Trying New Things

I’d like to tell you a story about a meeting I had last November with one of our members. His name is Mike Burns and he is the Director of Corporate Sales for Smoker Craft.

Mike was in my office last November and we were talking about how bad boat sales were, which led to brainstorming ideas about how to make the 2009 Seattle Boat Show a success. He shared with me his philosophy that boat dealers should be focusing on their best customers and best prospects and try and sell them before the show even opens. He said he was encouraging his dealers to hold special events in their dealerships in early January so they could generate sales from their current customers and best prospects.

He went on to suggest that the Seattle Boat Show could do just that, but on a larger scale for all the dealers in the show. By that point, I already knew where Mike was headed. He wanted us to have a VIP Preview Night.

As it turns out, I had come to the conclusion years ago that a Preview Night at the Seattle Boat Show would not work. I won’t bore you with my reasons, but suffice it to say I was a “Doubting Thomas.”

But for some reason that morning, I summoned up all the discipline I could muster and tried to keep an open mind. I listened and listened and forced myself to look for the positives. After a few minutes, I saw the germ of a good idea and we spent the next 20 minutes coming up with a rough outline of a plan.

Over the next couple of weeks, George Harris and I shared the idea with the Boat Show Committee and the Board of Trustees. Along the way, we got input from many and we started to develop the framework for a warm-up event that could help jump-start the show. (Note – Mike stressed to me the importance of getting sales people off to a good start and saw the preview night as a way to help boost boat sales in a damn difficult economic climate.)

By mid-November, the Board of Trustees approved the event and gave staff a green light to proceed. As I sit here writing this mid-way through the Boat Show, I am proud to say that the VIP Preview Night came off better than we had ever hoped. Almost 3,000 people came to the show on Thursday, January 22nd from 6 -9pm and they had a great time. We had a jazz band, free tickets, free parking, complimentary beer and wine, plus fancy cheese tables located throughout the show. Everyone arrived in a great mood and on their way out, we made sure that every woman got a long-stem rose to take home. OK… some men got a rose too; I think we called them “get out of trouble flowers” for husbands to take home to their wives. It was an awesome way to kick-off the show.

All of this would not have been possible without Mike speaking up and suggesting we try something different. It also would not have been possible without the support of Qwest Field Event Center (aka the Seahawks) who split the cost with us. Thank you Tod Leiweke, CEO of the Seahawks.

With warm regards,

Michael Campbell