a LeaseWorld.org original by John Elliott of Jocova Financial
As an equipment dealer, your priority is to maximize sales opportunities by providing your customers with the equipment they need to do their work. The goal of the equipment financing company is to help drive sales by making it easier and more attractive for your customers to purchase equipment from you through simple monthly payment plans.
Common Problems Associated with Equipment Financing
As an equipment dealer, you face many recurring problems when dealing with equipment financing companies that can easily impact your business and customers. You should constantly be evaluating your equipment financing partners for their fit in your business environment to see how well they understand and perform on some key benchmarks listed here:
- Are sales constantly lost due to declines
- Do you have concerns about receiving payments
- Lack of communication. You can’t reach anyone when you need to get quotes, answer questions, prepare applications, etc.
- Do you constantly feel out of the loop when your deal is in progress and need to follow-up.
- Slow turnaround time on applications, processing, and payments
- Rate concerns, terms, and contract structuring problems
- Cannot provide payment before delivery
- It’s too complicated for you to deal with the equipment financing company
- The entire process takes too long
See Related Article: Leasing 101: Understanding the Basics of Equipment Leasing
Solutions that Combat Concerns with Equipment Financing
Take a solution based approach to finding an equipment financing partner that is right for you and your business. This may be even a couple of partners depending on your customer base, equipment, and industry. Here are some core characteristics of financing companies you should be seeking:
- Industry leading rates
- High approval ratio
- Financing for new and used equipment
- Free tools that utilize technology to enhance and service customers
- Ability to finance new businesses and customers with less than perfect credit
- Financing for niche and specialized assets
- Review client’s creditworthiness computer scoring
- Quick turnaround times on applications and funding
- Customized financing options
- Customized dealer marketing and co-op programs
- Dealer incentive programs
- Willingness to consult with and advise customers on financing packages
- Consumer and commercial product offerings if applicable
Proof of the Importance of Equipment Financing
Here is the proof of why equipment financing programs really work:
- 78% of business clients use financing to acquire their equipment (Ref: 1)
- Demand for equipment financing is growing at a rate of 3% annually
- Customers prefer making a monthly payment vs. paying full equipment cost up front
- The easier it is for customers to purchase equipment, the more they will purchase
- More and more vendors and manufacturer programs are needing to be armed with a financing partner to stay competitive
- Contributes to the overall customer service experience dealers can offer
Setup a Manufacturer-Dealer Leasing Program – Link
Get a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee on Financing Services
Partner with a leasing company that stands by their services and ensures their dealers and customers get the services they expect. Listed below guarantees you should expect as an equipment dealer and if your financing partner is not living up to these guarantees you should be exploring other opportunities.
- Easy to implement free technology in order to sell more equipment online and offline
- 100% satisfied with approvals and declines that make sense
- Unique services and customized solutions to have a competitive edge rather than cookie-cutter options
- Custom branded showroom and marketing material
- Marketing tactics for equipment leasing sales
See Related Article: Top 10 Reasons to Use Equipment Leasing – A Customer’s Perspective
What Happens If You Take No Action in Exploring an Equipment Financing Partner?
- You lose sales to your competitors who offer financing
- You are not implementing the best tactics to drive sales and create customer solutions and engagement
- You lose sales due to incorrect or unreasonable pricing or inferior competitive products
- You lose sales to other dealerships offering the same equipment at the same prices with a finance offering already in place
- Your business growth slows down, as does your ability to expand
- You show a lack of properly understanding your customer’s needs regarding finance and the growing equipment finance industry
- You are not utilizing technology or keeping up with the times
- You are limiting your sales by not promoting the low monthly payments you are able to offer customers
- You aren’t aware of how to gain a competitive advantage over your competition
- Your profit margins suffer
Equipment leasing & financing is an important part of the sales process to help drive sales and as detailed, having a finance partner that provides value and fits into your business cycle is key.
Ref 1: https://www.elfaonline.org/
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