By Kirk Mann, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Transportation, Vendor Solutions – Mitsubishi HC Capital America – www.mhccna.com/en-us

We’ve heard, time and time again, about the importance of building relationships and establishing connections. Doing so helps you build trust with stakeholders, retain and grow business with existing clients, and develop referral business. 

It sounds simple enough. Yet understanding how relationships and connections work, at every level, can change your core business approach – and in the process, drive your business to long-term, sustained success.

In it for the long run

Many of us associate relationships and connections with identifying and developing new customers. While important, effective relationship-building must take place with several types of stakeholders: customers, prospective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors, – and financing partners. 

When it comes to financing, it’s particularly easy – and common – to grab the best-priced deal and sometimes that makes sense. You need money to buy inventory or help a customer. But if you are in business, you know things like recessions come along. Pandemics happen. Markets change. The shift to electrification creeps up on you. You start to understand the value of longer-term relationships.

You also know that if you value a customer’s business, you need to engender their loyalty by meeting their needs – not just today or this month, but for the long run. To develop that type of loyalty, you must build strong relationships that are based on a good understanding of their business model.

Finance partner or lender?

Likewise, dealers need to build strong relationships with finance partners. A partner is different than a lender. A financing partner makes it a priority to learn about your business and your customers’ businesses before suggesting a financing method or program. They’ll learn your goals and your challenges. A commercial-only lender will understand the details of your inventory, your operations and your customer base. 

Working with that knowledge, a partner will be creative in their approach to find the best options for you, rather than offer commodity solutions. A true partner is in it for the long run, looking to grow together with you, not at your expense.

These types of solid, long-term relationships are everything in this industry. They can bear the weight of the inevitable ups and downs your business will experience. As tempting as it is to do business on a transactional basis – looking to get the most out of every individual deal – focusing on the long run is what produces real growth for a dealer business.

Connections

Connections generally refer to more casual associations than relationships, but are every bit as important for a dealer, as they represent the opportunity to “value up.” You can offer resources, insight and knowledge to your customers and other stakeholders when and where they need it. The broader and deeper your connections, the more valuable you become. 

In financing, dealers benefit from working with a partner that has strong connections. In my company, the ability to lend into the entire supply chain – from inventory finance and vendor programs to equipment-as-a-service financing – is key, as we understand that a dealer in today’s market is going to need more than money to simply buy or sell a truck. In this complex economy, we know that we can’t be everything to everyone, but we can maintain a deep network of connections to meet every dealer’s needs.

Fleet electrification is one good example of the value of connections. Dealers need a wealth of information, knowledge and resources before they can move forward. So we’ve built connections with expert consultants and companies that can help a dealer with anything from development of charging and other infrastructure to staffing changes and training, operations, insurance, government regulations and credits, and more. 

The more things change… 

Years ago, in the days before internet, cell phones and texting, financing professionals managed everything. I myself delivered checks by hand, handled all recordkeeping and maintained paper trails of documentation. Moreover, I made the effort to spend time with every dealer principal with whom I worked. Over weeks, months and years, we would learn about each other’s businesses, families and challenges, and shoulder through the ups and downs of life and the economy. Through it all, I gained valuable insight and long-term working relationships – and learned how to serve my customers better in any given situation. 

Today, we may work with more technology and operate at a faster speed, but those basics haven’t changed. Perhaps it’s just taking time to send a few text messages, pick up the phone or arrange an on-site meeting.

Smart dealers know that finding and capitalizing on the best opportunities for growth is a continuous process. Forging long-term relationships with a finance partner dedicated to growing with you will lead to positive bottom-line outcomes and long-standing success over time.