The real cost of not offering financing for your HVAC customers is that you’re missing out on big opportunities that can be beneficial to your bottom line.
By not offering financing you:
1. Lose out on sales – not providing financing prevents you from making your solutions available to a larger customer base.
You lose out on your ability to do business with customers who may not have the cash currently available when their comfort challenge arises, or who prefer to use financing for their larger purchases.
Providing the option to finance gives your customers a way to say yes to that job.
2. Lose out on higher tickets – a 2019 Harvard University study [1] revealed that homeowners will spend almost twice as much on a home improvement job if their contractor offers financing.
According to the study, owners spend an average of $3,300 on home repairs/improvements when paying with savings or credit cards. That average spending went up to $6,500 when customers used contractor-arranged financing.
As the study makes clear, cash buyers limit their spending on a job because they worry about spending so much of their savings all at once. In the process, they may sacrifice what they really want because they haven’t been offered a way to make a bigger investment affordable.
By contrast, when customers can pay for a job over a longer stretch of time, they can afford to go for a higher-ticket job right away.
Providing financing lets you open doors to products that would be impossible for a non-cash buyer to afford.
So, instead of asking a customer to pay in excess of $10,000 upfront for a higher-efficiency unit install job, you can offer them a 2.99%, 60-month financing plan with monthly payments of $170.
3. Fail to provide the best customer experience – consumers today are used to receiving financing offers from every brick-and-mortar and online business where they shop.
Yet a recent study by Mintel [2] highlights that 62% of consumers prefer a fixed-monthly plan with clear payment terms over opening up a new credit line.
The takeaway: When you don’t provide your customers with the financing they want, you lose your edge over the competition. And you may also damage your relationship with customers who liked your proposal, and were expecting you to provide them with an affordable financing option.
Finding the best financing tool to offer financing for your business
Offering financing for your customers gives you the opportunity to grow your business in big ways.
With Credit for Comfort’s Easylink, your sales team can send a financing offer directly to customers’ cell phones quickly and easily.
As soon as customers’ receive this link, they can select the financing option they like best, from pre-selected choices you’ve provided, apply for that option directly from their phone or other mobile devices, and get an approval response in a matter of seconds, without having to share their sensitive information with your salesperson.
You can choose to offer your customers 0% down with deferred interest plans, or fixed low-APR options, from Credit for Comfort’s financing partners.
[1] “Improving America’s Housing 2019,” Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/research-areas/reports/improving-americas-housing-2019
[2] “76% Of Consumers Are More Likely to Make a Purchase If a Simple and Seamless Payment Plan is Offered.” Citizens Financial Group, Inc. https://investor.citizensbank.com/about-us/newsroom/latest-news/2018/2018-11-08-123003472.aspx
