All posts by Ben H. Sherwood

About Ben H. Sherwood

Ben H. Sherwood is a marine industry veteran and a marketing consultant who operates Sherwood Marine Marketing in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. For more info, click About on the main menu.

Happy Thanksgiving

Articles

thanksgivingTomorrow is the big day. The traditional Thanksgiving where most of us eat much, much more than we should. But it is always enjoyable to have such a wonderful meal and, more important, very special time with family and friends. And it is a good time for each of us to reflect on what we are thankful for. Even though it is a very tough economy, especially for marine dealers and manufacturers, there is still much we can all be thankful for. Things like our families, good friends, the freedoms that we enjoy living in the USA, and much more.

I am certainly thankful for all of these things and more. I am especially thankful for all the dealer friends I have made over the past 50 years of my involvement in the marine industry. And I am also very thankful for the several hundred dealers who have already subscribed to this blog to read the articles by me, John Underwood and Skip Hegel. And new subscriptions are coming in every week. We very much appreciate all the dealers who are reading and commenting on our articles each week. Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving →

Don’t let your sales team lose a sale or a customer

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argumentative saleswomanDon’t let any of your sales team lose a sale or, worse yet, a customer. Unfortunately, it happens every day in all types of retail businesses.

For example, my wife and I once went to a flooring store to shop for a particular floor tile we had learned about and thought would be ideal for a remodeling project we were planning. The store featured much of what customers want when they go shopping. They had a good inventory, very nicely displayed, with a lot of top quality, name brand product options. But they did not make a sale and, in fact, lost a customer as a result of the sales lady who waited on us. She was rather rude and insulting! As a result… we walked out and have never gone back to that store. They lost what could have been a sale as well as a good customer. Continue reading Don’t let your sales team lose a sale or a customer →

What would I do in 2010 if I were a marine dealer??

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planningI have been asking myself that question often as I have pondered the current economic mess we are in and how it has hurt both dealers and manufacturers. In trying to put myself in a typical dealer’s shoes, my thoughts reflected back to when I became a dealer, buying and operating a new car dealership in the Peoria Illinois market after retiring from OMC. The U.S. experienced a mild recession while I owned the dealership, but nothing like what dealers and manufacturers have to contend with today.

So what would I do if I were a marine dealer today? What would I recommend dealers do in 2010 and beyond? Every dealer’s situation is different and it’s hard to come up with a silver bullet that works for all. However, I did come up with a list of things that I would do if I were a marine dealer heading into 2010. This list is based on my experience as a new car dealer along with my corporate life of knowing and working with marine dealers all over the U.S. Continue reading What would I do in 2010 if I were a marine dealer?? →