Selling your Boat

[troy]

Process of selling your boat becomes a very frustating experience.
You advertised in the papers and give the price and you have every bugger ringing up asking questions and say they will come around and have a look and then they do not show.
I can tolerate that but when they ask me how does a Cruise Craft 625 Outsider compare ride wise as a plate boat of this size i cannot give a answer as i have never been in one.
Can anyone who have been in both boats answer this.
Thanks
Troy

[snelly1971]

Cant answer that question Troy....but having just recently sold my boat...I know where your coming from...there are alot of tyre kickers out there...

Mick

[MyEscape]

Just tell them you're not selling plate boats, just quality boats:D THe comparison is up to the buyer, not the seller.

Really, the boat you are selling should not be to a first time owner. So the prospective buyer should have some experience under their belt, hence they should have some idea of the comparison between the two.

Good luck with the sale.

Steve

[PinHead]

any comparisons etc should be up to the buyer...do not make any assertions when selling...just tell them this is what you have to sell and this is the price. Anything else is up to them to work out. You are not a dealer.

[cormorant]

The one you're selling is always better. ha ha . Look up a search on tradeing post as we went through all the tyre kickers on that thread and how to stop them wasteing your time.

[marco]

troy , pm smithy about it , in another thread he was saying he thought something like the fishers was heaps better than the outsider , im happy with mine though .

and as for your buyers , tell em just how good the cruise craft is . talk it up mate .

[revs57]

G'dat Troy,

Its all been said by others, its up to the buyer to make that call.

I think my reply would be something like "Look mate, I understand they are similar and really falls down to a matter of personal preference. Now if you are really interested, put up some fuel money and we'll go out for a run so you can see for yourself. If it rides O.K. and I know it does, you'll buy it won't you? Otherwise, respectfully, lets not waste each others time"

or something similar

That should sort a few tyre kickers out and maybe convert one who is curious with the dollars to spend.

I appreciate your frustration , good luck with it mate

Cheers

Rhys

[MyEscape]

Probably not a bad idea, surely it's got to be worth a couple of dollars to take it for a test run. Say $20.00. I think that's enough to shake off the tyre kickers.

Steve

[tigermullet]

Having bought and sold many things I do not think that you have to have knowledge about any other boat. You might but it is not necessary.

However, selling is a learned skill and one of the golden rules is not to even think about frustation or seeing any potential customer as a person who might be wasting your time.

By advertising the product and a few details including the price, you have qualified your client as much as is possible under the circumstances.

The rest is about product knowledge, empathy, sincerity and closing the sale.

All thoughts or feelings of frustration, time wasting etc., are best swept from the mind of a competent sales person, lest the attitude be communicated even at a subliminal level.

Attitude is communicated by body language, tone of voice etc., and customers are finely tuned to those things and they begin sizing you up at first contact. And, if you are selling from home they will also be noticing not just the boat but your suburb, your house, lawn, gardens and other possessions to try to determine how well you care for those other things under your control.

Sorry for rambling on. I had better stop.;D

[mik01]

Having bought and sold many things I do not think that you have to have knowledge about any other boat. You might but it is not necessary.

However, selling is a learned skill and one of the golden rules is not to even think about frustation or seeing any potential customer as a person who might be wasting your time.

By advertising the product and a few details including the price, you have qualified your client as much as is possible under the circumstances.

The rest is about product knowledge, empathy, sincerity and closing the sale.

All thoughts or feelings of frustration, time wasting etc., are best swept from the mind of a competent sales person, lest the attitude be communicated even at a subliminal level.

Attitude is communicated by body language, tone of voice etc., and customers are finally tuned to those things and they begin sizing you up at first contact. And, if you are selling from home they will also be noticing not just the boat but your suburb, your house, lawn, gardens and other possessions to try to determine how well you care for those other things under your control.

Sorry for rambling on. I had better stop.;D

I absolutely agree with you Tiger.
Being a salesman myself for many years, you quickly learn to appreciate that people like to feel comfortable before they part with their hard earned.
Treating them like a tyre kicker, or becoming annoyed/frustrated because you think they are wasting your time will be your downfall.

let's be straight up here - you probably will hardly ever tell the difference between a 'tyre kicker' and a valid buyer. If you advertise something for sale, you advertise for anyone to come and look at it. The minute you come on strong, or ask uncomfortable questions of the prospective buyer, you risk blowing the sale.

when was the last time you walked into a store and was greeted at the door by a shop assistant who asked you if you were a serious buyer or just browsing???

