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FOCUS PSB Executive of the Year www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • May 23, 2016 • 21 past few years are bringing new people into the industry. They're really tapping into customers that in some cases would usually be buying used product at those price points, and it's cre- ated opportunities beyond just the sale of the product — service, parts and accessories, really to support that rider's lifestyle." The FZ-07 starts at $6,990, allowing some customers to upgrade to a new model rather than considering a pre-owned bike. Yamaha has also targeted a number of its newer models at a lower, entry-level price point, including the Bolt, which starts at $7,990; the $5,990 MSRP SR400 and the under-$5,000 R3. Each is aimed at drawing in new buyers. "It's fundamental; it's the lifeblood, that next generation. We're all searching for it, not just the motorcycle industry — the automobile industry, most retail consumer manufacturers, dealer networks, outlets are trying to tap into that next generation of buyers, the proverbial millennials," McNeal said. DEALER NETWORK New models and a fresh customer base have been refreshing for Yamaha dealers. McNeal says the group of dealers Yamaha has now is better educated and prepared for the future, as they've learned to navigate through the reces- sion and beyond. "They're very vibrant, and since the reces- sion with the growth of their business with these new models, overall very optimistic, whether that's because of new product with the Sidewinder in snowmobiles, or the YXZ in the ROV group, or the FZ series, YZ series and R series in motorcycles," he said. "As a group, they're very optimistic. They're the best trained with the strongest process, foundation and retail experience than I've seen in 38 years. And they're hungry. They want information; they need support, especially in areas such as train- ing and electronic data information for inven- tory management and retail sales, and those are the requests we get most often." Yamaha strives to deliver the desired edu- cation to its dealers through Yamaha Motor University, which McNeal says often ranks highly in dealer surveys. Historically, Yamaha Motor University has worked with industry experts from Gart Sutton & Associates and Lemco & Associates. In fact, Joe Dagley, who runs Yamaha's dealer education, was hired after a stint with a Lemco & Associates. "It really is a partnership. We can't sell the product we invest so much time, energy and resources into without the dealers," McNeal said. "And the dealers need so much more than just that product sitting on the showroom floor, from the materials to market it and advertise it and promote it, to the features and benefits and the training on how to retail it, all the way through supporting riders in their ownership of that product, which is probably the most important piece of the whole process." As a result of that OEM-dealer partnership, YMUS formed Yamaha Motor Finance Cor- poration, USA in March 2015. While Yamaha is still working with Synchrony Financial for consumer financing, Yamaha Motor Finance is a captive finance solution aimed at getting approvals for younger, first-time buyers and those who are reestablishing their credit. Now in 49 states, Yamaha Motor Finance is already helping dealers grow their business, as McNeal continues to learn. While in Atlanta for the MotoAmerica race in April, McNeal had lunch with some salespeople from a Yamaha dealership in Florida, and they raved about how important Yamaha Motor Finance is to their business. "It was surprising to me to hear how inte- grated and responsive they were to a program that's not even a year old," McNeal said. Support in programs like the new financ- ing arm is impressing dealers, who see what Yamaha is offering beyond the product. Those efforts are designed to help dealers foster growth. "The dealers are really foundations of their community, and it's important that those deal- erships continue because it helps the commu- nity continue," McNeal said. PASSIONATE CONSUMERS The partnership that Yamaha brings to its deal- ers is also one it wants to resonate with its con- sumers. After nearly four decades at Yamaha, sometimes the enthusiasm for the brand still impresses McNeal. Take MotoGP weekend at Circuit of The Americas in April, for example. Yamaha invited R1M owners to its hospitality area, and while the OEM expected 15-20 people to show up, 65 R1M owners and their guests attended to celebrate their love for their bikes. "It was an amazing experience, not just for those owners, but our staff, to see how excited and appreciative they were and the relationship that a model, a product, a motorcycle, can cre- ate within that group, that dynamic relation- ship of manufacturer to owner," McNeal said. He's also been pleased with the ownership Yamaha amateur riders have taken with the bLU cRU support program the OEM launched about three years ago. "It was a way to bring amateur riders back to the focus of our dealers and our staff because they're really foundational to our business. The industry, the media, all of us tend to gravitate toward the factory racers, but it's really the amateur racers that are the lifeblood of our industry and the future of our industry. That's what bLU cRU is all about. And that really gave us a unified focus that has been much larger than we ever anticipated when we started with the concept," McNeal said. BLU cRU has taken off, with riders devel- oping their own videos and other social media content and really grabbing hold of the concept. "It's funny because the factory profes- sional riders have tried to adopt what the amateur riders of Yamaha own, where you'll see Valentino Rossi putting a bLU cRU emblem on his leathers. Josh Hayes, Chad Reed talk about being members of bLU cRU, and that's really fundamentally our amateur rider association, but they really identify with it because that's where they came from," McNeal said. Racing has always been the foundation of Yamaha, as the OEM has been racing since the company was established in 1955. "When you look at the product develop- ment, whether it be with the M1, working that technology, features and benefits into the R series, or the YZ factory race bikes and riders developing what eventually becomes a dealer showroom product, it's literally part of the DNA of our brand," McNeal said. PLANS FOR 2016 Racing, however, isn't the only factor that attracts consumers to Yamaha time after time. "There's a passion built in the product that cannot be duplicated. The DT line in the '60s that I grew up riding, the SX series of the '70s, all the way through the FZ, YZ and R series of today have that intrinsic experience," McNeal said. "At Yamaha, we talk about a philosophy of 'Kando,' and it's very hard to explain because it's an emotion, as much as a tangible item, and that touches not only what we produce, but how we produce it and the experience that cre- ates at an emotional level." Yamaha Motor's website says, "Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feeling of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that people experience when they encounter some- thing of exceptional value." Yamaha seems to be delivering that to its customers, as they flock to the newest Yamaha motorcycles, as well as the staples that con- tinue to improve year after year. So far in 2016, McNeal reports that Yamaha motorcycle sales are ahead of their forecasted growth. "We're ahead of the industry through March, and we're above our plans and fore- casts. That should last through the first half of the year, at which time we'll begin the introduction of the '17 model year, and we've got some exciting product and promotional activities planned that should continue that growth," McNeal reported. He expects that not only will Yamaha grow, but the industry is on a positive track as well. "The industry is healthy," McNeal said. "I say that not just looking at new unit sales, which month-to-month and quarter-to-quar- ter can fluctuate for things as simple as the weather, but if you look at the used product, if you look at what's going on fundamentally from a macroeconomic standpoint, the indus- try's growth over the next 5-10 years, I'm optimistic, will continue." PSB McNEAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR – DENNIS McNEAL