Today’s boating industry could teach politicians a thing or two about coming together for the greater good. And who knows? Perhaps we’ll get the chance. This week, the industry is gathering in Washington, D.C., at the American Boating Congress, which attracts people from just about every corner of the recreational marine business. While the No. […]

One of the most frequently asked questions by dealers considering getting Certified is: “What is the industry doing to make consumers aware of the benefits of doing business with a Certified dealer?” The answer is: Quite a bit! First and foremost, we believe in empowering YOU to tell your story of how Certification makes you […]

Hi, I’m Bob and I’m a chocolate milkshake-aholic! Because of this addiction, I frequent places that serve such divine pleasure. One place that got my attention this week promotes a Happier Hour and offers milkshakes at half price. They are hand-dipped, old-fashioned shakes topped with whipped cream and a cherry, all for $1.61 including tax! […]

What’s most valuable to your dealership? Is it your customer database, physical assets, your boat brands? These are all important for sure, but none of them are more important to your business than the knowledge and know how of the people that do the work, which is captured in your dealership’s processes. Such valuable assets […]

When I first entered the marine industry in 1999 after a long and rewarding career in the auto business, we were designing and building websites for dealers at a company called BoatVentures, which later became Channel Blade. During that time, we worked closely with a great number of boatbuilders that had Vice President- or Director-level […]

There’s no doubt that there are aspects of the marine industry and the individual companies that make it up that are unique compared to other industries and businesses. But exactly how different the factors that drive success in a given marine business vary from a similarly sized business in another industry … well, that’s debatable. […]

In the year and half that has passed since taking on the roll as Lead Certification Consultant, I’ve witnessed a common misunderstanding among many dealers concerning the literal translation of the requirements for Certification. It was bestowed upon me by the MRAA staff and the dealers who sit on our Board of Directors that each […]

During my early days running a dealership and then later at Channel Blade, we constantly made or heard the excuse: “We don’t have time for training. We need to work the phones or sell or fix something.”  We learned later that not dedicating time to training cost us a ton in wasted time! Not to […]