A potential equipment buyer emails a seller for the 14th time in the last 2 months. They’ve shared that they have a new contract looming and are gearing up for big-time growth. But with each email or call, the customer seems more indecisive. They talk about labor shortages. They talk about rising interest rates. They talk about politics. They just seem to be talking—and not doing.
Getting deals like this over the edge are a challenge with the reasons behind them often a mystery. Well, let’s solve that, Sherlock.
In a recent survey of over 5000 equipment buyers, 82% revealed that the primary cause of inaction and delaying an equipment purchase was financial limitations.
It’s not your equipment. It’s not your service department. It’s not your sales approach or even the value of your proposal. It’s the inability to feel the purchase is affordable. What’s even more shocking is that most equipment sellers don’t uncover this. Deals just wither and die. Don’t do that.
Do these things instead:
- Ask then up front if a payment option will help make the purchase easier
- If a deal stalls, ask them if there is a certain monthly payment that would make the decision easier.
- Ask if a smaller payment for a few months while business ramps up that converts to a bigger payment later when revenues roll in would be easier
- If buying multiple pieces of equipment, ask if a phased approach with 100% financing could help.
- Ask if they have any lightly used or unused equipment, they could monetize to drive down purchase cost and payments.
Hope is not a strategy. Have the guts to dig in on the financial stuff and work with your finance program partner to overcome those challenges. Worst case: you stop talking about deals that aren’t going to happen anyway. Best case: do more deals.
At ACG, this is our pitch–low and inside and ready to put it in the bleachers. This is the kind of finance creativity that sets us apart—for your customer and your sales goals.
Let’s do this.
