Author: News@homevestfinance.com

The One Click Contractor platform provides contractors the ability seamlessly offer financing right in the estimating system. “Price Presentation and Project Summary” increases the number of financed jobs and increases your close rate. We do this by allowing contractors to concisely show options side-by-side and easily present financing options to the homeowner ON EVERY JOB THEY QUOTE. 

We’ve received a lot of feedback from our customers that they wanted a better way to show project details, pricing and financing options when presenting to the customer.

Well, you asked, and we delivered. Introducing Price Presentation.

Who doesn’t love payday? Efficient, digital customer payment keeps projects and your business on track. But if you’re still relying on paper checks over digital payment, you’re losing valuable time. We’ve teamed up with CardConnect to provide you these digital payment tips and learn why the most efficient, successful contracting businesses skip the paper and use digital credit card or ACH payments.

Selling has never been this easy. Imagine your entire sales process done remotely!

With the powerful One Click sales software platform, you have the ability to present design options, close the deal, and collect payment virtually from the comfort of your home office or ANY remote location. Does your customer need financing options? Not a problem!

Expectations around offering credit cards as a payment option

According to recent data, roughly 7 in 10 people in the U.S. have at least one credit card, 43% of U.S. consumers prefer to use credit cards over other payment options like checks or cash. Simply put, accepting credit cards as a payment method is expected by homeowners. Fortunately, there are several simple methods of accepting credit card payments no matter where you and your customers are. Here’s how to find the right fit for your business.

Benefits Of Accepting Credit Card Payments

As a business owner, your goals are simple. You want to close more jobs, make more money AND provide a high level of customer satisfaction. One way you can do this is by making it simple for customers to pay you. Accepting credit cards is an easy and fast way for customers to pay for a job. Offering credit cards can offer additional benefits to your company as well. Many card processors allow you to easily track your sales, financial data, and overall financial health of your business. It also easily plugs into your digital sales platform like One Click Contractor, which allows you to create a digital paper trail of receipts, as well as seeing payment status and customer information, all in one place.

How To Begin Accepting Credit Card Payments

We know it can be daunting to choose which option best fits your business because there are many methods of accepting credit card payments. You may want to choose one, two, or all of the following options:  1. Find a point-of-sale system A flexible point-of-sale solution helps you manage customers and accept multiple forms of payment, including credit cards. When you’re doing much of your business on the go, a virtual credit card terminal is another great option. To streamline your business operations and reduce costs, choose a platform that combines payment accounts, billing history, and more. The right system will also allow you to initiate transactions for all types of sales from one integrated system, whether purchases are made in-person, by phone, or online. Many systems tie job details and payment to a customer record and allow customers to log in or call to pay with an account on file. 2. Invest in mobile credit card processing Another option for taking payments on the go is mobile credit card processing, as swiping a credit card on a mobile device is becoming the norm for many customers. Their payment is confirmed on the spot, and an emailed receipt can be sent immediately.

Add to that the ability to access cash flow reporting, manage customer accounts, and send invoices from anywhere you have a signal, and you start to see the benefits of using a mobile payment app for your business. A mobile app works in combination with a mobile card reader, which allows you to run your business wherever you and your customers are. 💡Pro Tip: Look for providers that sync your mobile and in-person payments to reduce future accounting headaches. 3. Send click-to-pay emails As a contractor, each month might look different for your business, but your overall needs are the same. You want to receive payments in a timely manner while also providing convenient payment options to your customers. A click-to-pay email gives your customers the ability to pay their bill online and receive a receipt in seconds. When a customer clicks and makes an online payment, the bill is marked as paid in your system automatically and that paid status is indicated in One Click Contractor as well through the PaySimple integration. 4. Schedule recurring credit card payments Make it easy for customers to pay job installments with recurring credit card payment options. One of the most popular methods of accepting credit card payments is recurring billing. If you’re billing customers on an installment plan, the option for recurring payments is a game-changer. This set it and forget payment method will ensure you will get paid on time. By billing on a recurring basis, you can make your customers’ lives easier while ensuring a more predictable cash flow.

Although most homeowners are not excited to sit across the kitchen table from a home improvement salesperson, that is the way they’ve always done things. Any home improvement contractor who believes a homeowner DREAMS of sitting across from a sales person being sold a new roof, bathroom remodel or new windows is sorely mistaken. Even if your project is a necessity, spending money on big ticket home improvements projects by a stranger who just won’t leave their home without a signature is something of a nightmare for homeowners, but just the way we’ve always been taught to sell. Now, with new social distancing recommendations, if you do happen to make it to the kitchen table, one sneeze or cough and you’ve probably just cost yourself that job. 

A Digital Economy

Reality is that customers also buy many other big ticket items virtually as well. The automotive industry is a great example. With companies like Carvana, a customer buys a $20,000, $30,000, $40,000+ vehicle WITHOUT A TEST DRIVE. Still not a believer? Carvana’s annual revenue last year (2019) was $3.940B—a 101.48% YoY increase from 2018, so this is becoming a social norm. 

This shift is happening in other industries as well. Telehealth is one of the biggest growth areas for utilizing technology to do something that was traditionally an in-person only activity. And it is sure taking off! By 2025, it is projected to exceed $64.1 billion in the U.S. (Global Market Insights). So what about adoption rates of telemedicine? Do consumers really like this way of receiving medical care? Nearly 9 in 10 Americans over 40 would be comfortable using at least one type of telemedicine for themselves or a loved one – just as likely as those 18 to 39 years old (debunking the myth that older generations aren’t as comfortable with telemedicine technology (Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research).If a doctor can diagnose over the phone, you can diagnose a house. 

Several years ago, some of the largest home security companies in the country, including SimpliSafe, moved away from the in-home sales model and embraced virtual and phone sales completely. They’ve grown exponentially ever since they made that decision. SimpliSafe alone tripled in size in four years, reaching a net worth of over $1 billion in 2018. The company then expanded internationally, launching new products and establishing integration partnerships.

Consumers also enjoy virtual or digital buying in many other areas of their life. Customers order their groceries online and pick them up curbside or get them delivered to their home. People are now accustomed to reserving a table for a restaurant online with apps like OpenTable, or ordering a ride with Uber or Lyft to take you wherever you want to go.

MYTH BUSTED

HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTOR: RESULTS FROM EARLY ADOPTER – CONSUMER SURVEYS 

One Click Contractor performed a survey of hundreds of consumers at the end of a virtual sales presentation regarding this particular myth. The result? 96% of the customers actually preferred the virtual sales process OVER an in-home selling experience (even before the COVID-19 pandemic). 

In our opinion, it won’t be long before most homeowners will ONLY buy home improvement services virtually. There are many reasons for this, it simplifies their purchase path as well as makes it a quicker, and easier sale for you.

Homeowners today are very uneasy about having a stranger in their home. With the fears surrounding the current world-wide pandemic, homeowners won’t be welcoming contractors with open arms into their homes anytime soon (if ever). They do, however, understand it’s challenging for them to get that dream kitchen or windows replaced without setting foot in their home.

As contractors, we must adapt and embrace the new digital environment, in order for our businesses to grow and thrive. That involves learning tips and techniques to virtual selling.