People tend to become very personal about things they are selling. Your best bet is to remove the personal hangups and treat it like a business transaction. Be firm, fair and reasonable, and remember - your item for sale is only worth what others are prepared to pay for it, not what you demand it is worth.

good luck with the sale, and don't get caught up with comparing your item with ANYTHING else. Yours will always be the best option to buy, because of all the positives you WILL highlight to buyers...

[tigermullet]

Thanks Mik01 - I half expected to be 'downed' for offering a couple of basic points about selling.

It's nice to get agreement and other, better described, points to be added.

The most successful salesman I knew treated everyone he met, both professionally and privately, exactly the same regardless of their status, colour or creed.

Everyone felt comfortable in his presence because... you just knew that you were being listened to and treated as an equal human being.

It didn't take very long for him to become a multi-millionaire.

In selling, active listening and empathy will take you just about anywhere.

Rambling again! Sorry;D

[deadbeatloser]

Process of selling your boat becomes a very frustating experience.
You advertised in the papers and give the price and you have every bugger ringing up asking questions and say they will come around and have a look and then they do not show.
I can tolerate that but when they ask me how does a Cruise Craft 625 Outsider compare ride wise as a plate boat of this size i cannot give a answer as i have never been in one.
Can anyone who have been in both boats answer this.
Thanks
Troy

if you price things realisticaly they will sell themselves

[disorderly]

if you price things realisticaly they will sell themselves

Essentially DBL,this is ultimately what it all comes down to.
If you are after top dollar as a private seller then be prepared to work hard and go through some frustration and still possibly not be happy with the outcome.

Scott

[sharkymark2]

I wanted to take a "H.........N" boat for a test but they put me off saying "we sold heaps so far without anybody else taking it for a test drive"; I told them I wasn't going to part with my hard earned cash till I had taken it fora test. They told me I would be required to put a credit card deposit of $500 down bwfore the test refundable if I didn't like the boat. I was wrapped in the look and price of this boat and was super keen to buy it plus a few add ons. I turned up in th GF's new BMW and they waived the c/card dep :). After the test I was so disappointed and told them so. I have just recently sold my boat and and had to put up with.... will you take less before they even came out. One guy said he would buy it and agreed to buy it and wanted me to get the transfer papers straight away. I went and got the papers and he rang me from the bank saying he changed his mind :(. Well after checking Trading post for boats in my price range and finding that I was 1 of 2 boats in qld I stopped negotiating . Ended up selling at my asking price. I refused any tests because I believed my price and boat was the best available. I bought another one shortly after and sold the 50hp evinrude off and replaced it with a new 60hp Yammy 4 stroke. Found new boat little bit unstable at rest in a chop. Knew that would be the case because of its deep V. All of these boats were cheap enough to take a risk but at $20000 or more fair enough.

[finding_time]

Troy

I've been telling you for years the difference, haven't you been paying attention!!;D

Ian

Ps. Just as well they weren't asking to compare it's ride to a cat , you would never sell the CC then!;)

[Dean1]

Hey Ian(finding Time) if we ever for some silly reason try to sell our kc's we wont have to say a word, theyll just be askin us how we want them to pay us cheque or direct debit. Ive never seen a boat sell as quick a neat 5.2 kc ;)

[troy]

Hey Ian(finding Time) if we ever for some silly reason try to sell our kc's we wont have to say a word, theyll just be askin us how we want them to pay us cheque or direct debit. Ive never seen a boat sell as quick a neat 5.2 kc ;)
Dean1,
Up here in the North i think you would have trouble selling your kc's no matter how good thy are.
Down Finding Times neck of the woods people are willing to travel long distances to have a look at boats .
Up here as soon as they find out they have to travel a 100 klms they put the phone down and it is not the type of boat or price that puts them off as it is already in the paper.
They just will not travel yet i once went down to Brisbane to have a look at a boat and that was 1500 klms.
Thanks
Troy

[Dean1]

Sorry to hear troy its hard enough selling things as it is without that. Maybe you should bring it to brisbane and put it in a boatyard? Just an option. Best of luck whichever way you go mate, you will eventually get a buyer, ive sold everything through the trading post eventually. Cheers, Deano.