Organized by Kijiji, the DealerTalkX tour begins with a bang in Toronto, followed by stops in Montreal (Sept 28) and Calgary (Oct 6).

 TORONTO, ONT. – Dealers, analysts, industry experts and media gathered in Toronto on September 20 for the fourth annual DealerTalkX conference. Two content streams, Executive and Sales & Marketing, presented information on how to better reach and serve customers in the rapidly-changing sales environment.

Following a keynote speech by gold medal Olympian Jon Montgomery, six speakers led seminars in the Sales & Marketing stream. Sales trainer and marketer Alan Dickie explained how to use social media to your advantage when reaching customers, while Susan Seto, vice-president of market strategy for Environics Research Group, spoke about engaging buyers of the future, with special emphasis on women and millennials.

Rohn Jackson, head of analytics for Kijiji Canada, talked about the reality of consumer-centric data marketing—not everything you assume about your customers is correct!—while Kyle Costa, Internet manager at Bustard Chrysler, discussed “digital disruption” as a method of getting potential customers’ attention. To wrap up, retail performance specialist Kevin Graff talked about creating a sustainable sales culture, while Matthew McKenzie, general manager of Kijiji, discussed how dealers need to get out of their comfort zones.

A complete report on DealerTalkX, with overviews of each of the presentations, will be coming soon in AutoJournal.