Starting January 1, 2025, all business entities are required to report beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury. The Corporate Transparency Act established the new requirement, which was put in place to combat money laundering and other common fraudulent activities among LLCs. The MRAA is dedicated to keeping you informed and ensuring that you have properly filed in order to avoid hefty fines and potential prison time. Below is a high-level overview of the requirements to help you determine if you are required to file.
Who Must Report? CTA reporting requirements are fairly comprehensive. If you are a business principal or owner it is more likely than not, you will be required to report. According to the CTA, “Reporting Companies” include both new and existing entities. Exemptions are mainly for large operating companies and for businesses that already disclose beneficial ownership information to the government.
However, an exemption exists for “Large Operating Companies,” which are defined as a business entity for which ALL of the following criteria apply:
Employs more than 20 full-time employees
Filed a federal income tax return for the previous year demonstrating more than $5 million in gross receipts or sales.
(Please note, if a business dips below any of the thresholds, at any time, that business will then have to file a report within 30 days of the change.)
What Must I Report? The CTA is focused gathering “Beneficial Ownership Information” and therefore reporting companies must disclose who: (1) owns a 25% equity stake or (2) exercises substantial control over the entity. Furthermore, an updated report must be filed within 30 calendar days of any change in its beneficial ownership information, including a change in beneficial owners or any change to a beneficial owner’s name, address, or unique identifying number. For example, if a reporting company hires a new CEO or if a beneficial owner obtains a new driver’s license or other identifying document that includes a changed name or address, filing an updated report is required.
In order to simplify this process, the MRAA highly recommends that you create a FinCEN ID, a unique identifying number issued to an individual by FinCEN. An individual beneficial owner or company applicant’s FinCEN ID can be reported instead of required information about that individual on the reporting company’s Beneficial Ownership Information Report submitted to FinCEN. This will make updating the aforementioned information and the entire process easier.
To create a FinCEN ID, simply click hereand follow the instructions.
Reporting Deadlines Since the CTA is focused on obtaining information from both new and pre-existing entities, be aware of the following reporting deadlines:
Penalties and Fines Noncompliance of the CTA can result in major fines and, potentially, prison time. Failure to comply may result in civil penalties of up to $500 per day, as well as criminal penalties of up to $10,000 in fines and/or imprisonment for up to two years.
How MRAA Can Help The MRAA is preparing a walkthrough guide for filing reports to assist you in completing this new reporting requirement. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network offers a comprehensive compliance guide clarifying the CTA’s reporting requirements.
Additionally, the MRAA and the Small Business Legislative Council are working to push Congress to repeal these burdensome reporting requirements, or at the very least, simplify them to make reporting far less burdensome.
Partnering with digital & social content experts to help share your brand and engage customers
Sitting in on an ICAST 2024 Lunch & Learn session dubbed “Learn from the Trendsetters: How to Be Influential in a Few Easy Ways,” I met five social media influencers who changed my perspective on partnering with digital personalities to share your brand and engage customers.
Having been in media, communications, PR and journalism for 30 years, I thought social media personalities existed to do silly things or sell their messaging for likes and get free stuff. But over the last five-plus years, I’ve entirely changed my view and found some connection with these digital influencers I follow. From anglers (Nas Peltz) and baseball fanatics (Baseball Bat Bros.) to fitness buffs (jlieb_fit) and zany personalities (like Joel Berry, aka Tavin Dillard), to name only a few, their messages speak to me as a learner, and consumer and “fan,” while helping me cheer, gain, struggle and laugh alongside them.
ICAST 2024 Lunch & Learn session: – “Learn from the Trendsetters: How to Be Influential in a Few Easy Ways,”
Jake Hutcheson, Content Creator at Mud Hole Custom Tackle, hosted the panel of influencers consisting of four women angling experts that included Anastasia Patterson, a tournament angler, Katie Jo Buchanan (Puff Mud Princess), Tiffany Risch (Snookie Fishing) and Patricia Clement (Rivah Sistah). Before the panel discussion began, I followed all five of these boating and fishing enthusiasts. All the panelists impressed me with their kind, genuine and professional approach.
