By Edward MacFawn, President of Bit DMS, an MRAA Platinum Partner
Your sales team returns from a boat show with dozens or even hundreds of leads. Calls are made. Emails are sent. Follow-up tasks are checked off.But how many prospects actually respond?
Effective boat show follow-up is not measured only by how quickly your team contacts each lead or how many messages it sends. The real objective is to restart the conversation from the show floor and help each prospect take a meaningful next step.
Embedded two-way text messaging in your DMS can help dealers do that by giving prospects a convenient way to respond while keeping the conversation connected to your dealership.
Capture the Conversation, Not Just the Contact
A name, phone number and email address tell your salesperson how to reach someone. They do not explain why that person stopped at your display. Before the show begins, decide what information your team should gather. That might include:
- The boat or model that caught the prospect’s attention
- How the prospect plans to use the boat
- Purchase timeline
- Trade-in information
- Financing questions
- Other decision-makers involved
- The next step discussed at the show
- Preferred method of contact
- Permission to text the prospect
These details give your salesperson a reason to communicate beyond, “Thanks for stopping by.”
Continue Where You Left Off
The first text should remind the prospect who the salesperson is, connect the message to the show-floor conversation and deliver whatever was promised.
For example: “Hi, Chris. This is Taylor from ABC Marine. It was great talking with you at the boat show about the 23-foot center console. You asked about storage dimensions, so I’m sending those over now. Are you also interested in seeing the available engine options?“
That message provides context, fulfills a commitment and asks a relevant question. It feels like the continuation of a conversation rather than the beginning of a sales campaign.
Ask for One Small Next Step
A boat purchase involves many decisions. Asking a prospect to commit to a sale immediately after the show may be premature. Instead, use the conversation to identify an appropriate next step. Depending on the customer, that could be:
- Receiving photos or video of a specific model
- Providing information about a trade
- Comparing two boats
- Reviewing financing options
- Scheduling a dealership visit
- Reserving a sea trial or boat demo
- Including a spouse or other decision-maker
A simple question is easier to answer than a message containing several offers, links and requests. Each response also gives the salesperson more information for the next conversation.
When salespeople communicate from personal phones, valuable information can remain separated from the customer’s dealership record. Managers may not know whether the prospect responded, what questions were asked or what was promised.
Keep Conversations with the Dealership
When texting is embedded within the dealership management system, messages can remain connected to the customer record. This gives the dealership a more complete communication history and allows another authorized employee to understand the conversation when the original salesperson is unavailable.
It also helps managers distinguish between leads that merely received a message and those actively moving toward a purchase.
Use Templates Without Sounding Templated
Templates can help salespeople respond consistently and save time after a busy show, but they should provide a starting point rather than the entire message. Before sending a text, add something specific from the show: the boat the customer boarded, the feature discussed, the intended use or the information requested. That small detail demonstrates that the salesperson remembers the conversation.
Measure Progress, Not Just Activity
Message volume does not tell you whether follow-up is working. Review how many prospects replied, supplied additional information, scheduled appointments, requested quotes or advanced to another stage in the buying process.
The best boat show follow-up does more than remind prospects that your dealership exists. It gives them an easy way to continue a conversation they have already started. When those conversations are personal, purposeful and connected to the customer record, your team can turn more show-floor interest into meaningful sales opportunities.
About the Author
For more than 21 years, Edward MacFawn, President of BiT DMS, has helped boat dealers and marine service centers increase profitability by bringing greater efficiency, visibility and control to their operations. Drawing on his background in finance and operations, including experience with KPMG and Honeywell, Edward has focused BiT on solving the real-world challenges that affect marine businesses every day.
Under Edward’s leadership, BiT has helped dealers connect sales, service, parts, inventory, slips/storage and customer communication through one integrated system. He spearheaded what industry reporting identified as the first web-based marine dealer management system in 2013 and later championed embedded two-way text messaging within the DMS. These innovations have helped marine businesses reduce administrative friction, improve customer responsiveness and make better decisions using more accurate, accessible information.
Today, Edward continues to guide BiT in developing practical technology around the way boat dealers and service centers actually work. His mission remains clear: Give independent marine businesses the tools to operate more efficiently, serve customers more effectively and build stronger, more profitable companies without sacrificing flexibility or personal service.
Editor’s note: MRAA publishes partner-contributed articles to provide marine retailers with practical education, subject-matter expertise and industry perspective. MRAA maintains editorial oversight of partner-contributed content and may edit submissions for clarity, relevance, AP style, search visibility and alignment with MRAA’s dealer-first educational standards. Recommendations should be considered alongside each dealership’s goals, processes, team capacity and business needs.
