Getting a customer to say yes is not always just about the price.
Sometimes the customer wants the solution, agrees with the value, and is ready to move forward, but the timing of the expense or the size of the upfront investment creates an obstacle.
That is where payment options can become another tool in your sales toolbox.
QuoteWerks enables sales teams to present customers with different ways to purchase and pay for a solution. Depending on how your organization is configured, those options can include:
- Credit card payments, including the ability to apply fees or discounts where appropriate
- ACH/eCheck
- Check
- PayPal
- Wire transfer
- Custom payment methods
- Leasing and financing options
Instead of treating payment as something that gets figured out after the quote is accepted, QuoteWerks lets you incorporate these choices directly into the quoting process.
For many sales organizations, one of the most valuable options to add is leasing.
Why Offer Leasing on a Quote?
Consider a customer evaluating a $30,000 solution.
They may agree that the solution is worth $30,000 while still hesitating at spending the entire amount today. The issue is not necessarily the value of the solution. It may simply be how the purchase fits into their available budget or cash flow.
Without another option, the conversation can quickly turn toward discounting.
What if instead of lowering the price, you could also show the customer what that same solution looks like as a monthly payment?
That changes the conversation.
Rather than only asking the customer to make a decision based on a large upfront investment, leasing gives them another way to evaluate the purchase. They can compare purchasing the solution outright with spreading the cost over an agreed-upon term.
The important point is that leasing does not need to replace your normal purchase option. It can simply be another choice.
That choice can be especially useful for higher-value quotes, hardware purchases, technology projects, equipment, and bundled solutions where the total investment may otherwise delay a buying decision.
Why Payment Flexibility Matters in Today's Economy
Economic conditions can make payment flexibility even more important.
Businesses still need to replace equipment, invest in technology, improve operations, and pursue growth opportunities. At the same time, many businesses are being more deliberate about how they use available cash.
Recent NFIB Small Business Economic Trends data reflects that balancing act. Business expectations have improved, but inflation continues to be a significant concern and economic uncertainty remains elevated.
That does not necessarily mean a customer does not want to make the purchase.
It may simply mean they would rather avoid using a significant amount of cash today when another purchasing structure is available.
Leasing can give the customer the ability to move forward with a needed investment while spreading the cost over time and preserving cash for payroll, inventory, unexpected expenses, growth opportunities, or other business priorities.
Offering leasing also does not mean assuming that a customer cannot afford the purchase. A financially healthy company may have the cash available and still decide that preserving working capital is the better business decision.
For the salesperson, that is another reason not to interpret every hesitation as a request for a lower price. The customer may be comfortable with the value of the solution but uncomfortable with the timing of the cash outlay.
Offering a leasing option gives you another way to address that concern without immediately discounting the deal or reducing the scope of the solution.
Before You Discount, Find Out What the Real Objection Is
When a customer hesitates after seeing a quote, it is easy to assume the problem is price.
That can lead directly to discounting.
But there is an important difference between:
"I don't think this solution is worth $30,000."
and
"I don't want to spend $30,000 right now."
Those are two very different objections.
If the customer does not see enough value in the solution, leasing is not going to fix the problem. You may need to revisit the solution, scope, or value proposition.
But if the issue is budget timing, available capital, or the size of the upfront expense, reducing your price may be solving the wrong problem.
Leasing gives the salesperson another path before giving away margin.
Instead of asking, "How much do we need to discount this to get the deal done?" the conversation can become:
"Would structuring this as a monthly payment make the project easier to move forward with?"
That allows you to address the customer's actual concern while potentially preserving the original selling price.
Leasing Can Help Protect the Right Solution
Budget constraints can affect more than whether a deal closes. They can also change what the customer buys.
Imagine a quote that includes:
- Hardware
- Installation
- Professional services
- Accessories
- Additional users or locations
- Other components needed to properly implement the solution
The customer may want the complete $30,000 solution but only have $20,000 available in the current budget.
