Recently, we got the chance to speak with Carita, the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Green Magic Landscapes. 

Green Magic, a Wisetack Gold-certified business, has gotten a significant boost in leads and jobs since they started offering financing through Wisetack, and we wanted to see how they made the magic happen (pun very intended).

Carita kindly showed us the company’s modus operandi when it comes to financing, and shared a few tactics that she thought could be useful to other businesses. 

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A little more about Green Magic Landscapes

Founded by dynamic husband-and-wife duo Carita and Larry Koen in 2016, Green Magic offers a comprehensive list of landscaping and lawn care services to the greater Mobile area to both residential and commercial customers.

Green Magic prides itself on providing exceptional service, as evidenced by the company’s near-perfect Google average rating and long award list. 

Moreover, Carita and Larry are major influencers in the landscaping industry. In fact, when we spoke to Carita, she had just gotten off the phone with Lawn and Landscape, for whom she is a regular contributor.

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A true marketer

As the COO of the company, one of Carita’s many responsibilities is to oversee all marketing activities, a challenge she more than welcomes. 

An MBA holder and self-proclaimed “true marketer,” she takes a hands-on approach and involves herself directly in even the most technical initiatives, such as SEO.

And as a true marketer — we’re removing the quotes this time — she heavily promotes financing in her marketing efforts. Why? Research shows that 62% of customers want financing, so mentioning it simply helps her get more leads and more jobs.

In the hopes of helping other businesses, Carita was kind enough to share with us some of the most effective tactics she uses to advertise her pay-over-time options.

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The “why”

Before talking about where to talk about financing, let’s talk about how to do it.

To a customer, the most valuable aspect of paying over time is that it enables them to get a service done immediately. Consequently, this benefit is the most important one to highlight when promoting financing.

Carita does it with a simple but powerful message: “Enjoy your landscaping now, pay over time.” — the exact phrasing she uses depends on where she’s advertising.

The beauty of this message is that it can be easily adapted to work for any home services or home improvement company that offers financing. 

(Pro tip: add a pinch of seasonality or specificity to the message. For instance, if you’re HVAC company, the obvious solution is to mention AC systems in the summer and furnaces when it gets colder.) 

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Promoting financing in all the right places

Quality and quantity matter equally when it comes to effectively promoting financing options, and Carita understands that. 

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“The more people see that we offer financing, the more they will be engaged to pursue it.”

— Carita Koen, Chief Marketing Officer, Green Magic Landscapes

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The quality part of this equation is your message, which we just discussed in the previous paragraph. 

The quantity part is just as important. What we mean by that is that you should try to mention financing in as many places as you can: on your website, in your email signature, even on your company vehicles. Not sure how to go about it? Here’s how Carita and Green Magic do it. 

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On their website

Carita recently worked with a web developer to redesign her website, and she made sure to have a dedicated financing tab, allowing any visitors to prequalify and understand their spending power.

To make it happen, she sent him a link to our marketing toolkit, which contains all the necessary code, text, and graphics needed to build a financing section. 

On their hold music

No muzak version of “The Girl from Ipanema” when you’re on hold with Green Magic. Instead, Carita recorded a helpful and friendly message about pay-over-time options that makes each customer go “aaah.”  Here's the exact message she uses:

Did you know that we offer flexible payment options? Don't let your dream project slip away! Prequalify today and contact us to learn more about financing your next project.

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“A lot of times, after people are holding, they’ll ask ‘Well, what is this consumer financing thing?’ And I’ll send them a link to prequalify.”

— Carita

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Similarly to this tactic, you could also mention financing on your business voicemail. Here’s a quick checklist on what an effective voicemail message entails: 

• Your business name 
• One thing that separates you from your competitors (e.g., reputation, pricing, turnaround times)
• Your hours
• A reminder to leave their information 
• Your financing options
• Your website — especially if they can book an appointment there

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In her email signature

Another way Carita gets more customers to prequalify is by including a prequalification link in her email signature. She sends a lot of emails to customers throughout the day so it is a perfect way to promote her financing options without being pushy.

Want to add a financing blurb to your email signature like Carita? Try one of the short and sweet options below:

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• “We offer financing. See how much you could qualify for.”
• “Financing available. See how much you could qualify for.”
• “Want financing? See how much you could qualify for.”

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On the company's vehicles

During peak season, Carita has about 10 people working at a time — which equates to a lot of Green Magic-branded vehicles zipping around Mobile, AL. 

And on each of those vehicles, from the trucks to the giant dump trailer, Carita promotes that she has financing options by using our decal stickers. She even added a QR code to her prequal link.

“It’s not uncommon for people to see our dump trailer or trucks riding around and scan the QR code to get prequalified."

— Carita

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In their newsletter

Green Magic sends a monthly newsletter to its customers — a textbook strategy we mention in this article about email marketing. In this newsletter, Carita always makes sure to have a quick mention of her financing options. 

Piggybacking on an existing marketing initiative is a great way to get more customers aware of your financing options without needing to spend any extra time or money.

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On quotes

One of the best parts about offering financing through Wisetack is that it works seamlessly with most field service apps, such as Jobber — which Carita and Green Magic happen to use. When she sends a customer an estimate, they automatically get a link to prequalify.

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To wrap things up

Thanks to her marketing savvy, Carita realizes that she needs to promote her pay-over-time options in as many places as possible. The idea is simple: The more people learn about those options, the more they’re likely to become a customer.

To be efficient, she mentions financing in channels she’s already using for her business (e.g., website, email signature, newsletter). To be effective, she uses a message she knows speaks to customers: “Why not enjoy your landscaping now and worry about payment later?”