Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/765201
20 | Boating Industry | January 2017 [ 2016 Top 100 ] www.BoatingIndustry.com THE AVERAGE TOP 100 DEALER LOCATIONS: ........................................................ 2 YEARS IN BUSINESS: .......................................40 SALES EMPLOYEES: .......................................... 6 SERVICE EMPLOYEES: ....................................... 9 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: .........................................31 MEDIAN REVENUE: .................$11.4 MILLION NEW BOATS SOLD: ..........................................96 USED BOATS SOLD: .........................................70 "It is a very wholesome environment that encour- ages bonding," Loganadan says. "Our employees work every tournament and in- teract with the fi shermen. If someone has a break down, we keep an extra tow vehicle available to pull a boat back to the dealership. This puts us on the front line of cus- tomer service." Not only does it build loyalty with those that watch and participate in the tour- naments, the company also uses photos and video from the events on social media and its website, which receives 2 million page views and 30,000 unique visitors every month. Leveraging outside experience When it came time to hire a new salesperson, the Blue Springs Marine sales manager sought to hire outside the industry and train them in the company's ways. With a market based around many private lake properties, a retired real estate agent was an attractive addition. "He is highly motivated and aligns with our goals of creating re- lationships with boating friends not just moving inventory," says Presi- dent Jeff Siems. "We are focused on building people in the boating lifestyle." With his past experience, he has access to all properties being sold and recently sold on the private lake communities. "We promote our services to brokerage boats for people leaving the lake and then after a property is sold we then contact the new buyers promoting our services and boats," Siems says. "We feel that if they are buying a lake property they have a high interest in the boating lifestyle, making them high-interest buyers." With used boats in high demand, the sales team also works with property buyers and sellers, and its existing service customers to identify customers looking to sell or upgrade their boats. "This has given us access to more trades and brokerage boats to sell," Siems says. "With the implementation of a more complete lead management system we now have a database of people looking to sell or buy used boats. We now sell 80 percent of all our used boats before we even get them posted online." Tracking and measuring service Spicer's Boat City has developed a service tracking and dispatching system that relies on Microsoft Outlook and Excel to keep things running smoothly. To track effi ciency, Spicer's developed a spreadsheet in Excel that allows it to look at the Blue Springs Marine has boosted its used boat sales by reaching out to local real estate agents and brokers. By sharing photos from its events on social media, Angler's Choice has helped drive traffi c and sales. 95.66 Top 100 dealers' average CSI score