So, you’ve made the decision to get into boating, or maybe upgrade to something new for you. That’s excellent news; boating is still, by far, one of the most enjoyable leisure sports/pastimes for your hard earned money!
What’s next? You could be 100% researched and know the exact model, colour, options choices of your next boat, a complete novice boat shopper just starting out, or somewhere in between.
Once you start communicating with dealerships, think of the process as an interview. However, I am not talking about you interviewing the sales person. On the contrary, they should be interviewing you (the customer) as a prospective boat owner. What does that mean exactly? The sales person should be literally grilling you on the “why”, “what”, and “who” of your boating thoughts and needs. Once the questions are asked, then the listening and
understanding begins.
You may say to yourself, “I don’t need that”. If you are thinking that you have it all figured out and you know exactly what you want, you are right….you don’t need the interview to determine the right boat for you. However, by walking in and skipping the interview by going straight to the negotiating phase, you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to see what this salesman, and ultimately the dealer, is all about. As an educated buyer, you have the upper hand….so make the salesman work for it. The good ones won’t even let you get to pricing until they know a lot more about you and should want to listen to all your needs and wants before even recommending a model. The care and concern of a salesman is your best first indication of what it will be like to deal with this organization in the future. Here are 5 things to watch for when they are interviewing you:
- Introductions: Does the sales person introduce themselves confidently and ask for your name? If they are more into the boat and the $ now, it will only get worse later on. Do they ask any questions about you that give them clues as to who you really are? They should be focused on building a relationship from the instant you meet.
- Qualification: Are they trying to determine when you want to buy and if the “decision maker is present” right off the top? If so, they are tipping their hand that the sale of any boat today is more important to them than the right boat at some point for you.
- Status check: Do they ask you about where you boat, why you are thinking of change, and who will be boating with you?
- Fortune telling: Do they ask questions that probe into the potential future needs of your boating life? Smartly asked questions can get at future needs that you may not have thought about fully. The “transactional” cost of switching boats is one that can be avoided with more understanding of what may lie ahead.
- Money savings: Once they start closing in on the right boats to recommend, they should also be trying to eliminate things (options, extras), that you don’t really need. Are they building value for you along the way, or just pushing extra features to pad their commissions?
It’s really that simple. If the sales person demonstrates those five key points first, before they try and “sell” you anything, you can be fairly certain he/she cares, and that they value you having a great experience. Normally, great people work in great dealerships, so the way you are handled here is a good indicator. It does not guarantee it, but it does point to the right service mentality. Once you know you have a caring salesperson, move to the next step of determining the right boat and get your best price for it. Once that’s done, it’s time for you to research that dealer a little further to see if your intuition is correct, then make a deal! Now it is entirely possible that through the process, you may determine that this dealer does not in fact have the right boat for you. The salesman should tell you that, and you should thank him/her for saving you that
mistake by referring other people you know to them as you know they will be well handled. Ask him/her to recommend a good dealer that may have the right boat for you.
Of course if you don’t know what type, model, etc. to buy, the experience will have been valuable for that reason as well. If you are completely confident about which boat, then at the very least you will know that the dealership is principled and you can proceed with a purchase.
Let them interview you for boat ownership….it will be well worth the time and you will learn a lot about your needs and exactly what you need to know about them.