The course description essentially hit on all my curiosities about influencers, including:
Promotional personalities for brands and businesses
Being a trusted source for product reviews and fishing advice from followers
Playing a critical role in sales (in this case, tackle sales)
Whether you’re selling boats, fishing equipment, or both, securing the right influencer and setting up a proper agreement for content is necessary to find success. However, sharing your content is the key to success. Here are some of my takeaways for your business after hearing their shared insights:
Just get started. Since your business is passionate about boating and fishing, capture your brand’s story. Tell the business’s story and post it digitally. From there, use your CRM to identify potential influencer partners. One of your customers may have a strong social media following and is loyal to you. You can also assign your marketing team a project to find an influencer that meets your needs for coverage, audience and talent and adheres to your brand’s mission, vision and values.
Be yourself and remember why you do it. Much like these influencers say to be yourself and remember why you do it, as a business, you must also remind yourself why you’re in boating and fishing. Always follow your moral compass when sponsoring influencers and providing monetary, product, or other forms of support. Your honesty and authenticity engage the influencer properly and also lead to better messaging that engages their online audience.
Be consistent. When posting, stay consistent. Develop a plan for working with an influencer and plan a schedule for posts that you’re both aware of. As their sponsor, help them keep that steady rhythm to hit their goals. Understand it may take products, money, or other forms of support to help them deliver on the agreed-upon numbers of posts and other deliverables.
Be patient. Success doesn’t come overnight. And it’s not always about the numbers and followers but truthful messaging and content production. Of course, you will want to see the results from each post, campaign, or social effort to know you’re on the right path or need to go in a different direction. Capturing at least an understandable ROI is a necessity.
Seek to build a long-term relationship. Develop a mutually beneficial partnership with influencers. In doing so, you’re contributing to a digital and local community. You also build trust with an audience. You can establish trust by being transparent and authentic. Earn that trust and then support and reinvest in the influencers who believe in you and your products.
Forging Lasting Relationships & Trust Hire an influencer if you don’t know where to begin on social media or have the staff to manage your social media, content management and posting. Jake suggests a retailer who doesn’t know how to post to social media can often rely on the influencer to help them try various channels, reels and posts.
“When you’re looking at social media, it may be intimidating … you don’t know how to navigate it, who to work with,” explained Katie Jo. “Does this one follow our account? vs. who is just authentic in themselves. Just realize social media – what we’re doing as far as marketing, the advertising – it’s not any different than any other business relationships.”
Anastasia suggests finding content experts with a common bond and passion for your products when deciding on an influencer. “There’s no purpose in paying someone to do something who doesn’t believe in your product.” Authenticity from both partners builds mutual respect and understanding and helps solidify the relationship and trust.
Tiffany describes this as a second set of families you’re building and uniting to share your enjoyment of boating/fishing and the lifestyle that comes with it. That means providing products, staff and other promotional items to support them at the events they attend and represent your brand. Remember, you’re sharing your audience with them and vice versa.
Marine Industry My Content Manager role at the MRAA has led me to many great conversations with boat dealers, marina owners and other retailers. I’ve run across examples of dealers sponsoring professional bass anglers and others who sponsor fishing tournaments, like Apopka Marine, Legendary Marine and many others. They see the values in the events and the content the people they sponsor produce. One could call it grassroots marketing and creating brand awareness through social and community connections. For some, it’s also about giving back to industries and people who support their businesses and reaching their core customers without pushing sales.
I understand not every dealership has the same budget for sponsorship or working with influencers. While some businesses have the staff and budgetary control to take advantage of these opportunities, others do not, or, as previously mentioned, don’t know where to begin. Still, others should explore adding a line in their 2025 budget to support influencer marketing.
Recently, I learned that MRAA Silver Member Collins Boating has a salesperson who started posting boats that the dealer had for sale on his personal TikTok account. The content has led to foot traffic in the brick-and-mortar store and is producing an online draw of 42,000+ likes and nearly 1,800 followers. On the site, he includes walkaround videos and others of boats in the lot, in the showroom and on the water.
