RIP: Death of ‘shotgun approach’ in dealer finance ops

Dealers now prefer to send certain transactions to a single lender, signaling a shift in the equipment finance industry. 

In the past, equipment dealers often sent deals to multiple lenders to see which can provide the lowest monthly payment, most flexible terms or another metric that’s most important to a customer.  

Now, dealers are beginning to steer clear of this “shotgun approach” to financing, John Boy, finance and sales administration manager at Pittsburgh-based Anderson Equipment, said May 19 during a panel discussion at Equipment Finance Connect 2026 in Houston.  

“We have so many dealers in our footprint that we are highly competitive on every single deal every time we touch a customer,” he said. “So, we can’t sit around and wait and send it out to 20 different lenders to see what the best option is.  

“We have to send it to one lender if that lender is going to approve it and give us a quick turnaround.” 

For example, Anderson Equipment is seeking a lender that specializes in older assets, ranging from 10 to 15 years old, and primarily serves the Northeast, Boy said.  

Previously, “We could shop [a deal] around and talk to 10, 15 finance companies and figure out which one’s going to be the best match or have the most competitive rate to put in front of the customer,” he said.  

“Now, with the speed of transactions, customers are using AI to help make their finance decisions. It needs to be almost immediate approval.” 

Lenders on board 

Lenders have a similar view of the shotgun approach, Ritzon Fernandez, senior vice president of sales at Equify Financial, said during the discussion.  

Not only does this strategy hamper approvals and slow down funding, it also hurts the customer experience, he said. 

“No dealer wants to put their customer through three different versions of the same questions over and over because eventually it becomes a reflection of the dealership as much as it does of the three different finance companies,” he said.  

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