The Future of Selling

The old ways of selling are dead. Today’s economy and today’s boat buyers demand a fresh approach. And those who master it first will be the most successful, both today and tomorrow.

To help the attendees of the 2009 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo master those very skills, Don Cooper, The Sales Heretic™, will be on hand to deliver a presentation titled The Future of Selling.

“The high-pressure, manipulative tactics we’re all too familiar with are as obsolete as rotary-dial phones,” asserts Cooper. “Buyers today are smarter and savvier than ever before. And in the marine industry, they have more options to choose from than ever before. They won’t put up with that kind of nonsense.”

If you want to remain competitive, you need to adapt to the changes in today’s marketplace and today’s buyer. And The Future of Selling will show you how. In this eye-opening program, you’ll discover:
• Why the sales techniques that worked in the past don’t work now
• What today’s boat buyers really want
• The single biggest mistake most marine salespeople make and how to avoid it
• How to make your boat presentations shorter and more persuasive
• The ten things marine salespeople do that buyers hate most
• How to sell with honesty, integrity and confidence
• The two most important sales skills you need to sell boats in the 21st century
• How to completely lower your prospect’s defenses
• Why your boat’s features are irrelevant
• How to position your boat and your dealership as your prospect’s best choice

“The future of selling presents grave challenges to those who cling to the old ways of doing business, but at the same time, it presents tremendous opportunities for those willing and able to embrace new approaches,” Cooper says. “This interactive program will provide them the know-how and the tools to return to their dealerships and begin increasing their sales, even in this down economy.”

To learn more about what’s in store in The Future of Selling, make plans to attend the 2009 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, to be held in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 16-18. With two concurrent educational tracks and nearly 20 individual educational sessions, this event has been designed to help dealer navigate today’s difficult market.

Cooper’s The Future of Selling presentation will be a cornerstone of and the most sales-specific presentation of the Sales & Marketing Track, and it will be followed that day by a presentation on how to survive and move on from this economic downturn. On Tuesday, the Sales & Marketing Track will include an overview of the dealership of tomorrow, dealership recovery and growth, the art and science of inventory management, a best ideas dealer panel discussion and an overview on how to improve your lead management.

A Service Department Track will be held concurrently, with a focus on department efficiency, profitability and best practices in service department operations. Wednesday morning, a Commercial and Retail Financing Track will also be offered. The event will then wrap up with a dealer solutions panel and an industry leaders panel, two hallmarks of this convention.