His digital journey as an in-house influencer started slowly in November of 2019. Roughly 265 videos, and almost five years later, he’s refined his abilities and videos and connects with customers on a much larger scale in some videos. And this is just one social channel! His most-watched TikTok video has surpassed 340K views! He hosts the videos on his site and represents the business by sharing the dealership website and his work contact information (email and phone). Check him out here: @ethanhowardboatsales
If you don’t have an Ethan on your team, you can work with local pro anglers, kayak fishermen or other nano influencers (100 to 10,000 followers) who use your products and services to keep them on the water. Depending on your needs and budget, you can determine if you can afford to pay these influencers based on a content coverage plan, trade for services and products, or arrange for other trade-out agreements. Maybe you invite them to attend one of your customer events and share the boating/fishing lifestyle with their followers.
Discover Boating Uses Influencers to Share Boating This past summer, as part of its marketing strategy and 2024 campaign, Discover Boating, powered by NMMA and MRAA, used content creators to share the recreational boating lifestyle with audiences of all demographics in the U.S. and Canada.
This influencer marketing strategy reached the next generation of boaters, inspiring them to get on the water and enjoy the benefits of summer boating. Discover Boating’s Instagram and TikTok influencer partners’ content has generated more than 3 million impressions and 1 million engagements. These content creators not only grabbed attention, but they also served as trustworthy brand ambassadors. Their short-form videos helped to relay Discover Boating’s brand messaging in a manner other consumers could connect with. The influencers’ reels shared personal stories and experiences while educating and guiding newcomers to Discover Boating resources.
Discover Boating Instagram and TikTok Influencers:
For more information on working with social media and content influencers to share your brand story and on-water adventures, connect with Discover Boating at dealersupport.b2b@discoverboating.com.
Combining its influencer strategy with traditional paid media strategy, Discover Boating reached new levels of connectivity. This past summer, Discover Boating shifted its focus from solely driving awareness to one with consumer engagement. That resulted in nearly 1.25M visits (or 23 percent of the site’s total traffic) to the consumer-facing discoverboating.com.
Influencer Marketing – Engaging Content for the Win! I grew up in an era of influencer marketing, back when athletes pushed products for brands. Iconic basketball players like Michael Jordan debuted the Nike Air Jordan basketball shoe and changed shoe culture forever. This was a time before social media. Today, there are nano and micro-influencers out there sharing basketball shoes (both collectible and newly launched products) knowledge and insights, influencing modern-day consumers of all ages. And you can find this for all sorts of consumer products, from angling equipment to watersports products.
It’s clear influencer marketing, because of how it engages customers, is winning and is here to stay. HouseofMarketers.com projects the influencer marketing industry to more than double by 2027 and reported “Influencer marketing is booming because consumers trust authentic recommendations over traditional ads.”
Discover Boating’s 2024 Year-Round Brand Experience Attracts 6.5 Million People to Its Digital and In-Person Experiences
Over the past 12 months, Discover Boating, powered by NMMA and MRAA, has been working hard to attract the next generation to the boating lifestyle while simultaneously retaining current boaters. Through Discover Boating’s year-round, fully integrated omni channel strategy – including the See You Out Here campaign, that’s helping new audiences see themselves as part of the boating lifestyle, current and future boaters are being engaged at every turn. This is happening thanks to a robust digital community, 10 Discover Boating boat shows in key markets around the country, strategic brand partnerships that elevate and extend Discover Boating’s reach, and the boat buying and ownership experience through training and resources offered by MRAA to its dealer members. The industry-wide effort connected with people identified in Discover Boating research as most likely to be interested in boating – as many as 91 million people – supporting their boating interests wherever they were in their journey, ensuring they not only felt welcome, but informed, empowered, and excited about boat ownership and the memories, joys and benefits of life on the water.
With the industry’s investment in Discover Boating’s long-term strategy, and two years into a new omni-channel approach, it’s coming at a time it’s needed most. By staying the course amid slowing sales, Discover Boating is helping connect with future boaters, keep boating part of the conversation, and retain the new boaters who’ve recently joined the lifestyle.
