Did you make any progress with your New Year’s Resolutions?

It’s healthy for your business and for your personal development to start the year with aspirations of what you want to accomplish: eat better, work out more, get better organized, implement the new Dealer Management Software, etc. These goals help you point yourself in the direction you want to go – and hopefully you’re sticking with some of them!

But as we get further into the year, it can be equally important to identify what barriers are keeping you from your best performance. What do you need to stop doing? This is especially critical as we prepare for summer.

Are there things that are taking your focus away from where it needs to be, sucking your energy, time or other resources? We are entering our busy season and every one of us in the marine industry have things within our control both personally and professionally that will make a tangible difference in our success.

There is a great adage: “Saying no allows you to say yes to the things that are most important.”

How good are you at saying no – to others and to yourself? This is a learned skill that needs to be practiced. There are two key elements:

1. You have to identify when you are being presented with a choice that will take you in a direction you don’t need to go. It can seem easier or more polite to say yes or to just handle it; but recognize this is keeping you from your most important goals and objectives.
2. You have to have guts and determination to defend your no and stand behind it.

It can be hard to say no to someone. Especially a customer or a beloved team member; and it can be hardest of all when you have to say no to yourself. What you like to do isn’t always aligned with the most important things you should be prioritizing.

Let’s start with some of the most common personal areas. Do you need to exercise better control on how much of your time you are investing in following news, market reports or social media? You can’t control what’s going on in the world at large and consuming too much of this will only put you in a funk. Of course, you need to know what’s going on, but chances are good you can stay reasonably well informed in considerably less time. Determine what that time amount is for you and stick with it. Chances are you’ll be a lot happier.

Having spent countless hours observing dealerships, there are certain pitfalls that can and should be avoided. Let’s look at some of them by job description.

Dealer Principals: Stop getting sucked into every customer and departmental issue. You are limiting your team’s ability to exercise empowerment. Dealers who give in to Type-A tendencies limit their dealerships’ growth potential. Practice letting go. Give your team the tools, the training and the opportunity, then step back. On occasion, you may need to coach them based on how things were handled, but encouraging them to get outside of their comfort zones allows them to grow. Don’t swoop in to save the day! Let them learn to be the hero.

On a recent dealer visit, I was impressed with a young dealer who was able to keep an eye on his team’s progress based on the tools and processes he’d put in place. He checked the CRM and texting platform hubs to ensure that leads and inquiries were being responded to quickly. He looked at the Open Sales and Open RO lists – and he did all of this from his phone or computer without hovering over anyone. In his morning meetings, he made it a point to praise the team members who were excelling. The growth that his dealership is experiencing is awe-inspiring. The best part is he’s raising young leaders and teaching them to use those same tools properly. He is able to go home to his family at a reasonable hour and not be a slave to his multiple dealerships.

Sales Professionals: Stop judging your customers. Treat everyone like they can buy the most expensive boat available. Practically every seasoned sales pro has a story of the customer they thought didn’t have a nickel to their name who wound up making a six-figure purchase. Be aware of the mind chatter going on in your head that is limiting your prospecting and ultimately your sales.

One more for sales is to stop setting the customer up for disappointment. Be sure to check with parts and sales before we set pricing, availability or delivery times. Remember, the best way to build customer loyalty is to work together as a team so the customer has a great experience in each department. The more they see that we get along, like each other and respect each other, the more they trust the entire dealership.

Service and Parts Managers: Stop keeping data from the team and stop running so much decision-making through you. The more the information on scheduling, dispatch, pricing, availability, etc. is held with one person, the more that person gets bombarded with questions all day, the less efficient we all are, and the more frustrated our team and our customers. Make as much information as possible (especially pertaining to workflow) easily, visibly available to everyone on the team. This helps porters, techs, advisors and sales deliver a better customer experience while increasing shop profitability.

Technicians, Detail and Lot Crew: Stop bottling up until you’re ready to boil over. If you see something that is hurting your job or the quality of the dealership’s product or work, get that information to the people who can do something about it. If you are not comfortable talking to them about it, send them an anonymous note “from a caring eye in the shop”! If you don’t say anything, it just grates on you, making you more and more frustrated. It might feel better to vent to your peers about it, but they can’t fix it, and it just leads to more shop drama.

That leads to two last ones for everyone at the dealership …

1. Stop avoiding the tough decisions that need to be made. You know what they are. The things you’ve been putting off, things that make you want to change the subject when they come up. There’s a great saying: “Knock out the hard stuff first.” If you get that tough one handled once and for all, it will be so freeing for you. You will feel so much better and have so much more energy for the worthy goals that need all of your energy.
2. Stop adding fuel or oxygen to the dealership drama. Chose the high road. Act towards others the way you’d like them to act towards you. If something needs to be said, say it to the person directly and with empathy.

What are the things you need to stop? What’s keeping you from bringing your best self to your highest priority goals?

