A guest blog by Jason Cochran, Vice President, Global Product Protection

In any economic climate or retail market, dealerships that adopt best practices prevail. One example is structuring your organization to offer as many goods and services as your customers need to participate in boating. If you are selling boats, retail finance is a critical piece of this equation.

As demonstrated by leading dealers, Finance and Insurance (F&I) is an essential element of success, elevating their organizations from the average. Customers will benefit from understanding their financing options, but finance alone is just one piece of a comprehensive business office. An applicable set of products to accompany retail financing can drive significant revenue and improve customer ownership experience. Product examples include insurance, extended warranty, pre-paid maintenance, GAP and surface protection.

There is tremendous value in extended coverage for expensive complex products. Boats can break down, and when they do, they can be very costly to repair. With this understanding, your dealership can provide solutions to mitigate these risks with applicable marine-specific extended coverage. Offering extended coverage is no different than helping your customer select the right boat in order to create the best ownership experience.

Offering extended coverage is just the beginning, however. Here are a few factors to consider when selecting a partner, choosing a product and preparing your business for long term success.

Factors for Consideration

1. Partner/vendor and product selection
Not all companies and products are equal. You will want to make sure you have selected a reputable company offering applicable products, administration and support.

• Potential partners need a positive reputation in the marine industry. Ask your peers about their experience and ask potential vendors for referrals.
• Your ideal provider will be primarily focused on marine coverage. If marine coverage is only a small portion of their overall extended coverage portfolio, boats may not be their core competency.
• Consider organizations with marine experts on staff. Marine professionals will create and maintain applicable marine products, help you sell and accurately decision claims. A robust auto or powersports portfolio, although valuable for some clients, does not always translate into the best marine customer and dealership experience.
• Consider partners that offer a variety of partnership structures to fit different business needs. As your business grows, higher volumes should open up your dealership to more favorable structures. Establishing an extended warranty portfolio with a partner that cannot evolve with your business can be detrimental in the long term.
• Carefully read through and discuss all available products with potential providers. Coverage levels, peripheral benefits, pricing and overall administrative performance should align with the brands you carry and the service level your customers expect.  Involve the service department early in the product selection process, to gain their buy-in and input. Their evaluation of coverages will likely reveal any potential product deficiencies and confirm the importance of the service department in the product lifecycle.
• Ensure your business and service managers have direct contacts they can call on, someone committed to helping them successfully offer the product and process claims.
• Trust your gut. With coverage terms reaching eight-plus years, this is a long-term partnership. Trusting your partners with your customers’ experience is critical.

2, Organizational adoption
Dealers with maximum long-term success achieve total organizational adoption. Every dealership function has been trained on product and product-performance expectations. Ownership is committed! The sales team has been trained on features and benefits to the consumer and the organization, and the service team has been trained on product function and the claims filing process.

• Above all, your business manager needs to be committed to product sales. A successful track record of high sales penetration is ideal, second would be a commitment to establishing the same. Business manager compensation structures must support product sales. Some sales professionals will do what they’re asked, most will do what drives the highest compensation. The right structure is critical to driving adoption and sales penetration.
• The sales team must be proficient in the warranty coverage benefits for the customer and warranty sales to the business. Successful sales team adoption is a critical conduit to the business office.
• Your service team needs to know all features and benefits of the warranty products being sold to thrive. Your service team will spearhead product use and customer experience, make sure they are well trained. They need a clear expectation of:
  • What coverage will do.
  • What coverage will not do.
  • The claims filing process.
  • Who to contact with questions.

3. Proven Processes/Best Practice
Great partners, products and training won’t drive maximum success unless the right processes are in place and followed.

• Have your sales team provide the customer with a high-level overview and endorsement of your business office. A warm turnover for EVERY SINGLE customer is required for high sales penetration and to reduce legal risk due to discrimination. Get your sales manager and business manager in lockstep on how the sales team soft sells the business office and the turnover process.
• Equip your business manager with resources for every credit profile and personal financial position. Include features and benefits for different ownership cycles and watercraft applications in their presentation. Identify common business risk scenarios and implement correct processes and mitigations.
• To enhance customer experience, the service department needs to:
  • Speak of extended coverage in a positive manner and advocate for the customer with the warranty administrator.
  • Quickly and efficiently work with the administrator to resolve claims and/or customer inquiries.

As marine industry veterans and professionals, we understand the peaks and valleys of boat ownership. Knowing common pain points, and proactively offering products and services to solve for potential issues, can dramatically improve our customers’ ownership experience and drive dealership revenue. Happy customers buy more boats and refer their friends and family!

About the Author:
Jason Cochran, Vice President of Global Product Protection, is focused on extended service contract and limited warranty products and administration for marine dealers and manufacturers. With more than 16 years of experience in financial products and services in the marine industry, serving some of the largest entities in the industry, Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the retail and limited warranty conversation.

Over his 27-year career in the recreational marine industry, his roles have included: master technician, retail sales, customer service, claims manager, product manager, sales manager and general manager/director.

He lives in Northern Illinois with his wife, two boys and Vesta, their golden retriever. Outside of work, he enjoys family time, volunteering at the local American Legion and exploring all things outdoors — boating, fishing, hunting, land management and powersports.