As a result, in its 2024 fiscal year, Discover Boating made valuable introductions to manufacturers and dealers across all stages of the consumer’s journey. Today’s consumer expects to be in control more than ever, that’s why Discover Boating puts the consumer at the helm, allowing them to research, explore, learn and connect with boating in ways they choose, from exploring boat brands, rentals, and boat models, to learning about dealers in their area, attending a boat show, or becoming a lead to be contacted by a dealer or brand, and more. To truly welcome new people to boating, manufacturers and dealers must welcome and nurture these future boaters, knowing that they’re being introduced at all stages of life and at all stages of their boating journey.
For the Discover Boating year (October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024), Discover Boating reached new heights, delivering 7.3 billion impressions (the number of times people saw the content) and attracted more than 6.5 million of the people reached to Discover Boating’s websites in the U.S. and Canada (up 5% against plan and 23% year-over-year), which supported 1.6 million introductions to manufacturers and dealers through website referrals, boat shows and leads (up 10% against plan and flat year-over-year).
In its effort to expand the market for recreational boating, Discover Boating saw an uptick in the number of females visiting DiscoverBoating.com at 33% (up from 31% last year), and DiscoverBoating.ca at 38% (up from 34% last year) revealing that when connected with in a genuine way, women are indeed interested in boating and take action.
“Discover Boating is a long-term growth strategy, rooted in expanding the market, and we’re seeing that strategy work when we connect with people in a way that’s not only meaningful but genuine, and that’s where our partners on the manufacturer and dealer side come in – helping make sure that as Discover Boating introduces new people to boating, they’re met with that same level of engagement and accessibility,” said Ellen Bradley, Chief Brand Officer for NMMA. “As we build and grow our industry for the future, truly understanding our customers’ values, beliefs, and interests helps us attract, engage and retain them and testing our assumptions about who a boater is and what they want, is central to what Discover Boating is helping us tackle together.”
“Leveraging the power of our industry’s Discover Boating brand is a must for stakeholders looking to grow their businesses. Discover Boating’s marketing efforts are grounded in cutting-edge research to deliver a targeted marketing strategy that supports, educates and engages new and existing boaters,” noted Matt Gruhn, MRAA President. “We encourage industry stakeholders to take advantage of Discover Boating’s valuable marketing tools, resources and assets to help enhance the customer experience from researching to shopping to buying to boating.”
Over the past year, Discover Boating marketing results helped reach new audiences and engage current boaters:
Delivered 7.3 billion media impressions, driving our industry’s voice in the market and building positive awareness for boating with more than 6.5 million people coming to Discover Boating websites (up 5% against plan and 23% year-over-year) and 1.6 million introductions made to boat manufacturers and dealers (up 10% against plan and flat year-over-year).
Created more than 5,000 pieces of inspiring content resources, ensuring our audience has access to multiple pieces of daily boating content across all our various channels. This includes targeted videos – examples here and here – generating more than 10 million YouTube views. That means people are seeing and watching our boating messages.
Generated nearly 24,000 positive news stories to help reach new audiences and deliver important education, including public service announcements in the U.S. and Canada, driving $10.4 million in media value (equivalent cost of securing the same media “real estate” if the news coverage were paid advertising).
Grew social media audiences across all platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Meta and X to 951,000 followers. Compared to 2023 growth, social platforms saw a 1,261% increase year-over-year.
Partnered with more than 140 influential content creators who shared personal boating experiences with their loyal followers, reinforcing boating messaging in an authentic way, driving 25 million impressions that resulted in 12.5 million interactions, including engagements and views – examples hereand here. Reaching our audiences through the content creators they trust, helps Discover Boating improve its impact.
Hosted dozens of brand activations, including the Black Boaters Summit, a 3-day on-water event in Martha’s Vineyard, and American Century Golf Championship with NBC Sports, to interact face-to-face with consumers, boating enthusiasts, and influencers and bring Discover Boating directly to next generation audiences.
For questions related to Discover Boating, contact Kevin Williams, NMMA’s Vice President of Marketing, at kwilliams@nmma.org.
“Remember, when you’re good, you learn. When you’re great, you understand. When you’re unstoppable, you master.” – Tim Grover, from “Winners Are Obsessed” – on the Motiv8 podcast, a world-renowned performance coach and motivational speaker who helped Michael Jordan become a bona fide champion and arguably the greatest of all time (GOAT) in his sport.
