Dealer spotlight is a monthly blog series showcasing some of LeaseQ’s best vendor partners. These equipment sales representatives are among the top in the industry, and LeaseQ is pleased to share their stories.
Tell us about yourself and IP Truck.
I started Industrial Power Truck & Equipment (IP Truck) in June 2005, having never been in sales or finance before. Over the past 12 years, I have watched IP Truck grow tremendously on the finance side, from almost no finance and insurance (F&I) income at the start, to F&I being a large portion of income for our sales department along with truck sales. When I started, I had no idea how finance worked, and have since learned a lot from grit, trial and error.
Why did you partner with LeaseQ, and how does this partnership benefit your customers?
Before LeaseQ, we had a more difficult time getting hard-to-finance customers in a truck. LeaseQ has helped us with those more difficult finance deals, so nearly every customer who walks through the door gets the financing – and the truck – they need.
We partnered with LeaseQ because we couldn’t finance our subprime customers with our current lenders. The LeaseQ marketplace has a large network of lenders that finance every credit profile and size of business, so we decided to give them a try.
The partnership benefits us because those hard deals that we couldn’t get done before we are now able to.
What do you like most about working with LeaseQ?
The best thing about LeaseQ is that our sales reps, Anthony and Brandon, are aggressive in a good way. They are in constant contact with me, following up to make sure we’ve received the right documents and offering to reach out to our customers in a way that’s professional, and consistent with our brand.
Why is automation (instant quotes, same day financing) important in equipment financing?
To our dealership, same day financing is important, because it gets the customer in a truck faster and closes the deal. It is also beneficial because we are a floor plan company and need to accurately forecast our inventory. When we are funded in a timely manner, we can pay off our floor plan faster, which helps builds our portfolio for future business.
What challenges are currently facing your industry?
With the popularity of online shopping, we are seeing more individuals who want to purchase a truck, but have never financed anything on the commercial side. When this happens, we have a more difficult time getting the individuals financed. This is where LeaseQ has stepped in to help us out.