Outperform in Leadership
As a business owner or leader, you are tasked with understanding the changing conditions, steering your team through any obstacles, identifying the right opportunities to pursue, and setting your dealership up to successfully capture them. Turn to this Spotlight and the Dealer Week 2024 Leadership Pathway Sessions to create a roadmap for success as the market and your customers continue to evolve.
MRAA Ask the Expert Webinar
2025 Marine Industry Outlook & Panel Discussion with Huntington
As a dealership leader, you’re likely feeling the weight of today’s economic uncertainty. Rising interest rates, fluctuating inventory needs, and shifting consumer spending make it tough to plan ahead with confidence. You’re not alone in wondering how to navigate these changes as we enter 2025. That’s why we’ve partnered with Huntington Distribution Finance to host a powerful webinar to help you stay a step ahead.
In this event at 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Nov. 19, you’ll hear from Ian Wyatt, Huntington Director of Economics, who will break down the latest economic trends in a way that’s easy to understand. His insights will touch on how factors like interest rates and customer behavior might affect your dealership. Ian will be joined by MRAA’s Educational Director, Bernie DeGraw, and a guest dealership expert who’ll dive into real-life strategies. A live Q&A time will give you a chance to ask your questions, so you can feel prepared and confident about guiding your dealership in 2025.
MRAA Members, when logged in to MRAAtraining.com, you have immediate access to the webinar recording.
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A Cycling Story
Your marine dealership should celebrate your big wins, but it’s often the small, incremental improvements that lead to lasting success, say guest blogger Chris Kulaga, Lightspeed Product Manager. He shares a leadership strategy that involves inspecting the finer details of your operation to make micro changes. When you do this, you can create efficiency, stronger leadership and enhance customer satisfaction. He adds: “Remember, in the “aggregation of marginal gains,” no change is too small to make a difference.”
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7 Tips for Driving Up Dealership Profitability
You’re busy, and your resources are stretched. We understand. Use these seven simple, actionable tips to help you inspire your team, reduce turnover and drive sustainable growth. With these strategies, you’ll not only improve employee engagement but position your dealership for long-term success and profitability.
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Take This Job and … LOVE It!
There’s no time! It’s too expensive or challenging to juggle. What if they leave? These are just some of the concerns dealers have about training employees. However, investing in training for your workforce creates a culture of accountability and trust, fosters better engagement and takes a proactive stance toward retention! By making time for training and planning for it, you help your employees advance their careers and find greater job satisfaction. You want them to enjoy coming to work, so much so that they are willing to sing your praises and declare that they LOVE their job!
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Leadership Decisions: Training
Dealers often mention the lack of time and financial resources as barriers to successfully training their team. Recently, several dealers shared additional insights about the challenges they face when selecting and assigning staff to training opportunities. Many opportunities for career growth exist, from in-house training, to manufacturer-led training to educational events and online courses. So how do you manage training? Learn more from your dealership peers on how they approach training their workforce.
Soundings Trade Only Column
Outperform the Competition
“The path forward for dealers is to outperform in their marketplace. This is the most palatable focal point for dealers to pursue as we enter the prime selling season for the 2025 model year,” says Matt Gruhn, MRAA President in his recent Soundings Trade Only column.
Gruhn also advocates for dealers to attend Dealer Week 2024, the MRAA’s Conference and Expo, Dec. 8-11 in Orlando, Florida, because it provides them with actionable insights for succeeding in tough market conditions.
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Getting into the Minds of Tomorrow’s Workforce
In 2024 and beyond, we have a new generation of people coming into the retail marine industry. How do we, as business owners and managers, connect with a generation that thinks and acts completely differently from us or any generation we have worked with? A blog by Jon Stovall, General Sales Manager, Ocean Blue Yacht Sales and an MRAA Young Leaders Advisory Council member.
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11 Tactics for Easing the Workforce Conundrum
When times get tough, dealership principals and leaders have to find ways to reduce costs to “ride out the storm.” However, a reduction in your staff is never easy and isn’t necessarily the most cost-effective reduction. Certain dealers are still understaffed. Others have just enough people aboard to get by, but are contemplating cutting employees to save. You have to consider the true cost of hiring new workers (when the time comes) and the morale issues your workforce subtractions could create. Here are some ideas to find savings while retaining your current workforce levels.
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Encouraging Lifelong Learning
As a manager or business leader, how can you make certain you’re encouraging lifelong learning at your dealership? By encouraging lifelong learning, you help strengthen careers and your workforce family while also establishing accountability and trust.
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Writing Your Business Plan
Writing and following a business plan is crucial for success in your business. A plan is needed by banks to provide loans, employees to understand success strategies, and by you to track profitability. The U.S. Small Business Administration offers an interactive, eight-step business planning tool that can be accessed through this link. Save your work and return to it later, but prioritize creating a plan to benefit your business.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Dealer Week 2024 – Outperform in Leadership
You want to be confident adjusting to what’s changing to keep your dealership financially healthy and on track to hit its future goals. That means leading a high-performing team, capable of working together to navigate the obstacles in their path and provide an outstanding experience to today’s customers. It’s essential to know what to do differently across each of your profit centers to drive your dealership’s success as market conditions evolve.
Dealer Week 2024 Leadership Pathway Sessions will prepare you for what’s ahead.
