Program to equip boaters with the knowledge and skills to create safer waterways A bill, establishing a new Mandatory Boater Education Program, has been passed in Minnesota. The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) is delighted to celebrate the passage because a similar effort failed in the final hours in Minnesota’s 2022 legislative session. […]
MRAA Blog
Leverage Credit-First Soft Pulls to Improve Your Dealership’s Results
Shopping for a vessel comes with all kinds of stressors for a consumer – some of which can affect their relationship with the dealer and lender. The decision to require a shopper to undergo a credit verification can be stressful for many consumers – for different reasons! Consumers worry for various reasons, including: As a […]
Boaters Beware: E15 At Pumps This Boating Season
This boating season it is going to be imperative to pay attention at the pump, as an emergency waiver issued by the EPA will allow E15, a harmful fuel for boat engines, to be sold throughout the summer. E15, or gasoline that uses a 15 percent ethanol blend, is a widespread, common fuel type that […]
A New Restriction May be on the Horizon for Gulf Coast Boating: Petition to Establish Rice’s Whale Vessel Speed Zone
Impediments to boating access, in the forms of mandatory speed zones or restrictions on boat type or activity, stand to have a major impact on your business by either keeping boaters off the water or disincentivizing folks from buying boats. As the proposed Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule, which would mandate a 10-knot speed restriction […]
22 Tips to Tackle High Rates & Finance More Deals
Higher interest rates are putting a damper on customers’ interest in financing their boat purchases. In a recent MRAA Pulse Report Survey, about 8 out of 10 dealers cited high interest rates as the biggest obstacle to customer financing. Low lender approval rates came in second, followed by “perceived values of trade-ins” and “other.” There’s […]
Best Friend at Work
By Bob McCann, MRAA Lead MICD Program Consultant Think about your workplace for a few minutes, and imagine a stressful day – we all have them now and again. Think for a second about when that stress bubbles up, who at work do you run to? Who do you vent to? From whom do you […]
Marine Market Insights: Boat Shows, Outboards & the Inventory Race
• Lenny Sims, VP Business Development/Strategy – Specialty Vehicles for J.D. Power and the MRAA Discuss Insights on the 2023 Q1 Marine Market By Drew Mick, MRAA Data Specialist Mick: Last time we spoke, you emphasized how 2022 was showing signs of “a return to the norm.” With what we are seeing in Q1 2023, […]
Begin with ‘GOOD’ to Become Great!
Have you ever uttered the word “good” when something goes wrong at your dealership? Chances are you’ve said a different word, perhaps one with a negative or “bad” connotation. Jocko Willink, author and retired Navy Seal officer, has shared on his podcast his philosophical approach to responding with “good” when problems crop up. How comfortable […]
How to Hire Ideal Team Players
I’ll start with an obvious statement that I think every dealership reading this will agree with: Hiring is hard. OK, are we on the same page? If you don’t agree with that statement: 1) Skip this blog. 2) Please contact me, I’d like to hire you as an expert speaker for Dealer Week 2023! For […]
MRAA, MTAs Seek Monitoring Technology to Counter Right Whale Rule
With the support of 17 state and national marine trades associations, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas submitted a letter to members of the House and Senate Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) to stall proposed changes to the onerous Right Whale Rule. MRAA and its MTA colleagues asked Committee members […]