Episode 91 PART 1 - How to Sell Financing for High Ticket In-Home Sales

Foreign. Today we're here to talk about how to sell financing and really how to sell financing for high ticket construction trade items, roofing, siding, windows, a variety of different things. And while I have some experience in that, I wanted an absolute expert to talk about this today so that we could share it with our contractors and hopefully give them an advantage out in the field. And I have brought in the finesse of finance. The guru himself, Mike o' Connell from Artis VP of Partnerships. Mike, welcome aboard man.

Thank you very much. That was too much, fair guy.

No, you are man. You're too much for sure. It's like I heard your presentation at a top rep event and I've heard literally hundreds of how to sell financing, either live presentations, webinars, somebody coming in and talking to our company and I haven't met anybody that did it better, was able to explain it, do it clearly and I want to hopefully replicate some of that today for our audience. I thought it was something that needed to be out there a little bit broader that than just a, a one off event. So it's good to have.

Thank you so, so much. I enjoyed that experience so much and you know that that was my, my people, my audience and my tribe. I, I love in home sales reps. Being a former in home sales rep before, I know the, the power of the tool and how I use it in the home and, and why it won business for me and I love sharing that with others. And hey, if I can, if I can help everyone win more, that's what we're all here for.

Amen, brother. That's, that's what we do. We coach contractors to win here at Contractor Coach Pro and we want to do some more of that. Give us a little background. Like you just kind of alluded to the fact that you sold in home but now you're in this whole finance world. Can you kind of bring us up to speed how we got to there?

Yeah. You know Jim, I had a unique experience in my life where I ran a home improvement business and I reached that point in the business where I realized that I love the front part of the business. I love the marketing, I love the sales. I just was not really good at the operations and the day to day and it was a very meaningful experience for me because it allowed me to navigate my life back into where I find the most joy. And I know that may be an overused term these days, but gosh, it was so freeing to when I sold my business, say I want to focus on marketing and sales and I actually sold a business and then went into a business as a sales rep and same type of income, believe it or not, half the stress and a lot more happiness.

It's funny that you say that. It's actually, you know, whenever I go and do presentations for salespeople, I want to let them know they have the best position in the whole entire industry. Their income is unlimited. If they put in the right amount of effort and they don't have all that risk, the whole pressure, responsibility, all that stuff that comes along with owning and they sure don't have to manage, which that's one of the toughest things to do as well. So it feels like you kind of follow that path.

You know, I, I think people fall into certain skill sets and, and I love owners for what they do. They're very good at it. And I did not have that skill set. I liked the marketing and sales and then there's ops people who are able to just go and punch those jobs and grind it out and they're very left brained. I'm more of a right brain free thinker and for me sales and marketing is the best spot.

So you went into in home sales, how'd you do?

Did very well. So I was in the H Vac industry and financing in H Vac is just baked into the cake. Those of you who are in the H Vac industry, maybe Windows and Bass know how meaningful the tool and how much it's just a core to how you do business and how you sell in the home. I've seen some verticals where it hasn't been adopted, such as roofing and some exterior products where it's, it's, it's that learned experience. And I'm seeing contractors that get it and are gravitating towards those, those tools like finance are able to pick up market share because it's the same customer base that we're calling on that same customer that needed their H Vac system replaced by me, needs the roof replaced by you and the same affordability needs are there. So I like bringing this tool to newer markets like home improvement. But to answer your question, it was H Vac and I closed on a payment every single time. We had multiple lead sources. Two of them were big box stores. Every time I saw a big box lead, I knew it was a finance close. I didn't even assume cash. It was just great. Do you have that card already available for me to go ahead or do we need to start the application? It was very assumptive, but it played true. So that's what I was doing. And I did very well at it. So much so that one of the lenders who I was sending business to had the opportunity for a regional sales position in the area I lived in. And I was able to slide right into that opportunity. And I haven't left home improvement lending since.

So. So how long have you been doing this?

I've been doing this since 2017. Oh, wow.

Okay, so it's been a little while now it's four or five years.

Yes, sir.

And so you took all of those skills that you gained as a salesperson in positioning finance and took it to the other side for the lender themselves and teaching other people how to do it. What's that roadmap look like? Like you've been there for four years. I know you just recently made a change. And so tell us about how that went.

Yeah, well, I'll share it like a little bit. Day in the life of what an account executive or someone in my role looks like. Is that what you're asking for, Jim?

Yeah, like I don't know what a guy that works for a lender does. Like a bunch of people and say, hey, I need find. Right?

Have you, have you seen the Wolf of Wall street, right, where you just.

Get a boiler room? That's the way it works.

No, not at all. Not at all. Look, it's, it's the best kept secret. Being an outside rep for a home improvement lender means that I go into the markets in the, in the states where I work and I find contractors. You know, we go into your business and, and we have, I like to say I kind of have the three same conversations over and over again. The first one I need to have is I need to be able to talk about why my lending solution is the best in class. Maybe moving business from another lender to me. Or if you're not already selling with affordabilities, then let's talk about why you need to. Why you need to bring that F word into your business. And once we have the buy in, then you really talk to the owner. The owner drives what tools are in front of the sales reps. So someone like me needs to get the owner to sign up for our program, pick the products that are going to be offered to the sales reps and have that conversation and then the fun starts. That third conversation is where I like to live, Jim. That's getting to your sales meeting that Monday morning. Whenever you have your meeting and that one person pops in with coffee and donuts. I Love that space. Let's talk about guys. Let's get the app on your phone. Let's talk about sales, you know, let's come back a month from now, talk about the sales we closed in the interim. I just love it. That's my jealous.

Yeah. I'm actually going to do a private sales training this Friday and Saturday. And the reason I'm doing it Friday and Saturday is only two days I could actually do it. Like my schedule runs pretty busy. He was cool with doing it on a Saturday. So that's what we're going to do. And it is some of the most enjoyable time I spend because I get to spend it with the guys that I know are doing what I did for years and years and years. And hopefully I'm going to share at least three things with them that's going to transform. I hope their income. And that's fun. It's enjoyable. It sounds like you enjoy it quite a bit too.

It is. You know, Jim, we have long term relationships with the contractors that are in our book. And so when you meet those sales team, my contact list is full on my phone of sales reps and they become friends. I like them to call me with, hey, you know, I had a deal that went sideways and to be there to help. That's great. Technology is really picking up those calls for me as it's gotten better and better. So now the calls I'm getting is, hey, you know what? That thing that we talked about in our last sales meeting, I actually did it and I won and I not only sold the job, but I was able to maybe expand the scope of work or move into a higher end product selection. Like, those are the calls I love getting. And then coming back into the next sales training and bringing that person up on front with me and sharing that with the rest of the team, that's what it's all about.