Reducing Price Apprehension for Technology Projects

As a premier industrial manufacturer, Emerson Network Power (ENP) was frequently approached by data centers looking to implement critical infrastructure projects. Equipment issues are the source of the most significant data center outages, and with most outages resulting in more than $100,000 in losses—and 15 percent resulting in upwards of $1,000,000 in losses—reliable technology was a priority for ENP’s customers.^* Even so, when presented with the cost of completing these essential projects, their customers were hesitant to move forward. It was painful for them to think about how much they were going to have to spend. Which projects would they forgo in order to proceed?

^{*Uptime Institute, 2022 Outage Analysis Report}

– VP, Sales Operations, ENP

Initial conversations between ENP and First American focused on understanding the pain points that ENP and their customers faced. The goal was to make ENP’s pricing more palatable for customers, which in turn would make the sale easier for their sales team. To achieve this, First American developed a leasing program that gave customers the flexibility to choose whether their payment plan would be structured as an operating or capital expense. Operating leases are not commonly offered by traditional banks, so this was an attractive new option for customers with excess cash in their monthly operating budgets. 

With an experienced finance Program Manager from First American by their side every step of the way, ENP’s sales team felt confident sharing leasing and financing information with their customers. Whenever a customer wanted to learn more about their payment options, ENP simply brought their First American Program Manager into the conversation to structure a payment plan that aligned with the customer’s budgetary requirements.