How would a ‘24/7 Selling Machine’ revolutionize your boat business?

MattSo, in the past, we’ve talked about The Educational Spectrum of a Boat Buyer, gaining an unfair advantage over your competition and ensuring you deserve success.

Today, I want to talk about how to actually make more sales at higher margins. Ultimately, that’s what keeps the lights on and allows you to make (hopefully) a great living.

So, what is a “24/7 Selling Machine?”

Consider how you sell boats today. You drive a lead with marketing – – online or offline, doesn’t really matter. Then, you give it to a salesperson and say, “Go make the sale.”

Maybe, if you’re a really good dealership, you have a set follow-up process like this:

Day 1 – Send a thank you note
Day 5 – Call
Day 6 – Email
Day 9 – Call

But, essentially, it’s up to the salesperson to make it happen in a very manual process.

If you’re salesperson is “On” it can work well. If you’re salesperson is having a bad day, not so much. But, either way, you are 97 percent dependent on the salesperson to make the profitable sale. They have few tools, no real system and are doing 100 percent manual labor to consummate a sale.

Let me tell you about the change that propelled me to become a top producer… and could do the same for you.

Because I’m not a natural born salesperson, this 100 percent manual sales style caused me to really struggle when I first got into the boat business back in 2009. I soon realized if I was going to make it, I had to come up with a way to be more efficient and more impactful with my prospects.

So, I developed a 24/7 Selling Machine.

This machine was truly a sales system. It used automated systems and sales tools, and was built around proven psycho-social triggers to help me sell more boats with higher margins.

The machine consisted of a “Shock and Awe” package, social proof, automatic email messages, direct mail and the manual follow-up that is required to achieve the best results. But 100 percent of my prospects received a baseline experience that built value in my boats, dealership and myself with little to no effort (once it was created).

Not only did this save me tons of time and ensured not a single lead fell through the cracks, but it also positioned me in a way that made the sale easier and more fun, and my prospect less price resistant.

Imagine how much more successful you and your sales staff would be if your prospects were pre-positioned to want to do business with you and were less price resistance. It changed everything and propelled me to become a top producer at a six-location dealership even with years less experience and practically no past client base.

In my next article, I’ll share more details about the actual components of a 24/7 Selling Machine and how you can build one this offseason to make 2015 an incredible year.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it below or add a question or comment. I will try to respond personally to each one.

Matt Sellhorst is the author of “Marine Marketing Strategies” and Head Profits Coach at Boat Dealer Profits. He helps honest and ethical dealers and brokers implement powerful sales and marketing strategies that create more higher-margin boat sales and ultimately more profits for their dealerships, employees and families so they can enjoy the boat business and have a life.

For instant access to his free business building report, How to Sell More Boats at Higher Margins,” visit www.BoatDealerProfits.com or call (803) 526-7400