Another theme underscoring the event: For those who can’t adapt to the digital age, there will be pain.

The AAISP conference, this year titled Internet Sales 2.0 - The Age of the Customer, is the largest internet and technology event for franchised dealers and managers. An estimated 400 attendees signed up for the three-day gathering, nearly double the number who registered for the 2006 kickoff. The conference at the Nashville Airport Marriott Hotel wrapped up at noon today.

Focusing on the next phase of Internet sales techniques, the goal was to examine how dealerships can target prospects and existing customers to add value to the relationship and maximize profits for the retailer. All while rapid technology advances and the consumers’ growing sophistication in matters surrounding the car buying process press retailers to innovate.

The conference features an exhibition hall with some of the biggest names in the industry, including companies such as AutoTrader.com, Autobytel, cars.com, Dealer Specialties, Dealix, EbayMotors and VinStickers.com.

The companies demonstrated products and explained what they could do to drive sales to dealerships, but the real work of the conference was going on in a series of meeting rooms and auditoriums ringing the exhibition hall.

“I surveyed one dealer’s Web site, and it took me seven clicks before I made it to the inventory page,” said Jeff Clark, VP of Sales for Auto Bid Systems, who offered advice to a roomful of eager listeners during a presentation titled “Turning your Web site into a lead machine.” “Seven clicks! Ridiculous! I told that dealer there is nothing I could do for him. It should take one click to get to your inventory!”

In a session just down the hall, Kerry Cave, National Sales Manager of Dealerskins, pointed out examples of winners and sinners in Web site design while earlier, an auditorium crowd listened as Cory Mosley, founder and CEO of Mosley Automotive Group, drilled down on the finer points of taking control of the Internet sales process and eliminating weaknesses in how salespeople approach customers.

“What you ask sets the tone and the perception for your customers,” Mosley said, adding, “When you ask, how may I help you, what’s the first thing the customer is going to say?” The question elicited snickers and a chorus of “price,” from the audience, reflecting the typical salesperson’s frustration with the new leverage enjoyed by today’s Internet savvy car shoppers.

“Of course,” laughed Mosley, but when I ask “Have you ever purchased a car over the Internet before, I’ve reasserted control over the conversation.”

Practical advice and counsel like Mosley’s is what the AAISP conference attempts to deliver to dealers and their sales staff, and there were sessions addressing the intricacies of this growing form of auto retailing that is quite simply demanding that they adapt quickly or close up shop.

Sessions included topics such as Developing A Killer Inventory Presentation on Your Website; Working Your Pay Plan on the Internet by Increasing Your Dealer's ROI; Updating Your Sales Process to Close More Sales; Mobile Marketing to Connect with Youth Oriented Customers; How to Talk to Your GM About the Importance of the Internet Department; How to Run a One Man (or Woman) Internet Department; and The Value of Vehicle Configurators on Your Web site.

The variety of the sessions is what appealed to one Lima, Ohio dealer who also said he attended last year’s event and found “what goes on between the sessions, the chance to talk with other dealers to see how they’re doing things, that’s just as valuable to me.”

Meanwhile, for dealers looking for solutions and vendors selling products, the conference was a chance to cross paths and enter into deals, and two vendors confirmed to Digital Dealer that they had inked agreeements with new clients at the conference. A number of others expect to continue discussions with dealerships that began at the event.