It happened again..... I want to think it over

No matter how often I prepare for this, it's the one thing I'm least fitted out for. After completing a well rehearsed, superbly delivered, presentation that evolved extemporaneously out of another product discussion, and breaking from my usually powerful questioning format, I asked innocently, so would you like to do this? .... And the skies opened to an ice cold bolt of "well let me think it over".... GRRRRRR.....

No matter how often... no matter how rehearsed... the answer to that is always the same... OK....

However in my own criticism this was an off message redirected offering with no setup going in, and so wasn't well developed as a presentation regardless of my ego, but still, there should be something.... after, with my masterful understanding of sales process...

However, here is another criticism of myself... when you don't question thoroughly, you don't have the tools or the links to positive statement, needs uncovered/identified or "meaningful" solutions...you get what I got...

Comments.... :)

Aloha... shds; ;bg -rattus58

If there is a definitive answer to the "Think it Over" issue that resurfaces time and time again in thses discussions, it has to start with a definitive UNDERSTANDING.

Such as:

"Think it over" means one of three things in almost all cases. They are:

1. It is a convenient way to stall and not reveal the REAL objection or concern which is often the money.
2. It is a hardwired part of some people's buying process that requires hesitating before making a final decision, often expressed as "sleeping on it". Some couples or partners actually have a pact to do this in their larger purchases.
3. It is a result of lack full confidence which is more a fear of making a bad decision rather than a goal to make a good decision. Most "shoppers" shop out of such a fear.

-Ace Coldiron

Hi ACE.... :)

I understand your comments on it being a convenient way to stall.

I practice this stuff all the time and still wind up with... essentially... "gulp" or worse.... "why?"...

Normally I'm rehearsing this as "Of course Justin, we want you to have an informed opinion before moving forward with this purchase. What is it that's causing you hesitation?"

Hopefully he'll start talking again. The problem yesterday was this was an afterthought that hit a chord with a young 28 year old, single, lives at home, no responsibilities, and earning about $30,000 a year, when I asked him if he had any life insurance. I asked him if he had any bills? Yes. So if you passed away in an auto accident, who'd pay your bills? Would you want your parents to pay it for you or would you want to leave them debt free? "Debt Free!"

I went through the reasons people buy insurance and why insurance is a better investment than paying bills with your assets.

1) We work hard for our money, and before its even in our hands, it gets taxed and spent on things we don't want , and that's not very good is it? No it isn't!

2) We pay bills before we get a chance to spend anything on ourselves or save any money... where's the justice in that, I ask?

3) The money we DO save earns interest, and is taxed again...

4) We earn, we pay, and then we die. Do you know what the first thing your parents will have to do after the services? No! They will have to put a notice in the paper to all of your creditors, and so the deal is, you earn, you pay, you pay again, and even after you're dead and buried, they still get first crack at you. And you do know that any income assets you own will be taxed again before your mom and dad get a penny.

These leftover dollars are by this time pretty precious aren't they? They're more like $2 $1's or more aren't they?

Here is why we buy insurance...
a) For one thing, NO CREDITORS.
b) For another, NO TAXES!
c) For another, NO NOTICE so even if you can bypass everyone they won't be harrassing your family grubbing for money...
d) And the best thing about life insurance is it's cost, about $1 per $1000 instead of $2 dollars for $1.

Does this make sense? "Yes" Great... Do you think you'd like to go ahead with this then? "Well I'd like to think about it!"

Without asking him how much would pay his debts... I'm still kicking myself for that misque, I offered him a $25,000 cash value option that would always be there for him for about $22 a month.

Oh well another one bites the dust....

Thanks.

Much Aloha...shds; ;bg -rattus58

Okay, Tom, I read your post describing the scenario and I'll hit you right between the eyes with my take on it.

Forget the "think it over" issue which is hogwash on the part of the prospect. You know darn well he's not going to think anything over.

The plain truth is that you never touched this guy's core values. You're deciding FOR him what he is SUPPOSED to be concerned with based on how you see it. The only 28 year olds that think much about their own mortality are the deeply troubled ones. And if they did think much about dying, who gets stuck afterwards is far down the list of concerns.

I think the answer is to probe deeper with any prospect, and get to THEIR values. THEN find a fit between what you sell and what they value. Remember the lessons of Bettger who dwelled on just that topic.

It's possible you might be able to work the net worth aspect with many in that category. "Immediate estate" can be hooked to net worth with some creative selling. -Ace Coldiron

Hi Ace..... :)

I agree.

