Any advice for when people say they need to think about it?

Gary...as usual your wisdom is astounding. i agree totally and especially these quotes.

Selling is like a beautiful dance, you gently leading with the client following.

I agree totally...if we are open/honest there is no reason for the prospect/client to be armed. They know it and feel it. Mutual trust evolves.

Great post Gary! -MPrince

Gary,
Thanks for making my point. Please do not take things so literally. It's not so much what you say, but how you say it. I am being very to the point in my language, however, the delivery has to be soft. I am passing along the message, not how to deliver it. I am a Sandler fan and have been to over 400 hours of President's club meetings. Call the sales cycle what you want, but by any other name (engagement, experience, or whatever) and it is still a process. Sandler is the only ISO certified training program there is. Most sales people don't subscribe to it, because it is so counter intuitive. It is also very expensive. If you are selling balloons no need to invest in this way of selling. If you have a product or service that is worth the price and it is a high ticket item, then you might want to sign up. -triadtraining

Most sales people don't subscribe to it because they never heard of it.

This is not a debate, and the playful "thanks for making my point" doesn't cut it. The site here is about helping less experienced people learn to make a living in sales and making their lives, and their family's lives, better. People here WILL take your examples LITERALLY, unless they are experienced to see the folly in them. Don't argue about it. Just post with a sense of resposibility and your advice will be welcome here. -Gary A Boye

Gary,

You are correct, my apologies to you. I am glad you pointed that out to me. I was thinking that many here were not new to the profession. Thanks again for your candor and cut to the heart criticism. I appreciate your diplomatic responses.

Best of luck to you. -triadtraining

Thanks. And thanks for the class you bring to our community. -Gary A Boye

There is also a conversation about this topic in another area of this forum:

http://www.salespractice.com/forums/t-1379.html -thesalesgiant

I'm not experienced in this type of sales, but I'm curious what the usual outcome is of such a reaction. For example, if a potential clients says they need time to think about it, does this ordinarily result in no sale? Or does it run the gamut? Just curious. -salesandsales

Good question.

I don't know the "statistics", whew..thank God. But I believe the outcome is somewhat determined by how the salesperson responds and how the prospect relates to THE EXPERIENCE of that response.

My own ratio of conversions under those circumstances has been very high. I have a tendency to take a client/prospect at his/her word. To do otherwise would demonstrate lack of trust, and there is much truth to the saying that people who don't trust others can't be trusted themselves. With that in mind, things mostly play out well.

Think about it. -Gary A Boye

Wow, this thread is very very old, maybe a year. Anyhow, when someone says I want to think it over, an experienced salesperson
must respond or quit. When a prospect says I want to think it over it means the salesperson has not convinced them that their product will solve their problem. There are many responses to " I want to think it over" most of them should start with, " I would want to think it over as well.......(and then use a conversation starter such as, " I can tell you have some interest can you tell me what you like about it or "what you don't like about it" or "maybe I havent\'t explained well enough how you can benefit"....ad infanitum.......bottom line is you must get a conversation toward discovery moving and if you can't get a lesson and move on.

You can't give up on a prospect's statement of " I want to think it over" -triadtraining