An Interesting Sales Technique other boat builders use

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Hey Yall:
I was traveling last week to Florida and back for the kids spring break. Got to splash the boat a few times and left it there as I am going back down for a guys fishing trip at the end of the month.

On the way back, I stopped by my daughters long distance boy friend's house and he lives near a boat builder. I care not to specify the company. So on Saturday I noticed the gate was open and went into the business and I was greeted by a regional sales manager and a dealer of theirs from North Georgia. The sales guy asked if he could he help me and I introduced myself to him and said I liked their boats and wanted to know if me and my son could take a peek at their factory. He was excited and said yes, then he asked me what kind of boat I owned. I told him Grady White and Carolina Skiff. Both he and the dealer fellow began to let it fly....against the Grady.

I was told by the dealer that Grady is over priced, not built well enough for prices asked, and Grady's ride like crap. He said he has been in a few off the coast and noticed how terrible the ride was. He then added the boat will one day rot because they use wood.

I shared with him that my Grady has taken me to the Abacos and back and we fish her upwards of 40 to 50 miles off and I thought the ride was outstanding. The dealer guy repeated the rotting wood scenario and I told him I ran that boat for over 700 miles to the Bahamas and back and when I got back to the ramp in West Palm and pulled the plug nary a drop of water came out of the bilge. I was not overly concerned of the boat rotting out from beneath me. He was quiet.

The regional sales manager more or less followed and noted his company builds them pretty darn good just like Grady. He offered the tour and I graciously accepted, but puzzled of course.

I found it odd the sales manager would openly rip a potential customer's boat like that. I am in sales as I own my retail and whole sale business and I am self taught as it were, but openly criticizing a potential buyer's choice like he was doing seemed counter productive to me. The dealer guy was an idiot if he thought I was ever going to step foot in his business to buy a boat. At the end of my "tour" the sales manager acknowledged Grady is an outstanding boat and I thanked him for his time. Trust me, I was not arrogant in saying I own a Grady White nor did I compare Grady to his boats at any time during the tour. I was very respectful of their operation and I would consider one of their boats as a second lake - bay boat to my Grady if money allowed it. They were thoughtful in their build in the way stuff was laid out and access to the bilge and other areas. The rigging detail was nice as well.

 

[Graybeard]

Yea,
When we were at sevaral boat shows the various factory reps and dealers all had their anti-GW retoric. We were strongly considering a new or used Freedom 225 so we were looking at the various duel consoles in the 22-24 foot size range. The Rabalo rep actually had a factory sheet comparing their 23DC to the GW Freedom 190 and the Everglades rep basicaly said GW's are junk compared to their 23DC. Both were interesting boats but as soon as they knew I was considering a GW, the sales pitch immediately went anti GW. The local SeaFox dealer went so overboard on his anti-GW retoric I just had to laugh. There is a lot of anti-GW sentiment on The Hull Truth, but the same can be said about all the higher end boats like Boston Wahler. There is nothing about my new Freedom 225 I don't like better than my old Parker 21 Deep Vee WAC, except maybe for the size of the trim tab planes. I could have had a bigger Parker or a locally built Judge 27 for what I dished out for my Freedom 225. Some of my friends and fishing buddies just can't understand why I paid the price for a GW and only got a 22' boat and think I wasted my money on an over priced boat. Just how some folks are wired I guess??

 

[Pez Vela]

Don't be insecure about it. Once you've been around awhile, you know what's good and bad, what the trade-offs are, and why you made the right choice for your personal likes and dislikes. I don't need a salesman to tell me about a boat I've run for as long as I've run mine. Is his better? If it is, he better show me, not tell me mine's a POS. Funny thing, I've had just the opposite experience, salesmen telling me my Grady was a good boat, flattering me, as if to imply with my good taste in boats, I couldn't help but see how nice their boat was. Salesmen crack me up.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

It is not insecurity. It is one thing in my opinion for a guy who just bought a boat thinking it is the bees knees, goes to the Hull Truth and finds out his boat is average or what ever. Then a bunch of people rip him for buying it. To me it is something all together different when you are talking to a regional sales manager and simply tell him you own a Grady and say no more while they rag on your boat. The Hull Truth is the internet and honestly the internet is filled with people who hide behind a keyboard, but a boat builder doing that face to face, it honestly does not reflect well on them at all. If they would have said, Grady builds a fine boat and why dont you come take a look at how we do it, that would be respectful of a potential customer and at the same time show they have pride in their product as well. At the end of the day, I own a Grady because it is what I want to own, not because I need approval from other boat owners or boat builders for that matter.

