If you spend enough time reading the investment news, you learn a couple things pretty quickly: One, whenever a person believes the economy is due for an epic crash, another person disagrees and predicts that the stock market will reach record levels. And two, no matter what the current market conditions suggest, someone can always recommend a great place to invest your money.
As you continue to roll out your plan for 2024, I believe that understanding these realities can serve you and your business quite well.
Let’s start with the first point. At the beginning of 2023, the pundits suggested that the next recession was only a matter of months away — much like some say today. Back then, interest rates had been climbing for nine months, so of course a market crash seemed inevitable for the pessimists out there. Yet there remained a select few big-name financial analysts who predicted that the stock market would reach record levels by the start of 2024. Many headlines and opinion makers leaned into the drama of the former. The latter became the reality.
As the broken record skips its way into this year, that pesky recession is just around the corner, yet some of the prognosticators are predicting growth for the year ahead. You should spend some time determining which camp you want to be in because your mindset will matter to your business and your team.
As suggested by point No. 2, there’s always a great place to invest, no matter what the economy throws at you. And no matter what Forbes, Fidelity, Nerd Wallet or The Motley Fool report, the best investment you can make — indeed, the most critical investment you should make right now — is in strengthening your team.
Whether you’re seeking long-term capital gains or near-term dividends, the path to business growth and success is created by the individuals on your payroll. Their growth and success leads directly to your business’s growth and success.
To begin with, will you join me in a confession? Let’s admit that the pandemic caused more than chaos in our businesses. It caused us to skip steps, ignore processes, cut corners and, ultimately, make ends meet any way we could. The economic environment was an anomaly no one had ever experienced. And while the marine industry proved resilient and extremely profitable, the business of those days caused us to adopt a lot of bad habits.
There should be no surprise or shame in the reality that, post-pandemic, many of your longtime staff members have
forgotten what it takes to generate leads, nurture leads, overcome objections, negotiate and close deals. Heck, many have lost the skills to be on the phone. On the flip side, those you hired amid the pandemic may have never had to earn the business of a boat buyer. They showed up on their first day and got into the rhythm of taking orders on new-boat purchases, then rushing them out the door into the driveways and slips of impatient buyers.
No matter where your team members fall on that spectrum, the right investment in training and education can help them all strengthen their contributions to the trajectory of your business. Imagine a curriculum where your team could train on generating leads, phone skills, lead nurturing, overcoming objections, selling the boating lifestyle and more. Are you able to train them? If not, do you know where to turn for such content?
I have good news. At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we have curated that curriculum for you. With a silver-level MRAA membership, you can access more than 250 courses designed to help your dealership succeed. One annual membership, at one low-priced investment, gives everyone on your team access to the courses that will help them grow the most. Don’t want to figure out what courses can help them? The MRAA does that for you, too, through a monthly program we call Training ’N Tactics, or TNT, and through AIMIE, our new AI chatbot that will answer your most pertinent questions. Try asking AIMIE (MRAA.com/AIMIE): “What are the top sales courses MRAA offers?”
The truth is that investing in this membership and the access to all of these courses and resources is the most economical, most powerful investment you could make for your dealership. Where else can you access hundreds of courses designed specifically for boat dealers? Where else can you find content supported by an incredible team of individuals that can help you customize it to your needs? Helping you learn and grow is truly why the MRAA exists. All you have do is sign up and get your team started.
Back to the investment news: A Forbes small-business article from 2023 reminded me that, “simply put, a stagnant financial market can be a valuable reminder that your most important investment is yourself.” This reference to “yourself” can also translate to “your business,” as can Forbes’ three reasons you should make such an investment: learn new things, cultivate new habits and identify new mentors.
You, in partnership with the MRAA, can be that mentor when you invest in your team’s training and education. You can help your team develop new, better habits. And you can help your team learn new and important tactics, strategies and best practices. All through the trusted online curriculum at MRAA.com.
Investment “experts” share a theory that suggests you should invest more in a down market to realize the greatest growth when the market recovers. No matter whether your preferred expert says this year’s market will be up or down, the most important investment you can make in 2024, or ever, is yourself and your business. Take advantage of the opportunity now while there’s still so much time ahead to generate success.
Matt Gruhn is president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas.
This article was originally published in the February 2024 issue.
