A Certified Professional Yacht Broker has passed a rigorous exam, testing their
knowledge on tax laws, ethics, closings, co-brokering and numerous other details
which are integral to smooth yacht purchase or sale transaction. Yacht brokers
nationwide now have a new benchmark for measuring their skills, abilities and
performance. Boat sellers and buyers are now in a better position to select
qualified, competent yacht brokers.
These are the goals of the new National Yacht Broker Certification program;
a joint effort of the Yacht Brokers Association of America (YBAA, Annapolis,
MD), the Florida Yacht Brokers Association (FYBA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Northwest
Yacht Brokers Association (NYBA, Seattle, WA) and the California Yacht Brokers
Association.
In development since 1999, the yacht broker certification project objective
has been to set a performance baseline for professional yacht brokers nationwide.
A program ‘Design Team’ of volunteers from the associations worked
with the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute to define the industry
Body of Knowledge, which lists the key areas of performance skills and knowledge
required to be a professional yacht broker. The team then crafted a certification
exam, comprised of 151 questions, designed to be an objective measurement of
a broker’s knowledge.
“The process of determining the essential skills that a professional yacht
broker needs have been daunting,” stated Vincent Petrella, president of
Hellier Yacht Sales, new London, CT and chairman of the multi-year effort. “This
has never been done before, and it was both a challenge and an honor for our
volunteer team to be involved in this project. I firmly believe that our efforts
will result in raising the bar of performance for the yacht brokerage profession,
and will greatly enhance our credibility in the minds of the boating public.”
As in many other industries, performance standards, professional training and
recognition are essential tools for ensuring that the industry encourages and
maintains aggressive performance goals and sound business practices. YBAA, FYBA,
CYBA and NYBA each have had in place, for many years, association mandated codes
of ethics, which provide the minimum standards for ethical broker performance
and which are mandatory for all brokers who desire membership in the organizations.
The Yacht Broker Certification Program takes this process to a whole new level,
providing a comprehensive method for qualifying eligible brokers who have the
necessary experience, skills and know - how to
be recognized as a Certified Professional Yacht Broker - CPYB.
In addition to defining the industry Body of Knowledge and creating the CPYB
exam, the newly expanded Certification Advisory Council will work over the next
few years to identify and develop training and education resources that will
assist applicants, as well as developing new training seminars and resources
that will form the basis of a yacht broker education program.
To find out more about the Certified Professional Yacht Broker program or to
locate a CPYB designated broker near you, visit the CPYB web site at www.cpby.net.
This article printed with permission from Whit Kirkland, Merrill Stevens,
member CPYB 954-791-2600