I’ve mentioned that offering financing through a third-party can provide a big boost in sales for equipment sellers. I talked about how salespeople liked it, and consider offering a payment option a powerful part of any “close”.
But why wait for the close? Why not let the customer know right from the beginning that monthly payments are available?
Today, everyone takes credit cards, but there was a time when prominently displaying the Visa and Mastercard (or MasterCHARGE for you old-school folks) logo was an effective way to spur business. In other words, telling customers that yes, they could use their credit cards to pay, was a way to get them to choose a particular eatery or store. And it worked – it became generally accepted that accepting credit cards was a way to boost business.
It’s the same with equipment financing. But instead of the “everyone does it” that retail businesses have now embraced, we’re at 1986 credit-card levels, with only a handful of companies actually offering some kind of financing option. This means for the companies that do offer it, it’s a huge leg up. And they should say so every chance they get.
This means brochures, websites, your salespeople’s business cards, sales e-mails, and even on-hold messaging should mention that equipment financing is offered – because for some prospective clients, this could be the piece of information that swings them to buy from you.
This becomes more important as time goes on too. Here in 2016, many of your prospective customers feel it’s advantageous to utilize payments for equipment – especially if it’s equipment that is directly tied to revenue (meaning the equipment can literally pay for itself.)
I guarantee you that if you sell equipment, putting “monthly payments available” on all of your marketing collateral will make a difference. So get it out there – online and off.