What’s your 20?

I sidestepped to the right, ever so carefully, between row one and row two of the Top 100 Dealer applications laid out on the floor beneath me. It was August, so it was still early in the review process, but the list was beginning to take shape, and three solid steps could take me from the current No. 1 through a quick tour of the top 25.

From one cover sheet to the next, I found myself staring, searching through the details, wondering if there was one key ingredient that these high-ranked dealers shared. Maybe a business process, or a company value? Perhaps a hiring policy, or a customer service strategy? Was there a single, secret trait these dealers unknowingly had in common?

I’ve spent the better part of the last eight months trying to answer that question, and I think I’ve come as close as I’m going to get. The answer? Their involvement in marine industry 20 Groups.

Now, before you brush that off as a non-factor, consider the facts: Of the top 25 dealerships in the 2007 Top 100, 21 currently belong to a 20 Group. Three of those top 25 believe so strongly in the value of their 20 Groups, in fact, that they actually belong to two separate 20 Groups.

The value of 20 Groups has, for reasons unbeknownst to us, been underestimated in the marine industry — from both a dealer and a manufacturer perspective. Those dealers who put the time and energy into their commitment to a 20 Group speak so highly of their benefit that almost to the person they’ll tell you that they wouldn’t be in business without the group. Those manufacturers who have caught on to the value and now use brand-specific 20 Groups — Sea Ray, Cobalt, Regal, MasterCraft and Monterey — have developed some of the best dealer networks in the business.

But it’s not like that everywhere. Dealers who think too highly of themselves complain that their 20 Group colleagues stole their ideas but never gave anything back. And many manufacturers’ knees quake at the thought of discussing the issues with a room full of their dealers. Only a few of them have realized that supporting the power and potential of dealers collaborating for success can often be more beneficial than anything the manufacturer itself can provide.

In fact, one dealer recently told us that every time he finishes a
20 Group meeting, he has so many ideas he can immediately apply to his business that he’s astonished manufacturers don’t require their dealers use 20 Groups and aren’t “tickled pink” to pay for it.

In any economic environment, it can prove beneficial to collaborate with non-competing colleagues who are busy chasing the same goals you are. In the conditions we face today, it would be exponentially more valuable to share ideas, winning strategies, best practices and keys to success — not to make the list of Top 100 Dealers, but to run a better business and add to your profitability — for both the dealer and manufacturer.