Sessions

Keynote Sessions:

Endless Customers

How Michigan’s Marine Businesses Can Earn More Trust, Attract Better Buyers, and Stay Relevant in the AI Age

- Marcus Sheridan, Marcus Sheridan International

Based on the international bestselling book They Ask, You Answer, this session—designed specifically for the boating industry—tackles two urgent challenges facing marine dealers, marinas, and service businesses today:

How do we adapt our sales and marketing to match the expectations of a more informed, less patient, and highly digital boating customer?
How do we position our marine business as the most trusted voice in our market while standing out from the noise—especially with AI now deeply affecting how boaters do their research.

With these questions in mind, this keynote will show MBIA members:

How marine businesses must evolve their sales and marketing priorities to match the behaviors of today's digital-first buyers—who often research for weeks before ever stepping foot in a dealership or marina.
The exact types of online content boaters are demanding to see today—especially around pricing, comparisons, and honest pros/cons—and how creating this content leads to trust and more qualified leads.
Why video and visual media are no longer optional, and how to effectively leverage them to influence buying decisions and showcase your boats, services, and expertise.
How to turn your website into your best salesperson—even in the off-season—by empowering buyers to self-educate, get pricing guidance, and move themselves through the sales funnel.
What “seller-free” and “self-service” mean in the marine space—and how offering these tools can increase showroom visits and decrease tire-kickers.

Ultimately, this session is about building digital trust at scale in an industry that has long relied on in-person relationships. With practical takeaways and proven results, it will challenge marine business owners to rethink how they communicate with today’s buyers—and give them a roadmap to attract Endless Customers in the years ahead.

The “People” Hack: Navigating the Choppy Waters of Personality

- Allison McClintick, Psychology + Leadership Specialist

Clients, employees…they’re all your crew! Understanding what people are “like” can be our greatest opportunity-as well as the greatest headache. This presentation offers the ONLY insight you will ever need to truly be the “captain” of any context: improving communication, anticipating needs or conflict, inspiring others to action, and just creating a more cooperative environment to meet goals and enjoy life.

Breakout Sessions:

Legal Issues Affecting the Marine Industry Right now

- Deb Lapin, Maddin Hauser

Marine Apprenticeships Partnering with Michigan Works!

- Amber Keyes, Michigan Works! and Panel

Learn how you can train on-the-job, receive funding for training, and how Michigan Works! can help. With case studies on how this can work for marine businesses, you can bring step by step back to your business and start implementing an apprenticeship in your dealership asap.

Deep Dive Into Attracting Better Buyers

- Marcus Sheridan, Marcus Sheridan International

As a follow up to his morning keynote, Sheridan will have an interactive session with a small group to go into 2026 and boat show season with tangible resources to have a better ROI, better customer relationships, and tools for salespeople in your dealership.

Just How Secure is Your Marina?

- Edgewater Resources

Learn from industry experts from Edgewater Resources about design strategies for peace of mind for you and your boaters. Plus learn more about the Michigan Clean Marina Program.

5 Tech Gadgets to Produce Quality In-House Video fast

- Brian Matson, TwoSix Digital

In this session, Brian will show a “perfect setup” for capturing high-quality video and audio for use on social media channels to promote your business, products, and services on a shoestring budget. You don’t have to break the bank to ensure that you get a quality result. You will learn about some great new tech tools to add to your bag and get some quick tips to streamline your video production process.

The "People" Hack Deep Dive

- Allison McClintick, Psychology + Leadership Specialist

Following her afternoon keynote, Allison will take a deep dive with a small group and bring real solutions and applications on the accompanying personality test and how this analysis can increase customer awareness leading to better relationships and lifelong customer loyalty.

Preconference Add-On Session:

Service Process Training

- Max Materne, Garage Composites

This session equips marine dealerships with a clear, repeatable framework to boost service profitability and efficiency. It covers the full repair order process, from intake to completion, ensuring accuracy and accountability. The training also enhances the service advisor sales process, teaching advisors how to engage customers, increase upsells, and drive revenue. Additionally, it addresses common inefficiencies in technician performance, scheduling, and communication. Attendees will leave with practical tools and processes they can implement immediately to improve operations and build a more profitable, customer-focused service department.

You can elect to join this special session during registration, it is a complimentary add on to the conference, but limited to 48 seats first come, first serve.

Awards Presentation

Each year the MBIA awards their highest honors during RBEC to deserving leaders in the industry. Stay tuned as recipients are announced for:

MBIA Hall of Fame

Tom Ervin, Walstrom Marine

Ray L. Underwood Lifetime Achievement Awards

Robert and Douglas Reimel

Lighthouse Awards

Ron Olson, retired MDNR Chief

Marine Technician Awards