Customer financing is a way to let customers pay for goods or services in installments instead of up front. When you offer financing to your customers, you make your vehicles more affordable and put their dream car within reach.
Consider that 2 out of 3 customers are probably borrowing some portion of their purchase. Asking the right question from the start of the process will lead to more sales, and at a higher profit per sale.
Many customers do not actually realize which cars they can afford. They may say that their budget is $10,000.00, but they are doing a payment calculation in their head.
To give you an example, a 2013 model can be finance for 3 years. If the car sold for $10,000.00, the payment would be $190.00 bi-weekly with $0 down. A 2016 model can be financed for 5 years. If the car sold for $15,000.00 the payment would be $180 bi-weekly with $0. The client would be paying less for the newer and more expensive vehicle. Unless you know how your customers are calculating their budget, you might miss the sale.
Salespeople should be trying to move the conversation from a round number to payments from the start. It is much more difficult to move to payments after talking solely about the cash price first. Starting the conversation with a smaller amount will open your customer’s mind to other possibilities.
Financing also offers a better opportunity for profit. You can ask the customer to pay $1,000.00 plus tax for a warranty right away or ask $13 per payment over a 3 year term. Which scenario is more likely to lead to a sale? This also applies to after-market products like winter tires, rust proofing, rims, and all kind of products.
Sit down with your customer and begin your conversation with a simple question, “What is your monthly budget?” You can better asses what the expectations your customer has in regard to what they can afford.
Auto financing is the easiest way to increase sales and profits. There is a direct relationship. A higher ratio of finance contracts per total sales will lead to more cars sold, and higher average profit.
Risman, M (2023, November 24). Why to finance vehicles instead of selling for cash? Part 3. Ontario Underwriters Newsletters. https://on-u.org/newsletters/