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Welcome to 2024, a year with more preconceived challenges than any other, aside from perhaps the Great Recession. Depending on whom you ask, 2024 will be rife with, potentially, every possible obstacle to selling boats.

Inflation is making boating unaffordable. Interest rates are making boat sales impossible. Inventory levels are too high. Media negativity, with all this talk of a looming recession, is killing consumer confidence.

If you believe that all of these things will prevent you from being successful in 2024, well, you’re probably right. If, however, you believe that you can stay above the negativity, you can write a different script.

As you read this, 2024 is just like any other year. It’s simply a calendar year that lies ahead. Throughout the coming 12 months, there will be predictable elements and a few curveballs. Some of 2024’s events will challenge us, and some will accelerate our success. But every event will allow you to choose your own response, to control the controllables, and to find your own path to success.

You’ll need to decide: Will you become a victim of economic influences? Or will you adapt, evolve and evade all those unpredictable external threats?

If you’ve chosen the former, there’s not much I can do but wish you well and hope that I’ll see you on the other side. If you’ve chosen the latter, here are six ways that I think you can make the most of the year ahead.

First and foremost, all the talk of potential hazards creates the opportunity to scan the future and minimize the unexpected. Know the pressure points out there: the interest rates, the inventory costs, inflation. And know how to adjust your business to meet those challenges. You can do that through scenario planning, a topic I covered at length in the December issue. A good scenario-planning exercise will prepare you and your team to make sound decisions in changing market conditions, before you find yourself in a difficult situation.

In one of the most recent Pulse Reports, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas asked dealers what obstacle was causing them the most frustration and hindering their team’s ability to adapt to market fluctuations. They told us that difficulty making decisions was No. 2 on the list, behind market volatility. Market volatility is out of your control. Decision-making, however, is completely within your control. Create your scenario plan now, and think through how you’ll handle decisions when the need arises.

That brings me to No. 2 on my list: Control what you can control. That list of obstacles that dealers noted in the Pulse Report also included internal communications breakdowns, issues with employee morale, lack of harmony between departments and ineffective/dated processes, all of which are within your control. If you want to limit the pressure on your team, take control of issues like these. As you do that, the impact of things you can’t control, such as changing customer behaviors and market volatility, will diminish.

No. 3: Reinstill good habits at your business. Throughout the Covid period, staffing levels, systems and processes were compromised by insane demand for boats. Dealerships cut corners and allowed numerous bad habits to sneak into operations. It’s time to cleanse those bad habits, and get back to systems and processes that provide for greater customer service and profitability. You can’t do that unless you’re diligent about focusing on good habits.

Fourth, if you missed the MRAA’s Dealer Week event in December, it’s not too late to benefit from the dealer-focused educational content. Under the theme of “Recalibrate,” Dealer Week offered insights and strategies to attack 2024. Visit DealerWeek.com to sign up to access this content when you register for Dealer Week Online. All of the content will be available through the end of February.

No. 5: The MRAA just published “Guide to 2024,” a dealership’s handbook for tackling the main challenges we’ve identified in the marketplace ahead. Use the quick-hit insights and then refer directly to the MRAA-provided resources to target your biggest area of need.

Finally, the MRAA just introduced AIMIE, an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot whose acronym stands for AI for Marine Industry Education. As a silver or gold member of the MRAA, you can access this platform not only to answer questions ChatGPT-style about dealership operations, but also to point you to proven MRAA tools, resources and educational programs. AIMIE will connect you to solutions and help you overcome anything the year ahead has in store.

With these ideas and options, you should be able to scenario-plan for the year ahead, adapt to the curveballs and find the success you deserve. The new year is yours for the taking. Get started on it today. 

This article was originally published in the January 2024 issue.