Salespeople: How to Get Past “I Want to Think About It”
August 12, 2013
You’ve had your fair share of refusals, but nothing leaves you hanging quite like the ambiguous “I want to think about it” objection. Discover three fool-proof responses to help your sales reps turn vague indecision into actionable insight.
Editor’s note: This guest post from Mike Brooks originally appeared on his Inside Sales Training Blog as “How to Overcome the ‘I Want to Think About it’ Objection”.
Out of all the possible sales objections you get when selling your product or service, the nebulous, “I want to think about it” is probably one of the hardest ones to overcome. I mean, the prospect isn’t saying no, exactly, but he isn’t giving us an objection that we can overcome either. So what do you do?
If you’re like most sales reps, then you fumble around for some kind of response and end the call with a wimpy, “Well, when should I call you back?” The prospect is thinking, “How about the 12th of never?”
Any good closer knows that this objection is the mother of all smokescreens and can hide a number of real objections. The real skill in dealing with this is to get your prospect to reveal what the actual reason he’s not going with it is. And that’s exactly what the following responses to this objection can help provide you with.
This first response is to give your prospect some options so they can provide you with an idea of what they really mean. Their answer will give you the direction you then need to go in to close the sale.
Response #1: Directing the Prospect
“_______, whenever I tell someone I need to think about it, it usually means one of three things:
- I’m not going to be a deal for whatever reason, and I just want to get off the phone.
- I kind of like the idea, but I’m going to have to find the money or talk to my partner, or something else is holding me back.
- I really like the idea, and I just have to move something around before I say yes.
Be honest with me — which one of those things is it for you right now?”
As always when asking questions, use your mute button and let your prospect get everything out. Use the “Oh?” technique to prod him or her on further.
This next response is one of my favorites because in going through each of these options, you’ll actually be qualifying your prospect as well (especially when you get to the last question about budget).
Response #2: Qualifying the Prospect
“Perfectly fine. Just to be sure — you do understand how this (your product or service) would work in your environment, right? And are you confident that if you moved forward with it, you would get positive results? And finally, if you decide to give this a try, is the budget there to move forward with it?
Then just to clarify my thinking, what factors will you be considering in thinking about this?”
Again, listen carefully and give your prospect the time to finish his or her thoughts and give you all the info you need. Use that mute button if you have to!
This tenth response is a little tongue in cheek, but it works. The important thing is not only to monitor what your prospect responds with, but how they say it.
Response #3: A Little Tongue in Cheek
“No problem, ______. When should I call you back on this? And what is going to happen between then and now that will convince you to move forward with this?”
So there you have it! Three proven ways to handle the bane of every sales person’s existence: the dreaded “I want to think about it” smokescreen. Use them today and put an end the stalls you get when trying to close your sale.
Which of these responses would you use? What other approaches do you take to convert your prospects who “want to think about it”?