I want to think it over

What should I do?

Oh, how my heart and mind cringes when I hear those six little words!

If you”ve ever sold anything, or even have tried to get your kids, wife, friend, loved one or even perceived enemy to do something, or make any kind of decision, you”ve heard those dreaded six words, or some close derivative of them.

Stop and think about it for a moment. Oh, my, I almost said it, didn”t I? I’m asking you to think over what I just said.

You can see when you have to ”stop” and ”think” it ‘over’ that really should be self evident. What the prospect is telling you is that they don”t have enough information, or haven”t formulated a logical or emotional conclusion to what you”re requesting, or simply haven”t been able to come up with a decision; either yes, or no, about what you are asking.

It all boils down to usually one of two reasons. I”ll stick to a sales situation at this point, but you can take the discussion, and move it to other areas of your life and I’m sure you’ll find similarities.

The first reason it could be is money. Ok, this one is really easy to talk about. In some cases, it”s really too much money in the eyes of the prospect. Believe it or not, some people or businesses simply can”t afford what it is you”re offering. Sometimes, it”s just a tad bit, or even a significant more amount of money that”s available to the person or business at the time. I know that sales trainers will tell you to go through a series of questions to elicit the hidden it”s too much money objection. They”ll teach you to ask questions like, “Mr. Prospect, I know it”s a big decision, and I trust that you”ll give it some serious consideration, do you mind me asking what it is that”s causing you some concern?” Some trainers will go so far as to put at the end of the last statement, “is it the money?”, or if you want to be professional and not condescending you could say, “Is it the investment?” Actually, half the time, it probably is money. If the prospect does indeed fess up and say something like, “It”s actually more money than I have to spend,” or “It”s more than I had anticipated spending,” or something similar, then you have an opportunity to further the presentation/conversation. You could probe with questions like, “Well how much is not too much?” or in a light hearted way, “Am I way off the chart?” or possibly even more direct you could ask “What did you anticipate spending?” or again more professionally, “How much did you want to invest in this?” or anything similar that acknowledges the fact that it’s too much money. Relax, the sales presentation is not over. If you can ask the follow up question, in the right way, then you can literally re-start the conversation again. This time however, be more diligent in your presentation on the features and more importantly the benefits. This leads me to the other half of the “I want to think it over” objection.

You should take heed however, that there is another issue with the money objection. More thank likely the other half of the time, its more money than the perceived benefit of the amount of money you are asking for. This perception leads to a whole discourse on your sales presentation. The natural progression of a sales presentation should be one of mutual understanding and agreement, on all phases of your product and how it will benefit the prospect. When the prospect is engaged with you, is commenting and asking questions, if you have honestly and truthfully answered the questions then you are arming your prospect with the information he or she needs to make an informed decision. When a mind is confused, or can’t put two and two together, then it’s only natural that the mind will not want to make a commitment.

In future posts, I’ll uncover how to frame, or present, the features of your product or service, so the prospect, sees the benefit, and how when done properly, the only natural extension of the close is a mutually agreed upon premise that the money you are asking the client to spend is money well spent.

Photo courtesy of Anita Patterson Peppers

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