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FEBRUARY 2009
VOL. XLVI, NO. 8
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
WILLIAM SISSON
Make sure
the sales trail
doesn’t go cold
Stential customers in this tough market • Mortgage rates. The rates on 30-year fixed
is critical. You can’t afford to let even loans in January fell to their lowest level
taying close to your customers and po- process, with plenty of heartburn.
one get away. Treat each with the care they since Freddie Mac began its survey in 1971.
should always be treated with but maybe Refinancing activity is strong. The bigger
weren’t back when business was better and question: Will lower rates bring enough buy-
Please return back to Sunita when finished
there were plenty of fish in the sea. ers back into the depressed housing market?
There still are a lot of fish out there, but Our industry is limited in what it can do to
with changes
the problem is most just aren’t in the mood influence consumer confidence on a macro
to bite. When that happens, good anglers scale, but savvy retailers and manufacturers
use all their tricks to entice those fish suffer- can make business happen one customer at
ing from a case of lockjaw into opening their a time through a variety of strategies and ini-mouths again. tiatives. Even in down markets.
That’s sort of where we are today. Con- Today’s buyers are looking for deals. They
sumer confidence reached an all-time low in want their personal version of a stimulus
December. The jobs picture is dismal. The un- package. That’s where rebates from the man-employment rate hit a 16-year high of 7. 2 per- ufacturers and dealers, as well as cash dis-cent in December, as the economy shed an- counts and free accessories, may be required
other 524,000 jobs. Demand is low, and the to get fish biting again. Be creative. Give away
first quarter does not look good. But against VIP tickets. Change your display. One dealer
that backdrop, there still are a few bright was offering anyone who bought a boat a free
spots as we head toward the Miami Interna- week at his family beach house in Florida.
tional Boat Show (not to mention the other We may find more of today’s cautious buy-winter and spring shows on the horizon). ers using boat sho ws to do “research,”
• Lower fuel costs. Cheaper gas and diesel rather than the place to pull the trigger. If
certainly will reduce one of the hurdles that that’s the case, it makes proper postshow
kept people from using their boats more last follow-up even more critical to securing a
season. And I believe that having a little extra sale. The sales process may take longer than
cash left in our pockets or checking accounts it once did; don’t let the trail go cold.
after we fill up the car or pay the home heat- Something else to think about: In this envi-ing bill makes all of us feel better. Better ronment, careful buyers will really be doing
enough to buy a boat? Maybe. Talk to me. their homework prior to a purchase. If your
Sell me. Convince me there won’t ever be a Web site is, indeed, the “new front door” to
better time than right now to buy a boat. As your business, make sure it’s everything it
a seller you need to make that fish bite. can be and should be.
• Available money. For the most part, there If we are selling a lifestyle rather than just
also is adequate financing available for credit- a product — the “ing” vs. the “thing” —
worthy customers. That said, lending practices then dealers need to embrace that concept
have returned to what they were 10 or more more than ever. Give prospective buyers
years ago, which means buyers will need high- good reasons to get excited about buying a
er credit scores, larger down payments, more boat from you rather than your competition.
conservative debt-to-income ratios, and so on. How? Host rendezvous, fishing tournaments
That’s probably a good thing long term, even if or other outings. When you get a new
it does reduce the pool of prospects today. model into your dealership, do some VIP
• A new administration. President Obama showings. It will bring you closer to your
and his team plan to focus on jump-starting customers — and vice versa.
the economy with an enormous, aggressive On another front — with people holding
fiscal stimulus package that may reach $1 on to their boats longer, dealers, marinas
trillion. Will it be enough? Is it too much? and boatyards with strong service centers
How effective will Obama and his economic will do better than those that don’t. Repairs,
brain trust be? Right now, we have more un- refits, upgrades and repowers will be the
certainty than answers. order of the day for some time to come.
There’s no question it’s going to take a bit Hope is a great thing, but just wishing
of time for the shaky economy and the mar- things were different won’t make them so.
kets to digest the housing problems, credit Being proactive works much better at driv-mess and more. Someone described it as ing business in difficult times. To varying de-watching a python swallow a pig. You get grees, we’re all reinventing our businesses as
the picture — it’s going to be a slow we move forward in this new world. n
