When you buy a car, you expect to be presented with payment options. So why don’t we offer the same kind of opportunities to clients buying information technology?

I suspect part of the difficulty is that many of us sellers by nature shy away from financial jargon and complexity. But I’m glad to say that I believe we’ve found a simple way for all of us to ask our clients the question “How would you like to pay?” without tying ourselves in knots.

The Rapid Online Financing tool is “press-the-button” simple. In just a few minutes you can simply plug in the components of the solution—any combination of IBM and non-IBM hardware, software and services—produce a proposal, request a check of your client’s credit, and create a contract.

Better still, we’ve also just announced an app for it, so you can use your mobile device, while on the go, when you’re with your client, to create an affordable way to pay. The app has an easy-to-use interface to provide planning rates, and contracts worth up to $500K to authorized users within minutes (it’s currently available in the US, and it will be available globally next year).

For example, Gracious Home, a 300+-employee New York-based retailer for luxury home products, wanted to expand its IT infrastructure to support its growing in-store and online customer base. To keep pace with its clients’ wants and needs, Gracious Home needed to improve performance and increase efficiency.

IBM Business Partner VAI teamed with Gracious Home and leveraged IBM Global Financing options to present a proposal in a matter of minutes. This financing has made it possible for the IBM Business Partner to deploy a joint IBM/VAI analytics system for Gracious Home to better understand what products its customers are purchasing, spot trends more effectively and drive increased sales and profitability.

I’d love to hear from other IBM Business Partners who are using the Rapid Online Financing tool online or the mobile version. Please comment here and share your experiences. Thanks, and good selling!

Tom Higgins