Tools to Persevere

When ambitious owners launch, develop and grow a small business like a boat dealership, they inevitably reach a pivotal moment.

They’ve fought hard to get their business off the ground. They’ve gone over the top to take care of customers and make a name for themselves. They’ve made ends meet with relentless perseverance, working an insane amount of hours and doing whatever it takes to find success.

Little by little, they hire team members to help manage the growing enterprise and, hopefully, to build on its success. Oftentimes, those new hires are family members who understand the business based on weeks, months or years of conversations around the dinner table. Then, outsiders are hired. They must be taught, trained and trusted to work hard, take great care of customers and do whatever it takes to succeed.

Nowhere along the way do most owners pause to learn how to manage and lead a team. Some never even pause to learn how to formally run a business — laws and taxes and human resources, oh my.

Until, that is, the pivotal moment arrives, and things feel like they’re spinning out of control. Customers are upset, employees are leaving, processes — formal or otherwise — are breaking down, and the business owner is wondering where it all went wrong.

Relentless perseverance just isn’t enough any longer. These business owners need an operating system to introduce structure, accountability and clarity; to tame the growing complexity; and to empower the team to lift the organization to new heights.

For five decades now, dealers have turned to Marine Retailers Association of the Americas for help when this moment arrives, and the MRAA team has responded with educational programs, tools and resources to help.

Having endured our own pivotal moment nearly three years ago (after a decade of rapid growth), our team implemented “Traction: The Entrepreneurial Operating System” based on recommendations from peers and consultants around our industry, as well as some of the principles of MRAA’s Dealership Certification Program, which mirrors Traction in a number of ways.

I’m thrilled that for the MRAA’s annual conference, Dealer Week, in December, we have engaged EOS Worldwide Head Coach Jill Young to help formally introduce the industry to the Traction system. Young will present two sessions at Dealer Week: how to “Get a Grip on Your Business” (and not let your business run you) and how to “Apply Tools to Overcome Obstacles” in your way.

It’s no secret that dealership owners and operators faced immense disruption during the pandemic. It’s also becoming clearer that — with the war in Ukraine, persistent inflation, increasing interest rates and a volatile stock market — various types of disruption will continue well into 2023.

According to Wells Fargo Commercial Finance, boat dealers entered 2020 with nearly 30 weeks of new inventory on hand. That’s too high. Then, the pandemic drove inventories down as low as 6.4 weeks of new boat supply in mid-2021. That’s way too low. Today, boat dealers have an estimated 14 weeks of inventory in stock, and projections suggest they’ll be at around 27 weeks of inventory by the end of 2023.

Dealership owners and managers will need to manage their business in ways they have not had to in years, and they will need to implement or improve their systems to adjust.

Traction is one way to do that. There are other ways, such as engaging Dealership Certification and its focus on processes; joining a 20 group; or hiring a consultant. And there’s Dealer Week — dealerweek.com — perhaps the most accessible opportunity.

Dealer Week, which is scheduled Dec. 5-8 in Austin, Tex., includes educational courses, supplier exhibits and one-to-one networking opportunities with a focus on helping dealers thrive, no matter what the economy does next. The Traction courses represent just two of more than 20 educational sessions.

Courses include “7 Selling Strategies Your Dealership Will Need in 2023,” “5 Marketing Mistakes Your Dealership Can No Longer Afford,” and “The Service Clock: Rethink Your Department’s Approach to Time.” There’s also “Prepare Your Dealership for the Disruption Ahead” and “Rethink How to Engage and Hold Onto Your Employees,” along with panel discussions, thought leader presentations and more.

As of this writing, registrations for Dealer Week are up by more than 25 percent year-to-date. Dealers can put themselves in a position to combat disruption by joining us in December. 

Matt Gruhn is president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas.

This article was originally published in the November 2022 issue.