MDCE Adds Closing Keynote address to 2014 Conference Lineup

The Marine Dealer Conference & Expo has added a Closing Keynote address to its official 2014 educational lineup in order to send attendees back to their dealerships with new strategies and inspiration. MDCE 2014 is scheduled to take place Nov. 16-19, Orlando, Fla.

Business performance expert Ryan Estis has been chosen to close out the upcoming MDCE. He is world renowned for helping companies, leaders and salespeople embrace change, accelerate growth and achieve breakthrough performance in the new economy.

"To properly close the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, we knew we would need a high-energy speaker like Ryan,” explains Liz Walz, director of education for the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, which produces the annual event in partnership with Boating Industry. "He’ll be able to break through the weariness that follows three days of intense education, grab the audience’s attention with some incredibly useful tools and information, and then inspire them to go back to their dealerships and put what they’ve just learned to work.”

During his Closing Keynote address entitled "Lead Your Business to Breakthrough Performance,” Estis will help prepare MDCE attendees to compete for and win more business in the market. Attendees will learn about: The evolution of customer buying behavior; where to spend the most time to get the biggest impact; creating a sales culture of accountability and performance; coaching your team to maximum productivity; using technology to engage customers and shorten the sales cycle; and how to develop a plan to take immediate action. Attendees will also walk away with a 23-page e-book called "Leading Breakthrough Sales Performance: How the World’s Best Brands are Turning Customer Transformation into an Opportunity for Growth.”

Estis was recently recognized by Meetings & Conventions magazine as one of the "best keynote speakers seen or heard” alongside Tony Robbins, Bill Gates, Colin Powell and Coach Mike Ditka. He works with a number of category leading brands and companies, including AT&T, Mayo Clinic, Adobe, Mastercard and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

A former chief strategy officer at McCann-Erickson Advertising, Estis is particularly skilled in the areas of sales effectiveness, leadership and the future of work. Today, he serves as the chief experience officer in his own training and development organization, Ryan Estis & Associates, based in Minneapolis.

"We are fortunate to have a speaker of Ryan’s caliber on the docket to deliver the first-ever closing keynote at the 2014 MDCE,” says Boating Industry editor-in-chief Jonathan Sweet. "It wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of the dealers who make up Boating Industry’s Top 100 Hall of Fame. They volunteered to sponsor this closing keynote, and we are incredibly grateful for their contribution to the success of the MDCE and the dealer community at large.”

The Boating Industry Top 100 Hall of Fame consists of MarineMax, Inc.; Galati Yacht Sales; Prince William Marine; and Legendary Marine. Dealers are awarded a spot in the Hall of Fame after being named the No. 1 Dealer in North America by Boating Industry for two consecutive years.

The 2014 MDCE will offer 30 core educational sessions, the most the event has ever offered, including Estis’ keynote presentation. The conference has traditionally included three educational tracks, but in 2014 the educational programming has expanded to a total of four tracks: Leadership, Sales, Marketing and Service Plus.

The MDCE is scheduled for Nov. 16-19 at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center. It has attracted an increasing number of dealers every year since 2007. In 2013, MDCE featured double-digit growth in dealer attendance, and MRAA’s goal is to grow the event to more than 1,000 dealer attendees.

To learn more about the upcoming MDCE or to register for the event, visit MRAA.com/MDCE.

About the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo
The Marine Dealer Conference & Expo is the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas’ annual conference and member meeting. As the marine industry’s only dealer-specific educational conference, the MDCE offers an in-depth lineup of educational topics, a full-featured expo hall and a series of fixed networking opportunities, all of which are designed to help marine dealers connect with and learn from others who can foster their success. The MDCE is co-produced by MRAA and Boating Industry, and it features pre-conference workshops, opening and closing keynote presentations, four tracks of educational content and 30 sessions in all. It will be held Nov. 16-19 at the Orange County Convention Center and Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla. For more information, visit MRAA.com/MDCE.

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