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Salt Lake City, UT, November 13, 2008 - DrivingSales (www.DrivingSales.com), the automotive industry’s original online best practices and professional networking community, and J.D. Power and Associates have announced the formation of the J.D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable Group in the Groups section of DrivingSales.com.

In DrivingSales Groups, members of the community create and join affinity groups in an online setting to exchange ideas on specific areas of interest. The recent J.D. Power Internet Roundtable focused on applying the best tools from online social media, including user-generated content and reviews, discussion boards, videos, and more, to help the auto industry boost productivity and efficiencies. As a site that embodies the use of social media tools, DrivingSales.com will enable members of J.D. Power Roundtable Group to use these tools, while simultaneously collaborating on best practices.

“J.D. Power’s Automotive Internet Roundtable and DrivingSales.com share complimentary objectives in bringing together industry professionals to discuss the developments and market forces that affect the auto industry,” commented Charlie Vogelheim, vice president of automotive development at J.D. Power and Associates. “DrivingSales has created an easy-to-use platform for conference attendees and other auto industry professionals to have an ongoing discussion about solutions.”

“It’s an honor to offer the Groups platform to J.D. Power Roundtable attendees,” said Jared Hamilton, founder and CEO of DrivingSales. “As a Roundtable attendee, I was able to meet and connect with many people I wanted to talk to, however there’s just never enough time in the day to cover all the ground you want to with your peers. We want to make it easy for Roundtable attendees to stay in touch and apply the great ideas generated at the conference to their businesses on an ongoing basis. When you get this many industry experts coming together in a mass collaboration environment, you can’t help but make great things happen.”

Technorati Tags: DrivingSales.com, Groups, JD Power, site updates

Salt Lake City, UT, October 7, 2008 — DrivingSales (www.DrivingSales.com), the automotive industry’s original online dealership best practices and professional networking community, today announced the launch of its user-generated streaming online Video Collection. The new site feature will be launched today during the J.D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable at the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas. A central focus of this year’s conference is social media, and Jared Hamilton, founder and CEO of DrivingSales, will lead a discussion about the growing importance of social media, including streaming video, for dealerships, OEMs and the automotive industry in general. Like the conference, the DrivingSales Video Collection focuses on providing automotive dealers proven solutions and tactics to improve their businesses and stay in the game.

“The increased speed, quality and overall access to online streaming videos is a real breakthrough for training and continuous learning,” commented Dennis Colome, vice president of Izmo Cars. “In person, onsite training will always be important, but video can be very effective for imparting new skills and knowledge. The richness of the medium can have a much more dramatic, immediate impact than reading a book or information online. The DrivingSales videos offer cutting-edge solutions, and now more dealers than ever will have access to proven strategies and tactics to help improve their operations and the bottom line.”

According to recent ABI Research, both supply and demand are driving the huge increase in online video consumption, “with more rich content available in ad-supported formats and more consumers eager for online video, from professionals and amateurs alike.”

The DrivingSales Video Collection is similar to YouTube, with the obvious difference that all video content focuses on helping automotive dealers maximize their businesses. Both professional and amateur content will be accepted, encouraging members to contribute helpful user generated content (UGC). Video subject matter covers virtually all aspects of dealership activities and operations, including sales, customer retention, Internet retailing, F&I, service, parts, and fleet sales. Content is already available from industry leaders such as: Google head of automotive strategic partnerships Adrian Madland, Dealix vice president of sales Kevin Hunt, CarFolks president and founding shareholder and board member of Auto Dealer Traffic, Inc. Mark Boyd, Cobalt director or marketing Melissa McCann, Curtis Kroeker, former director of vehicles for eBay Motors, and U.C. Berkeley Haas School of Business professor Florian Zettelmeyer.

“Today, more than ever, dealers really need solutions, tactical ideas and answers to their questions about surviving this difficult period. The DrivingSales Video Collection provides our members with real-life, proven solutions for their problems: how to achieve a stronger capital structure, increasing parts and service sales, getting more repeat customers, differentiating yourself in competitive markets, using online marketing tools to maximum advantage, and more. The videos are our latest tool to help dealers compete and succeed through challenging times,” stated Hamilton.

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is a best practices networking community for automotive professionals, including dealers, manufacturers, and vendors, who are collaborating to maximize their success. On DrivingSales.com, members create profiles and communicate with each other, building their networks and knowledgebase by connecting with the people and ideas they need to be more successful. Members share and rate proven strategies, and get access to relevant content contributed by fellow industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Members who are dealers rate and review vendor products, sharing their experiences with the DrivingSales community; while vendors get the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales empowers auto industry professionals to take their businesses and careers to a whole new level of success. Get connected at www.DrivingSales.com.

