May Issue: Resources

Here is a list of some of the many resources dealers can put to use in finding growth in today’s marketplace.

ADP Lightspeed Report
ADP Lightspeed offers mobile and online CRM that integrates with its LightspeedEVO DMS. Information gathered from these systems is used in aggregate to create studies that improve dealer operations. For more information, visit www.adplightspeed.com.

Online Budgeting Service
David Parker, a retail dealership expert who has organized and managed numerous marine 20 Groups and completed hundreds of budgets for marine dealers, has developed a proprietary online service to aid dealers in their budgeting process. Once you’ve completed the initial set-up, your budget can then be updated monthly, requiring less than five minutes per month of data entry. The online budgeting service operates with QuickBooks and any accounting software that can export a year-to-date trial balance. For more information, visit www.parkerbusinessplanning.com.

Dominion Marine Media Business Intelligence
Boat Trader, a division of Dominion Marine Media, offers marine dealers several business intelligence tools to help them make decisions in their business, including a Share of Views Report, MSA Pricing By Dealer Model Report and a Scarcity Report. In addition, YachtWorld’s SoldBoats.com database provides brokers with insight into the brokerage boats being sold in today’s marketplace. Together, these tools allow dealers and brokers to make educated inventory management and pricing decisions that can lead to improved profitability. For more information, contact Courtney Chalmers at courtney.chalmers@dominionmarinemedia.com or John Burnham at john.burnham@dominionmarinemedia.com.

Info-Link Technologies Dealer Report
Info-Link Technologies maintains databases of boat owners, avid hunters and fisherman, and waterfront residents, which can be used to identify and selectively pursue new customers and prospects. By establishing very precise criteria, marine marketers are able to pinpoint consumers most likely to be interested in their products and services, such as new boat sales, pre-owned sales, service, storage and maintenance. For more information, please visit www.info-link.com.

Manheim Market Report
The monthly report lists boat sales at Manheim Specialty locations, including the unit (year, make, model) of the boat that was sold, engine details, condition information, sale price, and performance against NADA value. For more information, visit http://manheimspecialtyauctions.com. Or if you are interested in being added to Manheim’s Market Report mailing list, email the company at specialtyauctions@manheim.com.

Spader True*
Spader True* is an online system of dashboards and in-depth reports that go beyond raw numbers. A 24-hour, interactive tool, Spader True* provides a true measure of your business’s performance to show you where you are now, where you’re headed and where you need to be for a healthy organization. Spader True* allows you to take a look at your business from five different angles, comparing your sales against industry aggregates, your own budget, the previous year, Spader guidelines, and the forecast of where you’re headed. The online system is designed so you can “drill down” whenever you hit a red flag to locate the problem. For example, if you notice a problem in one aspect of the dealership, such as sales, gross margins or expenses, you can drill down to that area by department, then further down to key line items within the department to find the issues. More than 1,590 individual numbers are summarized into the main company dashboard. For more information, go to www.spader.com/true.

Statistical Surveys BTA Study
Many business owners believe that national trends influence their businesses and reference national statistics to help them make better business decisions. SSI believes that national numbers can indeed provide an overall business trend direction, but regional data holds the key to truly understanding your unique market retail activity. Specifically, we recommend that dealers evaluate their markets from a BTA/County/City level perspective to accurately quantify the potential unit volume and properly analyze the appropriate floor planning product mix that sells in your service area. Custom dealer reporting is an affordable product that can be purchased on a one-time basis or updated quarterly utilizing web-based software. For further information, e-mail Aarn D. Rosen at arosen@statisticalsurveys.com.