Comments on: Nobody needs a boat http://insider.boatingindustry.com/2009/10/nobody-needs-a-boat/ Trusted Source. Proven Solutions. Real Results. Sun, 11 Dec 2011 10:07:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 By: Larry Holcombe http://insider.boatingindustry.com/2009/10/nobody-needs-a-boat/comment-page-1/#comment-1324 Larry Holcombe Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:55:53 +0000 http://insider.boatingindustry.com/?p=493#comment-1324 Boating is definitely a lifestyle. Either you embrace it or don't. How many times has someone walked into your showroom and said, " I was out on a friends boat and...."? That person is hooked. They have experienced something on the water that they never found on land. It is then our responsiblity to align that person with a boat that fosters that experience. How about the person that has their heart set on a particular model of boat that you know they are not going to be happy with? Are they thinking with their head or their heart? Yes, boating is an issue of the heart. We, as responsible boat dealers, are responsible for fulfilling their hearts desire. If we don't have the product that will meet that need, then we should send them to someone that can. Boating is definitely a lifestyle. Either you embrace it or don’t. How many times has someone walked into your showroom and said, ” I was out on a friends boat and….”? That person is hooked. They have experienced something on the water that they never found on land. It is then our responsiblity to align that person with a boat that fosters that experience. How about the person that has their heart set on a particular model of boat that you know they are not going to be happy with? Are they thinking with their head or their heart? Yes, boating is an issue of the heart. We, as responsible boat dealers, are responsible for fulfilling their hearts desire. If we don’t have the product that will meet that need, then we should send them to someone that can.

]]> By: Matt Peat http://insider.boatingindustry.com/2009/10/nobody-needs-a-boat/comment-page-1/#comment-1323 Matt Peat Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:44:53 +0000 http://insider.boatingindustry.com/?p=493#comment-1323 Well said. We boat because we want to have an experience. They vary by age and lifestyle, but they are an experience. Bells and Whistles help differentiate which boat one may buy, but the bottom line for this industry is getting that person on the water, as painlessly as possible. We need to understand our customer needs, create a solution and then provide a way to get to that solution. Buying a boat is not a knee jerk reaction, it is a well studied reaction, mixed with emotions of both past, present and future visions of life on the water. Growing up on the water and expecting to grow old on the water, this video sums it up for me, http://www.discoverboating.com/goodrun.aspx Well said. We boat because we want to have an experience. They vary by age and lifestyle, but they are an experience. Bells and Whistles help differentiate which boat one may buy, but the bottom line for this industry is getting that person on the water, as painlessly as possible. We need to understand our customer needs, create a solution and then provide a way to get to that solution.

Buying a boat is not a knee jerk reaction, it is a well studied reaction, mixed with emotions of both past, present and future visions of life on the water. Growing up on the water and expecting to grow old on the water, this video sums it up for me, http://www.discoverboating.com/goodrun.aspx

]]> By: Geoff Sheddick http://insider.boatingindustry.com/2009/10/nobody-needs-a-boat/comment-page-1/#comment-1322 Geoff Sheddick Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:33:57 +0000 http://insider.boatingindustry.com/?p=493#comment-1322 Very, very true in my sales experience, not only for boats but also for many aftermarket products, so we should always try to find ways to appeal to the customer's emotions as well as to his needs. Very, very true in my sales experience, not only for boats but also for many aftermarket products, so we should always try to find ways to appeal to the customer’s emotions as well as to his needs.

]]> By: steve http://insider.boatingindustry.com/2009/10/nobody-needs-a-boat/comment-page-1/#comment-1319 steve Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:33:11 +0000 http://insider.boatingindustry.com/?p=493#comment-1319 I agree, Peter hit the nail on the head. Boat ownership, no matter the size, is an emotional purchase for all the right reasons. You may dream about what you can do and not so much about if you did it. I have owned 5 or 6 larger cruisers myself, and I die everytime I sell one. I see it later and the new owner is not doing what I hoped he would, or other obvious disappointments. Word to the brokers and salesmen.....Sell The Experience!! The details come later and with time. I bought my first boat within a week of spending two nites on a friends boat. I was totally in LOVE! I agree, Peter hit the nail on the head. Boat ownership, no matter the size, is an emotional purchase for all the right reasons. You may dream about what you can do and not so much about if you did it. I have owned 5 or 6 larger cruisers myself, and I die everytime I sell one. I see it later and the new owner is not doing what I hoped he would, or other obvious disappointments. Word to the brokers and salesmen…..Sell The Experience!! The details come later and with time. I bought my first boat within a week of spending two nites on a friends boat. I was totally in LOVE!

]]> By: William http://insider.boatingindustry.com/2009/10/nobody-needs-a-boat/comment-page-1/#comment-1317 William Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:24:40 +0000 http://insider.boatingindustry.com/?p=493#comment-1317 AMEN you can say what you want in the end a boat is all an emotion similar to the one when one sees a nice woman walking down the street, if one likes it you can say whatever you want about its construction he will still do AMEN
you can say what you want in the end a boat is all an emotion similar to the one when one sees a nice woman walking down the street, if one likes it you can say whatever you want about its construction he will still do

]]> By: Phil Friedman http://insider.boatingindustry.com/2009/10/nobody-needs-a-boat/comment-page-1/#comment-1315 Phil Friedman Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:03:54 +0000 http://insider.boatingindustry.com/?p=493#comment-1315 Well said, Peter. The boat business, and for that matter the yacht business, is a business of "images." Actual use generally falls far short of the image that a buyer carries in his mind's eye. Witness how few owners of hard core fishing boats and yachts actually spend any significant time offshore and with fish blood on their decks. So too, most of the yachtsmen who delight in owning vessels with globe-girdling capabilities will rarely, if ever leave home waters. But it is the image of what they could do, if they so chose, that they carry around with them. And it is that which gives them the greatest pleasure. We in the industry need to understand that. Boat buying and ownership is an affair of the heart. Well said, Peter. The boat business, and for that matter the yacht business, is a business of “images.” Actual use generally falls far short of the image that a buyer carries in his mind’s eye. Witness how few owners of hard core fishing boats and yachts actually spend any significant time offshore and with fish blood on their decks. So too, most of the yachtsmen who delight in owning vessels with globe-girdling capabilities will rarely, if ever leave home waters. But it is the image of what they could do, if they so chose, that they carry around with them. And it is that which gives them the greatest pleasure. We in the industry need to understand that. Boat buying and ownership is an affair of the heart.

]]> By: Tweets that mention Nobody needs a boat | Boating-Industry Insider -- Topsy.com http://insider.boatingindustry.com/2009/10/nobody-needs-a-boat/comment-page-1/#comment-1313 Tweets that mention Nobody needs a boat | Boating-Industry Insider -- Topsy.com Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:10:08 +0000 http://insider.boatingindustry.com/?p=493#comment-1313 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Boating Industry, Sterling Yachts. Sterling Yachts said: Nobody needs a boat! http://bit.ly/s9INf [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Boating Industry, Sterling Yachts. Sterling Yachts said: Nobody needs a boat! http://bit.ly/s9INf [...]

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