There are going to be plenty of challenges outside of your control as you navigate the summer months. Don’t let yourself spend more minutes than are absolutely necessary on things that you can’t change or things that are not a priority. Hone your focus and pour all of your available resources on the things you can control that will move the needle in the direction you want it to go. Practice and develop your discipline in this, and you will put yourself and your dealership in the best possible position to make the most of this year.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Valerie Ziebron, president of VRZ Consulting, has spent more than two decades helping businesses “fire on all 8” through education and motivation. She makes it a point to uncover best practice “golden nuggets” that help people flip the switch from reactive to proactive for greater profitability and customer loyalty.

Through studying and comparing hundreds of dealerships across North America, VRZ Consulting specializes in what stores can do to maximize their resources, specifically their people, processes, space and location. Learn more at: http://www.vrzconsulting.com.

Editor’s note: This blog is a follow-up to a previous blog entitled “7 Key Steps for Dealers to Master Content Marketing.” From the initial steps of creating a content marketing plan and processes at your dealership, the next logical step is to generate your content or find available resources to help you or inspire you to create your own customized messaging, voice and approach. 

In a previous blog entitled “7 Key Steps for Dealers to Master Content Marketing,” I discussed ways your dealership and marketing team (person) could attack content marketing head on. Now, your next steps involve exploring dealer resources that can take your content creation and roadmap to the next level. Many of these resources are free to use, customizable and can help you attract and interact with your customers. Some of them may require further commitment from you. But, if you’re serious about winning, finding success and enhancing your content marketing efforts, all of these are worth, at the very least, exploring.

And should you find resources from this list — whether it’s for inspiration for an original post or pulled resource for sharing — be sure to see if the organization or company requests credit or attribution when using their resources. Often, a friendly phone conversation or cordial email will point you and your team in the correct direction and also keep your dealership connected your fellow industry advocates. We’re all on the same team when it comes to keeping customers boating and preserving our industry for future generations.

Boating Resources for Dealers:


• Get on Board Toolkit
The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, the National Marine Manufacturers Association and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas recently announced their second-year collaboration on the industry-wide Discover Boating Get On Board consumer marketing campaign to recruit and retain new boating and fishing participants in 2021. It’s clear that both recreational activities have grown in popularity for their health and safety benefits this past calendar year. And the entry of first-time boat owners and new anglers has produced an industry-wide emphasis on retention not only to create lifetime customers, but also for the preservation of both activities.

The initiative supplies the industry with an assortment of free, customizable tools to aid in customer growth and retention efforts. The resources, including social media assets, promotional videos and press materials, are all part of an integrated effort and campaign that includes support from the RBFF, NMMA and MRAA. Dealers are encouraged to use the resources as consumer outreach efforts in the form of content shares.

Visit www.GOBToolkit.com to download a variety of customizable assets to help promote fishing and boating to consumers. The toolkit and resource library will be updated throughout 2021. Dealers and retailers with questions can contact Bruna Carincotte, RBFF’s Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communications, and Maggie Maskery, NMMA’s Director of Consumer Public Relations.


• BoatUS Syndicated Content Media Hub
With nearly 40 how-to-type stories from “BoatUS Magazine,” the BoatUS Syndicated Content Media Hub helps dealers and marine owners improve customer communications with informative content for their newsletters. BoatUs says the resource library, available for download at no cost, can also ultimately advance your customers’ boating skills and ownership confidence. And incorporating the content can develop better customer relations, trust and, perhaps most importantly, retention.

Sample stories include: make a small gelcoat repair, how to tie a bowline knot and safely tow a tube with the kids. An award-winning team of boating journalists authored the articles within the BoatUS Syndicated Content Media Hub. Along with an easy-to-use Word document, downloads include professional photos to accompany your layout. The only catch, an acknowledgement for “BoatUS Magazine” as your story source.
More info and registration steps:
https://boat.us/e/mediahub
1. Select “Create Account”
2. To register, use activation code “syndication1”
3. Check out the story hub.

• Boating Safety Videos
The National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) offers educational boating safety videos within its Boat On Course library. The videos are designed to teach basic navigation rules of boating. These videos can be a great resource for dealers for onboarding new employees, team refreshers, background information gathering for customer education and communications. Boat On Course is produced under a grant from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard. Check out the videos and gather more info here: www.BoatOnCourse.com.

• Safe Boating Campaign
The NSBC’s Safe Boating Campaign and 2021 Resource kit provides a variety of outreach assets — available to boating enthusiasts, campaign partners and the media — with joyful and aspiring messages. The objective is to encourages boaters, and everyone who enjoys recreational water activities, to promote responsible on-the-water enjoyment through shared experiences. The campaign includes fun initiatives like Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day May 21, 2021 and National Safe Boating Week, May 22-28.

