Begin with ‘GOOD’ to Become Great!

Have you ever uttered the word “good” when something goes wrong at your dealership? Chances are you’ve said a different word, perhaps one with a negative or “bad” connotation. Jocko Willink, author and retired Navy Seal officer, has shared on his podcast his philosophical approach to responding with “good” when problems crop up. How comfortable are you firmly using the word good in the face of disruption at your dealership?

Jerrod Kelley, MRAA Content Manager dressed in blue shirt standing outside by a tree
Jerrod Kelley, MRAA Content Manager

Let’s say one of your technicians just quit. Immediately, your mind shifts to how understaffed this will make your store, and you wonder how will you complete all the repair orders in time with Memorial Day right around the corner. Instead of going into despair and hitting the panic button, according to Willink, it’s better to decipher what has just happened, accept the reality of it and then say “good.” Once you deal with all the possible negatives and pressures this change will undoubtedly create for you and your team, you move on! 

Your GOOD statement means you’re now seeking the positives and solutions to address this person’s departure. You don’t say good to deceive yourself or your staff or to keep everything and everyone remaining hunky-dory, as Jocko explains here. You do it because you want to find the good that will come out of this loss of an employee and make something happen. “Good, now we can promote Dave to Service Manager.” “Good, we now have an opportunity to refocus our efforts to improve our service process and efficiency.”   

One of our key goals at the MRAA is to drive dealer success through education. With resources such as our monthly MRAA Spotlight pages, Training ‘N’ Tactics online learning, the MRAA Certified Dealer program and MRAA’s annual Dealer Week Conference & Expo, to name four, dealers gain insights, best practices, proven processes and expert advice on improving their business. Continuing education and participative learning help with career advancement, employee engagement and create a self-improvement mindset, all of which contribute to a stronger culture.  

I was recently part of a meeting with an MRAA Education Champion that shared an overview of MRAA’s educational offerings and why we do it. One critical aspect that came up during our conversation involved key objectives the MRAA and its partners can address to help drive dealer success. 

Goal one of four shared goals in the MRAA 2023-2025 Strategic Plan includes four objectives MRAA is currently focused on, but that can also guide your dealership to greater business achievement. They are: 

1.     Overcome workforce shortages and challenges

2.     Position-specific education and credentialing

3.     Improve Repair Event Cycle Times (RECT)

4.     Elevate customer experience (CX)

Certainly there are many other pain points out there currently, but these are four strategic focal points and areas of need that, if handled correctly, will help you rise to the top. The four topics are intertwined within your business. It reminds me of science class and the term symbiosis, which is defined as a relationship that’s mutually beneficial for different people or groups.  

Let’s first look at your workforce shortages. This involves hiring (or lack thereof), onboarding, engaging, growing and retaining your current employees. Your workforce also relates to No. 2 above, “position-specific education and credentialing,” in that you want your employees to keep learning and training to improve. Because you’ll have educated, confident employees that also understand their potential for career advancement. Additionally, because you invest in their continued learning, you will increase their engagement and improve employee retention. 

When you find the best-fit hires for your dealership and help them grow and become a pillar within your corporate culture, you can improve in other ways. For instance, highly engaged, certified service technicians will have the knowledge, accountability, resources and proficiency required to improve your service department’s efficiency. In turn, when they are effective and stick to a process that aims for timeliness and addresses the needs of each unique client, your service department will elevate your customers’ experience. 

Put simply, properly trained, satisfied employees are invested in your dealership, produce better results and help create a better CX. And we all know that happier customers quite often become repeat customers and those who give you rave reviews. They display loyalty to your staff and brand, and recommend you to their friends and family members. This helps to improve the satisfaction of your workforce, which directly relates to a happier management team and ownership. 

You can clearly see that everyone benefits when you proactively look to improve your situation rather than sit around complaining about it or any other related problems you’re facing. That’s why the MRAA Certified Dealership Program, which will help you become better in many areas, exists; to improve your business. It’s especially valuable if you feel you’ve been grasping at straws trying to overcome all your challenges.

It’s time for you to say “good” when issues arise, because your goal is to be great!

How to Hire Ideal Team Players

I’ll start with an obvious statement that I think every dealership reading this will agree with:

Hiring is hard.

MRAA blog author Mike Davin, Vice President of Business Planning, shown outside MRAA HQ in Minnesota
Author Mike Davin, MRAA Vice President of Business Planning

OK, are we on the same page? If you don’t agree with that statement: 1) Skip this blog. 2) Please contact me, I’d like to hire you as an expert speaker for Dealer Week 2023!

