Oakmont Capital Services: 2020 in Review

Approaching the New Year with “2020” Hindsight

Oakmont Capital Services (OCS), along with everyone else, experienced many challenges and changes in the past year. Reflecting on 2020, we are thankful for our ability to pivot when needed, remain flexible, and continue to offer our customers excellent service throughout the equipment financing process. We attribute our business “wins” in 2020 to our incredible team of finance professionals who continue to “make it possible” for our customers and vendor partners each day.

Although we’re already off to a busy 2021, we want to take time to reflect on how far we came as an organization last year and applaud our dedicated team for helping Oakmont (and each other) accomplish many goals.

Virtual Equipment Financing

The first pivot came in mid-March when our finance professionals, credit team, and marketing team began working from home due to COVID-19 restrictions. Thankfully, our technology and infrastructure were able to support this quick change, and we continued “business as usual.” In addition, OCS implemented several new processes and tools to continue serving our clients and making virtual financing possible.

Oakmont introduced the Remote Online Notary (RON) program to ensure our customers can virtually complete funding documents. This service is easily utilized with a smartphone, approved for all 50 United States, and available 24/7. The process is quick and allows our finance professionals to immediately access the notarized documents, streamlining the funding process. We also continued to utilize and recommend electronic documents, or E-Docs, to our customers and partners. E-Docs speed up the funding process and eliminate the need for physical paperwork. Learn more about the benefits of both RON and E-Docs here.

Along with internal changes, some industry requirements impacted the credit process. We added several questions to our intake step to better understand our customers’ businesses and determine whether financing was the right fiscal decision. Our sales team worked diligently with customers to manage expectations and offer advice.

Key Deals & Partnerships

In 2020, we established relationships with new customers and continued to expand upon our connection with current customers. One of the renewed relationships was with David Braxton of Express Logistics Inc., a FedEx Ground contractor located in Georgia.

In July 2020, we helped Mr. Braxton finance a T680 for his company. Like many businesses, David experienced challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic but decided to look on the bright side.

“The positive is that consumers are ordering more items online, which benefits FedEx and its contractors. The challenge becomes adding resources quickly, like staffing and trucks, which requires additional capital,” Braxton added.

As a finance partner, Oakmont helped Express Logistics quickly secure equipment financing to fuel business growth. Learn more about Express Logistics and our partnership here.

In addition to our customers, we continued to strengthen our relationship with many vendor partners, including A&A Enterprises. In 2020, we funded over 110 deals for $4.298MM with this valued partner. A&A was our #1 Highest Volume Funded Vendor last year across our Pennsylvania and Minnesota offices. We thank A&A for their trust and partnership as we continue to help their customers secure quality used equipment.

Oakmont also created subsidy partner programs with several manufacturers, such as Bandit Industries and Takeuchi. In June, we partnered with YANMAR to bring equipment financing to its North American dealer network. Another subsidy partner we were proud to add to our list is Avant. Our dedicated sales team works closely with each manufacturer to offer special rates and a virtual, streamlined funding process to dealers and customers.

Employee Accolades

Oakmont Capital Services is proud of its team’s many accomplishments throughout 2020 while navigating a pandemic. We are continually impressed by our employees’ dedication and commitment to the equipment finance industry, our company, our customers, and our partners.

Our finance professional, Kayla Perlinger, CLFP, was promoted to Vice President of Syndications in July 2020. She was also chosen as one of The Monitor’s NextGen leaders, a well-deserved industry acknowledgment. Our finance professional, Elise Linn, CLFP, with nearly two decades of industry experience, was promoted to Sales Manager in November 2020.

In addition to promotions, several of our employees achieved continuing education credentials. Our Marketing Director, Keara M. Piekanski, received an MBA in Marketing and Strategic Management from Villanova University. Jen Foulds, Documentation Specialist, completed Dale Carnegie’s Effective Communication and Human Relationships course.

Several of our team members became Certified Lease & Finance Professionals (CLFP) in 2020. The CLFP is the preeminent credential for equipment leasing and financing professionals throughout the world who have demonstrated competency through testing of knowledge, continuing education, and a commitment to their business practices and dedication to the industry. Oakmont’s newest CLFPs, which brings our team total up to 20, include:

• Jena Dirkes, Relationship Manager, CLFP
• Adam Domke, Business Development Officer, CLFP
• Jayme Gerads, Business Development Officer, CLFP
• Chad Primus, Business Development Officer, CLFP

Two employees celebrated milestone anniversaries as well. Jen Foulds and Lynda Clark, Insurance Specialist with over 35 years of experience, celebrated 10 years with Oakmont Capital Services. We thank both Jen and Lynda for their dedicated service to “make it possible” daily!

New Hires

Oakmont Capital Services expanded our team with several new employees in 2020 to better serve our customers and partners. We were pleased to welcome the following (outstanding) team members:

• Amanda Bialka, CLFP, joined Oakmont as a Credit Analyst. Bringing nearly ten years of experience with her, Bialka will add to the underwriting team with her financial statements and advanced credit analysis expertise. She works closely with the syndication department in her new role.
• Tracy Schneider, CLFP, is Oakmont’s new Sales Coordinator. Schneider works directly with Oakmont’s Business Development Officers to support the credit and funding process while ensuring excellent customer service. Bringing six years of adeptness to her role, Schneider helps develop protocols to enhance the customer experience further.
• Trista Stangler joined Oakmont as a Titling Specialist. With seven years’ experience in the equipment finance industry, Stangler has worked across various roles, including reception, funding, customer service, and titling. Stangler’s hybrid background benefits Oakmont’s growing operations team.
• Carrie Jaenicke was hired as a Business Development Officer. She has worked across various industries, such as construction, landscaping, and woodworking, to make financing possible. In her role with OCS, she focuses on building and maintaining strong, long-lasting relationships with vendors and dealers by supporting them with creative finance options.
• Clay Fischer, CLFP, is an experienced Credit Analyst. His financial statements and advanced credit analysis expertise adds efficiencies to OCS’s credit process.
• Aaron Dym, Controller, is a veteran corporate controller with past industry experiences in equipment leasing, wholesale distribution, employment contract services, and the design build-industry.

Key Stats

Although 2020 presented challenges, OCS still saw improvements in our overall performance. From 2019 to 2020, Oakmont achieved 6 percent year-over-year growth. We were able to make it possible for 1,200 new customers in 2020 while also working with returning customers.

We also saw 600 new or renewed connections with vendor partners in 2020. OCS was proud to welcome new subsidy partners and strengthen our relationships with our partners that we have collaborated with throughout the years.

Moving Forward

The end of 2020 brought significant and exciting changes for Oakmont Capital Services. In December 2020, OCS partnered with Quaint Oak Bank to expand our lending lines and become a stronger national force in the equipment finance industry.

Oakmont will remain a direct, independent lender, working with customers in tree care, landscaping, construction, and other industries to finance equipment needed to fuel business growth. Leveraging additional funds provided by Quaint Oak Bank, Oakmont looks forward to offering customers additional business lines along with more flexible financing options via a virtual process.

“This partnership is a win-win-win for everyone involved, from our businesses to our employees and, of course, our customers. We are excited about this opportunity and the growth of both Oakmont and Quaint Oak,” said Joe Leonard, CLFP and CEO at Oakmont Capital Services.

The entire Oakmont Capital Services team is excited for the new year and looks forward to connecting with new and existing customers and partners to MAKE IT POSSIBLE in 2021! Please reach out any time – 877.701.2391 or ocs@oakmontfinance.com.