Your dealership could use these resources, celebratory and message-filled days to connect with customers or create your own customer-based content to deliver messages on safety, service and ownership. The kit is available free of charge to boating enthusiasts, campaign partners and the media at safeboatingcampaign.com. To speak to the program coordinator, contact outreach@safeboatingcouncil.org.

• RBFF Resource Center
Through its national campaign Take Me Fishing, the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) helps recruit, retain and reactivate participants to the sport. The national campaign builds awareness of boating, fishing and conservation and educates people about participation benefits. The campaign website features how-to-videos and an interactive state-by-state map that allows visitors to find local boating and fishing spots, helping boaters and anglers of all ages and experience levels learn, plan and equip for a successful day on the water. RBFF also offers its industry stakeholders a retention toolkit that includes free customized content, marketing materials, social media assets, and other tools to retain and recruit new audiences. Some of these tools include a Fishing License & Boat Registration Plugin to connect their customers with the information they need in just one click and an embeddable Places to Fish & Boat Map to help their customers discover places to fish and boat near them.

Contact the RBFF if you have questions about its resources or how to incorporate them in your consumer messaging.

• Yamaha Boating Academy Video Series
Yamaha just announced its Yamaha Boating Academy video gallery within its Owner Resources portal on www.yamahaoutboards.com to help educate and promote safety and proper operation for all the new boaters who have entered the market over the last year. The videos feature Yamaha Pro Tyler Anderson offering sound advice and best practices as a way to help novice owners and first-time boat buyers onboard to their new recreational exploration with confidence. Topics include boating etiquette, terminology, docking, trailering, maritime knots and more.

These videos are a fabulous resource for Yamaha dealers and a great way for them to help educate their customers and address their questions, especially those they may be too shy to ask openly. Send them the specific video link in an email or text. Post the link or video to your social feeds. Even though some dealers may not carry Yamaha outboards, the messages delivered are still very strong, easy to understand and valuable for new boaters to hear. They could also inspire you to create your own line of boating educational videos, blog articles and social shares using all your own in-house experts.

• National Boating Safety Media Center Photo Library
The Water Sports Foundation (WSF) announced Thurs. April 1 — as part of a U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Outreach Grant — it has just completed the first phase and launch of its new “National Boating Safety Media Center,” which is designed to facilitate and support the work of journalists assigned to cover boating safety topics. The site, using resources supplied by multiple boating safety stakeholders and WSF topic experts, features nearly 300 pieces of content over 54 different categories; a robust image library featuring 48 photo galleries containing 565 high-resolution, royalty-free photos and 77 videos/b-roll; press materials, blogs and social media content; graphics; statistical data and reports; information regarding national boating safety and educational programs; plus a roster of boating safety experts available for media interview.

While not authorized for commercial use, marine organizations, media outlets and professionals can access the photos for use to promote educational awareness and safety. For more information and approval, contact Water Sports Foundation Director of Communications Wanda Kenton Smith.

• Sea Tow Tips & Tricks
Sea Tow Captains are the local experts in their community that boaters trust and rely on for great boating experiences. You can find and use tips, tricks and thoughts from Sea Tow Captains to share with your customers. Share them in your newsletter, email blasts, at an event and more! They are free for MRAA members to use. Sea Tow offers promotional content for boating safety and educational purposes.

• MRAA
We understand that some dealerships don’t necessarily know where to start when it comes to training their team or establishing a content marketing plan. Don’t fret, MRAA has gathered and developed resources from around the industry to help you find success. These educational, training and marketing assets are the result of conversation, interviews and studies with manufacturers, solution providers and other dealers. They exist as shareable tools and resources — some free and others membership-based — and are designed to help you grow, enrich operations and also build rapport and trust with your customers.

We understand that marketing plays a key role in your success. We’ve complied marketing resources that are available to you, in addition to generating some of our own. Together, they can help you run a more efficient, cost-effective marketing plan. Through Discover Boating and the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, numerous marketing materials are also made available to you.

Looking for additional assets to help with content, operation and more? You can find additional information and solutions within multiple dealership categories, including careers, data, guides, safety, service and also HR and workforce. All dealers are encouraged to explore the free resources to generate ideas, concepts and best practices to publicize messages that appeal to their customers.

Finally, Silver and Gold membership with MRAA also provides dealers access MRAAtraining.com and all of its 160+ video archives (as well as webinars and documents). The educational videos, many of which were cultivated and created for Dealer Week, offer critical insights, trends and strategies to help you thrive in 2021 and beyond. Some recent topics include: virtual boat shows, video, digital marketing, customer experience, the pre-owned boat market, building a 2021 marketing plan and more.

You can now see, even if you’re not a member with any foundation or association listed here or within the marine industry, that 2021 is THE year to invest in marketing, content marketing, customer outreach (follow-up), specifically as a way to communicate with and also attract and retain customers. If you didn’t know where to start your respective content marketing and customer retention efforts, these resources can at least get you thinking correctly and taking the next necessary steps toward growth and finding more success.