For everyone else, this article is not about how to make hiring easy. Instead, it’s about how to ensure that when you bring someone onto the team, you give yourself (and the new employee) the best chance to be successful. By bringing in the right people, your dealership will experience the pain of hiring less frequently. And in the long run, it is the path to growing and improving your organization’s overall performance.

Like a lot of things in your business, how well and consistently you make good hires comes down to process. This blog will guide you through a well-defined hiring process (used by MRAA) for each new team member you bring on board.

The process should start well before anyone comes in for an interview and involves three steps.

Step 1 is making sure you have the right job description. Keep job descriptions on file for all roles within the organization. (If you’d like a head start, MRAA members can access sample job descriptions in the Workforce section of the Resource Center.)

Rather than copy/pasting when a position comes open, however, review each description to ensure it reflects the current needs of the organization. Instead of focusing on the skills required, emphasize key result areas. These KRAs define the goals you will use to track success in the role, giving candidates a clear picture of expectations and helping ensure that the role is aligned with your overall strategic goals.

Step 2 in the process is to share the job description with the existing team. This gives them a chance to consider whether they know anyone personally or professionally who might be a good candidate for the role. Encourage them to share the posting with their diverse networks to expose the opening to as wide an audience as possible, inside and outside the industry.

Step 3 is when you formally post the job on a variety of job boards. MRAA has seen success with LinkedIn and Indeed, but you should cast a wide net until you have had a chance to evaluate which platforms connect best with applicants in your area.

For each job opening, MRAA assigns a hiring manager and a team of two to three others who will review the candidates. The next steps in the process involve the hiring manager evaluating the resumes that come in and then conducting an initial phone screening of all promising candidates.

Two co-workers of different ages engaging in conversation about sales processes and strategy in an office setting.
It’s important not to skip the final step of the hiring process: Onboarding.

After that, it’s time for the interview, which is key to the success of this process. Here’s an excerpt from MRAA’s interview process guide:

The process for in-person interviews with the MRAA team uses questions from a list of standardized interview questions as the method for determining if the person is a good fit for the role, the culture and the organization. These are not “standard” interview questions, but questions that explore character and real-world behaviors (not canned, rehearsed responses) as well as the “fit” of the individual into the MRAA culture. The questions have been compiled from several sources — books, consultants, experience and otherwise. This document serves as the template for choosing the questions that are most appropriate.

The hiring team divides up a list of specific questions, which are taken from “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Lencioni and “Topgrading. How to Hire, Coach and Keep A Players” by Dr. Bradford Smart. As an organization, MRAA has four core values — Authenticity, Accountability, Leadership and Drive — and the questions are selected to provide insight into how the candidates align with those values.  

After a candidate speaks to the hiring committee, the committee meets to discuss how well they fit into the job duties and the organization’s values. The goal is to identify candidates that are a good fit for the organization, but also to make certain MRAA is a good fit for the candidate. The hiring manager uses input from the group to make a final decision, and then determines and presents a job offer.

If the candidate accepts, it’s tempting to celebrate, but it’s important not to skip the final step of the hiring process: Onboarding. A good onboarding experience is critical for long-term employee retention. It reinforces many of the earlier steps in the process, ensuring that the new team member understands the KRAs they are responsible for as well as the company’s values.

Here’s the whole process:

  1. Create/update job description for open position
  2. Share job opening / job description with team
  3. Post job opening
  4. Review candidates
  5. Call preferred candidates / phone interview
  6. In-person interviews
  7. Discuss among team members
  8. Discuss and determine hourly vs. salaried, other benefits
  9. Make offer
  10. Onboard

Having a documented process makes hiring easier because it’s clear what steps to take, but it also ensures that jobs aren’t created or filled based on gut feel alone. Skipping steps can lead to a faster hiring process, but adhering to this process (or your customized version for your business) will lead to less turnover and better results.

If you want to work on this process or any others within your dealership, MRAA is happy to help. There are many resources on MRAA.com, or you can sign up for Certification and a consultant will work with you to clean up and document all your processes. 

P.S. If you don’t think this process works, I encourage you to check out MRAA.com/staff. All your MRAA staff were hired using this method — and look what a great group it produced! Don’t forget that all those people are working to help boat dealers like you every day, so reach out anytime if you need help. Good luck and happy hiring!

Connect with Customers, Generate Leads, Boost Your Competitive Edge at Dealer Week

MINNEAPOLIS, April 17 – In order to be a successful company, you need to continue to gain more prospects, build brand awareness and ensure that your business is at the forefront of your customers’ minds. If only you could attend a single event at one location where hundreds of your customers gather for educational insights, best practices and business solutions to improve their operations.

The Marine Retailers Association of the America’s (MRAA) annual Dealer Week Conference and Expo, is boating’s only event focused on dealer growth. Securing your exhibit space in the Expo Hall provides you with the ability to reconnect, establish new prospects and share your company’s business solutions in person with customers. In fact, last year more than 100 exhibitors had exposure to 1,300-plus marine dealer attendees at Dealer Week in Austin, Texas.  

