Beware of any Yacht Brokerage that wants you to invest money in the company before you start!

I am surprised with your statement. Approximately 6 years ago I joined a company that taught me how to broker boats. I paid $8,000 for the training and the business startup support. It was something I consider the best spent money in my life. Several other benifits came my way as well. I was independent, I could do what I wanted, I did not have to involve myself with the petty things in an office, all I did was help people and make money.
Mr Troyer, are you aware that over 23 brokers on the eastern seaboard have a fee of some sort to join their organization? Some fees are upwards to $32,000. One of the reasons they claim is to insure the peerson is serious, and will work hard for the company. When I paid $8,000 and I compaired the training I received and what the otherr companies give, I was fortunate.
Are you also aware that Real Estete Agents over all pay more than I do to operate my business. How about the monies paid by financial brokers, stock brokers, mortgage brokers? They paid, over the 6 years I have been in business approximently 3 times more than me. You seem bitter. Or maybe you were unable to make it alone. All I want to say is I had a great experience. By the way, with the training I have received, the support I am given I have earned a very comfortable living. Good luck to you

Hello Andrew,
Can you point me in the right direction for the $500 training kit on the web?
you're obviously much better than me at searching :>)
thanks S.

I've been looking for yacht sales training, would like to set up but need some more information. Any help any where to go for this with out signing my life away and ending up as an office for someone else who want 30% cut on everything sold.
Any help would be great.

1 you need to give none of your money away to get in this business

2 if you need to be trained then you would not be a broker I'd want to work with

3 a new broker should have prior maritime experience ie, captain, mate, a little engineering, and a lot of knowledge on all types of vessels from sailing to motor.

4 the only training you should need going in fresh is a little help with listing's, contracts, and sales procedures which can vary.

I've been in this industry 15 years and never once had a new broker pay his way into my business. Just another way for a starving broker to make a buck.

Z Yachts and World Maritime are hardly starving companies.
The companies that charge for training are primarily geared for new brokers coming into the industry. The brokers who are in those companies and are doing fine, (relative to the times) and they all say the training was worth it. Even YBAA charges for prep and certification. Real estate charges for training . You pay to become a Capt. you pay to become Yacht Crew, There is a price for education. And there are a few companies that charge a minor fee for indoctrination. When you think about it a person who will invest in themselves will try harder. A sign of the times.

Sure RobM. Companies like World Maritime's entire buisness is getting fools to pay them money! Ever look at the web site? Most of the boats have been off the market for years and they never seem to sell anything! The money made is from new brokers paying the fees. Guys that dont have a chance in yacht sales being sold on the dream of being a broker! And yes the YBAA charges for Prep and Certification, and McDonalds charges for a burger, whats your point. Good brokerages dont charge for training. You work to help producers and keep them not charge them. Sign of the times? LOL Happy to train you for your $5k! Shoot, you can fly in and Ill even let you buy my dinner.

RobM in Stamford, Connecticut said: Z Yachts and World Maritime are hardly starving companies.
The companies that charge for training are primarily geared for new brokers coming into the industry. The brokers who are in those companies and are doing fine, (relative to the times) and they all say the training was worth it. Even YBAA charges for prep and certification. Real estate charges for training . You pay to become a Capt. you pay to become Yacht Crew, There is a price for education. And there are a few companies that charge a minor fee for indoctrination. When you think about it a person who will invest in themselves will try harder. A sign of the times.

Training for what? Luck? all the industry is... is luck. I get a central listing and it sells I make money. My luck is if I can match a seller to a buyer and I can negotiate a commission for this. I train my new brokers in listing agreements, contracts etc... I count on them to come in with knowledge on surveying, some engineering, skills to operate a vessel for a sea trial etc... I am broker of boats therefore should have a few years experience working on boats. Sea going vessel's are nothing like homes. Also selling a house has a lot more legalistic ave you have to take. If one of my new brokers matches a seller and buyer I walk them through the steps to complete the sell and take part of their commission. Nothing I could teach is worth 5,000 bucks. Most new brokers do not make it. So why hurt them more financially than they are going to hurt their selves for trying. It takes time and money to work your way in and If you can afford 5 k to get trained and months to live until you make a sell. Then you my friend are a lucky man. I saved up for 12 years 4 USCG 8 years working on motor and sailing yachts from engineer to captain until I left that to open a brokerage firm. It took me over 1 year to make my first sell on a 30k boat at %6 commission. Then I "got lucky".

