Helping a Company With Strong Roots Branch Out

With over 40 years’ experience providing quality home renovations across Indiana, White Oak Construction is a lot like the tree that gives the business its name: strong, trustworthy, and rooted in the community. So how do you take an established business like White Oak and help it grow? That’s where the Wells Fargo Home Projects® program comes in.

We talked to Cameron Gibbel, White Oak Construction’s finance manager, to find out how offering customer financing from Wells Fargo has changed his business. Top of mind for Cameron was the ability of the White Oak sales team to close more – and bigger – sales thanks to Wells Fargo’s strong credit limits. “We’ve been using Wells Fargo as the first look for about four years,” he said. “In that time, we’ve seen an increase in our volume, given that Wells Fargo can approve up to $35,000. It gives our sales reps confidence that they can sell those higher ticket deals.” In fact, across the home improvement industry, customers who use the Wells Fargo Home Projects^® program are approved for an average of $2,899 over their purchase price.¹ That can make home improvement customers more willing to consider a bigger project or an upgrade to their existing project.

More important to Cameron and his team, though, is how easy the financing program is to use on a day-to-day basis. After all, they’d rather focus on creating their customers’ dream homes, not filling out paperwork. And with Wells Fargo’s seamless end-to-end paperless application and transaction processes, offering credit to their customers has never been easier. “Our sales reps don’t have to go back out to get loan documents signed since we’re completely electronic, so it’s a one-and-done scenario,” Cameron said. “I feel like that’s really helped our sales reps sell our financing program with Wells Fargo. It’s just really effortless, and the portal is very easy to use, which makes it a big help on our end. Completing a deal from start to finish is just easy.”

Another benefit of the Wells Fargo Home Projects^® program for the White Oak Construction team is speed, whether that’s up front during the customer application process or getting funded once the job is done. It’s important for customers to know right away whether they’ve been approved for financing, and that’s where Wells Fargo delivers. “The quick response times are huge. We get a decision in no time,” Cameron said. “Usually we have same-day decisions. I can easily request a credit increase and usually have that decision in a few minutes. Sometimes our sales reps will call me when they’re in a house with the customer, and I can do it right there while they’re on the phone.” Wells Fargo’s study of their internal decision time data over the course of a year backs up this real-world perception, finding that 81% of customer credit applications received a decision in under 5 seconds.² And that speed doesn’t stop at the credit decision – Cameron’s team also appreciates the fast funding from Wells Fargo. “One thing we really like is that funds are deposited on the next day as long as it isn’t a holiday. Other finance companies may require additional verification after the job is complete, but with Wells Fargo, we just provide the signed completion certificate, charge the job, and we receive funds the next day. And if we need to refund or change something, it happens the next day as well.”

As every business owner knows, though, it’s not the power or speed of the technology that keeps a successful partnership going – it’s the people. With the Wells Fargo Home Projects^® program, White Oak Construction gets the support of a dedicated, experienced relationship representative who knows their business and is invested in the success of their financing program. Throughout our conversation, Cameron emphasized many times that their representative regularly checks in to answer questions, assist with any issues, and make sure everything is running smoothly. Whether the business needs help deciding which financing plans to offer, additional training for sales staff, or just a sounding board to discuss ideas, their Wells Fargo relationship representative is there to help. That’s why 92% of Wells Fargo Retail Services merchants agree that they’re easy to do business with.³

For White Oak Construction, partnering with the Wells Fargo Home Projects^® program has meant more than just streamlined customer financing – it’s been a catalyst for growth, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. The program has empowered the team to focus on what they do best: building dream homes. With strong roots and the right tools, White Oak is branching out with confidence.