Enabling service

For a company that does so many things so well, one might think it’s difficult for Galati Yacht Sales to find ways to improve its business. But at Galati, improvement is a continuous pursuit.

No matter that the company is near or at the top of the worldwide list among all the brands that it sells, or that it was selected as the No. 1 Dealer in North America in Boating Industry’s 2007 Top 100 Dealers Program. The company’s pursuit of excellence and improving is second to none. In fact, Carmine Galati, one of the five principals of the company, upon accepting the No. 1 award last year, said that Galati borrows plenty of ideas from the best practices shared through the Top 100 Program.

It should come as no surprise, then, that upon returning from last year’s Marine Retailers Association of America annual convention, the principals shared the information gained with its management team and reviewed the best practices and expert advice gleaned from Boating Industry’s e-white paper. The company’s management team was given reading assignments and then asked to discuss the content while attending the company’s annual management conference.

“We believe the results have allowed our team to gain a greater awareness and focus on improving our overall company results in 2008,” the company’s board members wrote in their 2008 Top 100 Dealers application. “We are proud to say that, despite a challenging market environment, we continue to grow and to provide a very stable environment for our employees, enabling them to continue to focus on serving our customers.”

That customer focus is a hallmark of the Galati business. In 2007, the company dedicated considerable resources in an effort to seek new ways to grow its customer base and place a greater focus on its existing customers. Those things include the creation of a custom publication, a certified pre-owned boat program, a fractional ownership program, territory expansion, additional sales training, and the launch of a campaign to strategically market its brokeraged products around the globe.

And as if that’s not enough to make the company stronger than it already is, the marine industry will really take note when Galati brings to life the detailed, all-encompassing list of goals it has set for itself. Stay tuned.