I welcome the opportunity to train a new broker on my time and dime provided they have some boat knowledge but more importantly professional sales experience. That is the way I learned five years ago. And I am not a "seasoned" boater. Yes I boat but I am really a professional sales person. Give me an individual with sales knowledge and money to wait out the storm and I will make them a boat broker. This is not rocket science but it does require ethics to make a living. Looking for the quick buck will frustrate one quickly in this business.

Cambridge thinks brokerage is "luck" and it took over a year to make his first sale? That is the single best argument I can think of for training. You don't have to be trained in this business it just makes it much easier to be successful, quicker.

I would say after going through yacht broker training that it was NOT worth the money. Primarily because the "house gets 50% and if you co broker either with a selling or buying broker you get 50% of the other half. Or 25% of the commish. The house handles the money and closing so you might get a few extra charges against your commish. if your looking to make a killing its stacked against you until your in the business for a long time. Even then its questionable. stay away and do something constructive. With the internet you can find a boat to buy easily without a broker. its called FSBO. for sale by owner. Good luck and stay away from WME Yachts.

I have to say aftering having many talks with WME I can not agree with what they do either! My thing is why do they need to charge money up front to train you then hit you on comissions as well? It's like double dipping. I understand they "give" you the investment money back over time but they are not giving the interest they are making off you money back. They say it is to "Cover cost" of training and marketing and printing and so forth... well then why do over 90% of the brokerage firms in this country NOT do that? I do not believe this company is a fake or not really a firm but it does bother me that certian questions can't be answered by them or why so much cash has to be put up to cover cost of start up and then there is that charge that comes out of your comission side of the monies. Am I wrong??

This is all non sense in Cambridge, Massachusetts said: 1 you need to give none of your money away to get in this business

2 if you need to be trained then you would not be a broker I'd want to work with

3 a new broker should have prior maritime experience ie, captain, mate, a little engineering, and a lot of knowledge on all types of vessels from sailing to motor.

4 the only training you should need going in fresh is a little help with listing's, contracts, and sales procedures which can vary.

I've been in this industry 15 years and never once had a new broker pay his way into my business. Just another way for a starving broker to make a buck.

Hey I know a LOT about boats, but not so much about "sales push" but will learn quick! Can I come work for you?

1st consideration if your going to consider WME or ZY or one of the few others is this, Yacht brokerage is a very Closed industry. If you are new and have no maritime experience, they offer a gateway into a new career. You cant go to Northrop & Johnson or Fraiser Yachts with no experience & be accepted. They have limited desk space & only an experienced yacht broker has an opportunity to work there. There is no right or wrong here. Its an individual decision, if you want into the business and you have no following or past brokerage experience, WME or ZY makes sense, 2 weeks of training & your in, along with coaching & mentoring. If the money paid out like any other tech or trade school does not make sense to you that's fine. You probably will then not be working in YS. Whether this approach makes sense or not, You get to decide. These companies(I belong to neither) provide an alternative approach to getting in when no one else may take you,& most likely their "training chrg" will pay for itself in the 1st year. These companies only make real sense & offer real value if you have no prior experience. They offer the new person an opportunity which may not exist otherwise. Also in these days of intense competition and smarter business models, the emphasis is on Sales Tactics and strategies, Not on being a Motor Head. Your going to start doing small boats, & grow from there. I'd rather have a new broker with mild boating experience but good computer skills & good business habits & work ethic, & that's the person that will get listings & sell boats. Bottom Line, You get to choose. You could certainly get a Serv Pro Franchise & be a great Janitor for 20 or 30 K, or spend 8K on starting in Yacht Sales.(ps: both the above Serv Pro and WME offer no guarantee of doing business or success, Welcome to capitalism ) I have met brokers from both the companies above & a few others, most that are still functioning a few years later & are successful & applaud the company

(continuation of above)

& believe in it. The people that wash out go on to something else. The choice is yours. They offer opportunity at a moderately reasonable price for a new person. If your an existing broker, this probably does not make sense, but then your already working for a firm. Because All quality, successful brokers, with good business skills and work ethic,,,are working for a firm as they read this.

