Increase Leads – Payment Option Benefits Series

Welcome back to our payment option benefits series. Last time, we talked about how joining a loan program with Regions | EnerBank USA can help your home improvement business improve cash flow. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how offering financing can help you increase your leads.

How Can Contractor Financing Increase My Leads?

You’re likely offering the same products and services as a dozen other home improvement businesses within a few miles’ radius of yourself. This means it’s important to find ways to help your business not only stand out but provide a superior customer experience when compared to the competition. Offering payment options can help you meet both objectives.

First, when you offer customers financing as a part of your sales process, you become a one-stop shop for home improvement needs. Research shows that 55% of all home improvement jobs are financed in some way* — meaning your customers are getting financing, even if it’s not being offered through you. By mentioning the availability of payment options in your marketing materials, customers know they won’t have to look elsewhere when it comes to paying for their project, making it more likely you’ll get the job.

Second, customers want ease and convenience when it comes to their home renovation projects. By ensuring every part of the customer experience is as smooth as possible, including offering financing, homeowners will have a better time working with you. Not only can this help you stand out from the competition, but it can also generate leads to repeat business or referrals to friends and family.

How Does This Benefit My Business?

Obviously, more leads mean more business and higher income, which is always great. But just how much can a loan program benefit you when it comes to your leads? Our research shows that by advertising a choice of payment options in your marketing materials and on your website, you can see a 50% increase in leads — plus a better conversion rate⁺.

One great example of this is PreQualify, a resource that lets your customers see how much of a loan they may qualify for before applying. This can be incorporated into your sales process while you’re in the customer’s home, but you can also add a button to your website. By letting customers complete this simple step, they can find out their purchasing power before talking to you, making it less likely they’ll experience sticker shock once they hear the bid. Better-qualified contractor leads from the beginning of the sales process means you can spend more effort on projects and less time chasing down every call that comes in.

We hope you now have a better understanding of how we can help you increase your leads. Next time, we’ll discuss how offering payment options can help you boost your close rate.

Ready to start taking advantage of all the benefits that payment options have to offer? Fill out the form on the right side of the page, and we’ll be in touch soon.

*HIRI TFG Monthly report, released October 2023

+The Brickyard Study, commissioned by EnerBank USA 2018