As the Internet has grown from simply a niche to a dominant market, it’s landed  the Internet sales manager firmly in the driver’s seat, say Trevor Hill and Jared Hamilton, co founders of Accelerate Automotive and featured speakers at the 2007 Fall Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition at the Las Vegas Hilton October 1-3. 

It also demands new skills, requires a presence be maintained in the virtual market and means many dealerships nationwide still may have to undergo a cultural shift.

Hill and Hamilton believe ISMs are poised to lead this revolution, though too often dealers and general managers still don’t "buy in" to the demands of the new world, producing friction between ISMs and the retail floor.

Their session, “Why ISMs are the GMs of the Future” addresses two key issues –how to getbuy-in from upper management and smooth friction with the retail floor. The two spent the past year filming a training documentary for dealers about harnessing the power of the Internet and say they have gained a unique perspective.

"ISMs today are often given responsibilities that are cross-departmental, and broad reaching in nature,” says Hill, a 12-year industry veteran who has worked both in automotive retail and as a technology service provider to dealers.

“ISM's are an essential part of the high level and ground floor functions of successful dealership operations. With top dealers leveraging their Web site as the keystone for brand messaging and lead acquisition, the ISM’s role with that alone is monumental. And with marketing expenditures shifting from traditional media to the Internet, ISMs will only become more crucial to ownership. After all, they are orchestrators, management collaborators  and designers and executors of all-important marketing initiatives.”  

Hill adds that as shoppers increase their reliance on the Internet to research and purchase cars, media buying becomes increasingly Web based  and dealer Web sites become more transactional, ISMs will surface as a top leaders in the organization. If they can take advantage of all of the opportunities the Internet has to offer for their dealership, they will invariably become the ideal choice for GM, adds Hill.

The goal of our presentation is to coach ISMs on how to lead this cultural change in their stores as we have both have witnessed and performed first hand in our own stores, adds Hamilton, a third generation dealer and graduate of the Nada’s Dealer Candidate Academy. “Its no easy task, there is lots of ground to cover,” he notes.

“It’s time to get serious about the Internet” is the theme of the 3rd Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition. The event venue, the Las Vegas Hilton, is the resort complex next door to the Las Vegas Convention Center, where the NADA Convention & Exposition is held.  The event is the largest of its kind.