The Secret Sauce of Auto Sales Pros: 3 Tricks for Selling Financing

Car salespeople are known for having some tricks up their sleeves, and while they may not have the greatest reputation in the world, we firmly believe there’s a lot you can learn from them! This is especially true when it comes to their approach on offering financing.

Financing is a powerful tool for your home improvement business that helps alleviate sticker shock and gives homeowners more options for funding dream projects. But many contractors seem to shy away from offering it because they mistakenly believe it complicates the sale. The truth is they might be missing out on way more by not offering financing, including a huge opportunity to increase your close rate or your average price per ticket. 

One Click Contractor allows you to easily offer financing without the hassle of trying to calculate it yourself. It’s also accessible to display and compare in an interactive experience for both the contractor and the homeowner. All you have to worry about is how to incorporate this important option into your sales process. Take a page out of the auto industry’s playbook and use the techniques they’ve used for decades to offer financing consistently in EVERY sales presentation. 

Learn the 3 sales techniques from the auto industry’s playbook for offering financing: 

Play #1: They promote financing.

Sometimes it seems like the only commercials on TV are car commercials, and almost all of them come with a financing promotion promising crazy low interest rates and specific monthly payments to lure you into the lot. Dealerships aren’t ashamed to offer financing, and you shouldn’t be ashamed or keep it a secret either. 

While you shouldn’t go crazy and promise a certain rate, you should absolutely promote that you have financing available at competitive rates.Once you learn more about the homeowner’s project, you can work with them to find the best financing options that are available to meet the project goals and their budget. Knowing that homeowners have lots of options going in gives a peace of mind that they can make their dream project happen.

Pro Tip: Many financing providers also have payment estimators and pre-qualification tools that can help you see what the homeowner qualifies for and what their approximate monthly payment and interest rate might be. Introducing this tool early in the process will help both you and the homeowner understand the project and approximate monthly payment even better. What’s even better is this type of pre-qualification pull doesn’t impact the homeowner’s credit. 

Play #2: They make sure you're in love with the product first. 

Financing always comes into play once you've been able to fall in love with a car, typically after a successful test drive where you’re starting to see yourself driving it. Once you’re in the zone and loving the car, the sales people sweep in with the “let’s talk financing” transition.

While you can't have clients test drive a new kitchen or roof, you can dazzle them with a design presentation that helps them visualize their home with your suggested design enhancements. From roof shingle colors to new exterior paint options to a brand new kitchen, utilizing design and visualization tools is the most powerful way to engage them in the sales process and get them excited about the project. Once they see their house transform using your designs they’re going to be more eager and open to discussing financing.

Play #3: They talk about pricing last.

Have you ever walked into a car dealership, pointed out a car you like, and the car salesperson says, “Great, that’s $30,000! Want to take it for a test drive?” Never!

Auto salespeople know that talking numbers right out of the gate is a surefire way to trigger cold feet and have the buyer walk right off the lot. Instead they work to build trust and rapport before you talk numbers, asking key questions to find out more about what you need, actively listening, and making a connection to warm you up to the numbers talk. 

When you’re in the driver’s seat of a sales call, it’s important to follow this play. Actively listen and build trust through your expertise to get an understanding of the job scope. Read the conversation and, if having an in-person meeting or a video call, pay attention to their body language. Use the knowledge you gain throughout the sales process to really understand the homeowner's desires and job scope before providing a price. If you’re able to achieve this you’ll find the sweet spot of when the homeowner is more relaxed, trusting, and likely to respond more positively to money talks.

Want to learn more about financing and digital sales tools? Schedule a free session with one of our consultants to explore how One Click Contractor can work with your business.