As a manager or business leader, how can you make certain you’re encouraging lifelong learning at your dealership? It would be best to lead by example as a lifelong learner (try new things, be adaptable, read, enroll in training, etc.). Your efforts will help establish a culture of learning at your business. A dealership that prioritizes employee engagement and training for career development sets itself apart from the rest of the field by building a culture determined to succeed, individually and together.
Imagine that your service advisor is doing well and that you’re super happy with the work they are doing for your dealership. But “good” is not necessarily great. You know that and so do they. How can you help them and your dealership advance to greatness? Expose them to advanced education, training and certification programs.
You get the picture. As THE leader, you can’t rest on your laurels. You have to do the hard things and continue to learn and advance in your role. You want them to desire the same approach and keep encouraging lifelong learning opportunities.
To go from good to great and beyond, it’s vital to invest in your team or, in this case, your service advisor. You want them to desire to be the best they can be. And once you help them become great, don’t stop. Sure, it offers you and your entire team a chance to celebrate their accomplishment and what it can bring to the dealership, but it’s not time to stop. You must continue to pursue learning and develop a continuous improvement mindset.
Because they have advanced in their career, they gain the courage and the confidence to push further. Their success helps them understand to strive, again, for more … continue learning, expand their knowledge and enhance their approach. You want them to continue to work on their abilities to push them (and your dealership) higher. When they reach “master status” it is as encouraging for them as it is for you, as their leader. Additionally, you want them to not only lead when the time comes but to do so in a manner that improves on their talents and leadership traits.
It’s hard for decision-makers like you to justify training due to the time it takes to devote to continued learning, the budgetary hit and the concern for employees feeling burned out by managing training and their day-to-day activities. But imagine a day when your empowered Service Advisor flourishes in their leadership role at your dealership. A day when their gained knowledge makes their life easier, and your role as a leader simpler.
The first step in helping your employees advance is to invest in them. Yes, even if they eventually leave. Would you rather train them and see them depart than not train them and have them stay? The answer is “train them.” That workforce enigma has been proven by numerous businesses. By encouraging lifelong learning, you help strengthen careers and your workforce family while also establishing accountability and trust.
The MRAA Service Advisor Certification Program provides training for both hard and soft skills to create respected, qualified and Certified leaders that contribute daily to your business’s success. They can grow in their vital role at your dealership to enhance your service department’s efficiency and elevate your customer communication. Program participants will have, a 90-day window, from Oct. 22, 2024, to Jan. 20, 2025, to complete the program on their schedule.
The training does not take 90 full days, so you still have time to enroll or enroll your team members. A thorough effort would take about a month, where the advisor is not just participating in the training but also implementing the tools and skills they are learning. They can earn their official credential through a proctored online exam and finish by the mid-January deadline.
MINNEAPOLIS, October 16 – Currently, more than 400 marine dealers have already registered to attend the Dealer Week 2024 Conference and Expo announces the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, after its Early Bird registration period ended on September 30.
“Traditionally about half or a little less than half of our dealer attendees take advantage of our Early Bird offer, which is great,” said Mike Davin, VP of Industry Relations at MRAA. “Of course, many dealers turn their attention toward our Dealer Week event, which happens in December, a little later in the fall, and of course we completely understand. But we use the early registrations as a barometer of how the event is tracking each year. We’re happy to be on pace for another big event.”
Dealer Week 2024 is moving to a new location but continuing a tradition of strong dealer interest. After record-breaking attendance at Dealer Week 2023, held in Tampa, Fla., the event is moving to Orlando and remains on track to meet or exceed last year’s attendance numbers. Last year’s the MRAA welcomed more than 720 dealer attendees and 1,500+ industry personnel in total to Dealer Week.
This year, the conference already has a record number of exhibitor booths and more than 150 exhibiting businesses committed to attend. Limited booth space is still available for companies seeking to reach marine industry decision-makers, showcase their products and services, build brand awareness and network with industry professionals and experts. View all the exhibitors and Expo Hall map.
“We are only seven weeks away from Dealer Week 2024, so there’s still time to book your flights, reserve your hotel and join us in Orlando,” said Davin. “We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback about this year’s theme and the focus of the event on actionable ways to grow business in today’s climate.”
