BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - The Boatshed Bus Tour

This exercise is all about meeting local people in your area. We can't stress enough that its people you need to meet not sit behind your computer looking for listings or leads, get out there, be seen. This is an ongoing mission, its tough out there and at some point you'll have to deal with being rejected. Keep going back! You need to do this for at least a year to build relationships and to get your brand well known in the area. Then the bus tour should happen naturally visiting your local businesses.

Case Study

An office had low registered customers and listings, so we suggested that they weren't meeting enough LOCAL people on the ground in their area. The only remedy was the Boatshed Bus Tour. They took it on-board and a few weeks later implemented the bus tour and now a year on their business is thriving, two years on and the business is one of the best.

The bus tour can turn your business around, its hard work because you might keep getting rejections from your competition , but keep plugging on. its based on relationship building, that's what the message is here. This is a good example below showing a simple monthly route grouping together businesses that can help you build awareness for your business. These businesses are not only marine related. The whole point is you are the local broker in your local area, you need to meet the locals. Offering links are a great excuse to meet people and to keep going back.

Create your Boatshed Bus Route: 

• Highlight all your marinas, draw up a route
• Note marine businesses in these areas
• Regular coffee stops as boat owners frequent them

Visit these sorts of businesses

• Marinas
• Marina Managers
• Boat yards and repairers
• Electrical Engineer
• Signage companies
• Meet the Boat Owners in cafes or on the marina
• Boat Buyers
• Boat Cleaners
• Boat Delivery Skippers
• Sail maker
• Charter Company
• Chandlers, go and buy something, offer them a link.
• Marine engineers
• Marine electronics
• Boat Road Transport Company
• Local Yacht Broker
• Sailing club, Yacht club, motor boat club
• Surveyors
• Cafes to stop in on route, also act as a mobile office most have wireless these days
• Your competition
• Restaurants

You can enter all these onto your database, by adding them as a new customer.