Technorati Tags: automotive retailing, autotmotive sales training, Internet sales training, online videos

Salt Lake City, UT, August 27, 2008 — DrivingSales (www.DrivingSales.com), the auto industry’s original best practices and social networking community, today announced the opening of the industry’s first vendor ratings system where auto dealers can rate and review their service providers in real time. This unparalleled ratings system offers dealers a neutral, online resource to learn about a wide array of products and services before making important purchasing decisions, via fellow dealers’ first-hand experience using the products. Vendors benefit by getting dealer feedback and the opportunity for dialog on this neutral, third party platform, as well as the chance to showcase their products and services to a broad audience of dealers.

DrivingSales members who are dealers can rate and reviews vendors in the newly launched Vendor Ratings section at www.DrivingSales.com. The ratings will be unveiled for DrivingSales members to view the first week of September.

“Dealers get calls from vendors on a daily basis, and of course, everyone claims that they offer the best solution,” commented John Johnson, owner of John Johnson Dodge of Boonton, New Jersey. “It takes a lot of time and energy on my part to properly evaluate proposals and verify these claims. What DrivingSales Vendor Ratings offers is a way to streamline this evaluation process, and essentially the opportunity to consult with many dealers, in one convenient place, who have experience with particular products and services. This is a great way to make informed decisions.”

While reviewers remain anonymous - only job titles are visible with the reviews - vendors have the opportunity to communicate with their reviewers via the DrivingSales Feedback Manager, which notifies vendors when they’ve been reviewed, among other features. Allowing for both private and public responses to dealer reviews, the Feedback Manager gives vendors the opportunity to reach out to dealers who may have had a sub-par experience and to make improvements, and also the chance to thank dealers for positive reviews and even request testimonials.

“Real time, online user reviews are enough to make any service provider a little nervous,” commented Mark Boyd, president of CarFolks and founding shareholder and board member of Auto Dealer Traffic, Inc. “But any proactive business person today knows the industry is changing with the times and online user reviews are an increasingly important method to aid purchasing decisions, for both consumers and businesses. This is a ‘take the bull by the horns’ opportunity – we’re actively encouraging dealers to join and submit reviews on DrivingSales. And if companies I’m affiliated with ever see less than five-star reviews, I view it as an opportunity to see what’s on the dealer’s mind and to make it right.”

Dealers can currently rate website providers, search engine marketing (SEM) services, lead providers and inventory publishers. Additional categories will be added for reviews in the coming weeks. DrivingSales will present ongoing awards for those vendors who receive the highest ratings in their relative categories.

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is a community of automotive industry professionals, networking and sharing best practices to maximize their success. On DrivingSales.com, members post profiles, share sales strategies, and get access to relevant content contributed by industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Members who are dealers rate and review vendors, sharing their experience with the DrivingSales community; while vendors get the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales empowers auto industry professionals to take their businesses and careers to a whole new level of success. Get connected at www.DrivingSales.com.

DrivingSales, (www.DrivingSales.com), the auto industry’s original online community and social networking site, today announced the winner of its inaugural Strategies contest. Strategies and other best practices are an essential part of the DrivingSales experience, as members of this fast growing automotive community get the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise and benefit from the shared knowledge of their peers. Members who posted strategies competed for the best rating from fellow members, in a fun competition for sharing best practices. Nathan Scripps, director of sales for Jumpstart Automotive Media (www.jumpstartautomotive.com), submitted the winning sales strategy, entitled “The Long Spiff.”

The winning submission challenges dealers to think long-term about spiffs for sales people. Instead of strictly focusing on short-term daily, weekly or monthly sales, Scripps proposes incentives that reward staff members for repeat and referral business. In this way, sales people begin to view customers as life-time clients, rather than just one-time sales. (Visit www.drivingsales.com for the complete strategy.) For posting the winning strategy Scripps will receive a new MacBook Air laptop.

“From working with many dealers every day, I’ve got first hand exposure to the ups and downs they’re facing in today’s market,” commented Scripps. “DrivingSales offers an ideal forum for dealers and service providers alike to share effective, long-term ideas to help boost sales, cut costs, and more – something that is especially needed right now. It’s an honor to be recognized by a group of fellow professionals who are all focused on improving automotive sales and service.”