Dealer Week, hosted annually by the MRAA, happens Dec. 8-11, 2024, in West Halls D2&E of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The 2024 event theme is “Outperform,” with a schedule of events designed to provide dealers with the tools and strategies they need to exceed the average business in today’s market. For more information or to register, go to dealerweek.com.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
The Sea Tow Foundation announced the winners of the 2024 National Boating Safety Awards, and this year’s Marine Trade Association award went to the National Marine Manufacturers (NMMA) for its Discover Boating Top Safe Boating Tips video series, presented with Progressive® Insurance. These awards, now in their sixth year, recognize outstanding efforts to promote boating safety within the for-profit sector of the boating industry.
Discover Boating’s comprehensive campaign reached more than three million people across platforms like YouTube, social media and email. The video content was freely available to other organizations, further extending the reach of critical safe boating messages.
To help engage your customers, download or embed the Discover Boating Top Safe Boating Tips videos to share in your showroom, on your website, via your social network or in your next email campaign. The spots are available in the Discover Boating Industry Resource Center, powered by NMMA and MRAA.
Dealer Week 2024 is moving to a new location but continuing a tradition of strong dealer interest. After record-breaking attendance at Dealer Week 2023, held in Tampa, Fla., the event is moving to Orlando and remains on track to meet or exceed last year’s attendance numbers.
The Early Bird registration period for Dealer Week ended last month, and currently more than 400 dealer attendees have already signed up, as well as more than 150 exhibiting companies.
“Traditionally about half or a little less than half of our dealer attendees take advantage of our Early Bird offer, which is great,” said Mike Davin, VP of Industry Relations at MRAA. “Of course, a lot dealers turn their attention toward the event, which happens in December, a little later in the fall, and of course we completely understand. But we use the early registrations as a barometer of how the event is tracking each year, and we’re happy to say that we are on pace for another big event.”
Last year’s Dealer Week welcomed more than 720 dealer attendees and 1,500+ industry personnel in total. For 2024, there are already a record number of exhibit booths booked for the event, and with more than 400 dealership personnel already signed up, it looks like Dealer Week 2024 in Orlando will be another large gathering of marine retailers and the companies that partner with them.
Dealer Week is hosted annually by the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. It takes place Dec. 8-11, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. The theme of the event is “Outperform,” with a schedule of events designed to provide dealers with the tools they need to exceed the average business in today’s marketing. For more information and a complete schedule of events, go to dealerweek.com.
Here’s the very real workforce conundrum many of you are facing: Retaining staff when times get tough. However, hiring them when you need them is just as difficult and more expensive.
The Service Management Special Report showed that the workforce shortage is not just an issue in most service departments, but perhaps the No. 1 pain point. It was the top concern for the respondents in the survey by more than 25 percent over the next most recorded pain point.
Clearly, the workforce pain continues. In the September 2024 MRAA Pulse Report, one dealer noted “finding experienced leadership – need a service manager, can’t find.”
During a recent MRAA Board Meeting, dealers were asked whether they would hire an experienced technician today if one was immediately available to them, and just about everyone raised their hand.
The September Pulse Report also reflects a painful time period for some in sales and the marine industry. Comments about what’s working from dealers include: “Being low-staffed and keeping our chins up” and another about what’s working, “Nothing … Worst sales since 2008. Parts and service slowing significantly vs. normal this time of year.”
What a difficult combination. Workforce shortages in service means we can’t get the staff we need to increase our efficiency, our CSI and to lower our Repair Event Cycle Time. With the dramatic decrease in sales, we need service to drive profitability. “Service has the ball now with winterizations,” said one dealer about how service is going to carry the burden since “it’s tough to find something that works” for sales this time of year.
At the same time, many dealerships are looking at their numbers and strongly considering staff layoffs to maintain cash and stay afloat. One dealer commented, “We are very concerned about inventory, credit and interest rates, and believe we will see a thinning out of dealers over the next months.”
The concern is real, but so is the conundrum. Dealers can’t hire the staff they need in some areas, and yet, at the same time, some feel the need to reduce staff during these trying times.
If you have to let staff, go, will you be able to get them back when business inevitably picks up on the other side of this downturn? At what cost?
