In this interview, co‑owner Raymond Kidd of a high‑end boat dealership explains how the business operates and what it looks for in sales staff. He describes selling premium boats (e.g., a $162,000 bass boat) and the importance of add‑on sales such as Garmin units and lithium batteries, which generate extra margin and are rewarded through a split‑margin commission structure. Kidd stresses that successful salespeople must be outgoing networkers who actively introduce themselves to customers and peers, as reputation spreads quickly in the marine community. He outlines the dealership’s routine – Monday service intake with 17 boaters, leveraging service customers for sales – and the expectation that sales do not end at delivery; staff must be reachable (even on a Sunday evening) to build trust and maintain relationships, which he says yields unmeasurable respect. The conversation also touches on the personal satisfaction of delivering boats and seeing customers’ joy. Finally, Kidd and host Justin Henderson discuss recruiting, noting that once the right candidate is identified they will be referred to the dealership.
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So high net worth, we're selling the cream of the crop as far as boats go. Yeah, we sold a $162,000 bass boat on Friday and everyone's like, how? We just did. People wrote a check for it. It was no big deal. And it was this, it was their second boat from us. Absolutely, Justin. Thank you so much for the opportunity. So I'm Raymond Kidd. Myself and my brother Kevin own this dealership together. Been in business now for 12 and a half years. Have had very successful rapid growth. Have kind of made our little dealership a pillar of the community. And when I say the community, not just through Port Bosia, the whole marine industry around us. Pretty good reach. We have 300 to 500 miles of people that come to us for service and sales. So lots and lots of opportunity. That's right, selling the boats. Now there will be some—
Add-ons.
Add-ons, right? So cross-mingling where you sell a boat and the customer wants to add the Garmin and the lithium batteries and all the cool stuff. And there's margin involved in all of that. So we're not a dealership that punishes you for doing that. We not only encourage it, we reward for it. There is a split margin between parts and sales. And so you sell the part and it's a little extra money in your pocket. That's probably the most important part of the job, in my opinion. Is we really want somebody that is not a wallflower. When you're in a room of people, you need to be the person that is saying hello to everybody and vice versa. It takes you 10 minutes to get to the bar because you've got to say hello to 15 people that know you. Networking in this business is really, really important. Absolutely. They'll sniff you out in a heartbeat if you are just showing up.
You're a slicker.
You've never been in a boat before. There's going to be some questions put in front of you that they're not trying to trip you up, but they will absolutely know when you don't know what you're talking about. And there's— this is not something that's learned. You have to experience it. And what's worked so well for us is such a great selling tool. Whenever you do do it for fun, is nothing like pulling out your phone and showing them pictures of the fish you caught last weekend. And, and that's what it's fun. But man, you want to talk about earning trust and getting a sale.
Yeah.
At certain times of the week and what have you, where it's important to be in the office. Monday morning is our service intake. So we have 17 boaters coming to the dealership every Monday. It's a really good time for you to be there and show who you are. And hey man, seeing as you're here, have you seen the new X, Y, or Z? Lots of boats get sold to existing service customers. One last thing is something that we take very seriously here, and this is— the right person does this naturally— is the sale does not end when the boat's sold. You own that boat, and taking care of that customer from here on forward is really important. In sales, I Hours are flexible, but that goes both ways, right? If you don't like to answer your cell phone on Sunday at 6 o'clock—
That's a really good point.
The good side of that though is when you do answer your phone at 6 o'clock on a Sunday, the trust earned and built and respect you get from your customers is unmeasurable. There is— I've had 2 deliveries this week and my favorite part of the job is you cannot smack the grin off the customer's face.
Because I think we're gonna find some really good people. As soon as we find the right person for it, we'll send them over to you. But thank you so much for putting yourself out there for us.
Absolutely, Justin. Thank you for the opportunity.