One response is to start removing pieces until the quote fits the budget.
Sometimes that is appropriate. Other times, you end up designing a weaker solution simply to hit an arbitrary upfront spending number.
If leasing makes the complete project financially workable, the conversation can stay focused on:
"What solution does the customer actually need?"
rather than:
"What can we remove to get below the budget?"
Leasing will not increase the size of every deal, but it can help prevent budget constraints from unnecessarily reducing the scope of a properly designed solution.
Don't Wait for the Price Objection
Leasing is often treated as a fallback.
A salesperson presents a quote. The customer objects to the upfront investment. Only then does someone mention that financing might be available.
There is another approach.
For appropriate opportunities, include leasing options when you initially present the quote.
The customer can see both the full purchase price and one or more monthly payment options from the beginning. You are not assuming they need financing. You are simply giving them another way to buy.
This can reduce unnecessary back-and-forth and make the purchasing decision easier for the customer.
It can also keep the sales conversation moving without immediately reducing price or scope.
Adding Leasing Options in QuoteWerks
QuoteWerks includes built-in leasing capabilities that allow you to calculate and present lease payments as part of the quote.
You can configure multiple leasing providers, rate cards, terms, purchase options, advance payments, and other leasing variables. Default leasing options can be established so that your sales team does not have to configure the same choices every time they create a quote.
At the same time, those defaults can be adjusted for an individual opportunity when the situation calls for something different.
For example, your organization might normally present 36-, 48-, and 60-month options. Instead of requiring the salesperson to calculate each payment manually or maintain a separate spreadsheet, QuoteWerks can use your configured lease rates to calculate the appropriate payment options.
The result is a more consistent process for the sales team and a clearer set of choices for the customer.
Don't Make Your Sales Reps Become Leasing Experts
Offering leasing should not mean every salesperson needs to understand leasing formulas or maintain their own spreadsheet of lease factors.
Your organization or leasing provider can establish the rate cards and leasing structures that should be used.
QuoteWerks then handles the calculations based on those configured rates.
That means the salesperson can focus on selling the solution rather than:
- Looking up lease factors
- Manually calculating monthly payments
- Maintaining separate spreadsheets
- Calling someone each time a customer asks about another term
- Recalculating payments whenever the quote changes
Your sales team's job should be to understand the customer's needs and present the right solution.
QuoteWerks can handle the approved leasing structures behind it.
Use Rate Cards from Your Leasing Provider
You are not limited to a specific leasing company in order to take advantage of leasing in QuoteWerks.
If you already work with a leasing or financing provider, you can create rate cards directly in QuoteWerks or import and export rate cards using QuoteWerks' rate card format.
This makes it easier to load rate information from a provider, share configured rate cards, or move rate card setups between QuoteWerks installations.
Organizations can maintain multiple rate cards and leasing scenarios based on the providers, terms, and structures they offer.
Once those rates are configured, QuoteWerks can use them to calculate the available leasing options for the quote.
This gives businesses the flexibility to continue working with their preferred financing providers while making leasing part of the normal QuoteWerks sales process.
From Lease Payment to Credit Approval with GreatAmerica
For organizations working with GreatAmerica Financial Services, QuoteWerks takes leasing a step further with a real-time integration.
Instead of maintaining rate information manually, QuoteWerks can retrieve current leasing information from GreatAmerica and use it to calculate lease payments based on the quote.
But the integration goes beyond rate calculation.
Sales reps can also use the GreatAmerica integration as part of the financing workflow, including submitting credit applications and checking the status of those applications from within QuoteWerks.
If the value of the quote changes significantly after a credit request has been submitted, the salesperson can also be prompted when another submission may be required.
This creates a more connected process:
Create the Quote → Present Leasing Options → Submit for Credit → Check Approval Status
Keeping more of that workflow inside QuoteWerks helps reduce duplicate data entry and gives the salesperson fewer systems to move between while trying to close the deal.
