Get Pre-Approved So You Can Buy That Machine at IMTS | Ep. 54

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IMTS is about a week and a half out. Most people heading to Chicago are showing up with a shopping list, and the ones who aren’t will still find something on the floor that makes them start one. Either way, there’s a question worth answering before you get there. What can you actually pay for?

We’ve been trained to do this everywhere else in our lives. You don’t tour houses without a pre-approval. A lot of us call our banker before we buy a car. Then we walk into a hall full of quarter million dollar machines and figure out the money on the drive home.

Ty has been my equipment finance guy for about eight years, and he’s the first call I make on any capital expansion. In this one, we walk through what the process actually looks like. The 15 minute screen. The application only path up to a million dollars. What comparable credit history really means. How soft costs, deposits, and long lead times get handled. And what a lender asks of you after the deal closes, which in his case is close to nothing.

We also get into the part that matters more than the rate. A good finance partner tells you when you shouldn’t buy the machine, or when someone else’s captive group has a better number than his does. Ty does both, and that’s why he sits on my trusted advisor list.

What’s Covered in this Episode

• (0:00) Don’t underestimate your ability to negotiate when you already know how the machine gets paid for
• (3:00) Most people walk the IMTS floor with a shopping list—but could they buy that list?
• (4:20) What a pre-screen covers (and how a bank with no brick and mortar prices sharper)
• (6:29) You get pre-approved for a half million dollar house. Why not for a half million dollar machine?
• (8:03) Verdant Commercial Capital tailors equipment financing to your business, goals, and cash flow
• (8:34) Dealer and OEM finance options vs your own approval gives you something to compare against
• (12:11) The affordability gut check: do you need another spindle?
• (16:40) The application process: A one page app and a one to two hour turnaround
• (20:21) The Job Shops Workshop and networking reception is Tuesday, September 15th during IMTS week
• (21:59) What written assurance will you get back during the application process?
• (25:02) Don’t underestimate the ability to negotiate when you know how you’re paying
• (26:19) What gets required after the deal closes, and why most customers never talk finance again
• (29:37) Diversified lending power: Why Ty pushes it even when it costs him the deal
• (33:32) Soft costs financed at 10 to 20% above equipment cost: tooling, rigging, shipping, software, groundwork
• (36:41) Interim Funding Agreements bridge 8 to 12 month lead times so your cash isn’t parked for a year
• (38:07) MakingChips, DN Solutions, and Kennametal are giving away a fully tooled SVM4100
• (38:53)
• (40:08) IMTS main stage (Monday at 2:30 with CLA) + a happy hour in the MakingChips studio
• (41:21) What should you do right now to get pre-approved?
• (45:12) The bass boat problem: machines advertised as a monthly payment instead of a total cost

Resources Mentioned

• Equipment financing built around your business, your goals, and your cash flow with Verdant Commercial Capital
• Get in the room at the Job Shops Workshop and networking reception during IMTS week, Tuesday, September 15th
• Enter to win a fully tooled SVM4100 from MakingChips, DN Solutions, and Kennametal at makingchips.com/giveaway
• CLA joining Mike and Ty on the IMTS main stage Monday at 2:30

Connect with Ty Willis

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Verdant Commercial Capital