High prices for quality products or services are a big reason businesses might lose out on potential sales. When customers feel a product or service isn’t affordable, they rule out that purchase, lose interest and momentum and could forego the purchase –– or seek a less expensive alternative.
Pricing barriers create significant obstacles to sales, but offering financing options can transform those obstacles into opportunities. Strategic consumer financing isn’t just a payment option; it accelerates sales for long-term growth. Partnering with a firm like United Consumer Financial Services, a proven consumer financing firm catering to businesses and their clients, empowers you to boost sales and turn lending into a growth engine.
Why Financing Matters
Many shoppers find big-ticket products and services out of reach. Most don’t want to put thousands of dollars in cash toward a purchase, nor do they want to charge it to a high-APR credit card and become burdened by astronomical interest fees and possible late fees. Consumer financing is the affordable, accessible solution shoppers want and need.
Buyers from every generation and socioeconomic demographic expect financing options, especially for high-value items or services. Regardless of your industry or the type of business you operate, your competition likely already offers Buy Now, Pay Later plans. Increasing sales, establishing long-term customer relationships, and outselling and outperforming competing businesses are hallmarks of companies that provide affordable, accessible consumer financing.
Consumer financing breaks down barriers to purchase, empowering businesses to capture more of the market. Instead of an overwhelming lump sum payment, installment loans allow for low monthly payments spread over time. When businesses and their sales teams highlight financing options early and often, shoppers see that they have affordable payment options within reach. That increased affordability gives shoppers confidence to proceed with their purchase, increasing their purchasing power and the likelihood they’ll say “yes” to their purchase.
The Sales Impact of Offering Financing
Providing consumer financing options to shoppers –– and educating them on those options –– is one of the most effective sales tools in your sales toolbox. Low monthly payment plans do what no other sales strategy can: they increase affordability, and the impact on sales volume and customer satisfaction is virtually unmatched.
Higher Conversion Rates
Offering financing helps close more deals, and it all starts at the first customer touchpoint. When shoppers are presented with low, affordable monthly payment options, they’re more apt to commit to their purchase and come to you for future needs. Presenting financing early and often highlights affordability and helps convert shoppers who might otherwise assume they can’t afford your products or services. Financing turns “I can’t afford it” into “Here’s how I can make the purchase today with a small monthly bump to my budget!”
Bigger Average Order Value (AOV)
Shoppers tend to spend more when financing is available. Instead of trying to manage a single lump-sum payment, financing breaks down those costs into affordable installments. Not only does financing make purchases more affordable, but it also increases your customers’ purchasing power. Shoppers have the flexibility to choose upgrades, add-ons, or premium product tiers for just a few dollars more per payment. This increased purchasing power increases average order values, boosting your revenue while facilitating positive customer experiences that boost customer loyalty. For example, an additional $500 add-on to a $3,000 purchase, spread over 36 monthly payments could be as low as $25 dollars more each month. *depending on APR.
Shorter Sales Cycles
Payment flexibility streamlines the sales process, reducing friction that can cause shoppers to second-guess their decisions or talk themselves out of their purchase. When you partner with a financing firm that offers a paperless application and a quick credit decision, you remove obstacles to purchase so you can more quickly close the sale. Accelerating buying timelines not only serves the customer, but it also allows you to sell more products, schedule more services, and start projects sooner. When you begin projects sooner, you finish them sooner, making room in your schedule for increased sales and service.
Increase Year-Round Business
Providing consumer financing options is a straightforward way for businesses to increase sales year-round, even in traditionally slower seasons. Take home improvement companies as an example. Each trade within this industry is affected by seasonal shifts in consumer spending habits, weather changes, and home improvement priorities.
When your business offers payment plans, you mitigate the burden of a high up-front payment. If a home improvement project costs thousands of dollars up front, but the monthly payment is just a few hundred dollars, closing the deal is much easier. Affordability makes services more accessible and attractive all year, helping you maintain sales even during seasonal slumps.
Choosing the Right Financing Partner
Your financing partner will significantly impact your sales and, ultimately, the trajectory of your growth. Choosing the right consumer financing firm to execute your program is critical.
United Consumer Financial Services, a Marmon Holdings company, a division of Berkshire Hathaway, has served clients and their customers for over 45 years. We offer the following to help you boost sales and turn lending into a growth engine for your business:
- Seamless integration into your sales process, so you can provide affordable financing without reinventing the wheel
- Simple, paperless application that can be completed from a phone, tablet or computer
- Prompt credit decisions that expedite the sales process and allow you to close the deal quickly
- Consistent repayment terms that set and maintain customer expectations throughout the life of the loan
- Fast compensation that pays your business in just one to two days after the sale/project is complete.
Financing through UCFS makes products more accessible and appealing, and because we handle payment collection, you can invest your time, energy, and other resources into growing your business. Becoming a merchant is simple. Contact us today to learn how UCFS’s affordable, accessible consumer financing can help you serve customers while increasing sales.