Yacht Brokerage University Draws Accolades
A record 220 brokers see variety of presentations including
“The New Luxury Buyer” and “Negotiating the Close in a Tough Economy”
SEATTLE – Jan 4, 2010 – The December 9 Yacht Brokerage University, co-presented by YachtWorld.com and the Florida Yacht Brokers Association (FYBA) at the Ft. Lauderdale Hyatt Regency Pier 66, drew a number of accolades. According to Jason Dunbar of Luke Brown & Associates, “YachtWorld.com is an essential tool for every broker, and the Yacht Brokerage University helps sharpen that tool.”
The University included a lunch presentation from sales expert Mark Duley, a partner at Sales Concepts, Inc. The presentation taught brokers how to better identify buying signals from clients while making sure all questions posed to a prospect move the sale forward. Feedback from attendees made it clear that they benefited from the discussion. “I feel this was the best YWU that I’ve attended. Some very relevant topics and a great presentation from Sales Concepts made the day very worthwhile,” said Gary C. Smith, CPYB, Sarasota Yacht & Ship. “I’m sure everyone present took away something that made the day very productive and worthwhile. Thank you to everyone at YachtWorld for a great day!”
Jeff Erdman of Bollman Yachts added, “I was impressed by the range of topics and knowledge covered during the day and thoroughly enjoyed Mark Duley, the lunchtime presenter.” The range of topics to which Erdman refers included two panels that featured industry experts and fellow brokers who shared best practices for success in 2011. Each panel was moderated by a respected industry leader and included open forum discussions that encouraged audience participation. “The panel discussions were a great opportunity for all of us brokers to hear from one another and share ideas for next year,” said Jeff Stanley, Gillman Yachts.
Courtney Chalmers, director of marketing, Boats Group, managed the University.
The syllabus included:
“The New Luxury Buyer” keynote address by Ian Atkins, vice president and general manager, YachtWorld.com. The presentation discussed new trends and predictions about luxury buyers and 2010 highlights from the brokerage industry.
“Marketing in the Social Environment” by John Stewart, brand manager, YachtWorld.com. The presentation focused on recent changes in online marketing as well as the need for a business purpose for social media campaigns.
“YachtWorld Foundation and SeaKeepers International” by Jessica Muffett, publisher emeritus, YachtWorld.com, and Michael T. Moore, chairman, The International SeaKeepers Society. They spoke about YachtWorld.com’s new non-profit foundation that will fund scientific research to protect the world’s oceans. They announced SeaKeepers is the foundation’s 2011 beneficiary.
The YachtWorld University program, now in its 16th year, has delivered education and advice on Internet marketing to over 4,500 brokers in that timeframe. “It is important to continue providing educational content, but this year we wanted to expand the sessions to allow for more audience interaction and idea sharing,” said Chalmers. “Based on the outpouring of positive feedback we’ve received, I believe we delivered informative topics that are relevant to today’s successful brokers.”
The 2010 Ft. Lauderdale Yacht Brokerage University, the first to be co-presented by YachtWorld.com and FYBA, had record-breaking attendance. Each attendee received a resource packet via email; registered YachtWorld members can obtain copies of the presentations through BoatWizard.
The 2011 Yacht Brokerage University schedule will be finalized in the coming weeks. Details will be found at http://www.yachtworld.com/university/.
About YachtWorld.com – YachtWorld.com is the single most powerful and effective global marketing solution for the boating industry. With over 116,000 brokerage boats worldwide offered by over 2,400 yacht brokerage houses and 10,000 individual yacht brokers in 143 countries, YachtWorld.com receives nearly 2.5 million global visits by boating enthusiasts each month. YachtWorld.com provides a complete suite of online marketing services for its yacht broker members through BoatWizard and SoldBoats, their proprietary back-end tools. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, YachtWorld.com has European headquarters in the United Kingdom, with sales and customer service representation in France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Turkey and Estonia. YachtWorld.com is a division of Dominion Enterprises, based in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
About Boats Group – Boats Group is the recreational marine industry division of Dominion Enterprises – a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, marine, enthusiast and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, and employment industries. Dominion Enterprises’ businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, CRM, Web site design and hosting, and data management services. Dominion Enterprises has more than 40 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 17.6 million unique visitors, and more than 280 magazines with a weekly circulation of 2.4 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, the company has 4,900 employees in more than 186 offices.