This whole episode was an afterthought. This kid has both an accident plan and disability coverage with me. I got into this discussion of Life Insurance as an afterthought, but I asked him if he had any bills and that if he died would he want to leave the bills with his parents or leave them debt free? He said "Debt Free, of course."

Where I made a major tactical tactical error, was not asking him how much his debt service is before moving on. You're right that its much more appropriate to question more thoroughly,but I set myself up for this.

Now I'm not sure I understand your hogwash statement. First, he said he wanted to think it over, so the statement is clearly made. Whether he's concerned about life insurance or not will remain to be seen. Most people that tell me that they want to pay the bills buy life insurance.

This was a worksite sale, meaning you have a prescribed length of time you are allowed to spend with your client/prospect and the only reason I even pursued this was his statement that he wanted to leave his parents "debt free" of his bills and expenses. Where I failed, in my opinion, is that I failed to explore the amount of debt he has, and what he felt he needed have to leave his parents "debt free".

What I offered him was essentially $5.00 a week as a product offering rather than a solution to his telling me what amount he'd want to cover, for all I know, he might have a $40,000 RamCharger to pay off.... :)

Aloha.... shds; ;bg -rattus58

To clarify--it is a commonly accepted viewpoint, one that I share, that says that prospects that SAY to a salesperson that they are going to "think it over" are not really going to think it over. I am surprised you don't seem to share that viewpoint.

"Clearly made" statements, by themselves, do not validate or reveal true intent. -Ace Coldiron

:)... Hi Ace...

90% of the time when I see someone it is in an worksite environment. When they say they want to take it home and discuss it with their families, that is generally what they do.

Friday, I presented a positive acknowledgement to a negative result. That for me is rare unless I fail to follow proper questioning techniques or fundamentals such as I failed to execute as you pointed out.

Aloha... shds; ;bg -rattus58

Compare your hard-earned qualifications to present (discuss) the ins and outs of your program with the prospects' qualifications to present (discuss) it with their family. And--are "thinking it over" and discussing with family the same thing? I believe not.

Committees (groups) are prone to inaction or rejecting an offer when the salesperson is "represented" by proxy. Nothing new under the sun. If your experience has been different, you are among the fortunate. -Ace Coldiron

Ace.... either I am NOT BEING CLEAR or you are not reading what I am saying. This "I want to think it over" the other day was a stall, objection, deferral, non-sale, whatever adjective or group of descriptors you want to assign it, and it evolved for reasons which you in part pointed out.

This wasn't a I want to talk it over with my mother, this was a, after a masterful presentation without first asking how much do you owe, "I want to think it over".

Aloha... shds; ;bg -rattus58

Ok... to further clarify, ACE.... I agree with you. I can see how my post got discombobulated....

Much Aloha... Tom shds; ;bg -rattus58

so would you like to do this?

It is toooooooo easy to say yes or no.........much easier to say no

Go into an assumption close
-DIAMONDSTAR

Yes... but he was shaking his head like one of them dash dolls... totally faked me out... sn; -rattus58

Can't win them all Rattus. -DIAMONDSTAR

Well it's clearly a necessity to conserve your market place and leave some for tomorrow... right? thmbp2;

Much Aloha... Tom shds; ;bg -rattus58

Hey Tom,
Fellow agent here. You already know the weak points mentioned, but next time you hear," I wanna think it over." Respond; "That's great this program is set up, just for that!" Go over the 30 day free look, and assume the sale.
Tony -Tony45

You know I never even considered that.thmbp2;.. I think mostly because when you're in worksite, once the plan year starts, there is NO FREE LOOK for pretax stuff, and although life insurance would be after-tax, once payroll starts, you don't want to be upsetting payroll departments with cancellations once they've started deductions.

HOWEVER.... this is an excellent reminder... Thank you. Just goes to show you, the more you learn, the more you forget sometimes... :)

Much Aloha... shds; ;bg -rattus58

That is a killer power move Tony, As devils advocate I would have to say...........What Do You Mean, that is what this program is designed for -DIAMONDSTAR

I get these tips from a guy who writes 250K in final exapense per year. Resonse for Diamond: "Well Mr. prospect, what I mean is we have millions of policy holders... and believe it or not some of them wanted to think it over, (smiles) wouldn't you agree?
Can we protect you and your family while you think it over??And get you a policy to look over so you don't have to try and remember everything?? Take it around for a second opinion, please, its important your comfortable, When's your Birthdate?

