Rule 1

The first and most important measure for every ship owner: Find a broker who is so convinced of your yacht that he can sell it. If you don’t have a dedicated salesman who moves his ass, you won’t get rid of your yacht! Don’t die for it…You can tell a good seller by the fact that he takes your yacht to the last screw and wants to know every detail. Therefore make sure that your broker can spend 1 week on the yacht to really get to know everything.  

Rule 2

Pay attention to your martketingmaterial ! You have put millions into your yacht. And now that you want to sell them, you are saving every cent ? You must be able to supply your broker with top material ! Make sure you have a marketing budget !!! It is totally interesting to observe that when yachts are offered through brokers and online portals / magazines, some are offered with such lousy photos that make the yacht rather unsaleable. Everything: Badly made photos, wrong picture angles, fuzzy, too small or pixelated, or say and write only 1 single photo. You would think that this is a thing of the past, but reality speaks a different language…you notice immediately that the owner has no more desire for the yacht and the broker has little enthusiasm to sell the yacht. If that is mediated, you do not need to offer your yacht as an owner at all. Ask yourself the following important question: What do I have to deliver to my salesman so that he can do his job ? If you don’t have a marketing mix, you’ll be smashed: As a rule, the value of your yacht means a very significant investment! Companies that are worth as much as your yacht have a professional marketing department that leaves nothing to chance ! And you shouldn’t do that either. 

Rule 3

Photos: Even if the latest generation of Smarthphones can take fantastic photos – put the photo work in the hands of a full professional…only he knows how your yacht has to be photographed so that it appears in the best light. What motifs? Yachts are always associated with freedom, sun and warmth.  Always photograph your yacht in front of interesting motifs.  You charge the charisma of the yacht optically with it. That sounds trite, but it is still valid. Always photograph your yacht with people…you take 2 photos of the bedroom. One photo shows the empty cabin, in the second photo a crew member shakes the upholstery. Galley: Clean Galley from one angle, in the second picture from one angle you show the cook, as he is in his full element. Show pots, from which the steam comes, vegetables and meat next to it, a slight disorder… Engine room from a picture angle without an on-board engineer, 2nd picture with an on-board engineer performing a control activity. And so on. I don’t want to torture you here with semiotics, but the reader interprets your pictures in a matter of seconds and decides whether he’s interested or not. 

Rule 4

Deck plans: Make sure that the deck plans of your yacht can be output as PDF / vector graphics. You have to be able to provide the customers with a 3 meter plot in order to be able to clarify details which may not be important for you or your broker, but which may be important for your potential new owner?

Rule 5

Captions: Have a look at the pictures in a newspaper article or in online newspapers: Each picture has a caption ! With picture captions you underpin the optical statement of photos. If your yacht is called „Carina“ and anchors off Portofino, then write in the caption: September 2018, Carina anchors off Portofino. These are small details you don’t think are important ~ but to comment with Mies van der Rohe: The devil is in the detail!

Rule 6

Have an Al Fresco Dinner for breakfast, lunch and dinner and show a relaxed atmosphere with people of all ages. Children and small pets are just as important. Keep in mind that there are many future yacht owners who don’t decide alone whether to buy your yacht. Consider in your planning that the wives and children of the future owner usually have a lot to say. If the children of a potential customer find your yacht attractive because there are 2 puppies or cats in the photo, why not ! It shows that also the dog or the cats feel well on the yacht…

Rule 7

Walk – arounds – on yachts: What is better than a walk-around blog to describe a yacht. Nothing is better than adding a 30 – 45 minute clean video of the yacht, its crew and its history to the material mix. They give the yacht a soul. And to describe it with the advertising professionals: They more you tell, they more you sell ! Take native speakers ! If you address yourself to an English clientele, then English must be spoken. If you also want the German market, then take a German presenter ! If you want to address Chinese owners, then take a Chinese presenter. The brain switches with native language immediately into the „home mode“.  The presenter is in the video thus on the side of the potential buyer, quasi his host…

Rule 8

Clean out the bride !  Sometimes it is worthwhile to consider with your broker whether it would not be better, especially if the yacht is already older, to carry out a refit or upgrade before the sale in order to postpone the obligatory price cut as far as possible into the future. Is it possible to extend the yacht ? ~ would another colour not be more suitable ? ~ Is a new teak deak worth it ? ~ Is it possible to make the yacht more attractive in terms of design by rebuilding one or the other part ? Is it possible to build in foldable balconies ? Can the interior be spiced up ? Can you install a more economical engine / Can you upgrade to diesel electric ? These are important questions, which should not be ignored…

Rule 9

Set up a microsite that shows the yacht where it is currently located, etc. So a website that only deals with your yacht ! A website can be set up quickly, costs relatively nothing and can also provide valuable services to brokers. And can be super linked with the sales portals and magazines like BOAT International by advertisement…

Rule 10

Pay your professionals! Your broker also has to pay his bills at the end of the month. Constant visits with potential owners at the place where the yacht is located can quickly go for the broker in the 5-digit range. Hotels, expenses etc… that means, the running costs of these visits cannot be borne by the broker. Your broker is also not motivated to constantly get nothing for the empty kilometers that accumulate. You have to keep your broker happy and at the bar. 

Rule 11

Competitors: Nothing beats a well done marketing mix.  Keep in mind that you are not the only one on the market. Also other owners want to sell their yacht from the same motives, exactly like you. The market is big, so you are in competition. Owners, brokers, advertisers and marketing specialists must therefore put all their weight into the scales to ensure a successful sale.

Rule 12

Every month, from the moment you decide to sell your yacht, you’re going to be paying a lot of money. Why ? Let me explain it as follows: Think of all people who have hobbies:  As long as they go into your hobby, the costs don’t matter because they are emotionally full inside. You see a sense and added value. You deal with it, you are involved, you are enthusiastic, you involve others.  A hobby road cyclist will be the most expensive road bike in the price completely indifferent, if he can let off steam his sporty spirit. The athlete is emotionally involved in his element. So he is willing to bear the higher costs of his hobby. This is also the case with yachts. From the moment you want to sell your yacht, you are no longer convinced!

Conclusion: It’s about your yacht – here and now! It should make clear that bringing super yachts to the market from the point of view of sales / marketing is hard work. But there is no yacht that is not for sale, if you do not only your homework, but also provide services that go far beyond…

Michael Konetschnik