Leasing advantages Vendor Leasing Programs
Sell more with leasing by using the Atticus Vendor Leasing Program!
WHY DO VENDORS USE OUR LEASE FINANCING OPTION?
To close more sales, shorten their sales cycle and add value for their clients!
Would you like to make it easier for your customers to buy from you? By partnering with Atticus Financial, you can add easy point-of-sale financing for your customers. With our vendor leasing program, you are paid in full upon your customer signing the lease and accepting the equipment.
Stay ahead of your competition by offering a finance option on every quote or proposal, thereby adding value to your quotes and helping customers buy from you. The customers who want leasing options but aren’t offered them by their salesperson may end up going to another supplier that does make it part of their sales offering. Nobody ever gets upset when offered financing that they don’t need – they just say “No thanks, I’m going to pay cash.” Wouldn’t it be nice to know that early on in the conversation?
WHY WOULD YOUR CUSTOMERS LEASE THEIR EQUIPMENT?
Cash flow! They keep their cash or bank lines for other purposes, not tied up in equipment.
A common misconception is that leasing is only for businesses on a tight budget. Leasing can be an attractive choice for businesses of all financial dispositions. We have many cash rich clients that prefer to lease their equipment, keeping their cash available to preserve working capital, pursue other revenue generating opportunities such as expansion and acquisition, and cover expenses such as payroll and marketing.
It’s easier to justify productivity gains or cost saving against a monthly payment.
Instead of trying to justify the price of equipment through features and benefits, try using a monthly payment to minimize the price shock and show your customer how they can get this equipment working for them right away without a large up-front cost where they have to wait for payback. Let’s say a new machine costs $50,000, but it saves $4,000/month in labour or sub-let expenses. The monthly payment on a lease to own would be about $1,000 per month, generating instant ROI of about $3,000 per month. Would you pay $1,000 per month to save $4,000? That seems like a much easier conversation to have with a potential client! The client doesn’t have to pre-pay for efficiency – the equipment can pay for itself through increased monthly savings or revenues.
With leasing, it’s easy and convenient for your clients to get the equipment they need.
Unlike a bank line or traditional bank loan, a lease is only secured against the asset – making the entire process quicker and easier than going through the ordeal of acquiring bank financing. Many customers appreciate the ability to get financing options from their equipment supplier (you), rather than having to explain to their banker why they want to get financing for an equipment purchase. As well, banks will have a “limit” on the amount they will fund for any particular client – smart companies know to spread their financing to other sources to preserve their financing lines at their main bank and to not have the bank control everything they want to do.
Leasing the machine can be a way to get the equipment now, rather than having to wait for the next capital budget cycle. Leasing may also qualify as an operating expense instead of a lump sum capital expense, which may provide them with tax benefits.
If you deal with larger companies, you’ll know the “it’s not in the budget” objection all too well. Those bigger companies have approval requirements and budget cycles that don’t always line up with your selling cycle. Give your customer another option by quoting a monthly payment. This way, the department head doesn’t have to approach the finance department to try and secure the funding for a capital expense, you are bringing them a solution as part of your proposal! Many larger companies gladly use third party financing when presented by the equipment supplier. Leasing allows your customer to get the equipment now, instead of waiting for a capital budget approval. Leasing can also provide tax advantages and quicker write-offs, easing the tax burden on the income statement and making it much easier to get internal approval.
The lease has an expiry date, which provides a built in refresh point for your next sale. This is especially important for technology that changes over time – your customers are never “stuck” with old technology, but just as importantly, you know when they are due for an upgrade. Your competitors do not.
Clients are often interested having the latest and most efficient version of the equipment they use. With leasing, they are able to avoid having obsolete equipment or technology, because they can just move up to the newest version once their lease expires. Since they already have a lease payment in the budget, it is much easier to justify getting new equipment, which also makes it a lot easier for you to get the next sale!
On the other hand, if they buy it outright, companies typically tend to make do with the equipment much longer, usually until there is a serious problem with it or they become very frustrated with the old technology. By offering them a lease with a built in refresh point, you are helping them keep competitive and using the most efficient version of your equipment, without negative feelings about it because they used the old equipment for too long. This applies equally well with IT technology as it does with other equipment that is always becoming more efficient and user-friendly over time.
HOW DOES LEASING HELP YOU CLOSE MORE SALES?
Leasing helps you close more sales by controlling the selling process from beginning to end, including dealing with the money part of the sales process. Some people are not comfortable talking about money or bringing up budget in the sales process, but it is vitally important to make sure you know how the customer plans to pay for their new equipment. Many equipment sales are lost when the sales rep does not offer financing and leaves it up to the customer to call around or make their own arrangements for financing. If the customer is turned down by their bank, chances are that customer will look to the equipment company that offered them financing in their proposal to try to obtain the equipment rather than coming back to you. Banks are very conservative and we have seen many examples where a bank declined a loan, but we approved a lease
CONTROL THE SALES PROCESS FROM BEGINNING TO END AND BRING UP FINANCING EARLY IN THE SELLING PROCESS.
A common mistake equipment sales reps make is to wait until the end of the sales process to bring up financing. Once a customer had decided not to purchase your equipment due to budget or cash flow reasons, it can be very difficult to get them back onside with your offer, even with a financing option. It becomes too little, too late. Waiting until the end of the sales process can also lead to wasting time on customers that won’t qualify for financing and don’t have the cash to pay for your equipment either.
On a final note about controlling the sales process, it can also be overwhelming to the customer if the equipment salesperson simply offers the names of a variety of leasing companies, putting the onus on the customer to do their own research and select the most appropriate option. As a best practice, we recommend that you choose one leasing company that you trust and can rely on to recommend to the customer.
HOW SHOULD YOU ADD LEASING TO YOUR SALES OFFERING?
Include a lease payment option on every quote or proposal, for example:
- “Leasing available from $950 per month with a 60 month lease. Ask about our other options.”
- “Lease to own this equipment for $950 per month on a 5 year term; ask us for more details.”
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