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A Closer Look Putting Last Things First When DealerBahn is involved from the start of the sales process, deal closings take a giant leap. BY JOANNE COSTIN Thomas Ball (left) founder of DealerBahn, with Koy Kelley, co- general manager of Witch Equipment Company, Fort Worth, Texas. With about 70-75 percent of all heavy equipment transactions needing financing, it's hard to argue with Thomas Ball's statement: "Selling equipment and financ- ing equipment are the same transaction." Ball is founder of DealerBahn, which offers a Web- based credit application management system and credit processing services for dealers. Since the company's inception in 2009, he's been on a mission to change the way dealers think about the selling process; to establish and maintain a repeatable sales process that emphasizes the customer's business and financial objectives as much as equipment specifications. To do this, Ball believes dealer sales teams need access to equipment finance professionals and software systems. "Dealers are best positioned to provide a total solution to their customers, but they have to commit to manag- ing all aspects of the sale, including making equipment finance a higher priority in the sales process," said Ball. "Look around. The market share leaders avidly support their sales teams with top-notch sales finance tools." When financing is left in the hands of the sales team, the first question asked is usually "Are you going to finance or pay cash?" Ball believes that this is the wrong approach because sales teams can waste a lot of time selling equipment to unqualified buyers. Instead, Ball suggests, "What is your objective and how can we create a solution to get you there?" It's a question that can only be answered by addressing the customer's equipment and financial needs at the same time. "In many sales transactions, the linchpin to making the sale is to quickly obtain financing," said Ball. DealerBahn levels the playing field and makes it affordable for every dealer to have access to state-of-the-art finance tools and professionals. "We have proven that dealers can increase their sales by employing solid sales processes, coupled 42 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | November 2012 with our sales finance resources," contended Ball. Ball believes closely aligned sales and finance teams make it easy for everyone to efficiently manage the work- flow. Working together, they can quickly identify the right equipment and financing solutions to induce the customer to buy. According to Ball, too many sales opportunities are lost when the customer's initial credit application is rejected. Frequently dealers fail to vigorously pursue fund- ing alternatives that could close the deal. Gary Bridwell, president and owner of Ditch Witch of Oklahoma, Tulsa and Arkansas has experienced the positive impact of DealerBahn. "They have been instrumental in helping us achieve record performance by helping us close the really tough deals, "said Bridwell. "What DealerBahn gives you is the opportunity to place loans in several different places. They've already built the relationships with lenders." Dealers with in-house professional financing support have a competitive advantage because they have a resource to monitor lender preferences. Lenders have different credit standards and funding capacities. Dealer finance professionals should know when, where and how to position deals with different lenders. "Keeping tabs on lender credit criteria, contract terms, rates and prices are part of the data and tools we provide," said Ball. Bridwell described the problems they experienced with financing before DealerBahn. "It was hard to build a consistent work flow," said Bridwell. "A lot of times the financial institution's appetite was not big enough for our kinds of loans. Salespeople were spending too much time on financing paperwork and customers weren't able to get the loans they needed." How DealerBahn Empowers the Dealer Sales Team Everything about DealerBahn empowers the dealer salesperson to more effectively qualify customers and