BTW I love this site...
Tony -Tony45

"I want to think it over" to me means the prospect doesn't want it bad enough yet. People who really really want something will go out of their way and sometimes pay a premium to get it now. -Seth

Rattus....

We may not have seen eye to eye thus far but.......
You really don't need to beat yourself up over this one.

28, single, living at home.....I think you did well to take him anywhere down the line towards a decision. If you had a bag full of prospects then he's the one who would be left at the bottom of the bag...like the last turkey in the shop.

Whenever you get one that is likely to be THAT difficult I suggest to salespeople that you use him/her as a training example. Try EVERYTHING you ever learned on them (after all what have you got to lose).

Earlier you said that you blurted out . . . 'why' . . . (I'm paraphrasing again sorry) I have spent a very long time indeed trying to get salespeople to use that word a LOT more than they do right now.

You need to phrase it not to sound confrontational/agressive but, it is probably the most powerful word you will ever use in sales.

------------------------------------------------------------
Examples.
We never deal over the phone.

Why?

They'll tell you.

You then say ...what if I could.......(whatever)show you how dealing over the phone was not only a good way to do this but was the BEST way to do this.
-------------------------------------------------------------
We want to stay with our current supplier.

Why?

I KNOW you'll have some good reasons to do so
but what if there were some really good reasons at
the moment to have a look at what I have here?
--------------------------------------------------
I need to think about it?

Why?

You won't find out unless you ask.
The deal is dead anyway so why not ask WHY?
---------------------------------------------
It is virtually impossible to move on from '...think about it'
until you know why.

Why not try this.

I wan't to think about it.

OK fine no problem. Can I ask you a really personal question?
I've been doing this job a while but just lately I seem to have had quite a few people listen to me and then say, Like you did, they want to think about it?

Tell me Fred . . . where am I going wrong?

They will often tell you. -helisell

I have found that the commandatory "Tell me why." is more engaging and more effective than a simple "Why?"

It is also easier to use for those that are not practiced in the technique. -Ace Coldiron

ACE - Helisell ... thmbp2;

Thank you both for your comments on this...

Much Aloha... Tom shds; ;bg -rattus58

Oh I would never use a simple why?

My 'one word' why is filled with commanding reason.

It has to be well practised and phrased to perfection....
but it beats EVERY other way of asking.

And all that from just ONE word. -helisell

What is the "reason" in "commanding reason" and how does it differ from your previous use of the word "logic"? Wouldn't "commanding emotion" be more congruent with the beliefs you've stated on the forum? -Ace Coldiron

Is this a trick question ;0) -helisell

This issue must be dealt with at the start- so that the suspect - does not have a chance to say I want to think it over.

You cannot get mad at a prospect for doing something - that you did not tell him that he could not do.

However, if during the sales interview he says " I want to think it over"-

I would say "I don't understand. (then sigh and struggle)...when we spoke about 30 minutes ago - we both agreed that you would give me a either yes or no at the end of meeting. Could I ask, why are you doing this to me? (He will feel bad)- he should roll over and give up.

Must admit though- I am the worst for it - I usually say to sales people - "are you ok if I think it over". They say yes and I go deaf? just to make sure.

I remember telling one sales manager and his team who was trying to sell me something at an exhibition "you need to learn how to take a no" that was funny.

sean01 -sean01

I haven't been selling long but I have a great technique for when they said they need to think it over.

1. I overview everything, including the objections that I had previously overcome and have them agree with a positive reply or a head nod.

2. I overview every detail that was essential to their buying decision.

3. I confirm that I answered every question/concern they had before coming in and reassure them that I can answer any others they MIGHT think about.

4. After I have them saying yes to everything I wipe the smile off of my face and stare them in the eye with a gentle ashamed look and softly say in my most childish voice....

"Ma'am/ Sir, I've showed you everything you need to know about ABC product and you reassured me that everything was great, right?...(right after they confirm that statement you don't let them talk and continue)...Was there something that I said that offended you? and WAIT...don't say anything else.

At this point the real objection will come out, if your presentation was appropriate. If it wasn't, then they'll let you know. If it was, then the real objection will come out.

It's not you, it's just that we don't have that kind of money right now.

"I understand, if I was able to save you 10% right now on ABC product to fit into your budget would you make the right decision and take ABC product that you said fits your needs?"

