Via Virtual Strategy Magazine

Award-winning author Brian Solis to show dealers how to navigate and embrace disruptive technologies (from wearables to sharing economies) and drive better customer relationships and more sales by becoming part of the ‘disruption’.

DrivingSales announced that Brian Solis, an award-winning author and globally recognized thought leader on how digital technology is transforming society and business, will keynote the sixth annual DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES). This year’s summit will be held Sunday, October 12th, through Tuesday, October 14th, 2014, at the Bellagio Las Vegas. Solis’ keynote, “Be the Disruptor! Embracing Innovation and Technology To Build Better Customer Relationships in 2017,” offers attendees a choice: Be disrupted by technology and lose sales, or Be the ‘Disrupter!’ and drive sales.

“Disruptive technologies are already wreaking havoc with traditional consumer interactions, meaning dealers are constantly racing to keep ahead of (and in some cases fighting) the next digital disruption. Today it is social media and mobile; tomorrow it will be ‘wearables’ (i.e. Google Glass); by 2017, things are going to get really crazy – driverless cars anyone,” said DrivingSales founder and CEO Jared Hamilton. “Not only will Brian forecast some of the wilder innovations in our future, but he will also hone in on how dealers can embrace, rather than race, the technology. We love getting things started with the big bang of the future at DSES and Brian, one of the most popular and inspiring speakers on digital technology, will not disappoint!”

Hamilton added that each attendee will receive a copy of Solis’ most recent book, “What’s the Future of Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences” (WTF), and Solis will be on hand to sign copies at a special reception.

A digital analyst, anthropologist, and futurist, Solis studies the effects of disruptive technology on business and society. In his DSES keynote, he will share his views about how innovation and ‘connected consumerism’ are affecting behavior at every step of the customer’s journey and demonstrate how dealers can drive sales and build relationships by becoming part of the disruption, instead of reacting to it. Among the topics he will cover are: Wearables, Social Media, Mobile, The Internet of Things, and the Maker and Sharing Economies.

Solis is a sought-after virtual keynote speaker and award-winning author on digital transformation, and his most recent book, “What’s the Future of Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences” (WTF), explores the landscape of connected consumerism and how business and customer relationships unfold in four distinct moments of truth. His previous book, “The End of Business as Usual,” explores the emergence of Generation-C, a new generation of customers and employees and how businesses must adapt to reach them. In 2009, Solis released “Engage,” which is regarded as the industry reference guide for businesses to market, sell and service in the social web.

Solis’ keynote is part of a soon-to-be announced line-up of insightful and inspiring experts and innovators from in- and outside the auto industry – all providing actionable tactics for issues critical to dealerships. The summit, which had record attendance in 2013, and has sold out every year since inception, is unique in the industry because auto dealers determine the speakers and agenda, as well as the finalists and winners of the annual Innovation Cup and Dealer Best Idea Contest.