Dealer Week 2022 Expo Hall in Austin, Texas
MRAA Dealer Week 2022 set records for exhibitor presence, Expo Hall floor space coverage and overall attendance.

“It was so well organized, fun, great set up and they had good speakers and materials,” said Jim Hary, Bennington/Polaris, speaking about the 2022 conference. “It was overall very well organized. It was one of the best conferences I have been to. Even with competing companies I would recommend this show.”

To ensure your company is visible at this year’s Dealer Week event, December 4-7, in Tampa, Florida, complete your booth reservation application now. As in previous years, Dealer Week exhibit booths will be assigned in the order the applications are received. More than 60 marine industry companies have already secured a space or upgraded their booth space for the Tampa conference. 

Allison Gruhn, MRAA Vice President of Business Development dressed formally for outdoor photo in trees
Allison Gruhn, MRAA Vice President of Business Development

“Our 2022 event was memorable in that it celebrated our 50th anniversary and set a new high-water mark for industry attendance and exhibitor participation and included the first-ever boat manufacturer, in Smoker Craft, to co-locate its annual dealer meeting at Dealer Week,” said Allison Gruhn, MRAA Vice President of Business Development. “When manufacturers, suppliers and service providers invest in Dealer Week, it grows the conference and fuels the success of dealers and the entire boating industry.”

This year’s event will also feature a limited number of dock slips to give dealers a greater show experience and exhibitors the opportunity to showcase and demo product on the water. As an exhibitor, you will have the opportunity to join the educational sessions, keynote addresses, ceremonies, awards luncheon and nearly every activity attending dealers can partake in.  

“I thought the conference was exceptional. I thought there was a lot of great data. It was a good place for manufacturers to be at,” said Bryan Seti, Yamaha. “It is good to see how it has grown over the years. I think it is important to support the industry and the dealers. There was education for the Yamaha team. It was good to meet and discuss the objectives with our dealers.” ­

To learn more about exhibiting, visit dealerweek.com/exhibit, or to choose your Dealer Week 2023 booth, contact Allison Gruhn at 763-333-2419.

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 Dealer Week

For five decades, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has delivered world-class educational programming to dealers, retailers and service operations that power the boating industry and serve today’s boaters. Dealer Week exists to engage, energize and empower the dealer community. The MRAA envisions a brighter future for marine retail, and Dealer Week is the preeminent means for bringing that vision to life. Learn more at DealerWeek.com.

MRAA, MTAs Seek Monitoring Technology to Counter Right Whale Rule

Chad Tokowicz, MRAA Government Relations Manager in blue Dealer Week shirt
Chad Tokowicz, MRAA Government Relations Manager

With the support of 17 state and national marine trades associations, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas submitted a letter to members of the House and Senate Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) to stall proposed changes to the onerous Right Whale Rule. MRAA and its MTA colleagues asked Committee members to add language to the CJS Appropriations Act to provide the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration with $5 million to fund the design and deployment of a near real-time monitoring technology and mitigation program for threatened or endangered cetaceans, like the Right Whale.

Our letter advocates for the inclusion of a provision that will ultimately bar NOAA from moving forward with the implementation of its proposed changes to the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule until the near real-time monitoring technology is fully implemented. The pause will be in effect at least until the Secretary of the Department of Commerce provides a report to the CJS Subcommittees detailing how the newly developed technology and mitigation protocols inform the proposed changes to the Right Whale rule.

Assuring that this technology is developed and deployed is critical. Conservation is at the heart of recreational boating and fishing, and we believe a collaborative effort is needed to protect the endangered Right Whale. Rather than implementing the proposed rule as currently drafted – which goes too far and ultimately impedes access – we propose regulations that achieve a balanced approach and uses technology to locate the important whale pods. Such a plan would protect whales, safeguard boater privacy rights, nurture thousands of small businesses and preserve vibrant coastal economies that rely on access to America’s public waters.

View the Letter

Near identical language to the provision we requested for inclusion in the CJS Appropriations Act was actually included in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which was passed and signed into law just before the end of 2022, which also marked the end of the 117th Congress. The previous inclusion of this provision highlights lawmakers’ longstanding commitment to the health and safety of marine mammals, while also maintaining access for recreational boating. The inclusion of this provision in the CJS appropriations title is essential to provide funding to develop vital technology while simultaneously causing NOAA to pause on implementation of the new Right Whale Rule.