For organizations that regularly use GreatAmerica, this can turn leasing from an occasional manual process into a normal part of the sales workflow.
Let the Customer Compare Their Options
The real value comes from what the customer sees.
When using QuoteValet, purchase and leasing options can be presented as part of the customer's interactive quote experience.
For example, a customer may be able to review:
- The full purchase price
- A 36-month lease option
- A 48-month lease option
- A 60-month lease option
Instead of emailing the salesperson to ask, "What would this look like over 48 months?" or requesting another version of the proposal, the customer can compare the available options and decide which approach best fits their needs.
One customer may choose to purchase the solution outright.
Another may decide that a monthly lease payment makes more sense.
The goal is not to push every customer toward leasing.
The goal is to make it easier for the customer to find a way to say yes.
Payment Flexibility Goes Beyond Leasing
Leasing is just one part of the payment flexibility available in QuoteWerks.
Depending on your configuration, customers can also be offered payment options such as credit card, ACH/eCheck, check, PayPal, wire transfer, or custom payment methods.
Businesses can also configure rules around those payment choices, including charges, discounts, or transaction limits for particular payment methods.
For example, you may want to allow credit card payments on smaller transactions but use another payment method for larger purchases.
When applying surcharges or other payment-related fees, businesses should always verify applicable laws, card-network requirements, and other rules for their location and situation.
The larger idea is the same: instead of forcing every customer through one purchasing path, give them clearly defined ways to move forward.
Leasing Is Another Tool, Not the Entire Sales Strategy
Leasing will not make a bad deal good, and it should not be used to hide the actual cost of a solution.
It does something much simpler.
It gives the salesperson another option.
If the customer is comfortable paying the full amount today, great.
If the customer does not see enough value in the solution, address the value problem.
But if the customer wants the solution and the upfront investment is creating friction, leasing gives you somewhere else to take the conversation before reducing scope, postponing the project, or discounting the deal.
That is why leasing belongs in the sales toolbox alongside good discovery, accurate quoting, flexible payment methods, electronic acceptance, and a strong proposal.
The easier you make it for a qualified customer to buy in the way that works for them, the fewer unnecessary obstacles you put between the quote and the sale.
Frequently Asked Questions About Leasing in QuoteWerks
Can I use my existing leasing company with QuoteWerks?
Yes. QuoteWerks can use configured rate cards from leasing and financing providers, so you are not limited to using GreatAmerica. Rate cards can be created in QuoteWerks or imported and exported using QuoteWerks' rate card format.
GreatAmerica provides additional real-time integration capabilities.
Can I offer both leasing and purchasing on the same quote?
Yes. Leasing can be offered as an alternative to purchasing the solution outright.
When using QuoteValet, customers can review purchasing and leasing options as part of the quote experience and choose the approach that works best for them.
Can I offer multiple lease terms?
Yes. QuoteWerks can be configured with multiple leasing terms and structures.
For example, you may choose to present 36-, 48-, and 60-month options depending on the rate cards and leasing programs your organization offers.
Does QuoteWerks calculate the lease payments?
Yes. QuoteWerks can calculate lease payments using the rate cards configured in QuoteWerks.
Organizations using the GreatAmerica real-time integration can retrieve current leasing information directly from GreatAmerica.
Can QuoteWerks submit a leasing credit application?
When using the GreatAmerica integration, sales reps can submit credit applications and check their status as part of the QuoteWerks leasing workflow.
Get Started with Leasing in QuoteWerks
If you are already using QuoteWerks, take a look at how your payment and leasing options are currently configured.
You can establish default payment options, create, import, or export leasing rate cards, configure default lease terms, or connect QuoteWerks with GreatAmerica for real-time leasing and financing workflows.
And if your sales team regularly sells higher-value solutions but rarely presents financing until a customer asks for it, consider changing the process.
Don't just give customers a price. Give them options for how to say yes.