What can they say? -byronAbuchannan

I rarely get an "I'd like to think it over" and as I've said, no matter how much I've rehearsed it never comes out right... :) Normally we don't run into it in the worksite but I've generally got a practiced response for it... most recently "John we want you to move forward with an informed choice". Do you mind if I just review what we've gone over with you? You've said that if you became disabled, you'd need your business to keep your income stream intact, correct?

You've also confirmed that if you were not here to contribute to your income flow, that continuing your income would be quite difficult for your company and at best create financial hardship. Do you still agree with that statement? We also know that at some point this income from the corporation is probably going to have to be redirected and that some type of contributory source of income would be necessary, still true?

At some point... "John, we have agreement on most of the points we've reviewed, is there anything we've forgotten to go over? Is this a little more than we can confortably commit to right now? Would this work for you at $105 as long as we can keep your coverage going to age 65, or would you prefer for the same savings, a 5 year plan with Critical Illness coverage?"

But unfortunately.... :)

Aloha.... :cool: -rattus58

Byron - excellent post -sean01

Byron nice job. I wonder if a Ben Franklin close would help this along? At the end they see it on paper as well....
Great job guys.
Tonyshds; -Tony45

Hi Tom...

I'm no expert at selling insurance but I'm one of those classic reluctant insurance buyers... so I can give you some feedback based on that.

I agree with whomever said that this stuff should be taken care of at the beginning of the presentation Tom... Do you ask these qualifying questions?

Why do you want to buy Life insurance?
How long have you been thinking about buying life insurance?
What brought you here today?
Are you ready to make a decision today?
How much shopping around have you done? Will you do more? Do you want to spend more time shopping around? How valuable is your time to you?
What are the top 3 things you are looking for in life insurance...
What would we need to accomplish in order for you to make a decision today?

This kind of stuff should give you a fairly good idea on the likelihood of closing this sale today.

If you ask all of the above and he still tells you he wants to think it over... you can go back and review his answers at the beginning and try to tease out "what" he needs to think about or why... If he said he was ready to make a decision today then what changed? Know what I mean?

Just some thoughts... -Andrea

Hi Andrea,

I'm always appreciative of thoughts.... especially the "just thoughts" cuz they usually are the most meaningful....

This was a worksite situation that expanded. I made several errors here with this sale which I recognized right off.

Most worksite sales for me follow a pattern. 1st is a presentation to a group, usually, about what we're offering and why we are offering it. We give them information to take home, and then if they show back up, they are usually qualified, as a buyer.

This one went a little further but suffered a lack of glaring follow through in qualifying my questions with my offer.... the classic "I had him right up till I tried to put him in the net!" Do you want your mom to pay your bills if you died tonight? No. That essentially was where I stopped and offered a "product instead of solution".

I currently follow a process in sales broken into two programs. Worksite, on the jobsite, and direct. Worksite can generally fall into two categories, the group meeting and individual meetings. There are advantages to the group meeting and there are advantages to the indidual meeting, depending on the time alloted. Individual you have much more control, obviously.

Worksite you're generally working with a preset offering, so disgression is sometimes taken out of your hands.... but the what we are offering and the why isn't.

"We are pleased to announce that you now also have available to you, the number one selling cancer plan on the planet with the added benefit of it being a payroll offering, meaning payroll deduction with your company's payroll savings being passed on to you. All of AFLACs other benefits of course are yours as well, such plan portability, you can take it with you, permanent, you cannot outlive it, and benefits are paid directly to you with the added feature that for everyday you need care, you get paid directly, regardless of time, there are no lifetime maximums for hospital, chemo, experimental treatments, surgery shcedules, transportation anywhere in the USA as often as you need it, and a host of other major features.

We are offering you this supplemental cancer plan because as many of you have already experienced, cancer is expensive. The American Cancer Society estimates that 64% of expenses surrounding cancer are out of pocket.

Some Cancers are inexpensive. Some cancers are not. A cancer policy can't predict if you'll get cancer, nor can I predict if you individually will get cancer, but I do know that roughly half of us in this room will. They say half of foreclosures are due to medical bills. Cancer isn't the only thing that can take you down, but its one of the most financially devastating.

How am I doing so far? Am I making sense? Take this home and discuss it with your spouses and moneychangers and leave me your interest sheets in front of you with one of pens, which is yours to keep. We'll see you on Friday.... :)

Direct sales goes through an exploration. Here we try to "know" our client. Who, what, when, where, how, how much, how many, and what else? We try to identify areas where our products can help him through our questioning.

