MINNEAPOLIS – Dealer registrations for the 2013 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo are up 31.7 percent over the same time last year, which represents a new record for the event.
More than 270 dealers have registered so far for the MDCE — up from 205 last year on this date — with nearly three weeks to go until the early-bird registration rate expires, and more than two-and-a-half months until the event begins. The early-bird rate saves registrants $50 off of the regular registration rate, and the event typically sees an increase in registrations in the two weeks leading up to the deadline.
See who is registered here: www.mraa.com/events/RSVPlist.aspx?id=208006
“We’re thrilled to see such an incredible response to this year’s MDCE,” says Liz Walz, Director of Membership & Education. “We’ve invested more than ever before in the educational program, as well as the resources and tools we’re providing attendees, and it’s rewarding to see that dealers are responding positively to the educational experience we have created for them.”
The MDCE offers nearly 30 educational sessions, broken down into three tracks, a series of pre-conference workshops and several special presentations, to help dealers gather ideas and best practices for growing and improving their businesses. The workshops are a new introduction for the 2013 MDCE, and the total number of educational sessions is up from just 20 in 2012.
Learn more at the MDCE Video Channel: www.mraa.com/?page=MDCE_Video_Channel
“We’ve been saying all year that if you’ve ever thought about coming to the MDCE to see what it’s all about, this is definitely the year to do it,” says Jonathan Sweet, Editor-in-Chief of Boating Industry. “From the opening keynote all the way through the event, there is no doubt that this is the best MDCE educational agenda every assembled.”
Last year, the MDCE attracted more than 1,000 industry professionals, and this year, more than 400 have already registered. The excitement over this year’s event has been created by the additional sessions, in addition to the signing of world-renowned sales and leadership expert Jeffrey Gitomer as the keynote speaker. The addition of authors and speakers like John Spence and David Avrin, as well as a number of industry-specific experts, has bolstered the educational line-up like never before.
For those dealers that want to dig even deeper into the factors that will most impact their businesses in the year ahead, the newly added MDCE Pre-Conference Workshops, to be held Monday, Nov. 18th, will enable them to construct a plan in areas like dealership management, boat show sales, service menus, search engine marketing, and the customer experience. Over the following days, individual sessions in the MDCE’s three educational tracks will help attendees enhance their plans for 2014.
The MDCE is scheduled for Nov. 17-20, 2013, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. It has attracted an increasing number of dealers every year since 2007, and in addition to the record number of pre-September dealer registrations, this year’s event also attracted more than 250 registrants prior to May 1, another record for the event. The most registrants MDCE had ever accumulated prior to May 1 was 92 in 2012.
About the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo
The Marine Dealer Conference & Expo is the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas’ annual conference and member meeting. As the marine industry’s only dealer-specific educational conference, the MDCE features an in-depth line-up of educational topics, a full-featured expo hall, and a series of fixed networking opportunities, all of which are designed to help marine dealers connect with and learn from others who can foster their success. The MDCE is co-produced by the MRAA and Boating Industry, and it offers pre-conference workshops, a keynote presentation, three tracks of educational content, and more than 20 sessions in all. It will be held Nov. 17-20 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Learn more at www.mraa.com/event/MDCE.