Fort Lauderdale, FL office
Turkey (and around that area), to China. We have a lot of really great experiences in shipyards all over the world but most notably, the most memorable ones are in those areas. WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE YACHT MARKET TODAY? From a design standpoint, a trend I’ve seen is increasing the interior volume in addition to having the pullout feature of clubs like outdoor space - no matter the size of the boat. There’s a much greater emphasis on outdoor living on the newer builds. As for buyers, they are getting younger and younger. As a result of remote working becoming more common and just younger people have more buying power, we’re seeing that a lot more now. With that being said, a big one is that people are able to work on their boats remotely, so more boats are being sold. HOW DO YOU STAY AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION? From a marketing standpoint, I think it’s both our sales training and our product knowledge of what the trends are while putting a big emphasis on the sales process. Our guys are just constantly working on the sales process which in turn benefits both buyers and
them start in their early 20s and 30s. All-in-all, the level of professional keeps getting better and better.
WHAT SETS 26 NORTH APART FROM OTHER YACHT BROKER FIRMS? It really comes down to our people and the culture of our company. We are a smaller group but everyone works exceptionally hard. Everyone does this full- time, no one is a part-time captain on the side. I think our marketing is superior and we put a lot of emphasis on the sales process - I think those are biggest differentiators in the business. Also, the level of customer service that we offer our clients. Being a “boatique” high-end company, means we’re able to spend a lot more time and really guide our customers. We are also well-traveled and know a lot of shipyards throughout the world. I think the combination of all those things is what really sets us apart. CAN YOU SHARE A MEMORABLE STORY OR EXPERIENCE FROM YOUR TIME IN THE YACHTING BUSINESS? There are a lot of them. Some of the ones that standout are related to visiting shipyards. Nick and I have visited a lot of shipyards in Asia, including
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Q&A | BIZ CHAT WITH MIKE CARLSON NEW & NOTEWORTHY
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