What is the most impactful lesson you learned about consumers during this selling season? “Consumers are more than ever confused about what a boat costs. Some manufacturers post a (too low) retail selling prices then hide the additional fees which make the customer irate in the dealership. Bottom line dealerships with less than 5% net […]

We’re often asked whether we have tools to help dealers survive the next recession. The answer is “yes.” It’s impossible to know when the next recession will arrive; however, as anyone who experienced the last downturn will attest, you’d be crazy not to be prepared when it does. To help with that process, MRAA has […]

How have you made purchasing decisions (for the next model year) at recent dealer meetings based on your current inventory levels? I have brought in 2020 inventory, so that combined with my existing 2019 inventory, it will match my inventory level that I had last year heading into Q4. The primary difference being, last year […]

The past few weeks have been busy for dealers like you. Just as you’re seeing the last blast of summer sales, you’re also jumping on planes or driving across the country to visit your reps and peers at manufacturer dealer meetings. And we have been, too! In the past month, members of the MRAA team […]

As we push toward the end of the prime selling season, what is the one goal you want to accomplish by the end of the year? “Figure out why our new boat sales are lacking behind 2018 when every other aspect of our business are well ahead.” – Joe Lewis, Mount Dora Boating Center “The […]

Last week, MRAA Lead Certification Consultant, Bob McCann, used the analogy of learning how to swim during our MICD Certification consultant training. You can imagine it… You’re a kid in a pool. A trusted adult is standing a few feet away and motions you to swim toward them. At the last second they take a […]

Do you know about the people who show up every day to do work on your behalf – advocating for the marine industry and the talented people who work the front lines? We are your marine trades associations and collectively we are the National Marine Trades Council. Last week, around 30 marine trades association professionals, […]

Sometimes, though you can’t take any credit for it, you find yourself doing the right thing at the right time.   That was the case this past week. The “right thing” was reading a classic book: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. And the right time was rocketing through the air […]

In regards to sales, how did the weather impact your first and second quarter? I’m sure that the weather impacted sales because we have experienced record rains over the first half of 2019, however, the strong economy has countered the negative effects of the weather and dealership is up 30% in boat sales to last […]

Certified Dealers have a wealth of qualities to brag about, yet some aren’t patting themselves on the back publicly, so the consumer knows what to expect from a Certified Dealer. We recommend you Certified Dealers post the following message on a Certification page on your website, or perhaps your blog. And when you do, send […]