Increase Your Boat's Value Through Marketing

By John Howard

Evaluating a boat that you plan to sell is important, but there is also a lot that you can do to improve its value during the sales process. Specifically, if you are good at advertising the boat, you will have more interested buyers and can therefore afford to be less flexible about the price.

Also, by managing to get a good amount of interested buyers thanks to good boat marketing, you will be able to avoid having to sell the boat via a dealer, therefore avoiding to waste money on hefty commission payments on your vessel.

One of the most important elements of boat marketing and sales is the presentation. You need to do something that will make your vessel stand out amongst all the boats and yachts that are advertised for sale. Pointing out the unique points that your boat has is one of the best methods.

Also, remember that a picture speaks as thousand words. Take lots of good quality digital pictures of the boat, avoiding to represent it on ads and classifieds with a couple of blurry images from your last fishing trip or sailing weekend. Take purposeful images, and modify them slightly with an image editing software to make sure that your boat stands in the best possible light.

After having researched possible advertisement alternatives, choose on the one, or several, that you are going to use. There are lots of valuable free listings available on the internet, but you may want to supplement these with a more visible paid listing. Boat sales take a while, so you should have your listing up for at least two months.

Another great place for adverts are signboards of local marinas or boating clubs, especially considering that it is likely that the buyer will be from the surrounding area. You can use a printout of your online ad to advertise on signboards. Trade magazines are another advertising platform to consider.

Remember to include all of those characteristics that will help set your vessel apart from the others when you write the ad text. Justify your sales price underlining the value for money to attract more potential buyers. Don't forget to make sure that the contact details are accurate. Providing both a phone number and an email address is a good idea.

Make a plan on how to deal with the enquiries you will receive. It is a good idea to prepare an inventory sheet that includes more information and possibly more pictures, which should show off your boat really well.

Don't forget than when it comes to the price, most buyers will expect to be able to negotiate on the initial asking price somewhat, so be ready to counter any objections they may have and to be able to reiterate the boat's value. Still, be ready to concede a bit on the price.

If you are well prepared and friendly but businesslike, you will make a good impression on the potential buyers of your boat, and you will quickly find a taker. Be sure to know what makes your boat uniquely attractive and valuable, and you are guaranteed to get a price for your boat that will satisfy you. - 31512

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