Take Action

NOAA has proposed a substantial expansion of its North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule that would shrink recreational boating access along the East Coast. The existing rule applies to boats measuring 65 feet in length and greater within locations like breeding and calving areas and heavily trafficked ports, where risk to the North Atlantic Right Whale is highest. Under the proposed rule expansion, all boats 35 feet in length and larger would be limited to a speed of 10 knots (11 mph) within a vast area of the U.S. eastern seaboard, extending from Massachusetts to central Florida, for up to 8 months out of the year and in some places up to 90 miles offshore. The letter submitted to the CJS subcommittee is one of many steps groups in the conservation and recreational boating and angling community have taken to highlight our opposition to the proposed rule. This appropriations request will be an important part of our industry’s outreach efforts during this year’s American Boating Congress, taking place from May 8-10, in Washington, D.C.

It’s not too late to sign up, join this incredible event and make your voice heard.

SIgn Up here

Looking to get more involved with marine industry advocacy efforts? Click here to see the different ways you can get involved.

Installing an Onboarding Process to Help Employees Find Success

Recently you’ve probably heard about the terms “quiet quitting” and “voluntary turnover” while researching hiring and onboarding for your dealership. One reason for these terms and their rise can be attributed to reduced employee engagement and less satisfaction within the workplace. And a lack of training — a problem that often begins as soon as a new hire begins their first day — has been a chief reason employees leave their jobs. What can your business do about it?

MRAA's Training N Tactics logo in blue, light blue and white

Perfecting your onboarding process is a huge deterrent to turnover and it can protect you against both soft and hard costs. In a MRAA webinar: “How to Implement Effective Onboarding,” Kathryn Carlson of HR management firm KPA calls onboarding “the process of meeting the new employee’s immediate needs and the first and best chance to turn a new hire into a productive, engaged and successful employee.” You can access this session as part of MRAA’s Training ‘N’ Tactics educational series.

Employee Handbook

The best onboarding strategies begin in your dealership’s employee handbook. When you first start a job, you want to know what’s expected of you at the new company and other questions like these:

  • Who reports to whom?
  • What can and can’t I wear?
  • How much vacation time do I get?
  • What happens to me if I break company policy?
Cover page of MRAA SAMPLE Handbook; black font on white screen

New employees ask a lot of questions like this and many more, so it’s essential for your dealership to be ready with answers. Your preparedness removes the guesswork from the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where and why), and puts everyone on the same page by developing an employee handbook. When people understand their roles and responsibilities, it boosts their confidence, and they are more likely to meet (or exceed) your initial expectations.

Don’t have an employee handbook at your dealership? We understand. That’s why we provide members with a sample employee handbook for information purposes. The sample template helps guide you in creating your own customized employee handbook for your specific business. Of course, it needs to be modified in accordance with your local, state, province or federal law in effect at the time of its creation or revision.

Training, Engagement & Growth

Good training includes effective, ongoing learning and guidance not just overwhelming someone with new information and a lot of introductions to new faces. However, many businesses simply expect employees to acclimate to their brand new job after giving them a quick facility tour and introducing them to all their co-workers within the various departments. Don’t do it this way.

Instead, your onboarding must go beyond a once-over run through. It must include extended training, career development planning and additional engagement opportunities.   

Dealership trainer and educator Sam Dantzler ( Garage Composites and Wheelhouse College) says employers know they should be better at helping their employee find success, but call it more challenging due to the “speed of retail.” He’s a firm believer that an effective onboarding process should take multiple weeks, not several hours or only a new hire’s first week.

A common first mistake employers make is not explaining to new employees how their training is going to take place, according to Dantzler. This leads to confusion for everyone. Instead, he believes a good training plan starts with the employer mapping out the process for the employee, explaining what he or she is going to be doing, and when. This plan helps your new hires know what to expect and understand what you expect out of them.

Dantzler suggest a one-month onboarding plan that could work for your dealership. You can get Dantzler’s “weekly roadmap” in the resource: MRAA Guide to Dealership Improvement. Essentially, it involves a four-week onboarding process that gives new employees time to understand the operations and culture of a dealership, generates empathy for the work being done by those around them and sets them up for long-term success. It also makes retaining them easier and acclimates them to the ongoing training they need to grow and your dealership needs to flourish.

MRAA Guide to Dealership Improvement cover featuring images of white boats on black background and bold RED font saying Dealership Improvement

Find A Process That Works for YOU

It’s important to know which process works best for your business. Just know that orientation, which usually lasts about a week, is NOT onboarding, although it is part of the onboarding process. It’s wise to do what Dantzler is suggesting, especially if your business currently lacks a proper onboarding process.

O.C. Tanner, an organization that improves workplace culture through personalized employee recognition solutions, says to never stop onboarding and that more companies should view it as never having an end date. That’s because you have the ability to create more connectivity with your employee, build stronger engagement and reward them when they excel and help your business do well. A solid onboarding process will help you improve employee wellness, create expectations, build long-term career development and reduce turnover. It can also help you create a culture of unity and success.

