Brent Renneke, associate editor, Boating Industry – Although the economic conditions are given the most press, we all know that the most significant influence over our success is the one thing we can’t control – the weather. This Memorial Day weekend, for example, was one to remember, albeit for reasons many would love to forget. Read more >>
By Christopher Kourtakis, director of sales and marketing, 360° Industry Solutions — A couple of weeks ago, I took my family for the first time to see Mickey Mouse in Orlando. It had been a few years since I had been there and it was the first time my kids were going, so everyone was pretty excited. Read more >>
Tags: boat sales, Marine Dealers
By Mike Davin, online editor, Boating Industry magazine — This week, the National Marine Manufacturers Association released its 2009 Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract. Read more >>
Tags: boat sales, Economy
By Christopher Kourtakis, director of sales and marketing, 360° Industry Solutions — As I stood in a local dealership the other day, a customer who just purchased a boat from the dealership had a few questions and looked a little lost. So, I went up to the gentleman and asked him if I could point him in the right direction. As we started to talk, I realized that the only person in the dealership that he knew was his salesmen. Read more >>
By Jeff Scherer, Associate Partner, Callbutton LLC – Many years ago, before the Internet was “cool,” I was the Internet sales manager for one of the largest automotive retailers. This was a very interesting time because prior to this, no auto entities had really stepped out to try to market vehicles through this new budding medium known as “the Web.” To say that many of the old-school general managers in our dealer groups were skeptical would have been a tremendous understatement. They said over and over that this Web thing was a fad, and would never work to sell cars. Our team was often looked at as the “geek squad,” (no offense to the Best Buy’s guys) and as competitors to the retail sales team. Much of this doubt and fear was understandable as we were jumping quickly into territory that was undefined and unknown. Read more >>
