What You Need to Know to Get Started

People don’t stop wanting to upgrade their home or needing to make repairs when the economy becomes unstable. They simply look for new ways to cover their expenses that don’t drain large chunks of their savings at a time. Financing options can help budget-conscious customers say “yes” to the projects they want now, rather than waiting for a better time to buy.

If you aren’t already offering your customers a monthly payment option, don’t worry! Here you’ll find answers to your financing-related questions, steps to get started and tips to help you close more sales with financing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Does Offering a Payment Plan Benefit Me?

More Sales – Customers are more confident in their decision to move forward with their project when the project cost can be spread out over a period of time.
Larger Projects – Premium options can seem costly when they are paid for all at once. Breaking the cost up may allow your customer to get the options they really want.
Improved Cash Flow – You get paid for the project with money the finance company provides and the customer pays the finance company back over time.
Competitive Advantage – Offer this customer benefit to stand out among your competitors.

How Much Does It Cost Me?

Financing costs vary depending on the company you partner with. Many of your costs will be optional add-ons, such as a choice to reduce your customer’s interest rate or add a special promotion. These are additional tools that can help you close sales with budget-conscious customers.

Will Offering Financing Create a Lot of Extra Work for Me?

There are more and less hands-on financing options available. Foundation Finance’s process is quick and easy.

Send your customers a link to prequalify for financing (very quick) or fill out your customer’s financing application with them (takes a few minutes).
Once the application is approved, you will need to generate and send the financing docs to your customer to sign (a few minutes).
When you finish work on your customer’s home, let us know with the Completion Certificate (very fast) and we send you your payment via ACH.

How Do I Choose Which Finance Company to Work With?

When you first start offering a monthly payment option, consider choosing a financing partner who works with a wide range of customers. Then, as you become more familiar with the process, you can add additional partners with more specialized approval criteria. Some questions you can ask to ensure a partner is a good fit for your needs are…

Do they cover home improvement projects?
What sort of credit history does a customer need to have?
What is the minimum FICO they consider?
What term lengths are offered?
What project amounts are covered?
Are special promotions available?
What sort of support do they offer to new partners?
Do they offer training?
Are there any free resources to help promote financing options?

Getting Started

Once you know which financing company you want to partner with, you simply fill out their dealer application form. Companies may ask for…

Company name.
Company’s owners.
Contact information.
States you do business in.
What products/services you provide.
Contractor license number.

Once approved, take advantage of any training offered. This will help you understand what you can offer your customers and get up and running faster. If you partner with Foundation Finance, be sure to attend one of our live webinars so that you can ask any questions you have. Then, just start asking your customers “would you like to break that into monthly payments?” or use a payment estimator to show your customers how affordable their payments could be.

Tips to Sell More with Financing

Tip 1: Introduce Financing Early.

Online: Just knowing that financing is available can sway potential customers to reach out and request a project estimate, so make your financing options easy to find on your website, social channels and marketing efforts.

In Person: Make offering financing a normal step during cost-related discussion. Some ways you can incorporate financing include...

Ask whether they would prefer to pay with cash, credit or with a “monthly payment plan” during your initial meeting.
Offer to prequalify them for financing when discussing the scope of the project.
Use the payment estimator to show them how affordable their project could be alongside the project estimate.

Tip 2: Keep It Simple.

The Application: Simple means different things to different people. If your customer has trouble with technology, helping them with their financing application can be a big help. Other people would rather just receive a link and apply on their own time.

The Terminology: Not everyone is comfortable with financing terms. Offer a “monthly payment” rather than “financing.” If you’re offering a promotion, explain what it means to them, rather than just the name of the promo. If your customer doesn’t understand something, help them out!

Tip 3: Give Your Customer Options.

Find the right balance between affordability and quality with financing. Use the payment estimator to show the monthly payment difference between different project options. The price difference is often less than they may think when spread out over time.

Tip 4: Follow Up on the Application.

Sometimes your customer needs to add additional information to their application or something is misspelled. This can delay their approval and, as a result, delay your sale. Keep an eye out for changes in your customer’s application status or notifications that more info is needed.

Financing is a great tool that can help you close more sales and increase your project sizes. Use it well to get great results! Interested in other ways Foundation Finance can help you close your next sale?

Contact us for more info: 1-855-241-0024 or [email protected].

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