According to insights shared by Dealer Week educators and industry experts, Jim Million and Gloria Sinclair Miller, the cost of replacing an employee is over two times the cost of their salary.
Will someone else hire them away as there is clearly a need? How do you manage cash and yet, keep the staff you know you can’t easily replace?
What strategies do you use to retain your current staff, ensuring you’re prepared for an economic rebound and able to keep service personnel who are hard to replace?
John Spence, a former Dealer Week educator said, “Nothing happens in your business without your people. Nothing. That is why finding, growing, AND KEEPINGtalented people should be a MAJOR focus of your organization.”
Perhaps one way to navigate this conundrum is to explore alternative ways to improve your cash position. Here are 11 ideas:
1.Bring the entire staff together for a discussion: Where does each team member see opportunities to cut spending? Some quick examples from staff:
Do you need the fresh carpets delivered weekly?
Do you need to maintain Wi-Fi for customers in the offseason?
Does the showroom need to be heated to 72 or 65 degrees?
Do we need to hire someone to mow and move snow or can we do it ourselves?
2. Put some pre-owned boats in very good condition onto a floorplan so that cash is available for the offseason.
Talk with community banks about floorplan for recent year trade-ins.
3. Review your actuals vs. budget.
Make the budget as simple as possible to review and maintain.
Determine where you really are and establish very conservative projections to clarify where you stand and what you need.
Can you wait and see how the next few months go before making any staff changes? You don’t know for sure without preparing a cash flow forecast. If you don’t currently do so, use our Sample Net Cash Condition Worksheet.
4. Look at parts. Are there opportunities to sell some of the leftover inventory using online marketing or other tools like eBay, Facebook Marketplace and others?
Parts on the shelf are tying up cash that could be used to keep an employee and pay other bills. Find ways to move them now.
5. Review your accounts receivable and warranty.
If you have outstanding balances due from customers or manufacturers, it is time to pursue those with gusto.
The time commitment necessary to pursue those outstanding balances will likely pay for itself and more with the resulting income.
6. Can the sales department use some inexpensive new approaches to move another boat or two in the next few weeks and more over the next few months?
Video new and used boats and get them online and on your social media.
Use your cell phone to create these simple videos. They don’t need to be perfect. They just need to let someone see the inventory you have.
Use your cell phone to create these simple videos. They don’t need to be perfect. They just need to let someone see the inventory you have.
Use social media to create your own “boat show” during the down time of fall.
Could you be the first show after the election?
Whichever candidates win, someone will be happy and perhaps eager to celebrate. What better way than with a new boat?
Whichever candidates win, someone will be happy and perhaps eager to celebrate. What better way than with a new boat?
Be the one show that happens in your region for those few days or work with your peers in your area to put together a “show trail” with online maps to go from one dealer to the next having common hours for a shared show. People follow “wine trails” all the time, why not a “boat trail?”
7. Approach your staff and communicate.
Do you have a staff member who actually wouldn’t mind being laid off for a time in the offseason?
Have you ever asked?
8. Consider how your salespeople are making selling decisions.
Do they understand the current constraints and concerns?
Are they trying to stick to margins that are higher than you deem necessary?
Do they recognize that floorplan costs continue to eat away at profit margins so taking a lower price now may result in the same outcome as if they had waited months to sell the boat at a slightly higher margin?
Are they asking customers to consider selling on consignment or brokerage instead of taking in that expensive trade-in?
9. Review your advertising and marketing analytics.
Do this to determine what works and what doesn’t work and how to reduce expenses with low-cost alternatives (influencers, digital marketing, newsletter).
10. Consider effective ways to create work-week shift schedule changes.
Could you rotate staff shifts so that you can be open on the weekend to draw any missed business opportunities that occur in the offseason?
Could you adjust schedules to have a 4-day work week?
Could you do both and have staff have a 4-day work week and yet stay open every day you want to be? Instead of losing one employee completely could you go to several staff dropping to a 4-day 32 hour work week and achieve practically the same cost savings?
11. Build a rainy-day list in service.
If your service department has a rainy-day list of customer repairs and upgrades that could be completed in the offseason, put your team on the phone to get that work scheduled during slower times to keep your service department busy.
