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To earn sales, you need to solve problems.As a heavy equipment sales professional, you should know by now that you don’t
actually work in sales—no, you’re in the problem-solving business.
“And what would this problem look like, buddy? Cost? Equipment specs? Truck capabilities?”
No, the real head-scratcher for most of your customers is “can I afford this?” Or more specifically, “Can I afford the payments for this?”
For this reason, it makes sense to lead your sales process by talking about payments. Because ultimately, “what can you afford?” actually means “what kind of payments can you afford?”
Let’s look at five benefits of leading sales conversations with monthly payments.
Some folks are afraid of heights, spiders, snakes, or tight spaces. Your customer, on the other hand, is afraid of sticker prices—especially high ones. However, by leading a sales conversation with possible monthly payments rather than the whole kebab, you can make the purchase more manageable and less intimidating.
According to a 2018 Business Wire article, a major survey of consumers revealed that 76% of participants were more likely to make retail purchases when also presented with an attractive payment plan.
You may have already noticed many new ways to split the full price of retail goods. Swedish financing company Klarna offers payment options on many e-commerce websites. For some items, Amazon leads with the monthly payment price—sometimes even tucking the full price past the scroll break.
And this method has a proven track record. Car manufacturers ranging from Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, and Kia have all used ad campaigns focused on monthly payments to entice buyers to purchase new cars—even when the monthly plans didn’t actually lower the sticker price of the vehicles.
Why? Because they know that most people worry more about monthly payments even more than the overall price of the vehicle.
“What? Why is that?” Well, let’s look at the rationale some have for financing items that will lose value over time.
A 2015 Autotrader study found that 84% of car buyers wanted to negotiate the monthly payment rather than the overall price of the vehicle. The data showed that the overall price can often take a backseat to the size of the monthly payment.
“But this doesn’t seem to make sense. Wouldn’t someone want a lower overall price they can pay off faster rather than a smaller monthly payment that will take a much longer time?”
If most people actually planned to drive around in a paid-off car or piece of heavy equipment, that would likely be true. And sure—some people plan to eventually pay off their purchases and roll around with one less care in the world.
For others, however, the ability to make affordable monthly payments on a car, truck, or piece of equipment may be more important than owning said items outright. Why? Well, they feel that having a monthly payment will likely always be in the cards.
For these buyers, their approach to “ownership” includes upgrading their vehicles every few years rather than ever paying them off completely.
So, if they are of the mindset that they will likely always have a monthly payment, why not offer them a fantastic one?
Have you ever brainstormed how you’re going to chip away at a large bill? It’s stressful! There are so many options and moving parts to consider.
How much better do you feel when a financial professional underlines a number on a plan and says, “this will be your monthly payment cost.” Boom—immediate relief, even if the number is higher than you anticipated.
Why? Because there’s still something reassuring about knowing that you’re not overlooking any figures or wondering if conditions could make that rate change in the future. That figure is yet another piece in the puzzle of the future of your finances.
And this carries over to the commercial world. Heavy equipment buyers are usually business people themselves. They need to run construction companies, trucking operations, or even farms. This requires long-term plans with numbers they can manage. If you can help them wrap their heads around a monthly payment price immediately out of the gate, you will have saved them a lot of head-scratching in terms of determining the affordability of your equipment.
By offering a predictable monthly payment plan, you can help customers plan for their financial commitments and make the purchase more feasible.
A staggering sticker price can be enough to make anyone walk away and check out something less expensive—even when the advanced features of the equipment would actually save them money in the long run. But attractive monthly payments can help them give that advanced model a second look.
And the current generation of adults with purchasing power especially love a good monthly payment plan. According to a 2021 TD Bank survey “Among millennials who applied for retail financing for their last major purchase, 81% said that payment option influenced the amount they were willing to spend, the highest figure among all age groups.”
There’s no denying that sticker prices can be a dry pill to swallow. However, leading the conversation with monthly payments can be a great way to make the decision to go with a more expensive model more manageable for customers. An attractive monthly payment plan may be the spoonful of sugar they need to consider how much better that advanced model of equipment could be for their company over a cheaper model.
But don’t get us wrong—this isn’t to say you should wring higher rates out of buyers or lead them to believe they can stretch their budgets beyond previous calculations to afford higher payments—which is a sketchy sales practice. Nobody should ever tell someone what they can and can’t afford—period. But if this buyer has a proven track record of fulfilling their obligations and a plan for meeting their payment goals, there’s no reason why they should be deprived of the pathway to buying superior equipment.
It feels great to have a “guy” or “gal” for any situation. Need a home inspector? “I got a gal…” Need a diesel mechanic? “I got a guy…”
Wouldn’t you like to be the “guy” or “gal” for heavy equipment purchases?
Well, if you’re able to connect your customer to a great monthly payment plan on their equipment, your business card may never leave their wallet.
By offering financing options and helping customers find a payment plan that works for them, you can establish trust and loyalty that can extend beyond the initial sale.
Wrapping Up
Beginning your sales conversations with monthly payments can be a great way to solve buyer problems, decrease friction, ease anxiety, and increase sales for your heavy equipment dealership. By leaning into the predictability of affordable monthly payments, you can make payment one less thing for your customer to worry about.
“But how can I offer attractive financing to customers? I’m not a financing company!”
Just because you’re not in the business of financing doesn’t mean you can’t connect your customers with financing options that are fast, simple, reliable, flexible, and affordable. With help from your friends from LenCo Capital—a Dealer Technology Solutions partner company—you can make this a reality.
LenCo Capital makes it easy for you to request financing quotes for your buyer, remain in close contact with the lender, and manage the entire process from your Dealership Drive system. You can receive quotes in just a few hours or less and financing turnaround in as little as 24 hours.
Still have questions? Let’s talk about helping you close more deals with financing.
Learn more about LenCo Capital or call 866.696.7727 today.
