Boating, sailing

8 Comments to “What would make you buy a boat from a particular dealership?”

1. 

   By J.S., November 26, 2009 @ 4:08 am

   how about a test drive of the boat a costumer is interested in. Or you could rent out that boat for a weekend so the costumer can actually try the boat and see if it is his boat because it is quite use full to know what you are buying.
2. 

   By Veronica Alicia, November 26, 2009 @ 4:16 am

   If the particular brand of boat you are selling has an Owners’ Club, you could offer the first year’s sub to the Club?
   A reduction on the first engine service?
   Free slipway use for the first 12 months?
3. 

   By william M, November 26, 2009 @ 4:41 am

   Js has a great idea.

   Word of mouth is what sells one dealership from another. Go on a campaign to get your customers to spread the word (good campaign slogan) about how your service department is so much better than the others.

   Run a winterize special. Buy a short spot on radio-

   Weed out your bad service techs. One bad guy can ruin your service department.

   Expand to older motors- many service departments won’t work on older motors. These guys are going to step up one day. These motors are easier to work on and the parts are out there even if you have to search for them. Advertise the fact.

   Storage. If you have room- get some monthly income with a deal on storage- combine with the winterize special – first months free – don’t gripe if they pull out early and owe nothing – treat them like a king- they will be back and spend like a drunken Sailor /
4. 

   By david, November 26, 2009 @ 5:00 am

   I’ve purchased several boats ranging from a used kayak to a brand new Beneteau 33. What I do is do my research to identify the model I desire and then do a search of paper and internet resources to find that particular boat in a location I desire. I then buy it form whoever that is.

   What would entice me to buy a boat from you is for you to have the right boat in the right location at the right price.
5. 

   By Captain Bill, November 26, 2009 @ 5:59 am

   Shop your competition and make sure that your prices are ‘right’. Have a clean and organized show room, shop and parts room. Offer a training trip with new owners or an electronics training for new customers.

   Think up some thing for the wives or the family – offer upgraded safety equipment – colored PFDs instead of the standard orange for inland vessels, or host a boaters safety class for the new owners family.

   Get out in you community and talk to fishing groups, yacht clubs, any boating groups about boating or how they can save money on their boat. Don’t make it a commercial for your shop, but if your make friends with the boating groups they are more likely to visit your showroom to look at your models.
   Keep your overhead as low as you can too, makes it easier to offer a little better deal.

   Good Luck !
6. 

   By gimmebuds, November 26, 2009 @ 6:55 am

   A lot of good ideas listed!
7. 

   By ricsudukai, November 26, 2009 @ 7:50 am

   In the end it all comes down to quality, of product, of service, of communication, of backup and complete professionalism and absolute honesty.

   Seems pretty straightforward but it is hard to do it perfect without total commitment of your entire team – and your customers will judge you by the action and attitude of all your staff, even the work experience kid.

   The one’s who only shop on price are like mayflies – very fleeting and as loyal as a total stranger’s dog. In the end it is much harder to get a loyal customer base than to lose it. Advertising should be outside the square if you don’t want to get into a spending war with all the like businesses in your market.

   Get a bright junior and set up an internet based window to your business – with as near to immediate response as a priority. Double check and send orders ASAP.

   One thing in business is to do the opposite of the current ‘normal’ thing, obviously not to be stupid about it but you must create your own niche. No-one can outspend and compete head to head with the giants, so don’t try.

   Run your business efficiently, but do not lose sight of the requirement for quality over all else. People are not offended if something costs a bit – even a lot – more than an alternative as long as the value for money is apparent. If it costs another $20.00 per hour for a service but you are getting a lot more for the money there is no issue. Sometimes quality costs. If you discount too much you will go broke anyway. That applies to your service and sales staff – invest in accredited up to date training so your team becomes cutting edge – if people are worth more then don’t pay more – establish a bonus share scheme so if you benefit so do they – in cash and kind. Make it clear why a job has gone sour, explain why there is no bonus and use it as an improvement tool internally, for all staff, keep them in the loop and have a tool box meeting once a week where all issues can be aired and grievances and praise dealt with no matter how small. Make your most expensive asset – your staff – want to stay so you do not waste effort and time training all the time and that loyalty will make you sales and money. In this day and age you should police check your staff, and enforce drug free workplaces. How you use this information is up to you – I won’t necessarily get rid of someone with a record or an occasional binge but I INSIST on knowing all about it as a condition of employment so I can make an informed decision – also you the employer are liable potentially so you have to know.

   Don’t leave customers to float around for ages before they are politely asked how you can help them – but also don’t drop on them too aggressively, you might scare them away. Train staff to be honest if they don’t know something, and that they will immediately find out about it. Customers need to feel important and wanted. By the same token do not allow debtors any slack at all. If someone cannot pay then immediately get some small agreement in place for whatever they can afford – if you wait a year for $200.00 then that was a total loss after three months. Do credit checks on everyone – it is cheap insurance for you.

   I buy from places I feel comfortable and whom I trust, places that give me confidence in the product and the service. I have had some good runs with the cheap Chinese product but it is fair to say that there is a lot more rubbish than good in that market.

   We are all being pretty conservative at the moment in this current low cycle – I don’t entirely agree with the over simplistic ’spend money to make money’ mindset, as it is far more important to keep debt low, and spend money intelligently to grow the business in a controlled and steady manner.
8. 

   By Boatin' in VA!, November 26, 2009 @ 7:57 am

   There is one thing missing from your post. What are you selling? Are they bass boats? Runabouts? Cruisers? A combination of all? Where are you located? Winters get cold? Do you have or are you associated with a marina? Here’s why I ask…

   Bass boats…offer to throw in free tackle or uprgardes to the boat that won’t break your bank, free service the first year and winterization. And maybe $500 dollars of free gas?

   Runabouts…throw in ski or tubing equipment, free 1st year service and winterization and $500 of free gas.

   Cruisers…at our marina, depending upon the size of the cruiser, they will throw in from 6-12 months free slippage, winterization, and/or free 20 hour checkup plus $1000 of free gas.

   Pricing…the biggest issue and for those of us in the know it’s understood that boats have a huge markup from the dealer. Our dealer tells this to every customer…”The vessel is listed at $X amount and why don’t you 1) let me know what you want on it (equipment) and 2) what you are willing to pay for it and I’ll let you know if I can make the deal.” Even during these down times they sold a good sized number of boats (more runabouts but small cruisers too) for they are still able to cover the cost and price reduction with the markup they have and make a profit.

   It’s not always what you can give away that will make the deal but the deal itself. If you can lessen their upfront cost and out of pocket first year expenses you should be able to make more deals than the competition.

   Good luck.

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