*This post has been updated as of August 2016*
Looking to boost sales this quarter? Why not run a financing promotion on your top-selling equipment? A special financing offer could be the nudge customers need to stop just thinking about getting equipped and instead take action.
If you’ve never run a financing promo, you may not be sure where to start. Even if you have offered a financing promo in the past, you probably wouldn’t object to improving your results this time around. With that in mind, here are seven pointers for newcomers and veterans alike:
- Deferred payments are a powerful way to get past year-end budget objections. By the closing months of the year, a lot of businesses are close to tapping out their equipment budgets, leading them to put off getting sorely needed equipment until next year. But a 90 day or 120 day deferred payment offer can put new equipment back in the budget for these businesses.
- Tie your promo to Section 179. Many of your customers will qualify for a Section 179 deduction. If you’re offering deferred payment financing, your customers can get equipped and reduce the year’s taxes at the same time, all while not paying a dime until next year. That’s a pretty strong motivator to get off the fence fast.
- Use that email list. According to research, email generates almost double the results of other marketing channels. You worked hard to build your email list, now put it to work for you as a low-cost way to promote your special financing offer. Want tips on making that email stand out? Here you go.
- But don’t forget other marketing channels. Email is a powerful and inexpensive way to market your promo, but don’t neglect other relatively cost-effective channels, such as printed flyers. Keep the design simple and the language clear. Then head to the printer or print them up yourself. Feature them in store, send them by direct mail and make sure salespeople have a supply to leave behind on sales calls.
- Signage works. If you have a showroom, use your wall space (and airspace) to promote your promo with banners and posters. Customers notice these while your salespeople are doing their work and they’ll keep the extra buying power the promo will give them in mind while they’re deciding on a solution. If you use price tags, promote your offer right underneath or beside them.
- Mention it early; mention it often. Don’t wait until the end of the sales process to bring up your promo – talk about it right upfront and throughout the sales conversation so it’s part of the solution-building process (this applies to talking about financing in general, too).
- Sell benefits. You sell product and service benefits – why not sell financing benefits? What does 90 or 120 days with no payments really mean for your customers? Breathing room. Peace of mind. More cash on hand to go after other goals. A head start on increased productivity. And so on.
Don’t just hope you’ll meet your goals this year. Take out a little insurance policy in the form of a financing promotion. Who knows? You could even end up adjusting your goal upward.
Want more tips on pulling off a great financing promo? Talk to the experts at LEAF today!