I would be interested in speaking with you. My email address is rlpconsult@earthlink.net. I have had several boats in my lifetime and I know what an customer would want. I would like to start this business.

Hello,

I'm French an would like informations about the career of yacht Broker (Studies, oportunities, the future...) It very difficult to learn about that in France. My email:hugues.lachappelle@gmail.com. Thank you

Hugues Broker in Paris, France said: Hello,

I'm French an would like informations about the career of yacht Broker (Studies, oportunities, the future...) It very difficult to learn about that in France. My email:hugues.lachappelle@gmail.com. Thank you

Hi, have you made any progress in your adventure? I'm also in the IDF.

Hi, have you made any prosgress in your adventure? I would like to know.
I'm also in IDF.
regards
nelson

i'm interested in becoming a yacht broker. i spoke to someone at(i think) World Maritime Exchange. they quoted me $4,000 to do it on-line, and $7,500 to do training face-to-face in Ft Lauderdale. is this worthwhile? are they any companies that don't charge for training?

i am interested in becoming a yacht broker. i spoke to someone at (i think) World Maritime Exchange. they quoted me $4,000 to train on-line, or $7,500 for face-to-face in Ft Lauderdale. is this worth it? are there companies who don't charge?

Try the career section at www.robertchristopheryacht.com

Brad in Fulton, New York said: i'm interested in becoming a yacht broker. i spoke to someone at(i think) World Maritime Exchange. they quoted me $4,000 to do it on-line, and $7,500 to do training face-to-face in Ft Lauderdale. is this worthwhile? are they any companies that don't charge for training?

Brad, try the career section at www.robertchristopheryacht.com no large outlay and intense training program.

thanks, i'll check this out!

Brad, If I can be of any help please let me know.

i need to find out about licensing in various states. i found a company in florida, that does not charge for training. what they told me, is that i would need to pay the licensing fee for the state of Florida, and then once i get that, they can get me going. right now, i'm in upstate NY, about 15 minutes south of Lake Ontario. i'd like to get into this, to not only be a career change, but to take care of my family. i have some job offers in the meantime, as i am aware, it could be a while before i make any kind of a sale of a boat. so, i will have some kind of income coming in, in the meantime. but, i'd really like to do this full time. i'm a former merchant marine, and i still know my way around boats, and navigation, lights, signals, rules of the road for boating, and radio communications. i also know some knots, not as many as i need to know, but enough to get by. i also know about handling of flags, pertaining to boats: in rain, you take the flag down. when it gets dark, you take the flag down. i know some engine room stuff, things like engine room watches, some basic maintenance. i also know about man overboard drills and rescues, and ship-board fire-fighting, and fire drills as per Coast Guard Regulations

Brad, Florida licensing will cost close to $1000. or more, including a bond, a sponsor, state license fee and salesman fee. The difficult thing is being able to find a sponsor. It's a closed state and you need to work under a sponsor for two years. You can sell boats under 32' with no license and new boats with no license. You are years away from needing Florida Licensing. You're in New York. If you're in New York there is no need to do this. email me at rcmysna at aol dot com I can help in the process.

i sent you an e-mail!

i sent you an e-mail, Rob

Hey Rob,
would you happen to know what this state's requirements are, as far as becoming a yacht broker? i like the program through Robert Christopher, i just don't have the $595 it was telling me i need to outlay, and the cost to purchase shirts, hats, business cards, etc. i suppose i could send in the application, and figure out a way to come up with the money. it's just that i'm unemployed right now, so money is very, very tight right now. i'd like to be able to do this as soon as it's possible

Rob, would you happen to know what NY's rules are as far as being a yacht broker? i'm still reading through the information i was sent. i don't have the $595 right now, i'm unemployed