 

[Pez Vela]

I couldn't agree more. I'd have been tempted to turn around and walk out. You can speak volumes without saying a word.

 

[Graybeard]

I paid for what I got and got what I paid for......or at least got a loan for it!!! I got bashed on the Hull Truth for going Grady and got plenty of good natrued ribbing on Tidal Fish along with some not so nice bashing in the mix. The Ford guys say Chevy's are junk, the Chevy guys say Ford's are junk and the Dodge guys say they're both junk so it goes with trucks and it appears with boat brands as well. But when the guy with the Trophy 25 raged on me for going Grady I was close to responding. Lucky for me I didn't press submit....LOL

 

[LUNDINROOF]

My first Grady was a 1985 Overnighter with a I/O mercury engine. I know for a fact that it is still fishing the Gulf of Mexico and has had its third engine installed a few years ago.

Before you knock my choice of boats, show me one of yours that lived in salt water for 27 years and is still serviceable.

Thats why I am on my third Grady.

 

[wlewis]

Grady's probably are overpriced. For that reason, they're an easy target for other boat manufacturers' and their salespeople. I've had two, and had transom problems on both. In spite of that, I still like the product,I love the attention to detail, the quality, the layouts, features and customer service, enough to where I just bought my third, simply because I knew I would not be happy with anything else. I gritted my teeth when I paid the outrageous price, but experience tells me, long after I've gotten over the price, I'll enjoy the boat and will be happy that I have it rather than a lessor quality boat that I would be nitpicking forever.

 

[Lil Lucky]

No boat is perfect. As long as the pros outweigh predominantly, then you're in good shape. It all depends on what you do with your boat. All boats have limits and if I'm doing overnighters in the Hudson Canyon, I'd rather be comfortable in a bigger boat. I've done plenty of trips far off shore with my boat, but you can't beat a sporty if the weather turns. Outboards are outboards. When the weight is in the back, the ride is not as smooth as having inboards where the weight is toward the middle keeping the boat down. It takes nothing away from my boat, it's just physics. My boat is ideal in practically everything I like to do though.

It's really a turnoff though regarding these salesmen. There's a sense of inferiority from alot of manufacturers against GW particularly in the size ranges 30ft and below it seems. I am a fan of the layouts on the new Pursuits (not that I'm buying anything now as I'm content with my boat), but they noticed I had a GW hat on and felt the need to bash the company. I was so turned off by it. Instead of possibly embracing the opportunity knowing how much we pay for our boats, you would think they'd try to hook us onto their boats. Instead, they do the opposite. I had the same experience at Hydra-Sports during the boat show. If other manufacturers are ready to pounce on GW, it must mean that Grady is doing something right. They did win their 11th year in a row for customer satisfaction recently. That says something.

I'm friends with a bunch of guys down at the marina who either hate on my boat or love it. The ones that hate it say its way overrated. It's all talk though. At the end, actions speak louder than words. When they want to go out fishing, guess who's boat they're going on cause their boat isn't running?

 

[Grady_Crazy]

One main thing you learn in Sales Training is that you don't bash the customer's equipment. The customer bought it and therefore he likes to think he made a good decision. When you bash it, or the company, or the other rep, you immediately put the customer on the defensive and most times, lost a sale. You might as well say "Dummy you bought a what?"

If they begin to mistrust Grady, do they mistrust your company also? I bet the Grady reps love those other sales reps.

 

[billyttpd]

..there are a lot of motorcycles out there.....there are a lot of boats out there..and....there are a lot of trucks out there....but right now my garage and slip and driveway have a HARLEY-DAVIDSON, a GRADY-WHITE, and a FORD in them....I like what I like.