Consider making it a contest to see how many customers you can serve this way. Remember: This is an opportunity to show them how much your dealership cares about their experience on the water.
WASHINGTON, October 10, 2024 – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas joined the American Sportfishing Association and key industry and community stakeholders to unveil a roadmap for future government action to support recreational fishing interests. “THE FUTURE OF SPORTFISHING: Policy Recommendations from the Recreational Fishing Community” is a collaborative effort to promote science-based conservation, encourage economic growth, enhance public access and advocate for the rights of American anglers.
“THE FUTURE OF SPORTFISHING: Policy Recommendations from the Recreational Fishing Community”
The recommendations were developed with input from a wide range of partners. Seventeen organizations, recognized as leaders in habitat conservation, public access and recreational fisheries policy, have endorsed the recommendations, collectively representing thousands of businesses and 57.7 million Americans who fish annually.
“Conservation and proper management of our nation’s sport fish and their habitats as well as supporting and enhancing access to recreational opportunities are key to supporting the $230 billion recreational boating industry, and our community looks forward to working with the new administration and Congress on these recommendations in the new year,” said Mike Sayre, MRAA Director of Government Relations. “Implementation of the policy recommendations from the ‘Future of Sportfishing Report’ would greatly enhance the management, recovery and resilience of America’s freshwater and saltwater sport fish populations to the benefit of both recreational anglers and boaters.”
“Each year, one out of six Americans go fishing – contributing $148 billion to the U.S. economy,” added Mike Leonard, ASA Vice President of Government Affairs. “The next administration and Congress should clearly understand what issues our constituency cares about, and this report gives them a roadmap on how they can best support our community’s needs.”
The recommendations are grouped into three significant areas: federal funding requests, policy proposals for public waters and habitat protection initiatives.
National Conservation Funding
Adequate and dedicated funding for federal land management agencies
Reauthorization of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund
Enhanced Funding for state-led collaborative conservation
Marine Fisheries Policy Proposals
Improve data and access
Investments in marine technologies
Effective fisheries management
Species habitat and recovery
Freshwater Fisheries Policy Proposals
Legislation to protect habitat and support restoration
Strengthen interstate partnerships
Conserve waterways and protect public access
Invasive species management and removal
Sportfishing remains one of the most popular and accessible outdoor activities, connecting millions of Americans to nature. In 2022, the sportfishing industry supported more than 90,000 jobs nationwide. Anglers also contribute significantly to conservation efforts, generating $1.8 billion annually for aquatic resource conservation through license sales, the federal excise tax on fishing equipment and direct donations.
Continued growth of our industry and our sport relies on strong partnerships with Congress and the White House. Over the next four years, the MRAA anticipates collaborating with our elected officials to bring these recommendations to fruition.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
About the American Sportfishing Association The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association committed to representing the interests of the sportfishing and boating industries as well as the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry and anglers a unified voice when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. ASA invests in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous, as well as safeguard and promote the enduring economic, conservation and social values of sportfishing in America. ASA also gives America’s 55 million anglers a voice in policy decisions that affect their ability to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways through Keep America Fishing, our national angler advocacy campaign. America’s anglers generate more than $50 billion in retail sales with a $148 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for 945,000 people.
Discover Boating, in collaboration with Progressive Insurance®, recently launched a new television public service announcement (PSA) campaign, and in just two months the PSAs have aired 550 times, delivering more than 1,000,000 impressions and equating to $63,000 in donated media value (the cost it would take for the same media “real estate” if the news coverage were paid advertising).
The PSAs feature the “Voices” spot from the See You Out Here campaign as well as videos from the Boating Safety Basics series including “Sun Safety,” “Safe Swimming” and “Safe Seating.”
Additionally, over the last 8 weeks, the “Pet Safety” video aired on Connected TV (streaming platforms such as Pluto and The Weather Channels), generating nearly 650,000 views with a view through rate of 99%, which exceeds the industry average of 89%.
Boating safety videos and campaign spots are available to industry stakeholders in the Discover Boating Industry Resource Center, powered by NMMA and MRAA. Download or embed the video content to share in your showroom, on your website, via your social network or in your next email campaign.
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