In the MRAA Guide to Building a Foundation for Accountability Jim Million says, “The onboarding process sets the tone for the relationship your new team member will have with the dealership. Think of this process as an initiation to your dealership.” This member resource will lead you through the fundamentals for developing a culture in which employees are held accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities and meeting their goals.

What sort of onboarding process have you installed at your dealership that has produced dedicated, long-term employees? Does your onboarding last 30 days, 60 days or longer? I want to hear from you, so share any proven tactics and success stories you have had with onboarding at your dealership. Send me an email to jerrod@mraa.com with the subject line titled “Onboarding Wins.” I also encourage you to check out the MRAA Spotlight page on Employee Onboarding for more best practices.

PS – Not a member but want to access some of these resources, reach out to MRAA Membership Manager Sherri Cuvala (sherri@mraa.com), or click join MRAA to learn more.

Next Generation Boaters: Understanding Barriers and Opportunities

To best position recreational boating for growth as we adjust to a ‘new normal’ post the pandemic peak, Discover Boating, powered by the NMMA and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA), recently conducted research to better understand the next generation as we work to welcome them as future customers.

Who are the next generation of boaters? Three key audience segments emerged from our research, which we refer to as Core, Growth and Emerging segments. The latest research dives into the socio-demographics, psychographics, finances among our target audiences, their boating attitudes and interests, as well as the barriers and motivations to boat buying. The three audiences are made up of an estimated 91 million people in the U.S. alone. These 91 million potential boaters are not homogenous. They are younger, more educated and more ethnically and racially diverse.

Discover Boating

Below is a snapshot about these three important groups:

  • Core segment: They look most like today’s boat owners and have the highest penetration of boat ownership and participation in boating activities. They are also older, family-oriented and more suburban/ex-urban than other segments.
  • Growth segment: Represents the best opportunity to bring in younger boaters and grow boating. They are pursuing boating-adjacent activities at high rates, including powersports, biking and hiking. They are younger than current first-time boat buyers, more ethnically and racially diverse, and are more likely to live in denser areas. They are adventurous, social and tech-savvy. This segment also feels most overwhelmed by the boat buying process.
  • Emerging segment: Large, dynamic, and affluent group who is not pursuing outdoor activities that are predictive of future boating in their daily lives, but they are doing those activities on vacation with a potential “pull” via rental activity. They are the most concerned with the emotional return on investment (e-ROI) and have the least familiarity with the basics of boat ownership.

There are key challenges and opportunities that must be considered. Addressing the following opportunities will help the boating industry improve how it engages this promising group of new potential customers and set us up for a bright future.

These challenges present opportunities:

  • Inclusion → Authentic Representation
  • Economic Uncertainty → Emotional ROI/Financing
  • Outreach → Bring Boating to NexGen
  • Education → Demystify Boat Ownership
  • Community Building → Showcase Like-Minded Community

A key takeaway from Discover Boating’s latest study is the importance of representation. Even though many people — including females and people of color — have expressed interest in owning a boat, they do not feel represented in marketing. To engage the next generation of boaters, authentic representation is critical. While there are many ways to go about this, seeing someone like yourself on a boat, in a dealership or anywhere across the business world of boating makes a significant impact on whether you feel welcome. However, representation is not simply about featuring more diverse people in advertising. It is much deeper than that, requiring building connections that feel personal and making audiences feel heard and understood by relating in a genuine way to their culture, attitudes and interests.

Economic uncertainty also remains top of mind for next generation boaters. Survey respondents expressed hesitancy in making a major purchase, whether they can afford it or not. The Emerging segment, in particular, is concerned about the emotional return on investment (‘e-ROI’) with purchasing a boat and needs to better understand the emotional and experiential benefits of boating.

This is especially important for both the Growth and Emerging segments who didn’t necessarily grow up boating as much as the Core segment did. Compared to the Growth and Emerging segments, a larger percentage of the Core segment is able to recall the memories of being on the water and what that meant to their lives which means we have to work harder to demonstrate the e-ROI to the Growth and Emerging segments. The great news is a majority of the Emerging segment (83 percent) prioritize experiences over things so there’s an exciting opportunity that comes with ensuring they see the e-ROI of being on the water. Breaking down cost barriers, educating consumers on financing and affordability and selling the experience versus the object is key to helping the next generation see the value in becoming a boat owner.

There is a tremendous opportunity to engage and nudge consumers deeper into boating consideration — that outreach is crucial. We are seeing at least half of those in the Growth and Emerging segments actively researching the boating lifestyle and looking into boats online. But, there is a drop-off point before they reach the purchase phase. Why? The Growth segment is overwhelmed by the buying process, and the Emerging Segment sees boating as a vacation activity, not an everyday activity.

