MRAA unveils 2015 guides to success

MINNEAPOLIS — In today’s market, being a successful marine retailer means more than simply selling lots of boats; top dealerships excel in all areas of their business, including leadership, marketing, sales and service. That’s why the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is providing its members with the MRAA Rewards 2015 Guides to Success, a series of invaluable guidebooks written by experts who offer tips, ideas, strategies and best practices for running a top-notch business.

Access to the 2015 Guides to Success, which are available in digital format for download, is free for all MRAA retail members. Together, the guides offer members and their respective dealership teams exclusive access to professional advice from thought leaders and subject matter experts both inside and outside the recreational boating business.

For the first time this year, MRAA has elected to create four separate guides, instead of one, all-inclusive guide, as had been produced in years’ past.

“We consider the Guides to Success a roadmap for dealers looking to improve and grow their business,” says Liz Walz, MRAA vice president. “We separated the 2015 guides into four distinct publications to help dealers share this resource with their employees. When a dealer becomes a member of MRAA, so do their team members. By giving employees access to MRAA resources like this one, members can really amp up their return on investment in membership.”

The 2015 guides were broken up by subject matter: Leadership; Sales; Marketing; and Service. The Leadership Guide was created in partnership with the Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program, and the Sales, Marketing and Service guides were produced in partnership with Lighthouse Media Solutions.

A total of 37 experts, many of whom are trusted MRAA benefit providers and MDCE speakers, penned 39 articles spread out among the four guides. Taken individually or as a whole, the guides are a unique and powerful resource for marine industry professionals that’s unavailable anywhere else. Below is a quick rundown on the specifics of what each guide has to offer:

• The Guide to Leadership Success in 2015 shares strategies to help company principals and managers lead their respective dealership teams to their greatest business potential in the year ahead and beyond.
• The Guide to Marketing Success in 2015 highlights ways to most effectively use social media and grow online dealership presence; leverage e-mail marketing tools to boost sales; improve customers’ experience online; market to women; and more.
• The Guide to Sales Success in 2015 provides best practices to boost margins on pre-owned inventory; manage consumer leads; implement cloud-based sales tools; sell extended service agreements; obtain insurance coverage; generate referral sales; and more.
• The Guide to Service Success in 2015 lays a framework to help retailers build a winning service department; sell and merchandise accessories; leverage existing relationships with marine distributors; and more.

The MRAA 2015 Guides to Success are available exclusively for MRAA members as a benefit of membership in the organization. To access the guides, members can click here and sign in using their username and password.

To learn more about MRAA membership or to join, contact MRAA membership coordinator Hannah Muerhoff at 763-333-2420 or hannah@mraa.com.