Tips for Offering Home Improvement Financing
Contractors, this is a reminder that implementing financing into your sales process doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right financing partner, it can be a seamless addition to your business. Whether you are unfamiliar with or experienced with offering home improvement loans to your customers, integrating financing into your sales routine can be simple, and your business will reap the benefits. Knowing how to sell financing products to your customers will help your business close more deals and increase your average ticket amount. The first step is to decide what’s important to you in a home improvement financing lender—is it white-glove service or low monthly payment options? Partner with a finance company that checks all your boxes.
Align your team on the value of home improvement financing.
The value of offering your customers financing for their home improvement projects is priceless. Offering a home improvement loan significantly benefits both the home improvement business and the homeowner, allowing the homeowner to take on their dream home projects while you increase your business’s bottom line.
Some of the greatest benefits of offering financing include:
- The ability to relieve the financial burden that comes with an unexpected home expense
- Removing the high up-front cost of a home improvement project for affordable monthly payments
- Providing the maximum amount your customer qualifies for, allowing you to offer additional services or higher-end products
- To learn more, read our blog, ‘5 Reasons Contractors Close More Sales with Home Improvement Financing.’
When your entire team is aligned on the benefits of home improvement financing and its impact on your business, collective motivation will rise. Our account management and contractor support teams are dedicated to ensuring you and your team get hands-on training opportunities and receive answers to your day-to-day questions, ensuring that you feel confident in offering our financing products.
Presenting financing options to homeowners.
Starting out the financial conversation by discussing the availability of home improvement loans can ease your customers’ financial stress and give them more comfort with the project at hand. A wide variety of homeowners can benefit by having their projects financed – never assume your customer ‘needs’ or ‘doesn’t need’ financing. Home improvement financing is the new industry standard and can benefit homeowners with different financial situations. (See our tip to the left)
Highlight and call out the top advantages your customer can experience with financing, such as:
- Low-interest rates
- Affordable monthly payments
- Convenient online customer portal
- Automatic payment setup
- White-glove support
- No hidden fees
Presenting a ‘good, better, best’ proposal in a monthly payment form can increase your average ticket, meaning higher profits for your company and a happier homeowner overall. Utilize your available resources, such as our recent blog, ‘A Homeowner’s Guide to Home Improvement Loans,’ to give your customers answers to their financing questions. Listening, relating, and supporting your customers’ journey is essential. You can even use examples of past customer success stories to relate to their situation. According to a study from Jotform, “30 percent of shoppers said a flexible payment plan option meant the difference between making a purchase and forgoing it.”
After closing the deal on a home improvement project.
After closing the deal, feel confident you can rely on your financing partner to answer your customers’ questions, offer in-depth knowledge, and communicate reliably. Another thing to remember is to stay in communication. Offer consistent updates on the project status, follow up on their satisfaction with your work, kindly ask for a Google Review, and ask if there is anything else you can do for them.
“78% of consumers say that reviews increase trust in a company.”
– Finances Online
Our bonus tip is to send your customers a card of gratitude for their business or even a birthday card; something simple can go the extra mile! Offering great financing options in combination with prioritizing strong customer relationships can lead to higher customer retention and repeat business. If you and your team have questions, our contractor support and account management teams are equipped and ready to offer top-tier support.
– Madison Schoppe (Marketing Coordinator)