By targeting individual motivations and barriers, we can help the next generation of boaters move closer to boat ownership. For example, to stay relevant with today’s consumer shopping habits and their desire for ease of purchase, as an industry, how can we offer ways to make the buying process less overwhelming? One way to accomplish this is getting them to, and a deeper engagement at, boat shows. For those potential customers who are not ready to buy a boat but who still enjoy boating, rental options offer a great solution. Boat rental is a gateway into boat ownership.

Together as an industry we have to demystify boat ownership. Unlike the Core segment, who looks a lot like many of today’s boat owners, who grew up boating and are very familiar with the lifestyle, our nexgen audiences do not have a solid foundation in the basics of boat ownership. They do not realize how attainable buying a boat can be so raising awareness of financing options can prompt purchase consideration. For example, many non-boaters in the Growth and Emerging segments need financing if they are going to purchase a boat, but 60 percent do not even know that financing options exist. After learning about 15-year financing, one-third of survey respondents reported seeing boat ownership as more attainable. Educating potential boat buyers on financing options and doing so in a way that’s easy to digest can turn this barrier into a massive opportunity.

Finally, the power of community in boating cannot be underestimated. Unlike existing boaters, the next generation is not aware of the social benefits of owning a boat, and may not see themselves fitting into the community. Showcasing the joys of being part of a community that shares the same passion for time on the water and a community that’s inviting and not intimidating, can help more people feel included in boating and ultimately drive interest in boat ownership. A lot of feeling part of the community comes from the industry collectively representing future customers not only in marketing but in board rooms, dealerships, and manufacturing facilities.

Discover Boating remains focused on engaging this crucial next generation, retaining new boaters and maintaining a strong connection with existing boat owners. New insights gleaned from this latest research can help marine businesses determine their own strategic marketing approach to engaging new, younger and more diverse potential boat owners.

As an industry, being aware of the challenges and opportunities identified in this research can help drive participation in boating for generations to come.

To view the recording of Discover Boating’s webinar about Reaching Next Generation Boaters from March 30, click the link below or visit the industry resource center here.

Share E-A-R-T-H D-A-Y with Your Boat Customers

• BoatUS.org provides responsible boating tips for the 53rd Annual Earth Day celebration Saturday, April 22
Get ready for Earth Day 2023! As boating season starts up, let’s make sure we’re being good waterway stewards. The BoatUS Foundation has broken down the 8 letters of E-A-R-T-H D-A-Y to help boat owners put a plan into action.

ANNAPOLIS, Md., April 19, 2023 – After a long winter lay-up, boaters are beginning to return to water. With the 53rd annual Earth Day celebration just around the corner on Saturday, April 22, it’s time for boaters to think how they can prime themselves to be good waterway stewards all season long. The non-profit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water breaks down the eight letters of E-A-R-T-H D-A-Y to help boat owners put a plan into action:

E — Empty your holding tank at a pumpout station or a designated place ashore.
A — Always attend your gas nozzle when fueling your boat and resist topping off.
R — Recycle fishing line and plastic baits when possible, dispose of properly.
T — Take the time for clean, drain, dry to stop the spread of invasive species.
H — Have a trash receptacle or a way to collect refuse aboard so nothing goes in the water.

D — Dispose of used oils, gas and chemicals properly; ask for help if needed.
A — Adopt a beach or a special place on your waterway to clean up periodically.
Y — You make all the difference when it comes to smart, safe and clean boating!

Want to learn more about clean boating? The BoatUS Foundation offers Clean Boating, a free online course, at BoatUS.org/Clean-Course.

About the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water:

The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national leader promoting safe, clean and responsible boating. Funded primarily by donations from the more than 800,000 members of Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), the nonprofit provides innovative educational outreach directly to boaters and anglers with the aim of reducing accidents and fatalities, increasing stewardship of America’s waterways and keeping boating safe for all. A range of safe and clean boating courses – including the nation’s largest free online boating safety course – can be found at BoatUS.org/Courses.

Sales Rust Doesn’t Look Good on You!

Shake Off the Rust, Restore Your Shimmer and Help Your Sales Team’s Skills Shine Again

By Jerrod Kelley, MRAA Content Manager

There’s a scene from the animated cartoon movie “Cars” that features Fred, the severely rusted but operational superfan of up-and-coming racer Lightening McQueen. You see, Fred, which Disney.fandom.com describes as fictional Stodgey Suaver LT model, is passionate about racing and being a car, but has lost his new-car shimmer and has had to rely on Rust-eze, a “bumper ointment” that promises to eradicate the ugly decay that is rust. However, it hasn’t worked for him and the tent full of vehicles in the post-race celebration tent. You see, rust, whether it’s in your sales process or on a bumper, is hard to stop. That is, unless you focus on removing it and becoming more “polished.” No, the MRAA doesn’t have its own anti-rust ointment, but we can help your sales department prevent more rust from settling in and recalibrate your sales skills.

