will all this be a Dominion type shopping spree or can ATC make something happen?

Craig I like the post. Having been on both the dealership and vendor side I really believe that ongoing training is vital to the success of the sales team at any dealership. The market changes so quickly and the technology that is developed to support the automotive retail industry (CRM, ILM, Websites, Inventory Management, etc..)changes every day.

I believe that every vendor needs to ask their customers what they need to do in order to make the systems they sell better and easier to use. The best companies in this arena base updates and improvements on customer input, after all it is the people in the dealerships that know what they need to operate more effectively and efficiently and it is our job as vendors to supply an end product (UI) that helps accomplish those results.

It is equally important to have interactive training, be it in-store or web based, accessible and available to dealership staff. What good are updates to a CRM if the end users don't know how to take advantage of them?

The timing of this post is interesting as I have several dealers that I work with that have recently made it mandatory for everyone in the organization to take a certain amount of training and testing on the systems they have in place in order to become "certified". While these dealerships have just recently implemented these requirements the early results are very encouraging. There has been an increase in overall usage, data input is much more accurate, and time spent using the system to prospect has increased.

You know I think you are one of kind in your position. I never met a GSM on your level in the digital aspect of the business.

Check. I agree our front line people (sales, cashiers, advisers) take the brunt of the blame when something doesn't work (i.e. sales training seminar, new CRM, getting them all hooked up with blackberries etc..). Again. Sorry for the prior pitch. I would like to throw out a thought; Sales people, cashiers, and advisers (sometimes) have the least amount of shelf life in many stores. While the "green pea" at my dad's store had been with us 5 years and is still there today, there are many stores with the revolving door. Probably the biggest reason they often are not included in technology decisions. We can do everything we can to train, support, re-train, and provide requested enhancements... but if vendors are having to train new staff each and every time, where do we start? If dealers do their best in keeping their face to face staff, there would certainly be more valuable input for technology advances and time for said staff to have the opportunity to learn it.

Darrin,

Wow, thanks for the pitch....well not really sorry.

I guess although I agree with Uncle Joe on the CRM rant, I wasn't really looking for new vendors or trying to pick on any one item CRM,DMS or otherwise. For me this was about the blame on salespeople that goes down for not "getting it" while all the while they are the first connection to the customers that pay most of our bills either directly or indirectly and that they are often the last people consulted in adding technology or features to technology for selling cars.

Speaking of rants.....I didn't write this and Jeff didn't include my Linkedin link so I could be bombarded with generic request from vendors claiming to be my "friend".....sorry if I didn't add you, maybe next time hit me with a why we should be connected....please

Great post Craig and as the Northeast Regional manager for Automotive Computer Services, and former dealer kid (well always a dealer kid, graduate of the NADA academy, grew up living Joe Verde until Dad sold the store).

You (and Joe P.) are spot on with a dealer designed, not platform down design system to make technology easier. Automotive Computer Services has always been a Windows based DMS solution which as the industry has migrated beyond green screens, has become a much more embraced platform. We are a small company with approximately 400 dealers on our system. We typically replace Reynolds and ADP systems and we are privately owned with the one goal in mind of customer satisfaction. Many of our staff have dealership experience but many are also programmers and thus our best ideas come from dealers to make things more simple to use. Indexed help embedded in the ACS system, 100 support staff in our headquarters, free web training scheduled each month and available on demand, on site training available with low cost, and we continually improve. Over the past 3 years we've rewritten three core modules and provided about 900 dealer requested enhancements because they were things that would make their lives easier. Are we perfect? Not yet... we're finishing up our Toyota DCS integration for next year... then we'll be closer but as a small technology vendor we really do our best to keep it simple stupid. Point and click, real english statements, full MS Office integration, a built in CRM that while simple, it has horsepower, easy to learn.. and yes I'm self promoting too much; but as I once sat on your side of the desk with ADP and Arkona as our DMS' during my time with Dad, it took a special company for me to work for. Automotive Computer Services is that company. www.acsaccess.com Thanks again for the post.