Check out this year’s courses:
- “Lead Your Team by Uniting Them Around a Common Goal” – Jordon Schoolmeester (Pathway Host)
- “Is It the Market or Me? Sort Fact from Fiction in a Tough Environment” – Pat Kennedy
- “The Name of the Game is Revenue Diversification” – Max Materne & Sam Dantzler
- “Protect Your Dealership from the Growing Cyber Security Threat” – Robert Siciliano
- “Create Great Culture in Tough Times” – Dave Newell
CERTIFICATION
MRAA Dealership Certification & ESS
Imagine a comprehensive, customizable blueprint that would help you build effective and efficient processes that drive customer loyalty and more success for your dealership. MRAA Dealership Certification guides your dealership through the implementation of standardized systems and processes that improve customer relations, facility and website upkeep and performance planning. When you focus on making these improvements as a leader, you build a strong foundation for a thriving business and create a world-class retail experience that keeps your customers coming back and your employees engaged in the dealership’s ongoing success.
You gain the tools to foster a culture of continuous improvement and capture team buy-in, which are essential for maintaining new processes and achieving high performance. Certified Dealers benefit from employee satisfaction surveys, tracking customer experiences and sharing best practices, creating a feedback loop that strengthens operations. You can become the market leader you’ve wanted to be through your commitment to excellence and prioritizing customer satisfaction. Your dealership excels by attracting new business, and cultivating loyal customers and devoted employees.
The Value of Employee Satisfaction Surveys:
• Blog: Improving the Customer Experience through Employee Satisfaction
Soar Higher Together:
• Blog: MRAA Certified Dealership Program Helps Your Business Reach New Heights
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MRAA Service Management Special Report
Are your service operations outperforming the industry averages? Do you have processes in place to streamline your approaches and handle service-related issues? Understanding your dealership’s service data is essential to remain competitive and infuse a culture of improvement.
The Service Management Special Report offers you the insights needed to optimize service performance. Gain critical data on dealer demographics, workforce challenges and key service metrics. You’ll also discover stories and strategies that help you tackle the pain points impacting your service efficiency.
Be informed and better prepared in service using the answers and resources from this report to make informed decisions and enhance your business.
Not ready to purchase?
MRAA Members Only: Download the Executive Summary!
EDUCATION:
How to Excel as a Dealership Leader and Manager Course Package
Elevate Your Leadership Potential with E-Learning Courses Tailored for Your Dealership’s Success!
As a dealership leader or aspiring manager, you want to continually perform at your best because you can inspire your team, build a better culture and foster unity as everyone strives to achieve your dealership’s objectives. This comprehensive package of e-learning courses will help you build a solid foundation in management and leadership, equipping you with the skills needed to:
- Influence your team’s attitudes and beliefs
- Boost employee satisfaction and prevent burnout
- Increase overall dealership performance
- Strengthen the bond you share with your team
- Help employees see your business through the “owner’s eyes”
- Avoid common dealership time crushers and gain control of your day
- Manage stress effectively, improving both job performance and satisfaction
- Create a detailed, realistic and customized business plan
- Focus on key tasks for maximum business impact
- Recruit, assess, interview and select top talent for your dealership
- Onboard new hires and hold employees accountable for high performance
Investing in this MRAATraining.com course package will empower you to make a greater impact on your dealership’s success. Now is the time to elevate your leadership abilities, and help your team outperform the market!
Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
MRAA Bronze members can upgrade to gain access to courses? Email Director of Membership Sherri Cuvala.
Not an MRAA Member? Sign Up Here.
EDUCATION:
Drive Dealership Performance Through Interdepartmental Harmony
with Kurt von Ahnen
In your dealership leader role, you want to grow, excel and build a culture of unity within your various teams. It’s vital to embrace empathy for every role and department to gain insights into the benefits of enhanced communication and collaboration. You can create a seamless customer experience by mastering your meet-and-greet techniques and effectively transitioning customers between departments.
Kurt von Ahnen, Educator and MRAA Certification Consultant, shares strategies that go beyond transactions and focus on building meaningful relationships — both within your team and with your customers.
Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
Not a Silver Member? Learn more about Silver Membership!
EDUCATION:
4 Steps to Solving Your Dealership’s Most Complex Issues
with Dave Newell
It’s easy for leaders and decision-makers to get overwhelmed because they face a constant issues streams, both large and small. Indecision can creep in when the pressure mounts to solve problems and make clear decisions, especially as urgent matters outweigh your complex challenges.
This MRAATraining.com archive session, led by Organizational Development Consultant Dave Newell, will help you understand the psychology behind the barriers that delay problem solving. Learn a four-step process for identifying and overcoming challenges, create an attack plan for the issues you’re currently facing and apply your new skills to your process now and in the future.
Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
Not a Silver Member? Learn more about Silver Membership!
EDUCATION:
Rethink How to Engage & Hold On to Your Employees
with Gloria Sinclair Miller
Your success as a leader hinges on the well-being and engagement of your employees. This course, led by Gloria Sinclair Miller of the Society of Human Resources Management, provides you with essential HR strategies and retention tactics to help your workforce — and your business — thrive.
Explore innovative ways to connect with employees and create a workplace culture that promotes productivity and loyalty. Learn to develop a tailored plan to support your employees’ growth, ensuring that your dealership remains competitive and your team stays motivated and committed to your shared goals.
Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
Not a Silver Member? Learn more about Silver Membership!