Members of the DrivingSales community rate Strategies based on their ingenuity, usefulness and effectiveness. A 1-5 star rating is used, along with written reviews and recommendations on whether or not they think colleagues will benefit from the idea.

“There was some stiff competition in this contest,” stated Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales founder and CEO, “with members providing a wealth of creative, proven ideas. The beauty of these strategies is that they offer a quick and easy reference to boost performance, not to mention great ideas for when you walk into your next sales meeting.”

The next DrivingSales Strategies contest begins next month, and the topic will be “great ideas and strategies for success in a down economy.” The prize will be the new Apple iPhone 3g. Visit www.drivingsales.com to learn more, to post a strategy, and get tactical tips from other automotive professionals.

Technorati Tags: contest, JumpStart Media, Nathan Scripps, Strategy

Salt Lake City, UT, July 16, 2008 - DrivingSales.com, the auto industry’s original online community and social networking site, today announced that over two dozen industry experts have become frequent bloggers on DrivingSales.com. Member-generated content is a cornerstone of the DrivingSales community, and the site continues to draw industry thought leaders who are contributing best practices in their areas of expertise.

“The DrivingSales Blogs are a collection of the best blogs in our business – written by industry insiders who have a valuable opinion to share with our dealer audience,” commented Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales founder and CEO. “Our stance is: if you have value to add, we have an audience to share it with. Having just opened DrivingSales.com to the whole industry last month, we’re thrilled to see so many of the most respected names in the business already on board. We’re looking forward to having more join us in the common months.”

The following is a sampling of DrivingSales bloggers and some of the topics covered:

• Allan Cooper, an industry executive with over 25 years of global professional experience, recognized by JD Power and Associates as an Internet Visionary and Pioneer – on employee retention issues for dealerships

• Dean Evans, seasoned online automotive retailing executive and chief marketing officer for Dealer.com - on tactical ways dealers can capitalize on online retailing and Web 2.0 practices

• Rafi Hamid, industry veteran and former groups director of e-commerce for the Napleton Automotive Group - on all facets of enterprise automotive sales

• David Kain, dealership sales and process expert and president of Kain Automotive training and consulting firm - on efficient and successful retailing and operations.

• Dale Pollak, best-selling author of the pre-owned vehicle sales guide Velocity and chairman and founder of vAuto, Inc. - on pre-owned sales and other retailing strategies.

• The DrivingSales Blogs also include contributions from its editorial staff, including highly popular industry blogger and Internet manager Paul Rushing, and other associate editors who currently work within dealerships, who blog on the typical day-to-day issues dealers face.

• Other topics covered in the DrivingSales Blogs include: highlights from industry events and workshops; information on running “green,” environmentally-sustainable dealerships; as well dealership compliance issues; subprime sales; CRM; and more.

“DrivingSales offers an easy way for all of us in this business to pick up strategic and tactical best practices that we can apply immediately,” commented contributor Rafi Hamid. “Whether you are a new Internet sales manager, an account rep at a vendor, or heading up e-commerce for a large dealer group, DrivingSales is a great way to share knowledge, connect with colleagues, and improve operations.”

Read more about the DrivingSales bloggers at www.DrivingSales.com.

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is a community of automotive industry professionals, networking and sharing best practices to maximize their success. On DrivingSales.com, members post profiles, share sales strategies, and get access to relevant content contributed by industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Members who are dealers rate and review vendors, sharing their experience with the DrivingSales community; while vendors get the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales empowers auto industry professionals to take their businesses and careers to a whole new level of success. Get connected at www.drivingsales.com.

Technorati Tags: auto industry experts, dealership best practices

Salt Lake City, UT, June 9, 2008 — DrivingSales.com, the auto dealer industry’s original online community and social networking site, today announced the launch of its first best practices contest. The inaugural event will put the brightest minds in the automotive industry to the challenge of submitting the best sales strategy or spiff. Members of the DrivingSales community will review and rate the strategies based on (more…)

Technorati Tags: Best Spiff Contest, MacBook Air

Salt Lake City, UT, June 2, 2008 — DrivingSales.com, the auto dealer industry’s original online community and social networking site, today announced that it is now open to all automotive industry professionals for networking, sharing best practices, rating vendors, and maximizing success.

Launched in 2003, before any other social networking sites existed for dealers, DrivingSales was created by (more…)

Technorati Tags: automotive online community, automotive social networking, DrivingSales.com

Salt Lake City,
UT, May 5, 2008 Auto industry research and production company
Accelerate Automotive announced that company president Jared Hamilton
has been awarded the 2008 Association of (more…)