We may or may not ask directly "Andrea, you just mentioned that roughly 60% of your income goes out in longterm debt. If you lost your job, how much of that debt would be extinguished? If you got disabled, how much of that debt would be extinguished? If you got fired while disabled and had to look for a new job that paid you only a portion of your original salary, is that something you'd look forward to? Have you looked into ways to protect your income if you're disabled? Do you make pension or IRA contributions? Would they stop if you became disabled? Are you saying that if you became disabled that both your current and future incomes might be jeapardized?

Ultimately we'll review our questioning with a tie in with ways that our products could help you. Sometimes we refer you to competitors products if you need it and we don't have it. Once we have two or three tie ins we'll make recommendations based upon what we feel you've indicated is a premium tolerance, or maybe not. Once we recommend we'll see how you feel about these recommendations. Sometime's we have to refine them, because now we're getting into the nitty gritty of your presentation and our asking you for an agreement that this is the plan or strategy for you.

Short story stretched to the limit of my Green Tea lunch break... :)

Does this make sense?

Aloha... Tom shds; ;bg -rattus58

QUOTE FROM OP-RATTUS

Does this make sense? "Yes" Great... Do you think you'd like to go ahead with this then? "Well I'd like to think about it!"

You could be bold and follow this up with "is it the money?"

His fear of making a decision is probably greater than his fear of not having life insurance, fix that.

Maybe he has no sense of urgency, because he is young.
Tell him a story of a younger person than him dying and his love ones being left in a bad situation.

My guess is he thinks he's not going to die soon, so why bother getting life insurance now?

You could just ask "Do you think you are too young for life insurance?"


Your close is weak.

You should be ask closing questions sooner.



I don't understand why so many people say traditional selling does not work, it does. When someone says traditional selling what does that mean anyways? I would imagine that since time began there has never been just one way to sell.

I'm glad that people are looking for "new" ways to sell, it makes it that much better for me, less people doing it my way.

The aggression in my sales approach is just asking questions that help the customer make some kind of minor decision or any decision. By asking questions about minor decisions, you find alot about your prospect.

By making leading statements, you find out if you can instruct and lead your prospect.

Example: Hold this. Come look at this. -cs80918

Hey YOUR JUST LIKE ME.In your shoes I have said that to many salesman when ive been a customer.Sometimes ive said it because I wanted to be nice to the guy and let him down gently,is that the case here?

No? Great ,then maybe I havent given you enough info to consider?

" I have"

Ok so what is your main concern if you decide to go ahead with the plan?

well..........msnwnk; -smashy

There are some good thoughts there.

Practiced Novices in selling (my term for "intermediate") have trouble understanding the essence of proper Questions in their work. Honest questions are more meaningful and fruitful than honest answers. Unfortunately, much of the lore discussed or taught in sales training does not focus on honest questions. "Leading" or manipulative questions are regarded as techniques. That's fine in a court of law, but in a selling situation, the questioner becomes transparent, and transparency is a fatal disease for sales careers.

The acid test for what makes a question honest is whether or not you really care about the information you are asking for. -Gary A Boye

According to Sandler, when someone says they want to think it over, what they are really saying is "no". My thoughts are that when someone says they want to think it over, they are saying.."based on what I have heard (so far) I don't see enough value to say yes. A suggested response then could be, " I can tell you have some interest, may I ask what you like most about my product? After you get the response. "Lots of my current clients say they like that as well (of course this had better be true). "Would you mind telling me why you like that feature/benefit? With that in mind why don't we get this working for you today? If you receive pushback or a stall. Ask what is holding them up?
Most people who say I want to think it over have something they like or they would have brushed you off earlier. However, these same prospects obviously have a hidden concern and it is the salesperson's job to discover what that is, understand it, verify it, handle it and trial close after handling. Hope this helps. Sales people who have difficulty with this have a non supportive buy cycle themselves. They take forever to make buying decisions. -triadtraining

For the sake of discussion would you say that Sandler's perspective, which you referenced above, and your thoughts, are the same thing.

Or would you say that you have trouble accepting Sandler's raw premise without adding the thoughts you shared above? -Gary A Boye

Gary,

Good insight on your behalf. Actually, it's a little of both, but I think Sandler comes across raw in a lot of ways. If you take things too literally, you can make a mess of things.

I agree with the premise that if you accept TIO (think it over), then you have accepted a "no".

Since, I almost never accept a TIO I thought it best to add my thoughts.

MJ -triadtraining