Many dealerships across the country have told us that their sales teams, while still talented and passionate about boating and serving customers, have lost their sales aptitude over the last couple years. It’s not intentional, it’s just that for many of them they were selling mostly whatever could float, because customers demanded it and just wanted to be on the water. Several dealers we’ve spoken with called it “order taking” rather than sales. Follow-up often fell to the wayside, especially for a lot of pre-sale leads.

It’s important to refocus on selling again in order to remove any rust that has set in and those robotic-like habits some salespeople learned the last few years. (Created with Dall•E)

But now, as inventory levels have recovered and demand has reduced since the COVID-19 stretch – with less disposable income and uncertainty lingering for the economy – sales departments across North America have had to brush off their rust and sharpen their selling skills. Another boat show season has ended and spring has arrived. Spring means the snow is melting and the grass is greening up because warmer weather is ahead. And with the seasonal change comes more consumers thinking about boating because it’s fun for friends and family and remains a healthy escape from societal pressures. It’s the perfect time to focus on improving your sales tactics and nurturing leads.

7 Tactics to Restore Your Sales Game and Improve Pre-sale Follow-up

  1. Personalize Communications: Use the lead’s full name and tailor messaging to their specific interests and needs. (Watch a course on personalization)
  2. Utilize Automated Email Campaigns: Set up a series of automated emails to send to leads at regular intervals, providing them with relevant content and updates about your dealership and its offerings. (Watch a course on email campaigns)
  3. Use Retargeting Ads: Utilize retargeting ads to keep your dealership top-of-mind for leads who have shown interest in your offerings but have not yet made a purchase. (Watch a course on digital advertising)
  4. Provide Valuable Content: Offer useful and informative content such as buyer’s guides, maintenance tips and boating-related news to engage your leads and keep them interested in your dealership. Discover Boating, powered by NMMA and MRAA, offers you tools and articles to do it. (Watch a course on creating a better user experience)
  5. Offer Incentives: Provide incentives such as exclusive discounts or limited-time offers to encourage leads to take action and make a purchase. (Watch a course on moving inventory through positioning and promotion) 
  6. Leverage Social Media: Use social media channels to engage with leads and showcase your dealership’s offerings and customer service. Most importantly, answer their questions to show your team’s passion for boating and boaters in general. Build trust and it could very well pay off for you in building a devoted customer. (Watch a course on leveraging digital media)
  7. Personalize Sales Calls: During sales calls, while pulling from your customer logs, reference the lead’s previous interactions and RELATIONSHIP with your dealership. Not just previous sales, but previous personal notes such as their kids going off to college or their alma mater’s most recent victory in the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. You can then provide them with personalized product recommendations based on their interests and needs if that’s the direction the discussion goes. (Download the Guide to Phone Skills)

Need to watch a course or download a guide listed above but you’re NOT an MRAA Member?

Explore Membership

I have no doubt that your sales team is every bit as passionate as it once was for boating and serving your customers. However, since the market has shifted “back to the norm,” it’s the perfect time to revisit your sales skills and reinvest in your sales department.

Beyond the seven quick tips above, MRAA Silver and Gold Members can also dig deeper and commit to the MRAAtraining.com course for sales professionals we call, Master the Sales Basics: A 5-Course Series. Learn from top industry experts the fundamentals of sales, keys to building value, follow-up tactics, questing & listening skills and how to get more people to the desk.

It’s important to enhance your sales proficiencies because you want to create an outstanding retail experience – both digital and in-person – for your customers. The Marine Industry Certified Dealership program provides you with a customizable blueprint to establish efficient and effective processes in order to standardize your customer relations management, facility and website upkeep and performance planning. The installation of tracking and trending customer experiences, sharing of best practice and employee satisfaction survey will also strengthen a Certified Dealer’s operations by addressing wins and areas of need in sales and elsewhere.

The new MRAA sales training course and Certification opportunities will give your sales department a much-needed refresher, helping your dealership continue to shine in the eyes of your customers. Refurbish your sales efforts correctly and you will build superfans, like Fred, for your own brand.

Let me know if you have started any sales training, do monthly role-playing sessions with your team or have implemented any other process to help your sales department restore its shine. Reach out: jerrod@mraa.com.

