When you think of Wisconsin, a few things may come to mind. Known as “America’s dairy,” this state is renowned for its cheese. It is also renowned for being the headquarters of the Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, not to mention the city’s baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, affectionately named after the brewer. Staying in the world of Wisconsin sports, you can also think about the 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks and the 2011 Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. Of course, Harley-Davidson Motor Company also calls Wisconsin home.
However, Wisconsin’s northern border forms part of the southern shoreline of the largest Great Lake, Lake Superior. It also forms part of the western shore of Lake Michigan. This is of course the perfect place for people to get on a jet ski and enjoy the water. There are also plenty of forests and wilderness areas to support the development of motorsport vehicles.
About 45 minutes northwest of Green Bay is Shawano, Wisconsin that’s where you’ll find American Marine & Motorsports. Less than five miles west of Lake Shawano and close to many natural areas, this powersports dealership is perfectly positioned to succeed in the industry and has been doing so for over three decades.
American Marine & Motorsports was founded in 1993 with just eight employees in a building on Lake Shawano. Marine products were the mainstay of its business early on, but when Brian Liebe, sales and Powersport manager, joined the team in 1998, it didn’t take long to assist the dealership enter the motorsports space.
“I presented the idea to the store owner to expand into this area,” explains Liebe. “I was relieved when he said, ‘Make a plan and go for it!’”
The motorsports business began with Honda off-road vehicles because American Marine & Motorsports was a huge dealer for Honda boats. The manufacturer’s motorsports representative put Liebe in touch with Honda’s motorsports representative, and the motorsports business took off at the dealership.
Since then, Liebe has brought other product lines to the dealership as it has grown, totaling 38 different OEMs when you include all the boats, engines, trailers, docks and lifts sold by the dealership. Nine OEMs specialize in motorsports, including Honda Electric Bikes, CF-Moto, Kayo, SSR, Piranha, Hammerhead, Vanderhall, Lifan and Mokwheel.
American Marine & Motorsports currently employs 35 people and has a 200,000-square-foot showroom with hundreds of boats and approximately 150 motorsports vehicles. The dealership still has its original location on Lake Shawano, where there is now a rental department offering almost every diminutive watercraft imaginable.
According to Liebe, side-by-side models have become the best-selling segment at American Marine & Motorsports. Two-seater side-by-side vehicles sell best, but four- and six-seater vehicles also sell quite well.
“This is largely due to the growing acceptance of allowing these machines on our public roads,” comments Liebe. “It’s nice when people can go right out of the house, take a machine down the road, use the trail system and travel hundreds of miles.”
Liebe also believes it’s due to families’ desire to spend time outdoors after the coronavirus pandemic kept everyone indoors for a long time. He says the increasing size of UTVs and side-by-side vehicles makes it easier for families to hit the trails together.
With so much space and so much product to carry, the final challenge American Marine & Motorsports faced was determining how much of each product to carry. Liebe says this is a two-fold problem. The first issue is uncertainty about the economy. While this problem isn’t modern, it still has a major impact on sales.
“Previous results did not provide us with sufficiently predictable and accurate information to make good or safe decisions,” he says. “So how much to store and what models, colors and equipment seems more difficult.”
The second issue concerns contacts with producers. Liebe attributes this to penniless sentiment about program durations, incorrect pricing with additional fees, and a general lack of support from providers.
“Many of our suppliers try to fill you with inventory, and when times get tough, often after increasing order volumes, retail programs seem to soon fade away and are unable to help dealers clean up.”
To address these challenges, American Marine & Motorsports is trying to carry less inventory without making huge enough cuts that it would allow them to turn a profit. This is because annual sales are lower, but the showroom is full. Liebe says inventory is fortunately not too high in any particular segment and says the dealership is using cost-effective social media marketing to assist move inventory during the slower winter months.
Many aspects make American Marine & Motorsports a unique dealership. First, the 200,000-square-foot showroom in question was formerly a shopping center that was converted to accommodate the dealership’s huge and diverse inventory. Inventory diversity can also be considered a unique aspect of the dealership.
But perhaps the most unique aspect of American Marine & Motorsports is the annual Boat/Powersport Show. The 2025 show will be the 13th for the dealer. It brings together 25 to 30 vendors – from diminutive businesses to larger organizations – to sell and promote their services. The program also supports several nonprofit organizations, including the longtime major nonprofit Hands Foundation, which provides free assistance to homeless veterans.
“It’s a four-day show that includes free parking, free admission, one free meal and drink, a raffle with prizes every hour on the hour, and products that are significantly discounted throughout the show,” says Liebe. “It’s a very unique event that does so much more than just focus on us.”
When it comes to increasing sales at American Marine & Motorsports, used car sales are significant. Additionally, the dealer increases sales by contacting former customers and asking if they are ready for a trade. Liebe says this makes it easier to generate modern sales.
“We advertise that we buy boats and motorsports supplies,” he notes. “We get a decent amount of inventory this way. This in turn helps attract people.”
Liebe also emphasizes the importance of building trust among customers. Vehicle prices are high, and many consumers focus on price when making purchasing decisions. To build trust, American Marine & Motorsports offers services such as free oil changes, first service visits, store credit and other services in conjunction with the sale of the vehicle.
“Providing in-store service is much better for me than just lowering the price,” admits Liebe. “That way we don’t create what I call a ‘race to the bottom’ with the dealers around us. In my opinion, when this happens, a precedent is set for ongoing “price wars.”
When it comes to service, American Marine & Motorsports relies heavily on its service department. Liebe says selling a vehicle is just the beginning of a dealership’s revenue stream. Good service plays a gigantic role in dealership engagement because customers should know that the dealership is there for them every step of the way.
One way American Marine & Motorsports keeps its service department in tip-top shape is by taking lots of notes on its projects. Liebe says these notes contain every detail that could assist repair, diagnose or benefit the dealership when dealing with the customer. He also uses a lot of notes in his sales work.
“I’ve learned one thing in life: you can never have too many notes,” he comments. “When you need to verify certain information with the company or possibly when talking to a customer about replacing or servicing it, good notes are crucial to running your business.”
As American Marine & Motorsports looks to the future, the dealership is looking to fill sales and service positions. Liebe says positions in these two areas have been challenging to fill for many years, so staff retention is of the utmost importance.
With his extensive experience at the dealership, Liebe has witnessed a major evolution in the industry. He’s glad that American Marine & Motorsports survived it all and looks forward to future success.
“I’m glad we’re still privately owned and have managed to maintain a close-knit team all these years,” says Liebe. “What really shines about our store is when I look at the fact that we sell ‘cool stuff’ to thousands of people every year.”
