“I admit, the only bad winter boat show is the one I’m not in.”
I still recall the very successful dealer who years ago said those words to me. It was true then, and it’s particularly true now, as retail boat sales fall short of expectations — and with three months of winter boat shows about to kick off around the country right after the holidays.
While market influences and timing may change, we know one thing never does: the power of boat shows, which are undeniable for drawing to a single location large numbers of people who are interested in boats. In slower economic times, there may be fewer, in good years more. But history documents that there is no more productive medium to bring products and sales teams face-to-face with large numbers of prospective buyers — numbers yet to be duplicated any other way.
I remember well that very good dealer who came to me years ago and said he’d decided to reduce his costs by passing on our Cleveland Boat Show in favor of holding an open house on the boat show weekend. Reportedly, it resulted in about 300 people coming to his store, and he sold a couple of boats. But while his sales team was dealing with those few hundred people over the weekend, they were missing the huge possibilities that the qualified 45,000-plus boaters attending the boat show represented.
Sure, we can’t be certain he would have sold more boats at the show than at his open house. However, it is fair to conclude that he failed to capture many hundreds more prospects because he wasn’t where the big crowds were.
Buying boat show space isn’t just about closing deals on the floor, albeit that’s a daily goal. It’s really about buying direct access to a very large audience. It’s about backing up the sales team with the opportunity to stand face-to-face with many prospects from which future business can be developed. It’s about stocking the sales funnel for the rest of winter.
To conclude the story, my friend was back in the boat show with a big exhibit the following years, never again to be missing. It’s why I am so adamant about the importance of every dealer being in their local shows. And no, I’m absolutely not oblivious to the fact that we’re living in a technology age with online research, social media, email, search engines and smartphones. But to count on that stuff to replace old fashioned face-to-face selling, especially to families that have paid serious admission charges to get in the boat show and see and touch your products — well, you think they might be good prospects?
The fact is the most powerful selling tool a dealer has is the sales person. Maybe tech will change that in the future, but I can’t imagine how. But for today, putting a sales person face-to-face with prospects at shows remains the hands-down winner.
It’s also why manufacturers must make sure their product lines are represented in boat shows. In times when there’s stagnant market growth, the goal is to grab increased market share. In addition, with political changes in the offing, lower interest rates and the popular belief that a more robust economy is returning, dealers could see a year of sales increases. Capturing a share of that growth is the name of the game. Put another way, dealers and manufacturers that aren’t in boat shows are likely giving up their share of the increase to others who’ll gladly cash in.
I urge you — don’t pass up your local show opportunities, assuming exhibit space isn’t already sold out. Dealers who pass on these opportunities risk losing sales and profits.