Jerrod Kelley, MRAA Content Manager dressed in blue shirt standing outside by a tree

Legislation Could Boost Economy; Help More Americans Access Outdoor Recreation

WASHINGTON, D.C, March 28 – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable and other coalition members that are part of the $862 billion outdoor recreation economy celebrated the reintroduction of America’s Outdoor Recreation Act in the 118th Congress with strong bipartisan support.

Show YOUR support here.

Head shot of MRAA President Matt Gruhn in a blue collared shirt in front of wood backdrop
Matt Gruhn, MRAA President

“Time and time again, outdoor recreation can bridge party lines and unify members of Congress who understand the value these pastimes hold for communities and individuals nationwide,” said Matt Gruhn, President of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. “I hope that with the reintroduction of this historic outdoor recreation package we can continue to showcase that outdoor recreation continues to be a bipartisan policy priority in the 118th Congress, and that this package is just the first of many.”

This groundbreaking legislation boosts local and national economies and gives more Americans — especially those in underserved areas — greater access to green spaces, public lands and waters while not costing taxpayers money to implement.

Outdoor recreation is an $862 billion industry, providing 4.5 million American jobs and boosting economies in communities large and small. And studies have shown that enjoying time outside benefits a person’s mental and physical health.

“The recreational boating industry thanks Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barasso for their continued focus on improving outdoor recreation and prioritizing the continuous improvement of the outdoor recreation economy,” said Chad Tokowicz, MRAA Government Relations Manager. “Through increasing access, modernizing rural communities, streamlining permitting for guides and improving outdoor recreation infrastructure, we hope more Americans explore waterways and trails and that the many communities that support these pursuits will feel the benefit, too. Comprised of many small businesses, these communities serve as the backbone for our outdoor recreation economy.”

Chad Tokowicz, MRAA Government Relations Manager in blue Dealer Week shirt
Chad Tokowicz, MRAA Government Relations Manager

America’s Outdoor Recreation Act would:

  • enable permit streamlining to ease burdens on outfitters and guides and improve access to outdoor experiences
  • improve access to recreation on public lands and waters
  • ensure access to green spaces in underserved communities
  • update outdoor recreation infrastructure
  • develop, improve, and complete long range trails
  • invest in rural economic development

“This is a commonsense, no-cost bill that will help equalize and improve access to green spaces and wild outdoor places in every state in the country,” said Chris Perkins, Senior Director of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable. “We are seeing unprecedented interest in outdoor recreation, but many of the policies supporting outdoor recreation are outdated. This package will make it easier for Americans to access the outdoors and provide agencies with new tools to address long-standing outdoor recreation needs. We need solutions that enhance outdoor recreation opportunities while protecting America’s public lands and waters, and AORA is an historic step to update these policies.”

Read more: America’s Outdoor Recreation Act, Explained

Group image of several outdoor recreational activities from ORR

Outdoor Industry Support for AORA

“America’s Outdoor Recreation Act will bolster outdoor recreation access and opportunities for the millions of Americans who continue to discover the benefits of the great outdoors and time spent on our nation’s lands and waters,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, President and CEO of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).

“The America’s Outdoor Recreation Act is a comprehensive set of provisions to ensure our public lands are well managed and conserved to benefit the outdoor recreation economy and all those who love the outdoors,” said Glenn Hughes, president of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).

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.

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Kodie Woodhead New Director of Marketing at Hagadone Marine Group

(Coeur d’Alene, ID)  – Hagadone Marine Group, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, announced that Kodie Woodhead has been appointed as the new Director of Marketing. 

Kodie has a wealth of experience in the marketing, advertising and public relations industries and will undoubtedly elevate Hagadone Marine Group’s brand to new heights. Kodie comes to Hagadone Marine from Wright Physical Therapy, where she was the Director of Marketing & Public Relations for more than eight years.

Kodie Woodhead

Kodie will be overseeing the marketing and events for Hagadone Marine Center, Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruises, Coeur Custom Wood Boats, Blackwell Pro Shop, The Boardwalk Marina, Blackwell Island Marina, Silver Beach Marina, Resort Boat Rentals, The Marina Cantina and Hagadone Vertical Quick Launch.

“I’m truly excited to join the Hagadone Group and be a part of such an exceptional team that values hard work with a balance of fun,” says Kodie. “I’m really looking forward to implementing my skill sets and navigating the marketing needs in an industry that I have such a personal passion for and being an integral part of the company’s growth as well as the individual growth of the team members.”

Born and raised in Twin Falls, Idaho, Kodie relocated to the Pacific Northwest four years ago with her daughter, Hailee, and 1.5-year-old French Bulldog, Pete. Kodie is an avid golfer, hiker, traveler and of course, boater, too.

Kodie’s official started Monday, March 20. She can be reached via email: kwoodhead@hagadonemarine.com.