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

I work for an estate agency in Cyprus selling houses for holiday homes or investments but recently seem to be getting a lot of people who need to "think about it".Surely if they were not seriously interested in buying they would not be willing to actually view properties when they could be on the beach? Any tips?? -Lea25

First, yes people (unqualified/ not serious) do spend time "looking" at homes.

The objection "we need to think about it", like almost all objections, can mean many different things. The first thing I would suggest is discovering through questioning what the buyer meant when they voiced that objection. -Agent Smith

How have you been responding when they say they need to "think about it"? -BossMan

In addition to what what Agent Smith and Bossman have said there are some decent responses in the sales script book forum: http://www.salespractice.com/forums/t-1163.html -Jomsom

I usually ask them if the property is definately the right one for them which they usually say yes but that they need to work out there figures as it is a big decision. I then ask if they would like some financial advice regarding there figures.If they say no they want to speak with there bank in there country I accept this but do inform them that the property market here moves fast and that the property they like could be sold which has happened to many clients of ours.Is there anything more I can do? -Lea25

I've never sold real estate, so my comments may not be completely relevant. I know one of the standard questions can be: 'May I ask what you need to think about?'
If you've taken some time with them, they're certainly obligated to answer. It puts the ball in their court. A lot of times people don't want to say 'It's too much money', so they use this kind of lame objection. Start asking some questions, and see if you can drill down to the 'real' objection.

Susan -susana

Actually, a lot of people like to view properties that they will not consider buying or cannot afford. It is said that at least 80% of people that attend open houses are not in the market for real estate.

Salespeople that we train discover what the buying intentions and buying capacity of prospects are, before they spend time with them. -JacquesWerth

Thanks for the comments. I agree that asking questions like "may I ask what you need to think about" is probably the best way to handle these situations. -Lea25

A purchase like a holiday home is a HUGE decision to make and I'd think that people who just say "yeah, sure, we'll take it" right away are maybe the biggest group of those backing out eventually? It's not like buying a small ticket item and people need to shop around before deciding on something that will cost mega tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. -destiny

If you choose to waste your time with low probability prospects, you will get all kinds of objections and make very few sales.

Trying to overcome objections seldom does any good. Salespeople that frequently get that kind of objection need to learn a whole lot about qualifying and disqualifying prospects. -JacquesWerth

You need to do a bit of simple testing and play acting:

Prepare a simple A4 questionaire with 10 questions on it, and maybe 9 photos of houses on it [tick the house/price you like photos] and give them some story about "How much you want to work with them", in order to do so you need to know their needs, wants, budget, and hopes. Leave space for them to add loads of information on it and ask them to bring it back to you later in the day or post it back to you. In effect your saying - without saying it, prove to me you really are interested, you see 8 out of 10 won't bother - SO THEY REJECTED THEMSELVES.

I call this the go for a coffee break and come back later screening method, others might have another name for it. -Incidentally

Bob how does this helps with the people who have already viewed the property but need to think about it? -Houston

Do you think it's a simply way of rejection? Maybe customers don't want to offend you. -shinningstar

Reply to Houston: This post of mine is to assist the OP. She is being plagued by "Let me think about it clients", meaning clients wasting her time. Using a questionaire is a simple means for her to let clients CHANGE THEIR MINDS, by leaving the building [with the questionaire to complete] and deciding whether THEY OUGHT TO GO BACK or not.

Take it from me if they've seen a property they like - barbed wire and machine guns won't keep them away. If clients have seen the property then telling the sales person to let them think about it - indicates they are not sold on it and you [the sales person] need to DISMISS THEM. This is a broad observation, they might have said "We like the property but can something be done about XYZ, so this is not the normal run-of-the-mill let-me-think about it situation.

Shinningstar is correct, you do have a number of clients who want to be loved, admired and respected, so they choose and use these common goodbye phrases to depart with dignity. -Incidentally

I'll second that. ;sm

I call that a 'condition of sale' and treat it as a buying sign.

In my experience if a prospect says, 'Thank you for your time' the chances are good that they are not coming back. -AZBroker

I would have thought that most people would need to "think about it" when facing a major purchase such as real estate. Yet, this thread sounds like it's something people say to end the dialog with the salesman.

It took my husband and I two weeks of thinking about it before we actually purchased the car we wanted to buy the first time we saw it. Maybe we are unusual buyers. :cu -ozzie

This is true... the day we first saw this house, and knew others would be looking too, we didn't need to think about it. We told the realtor to make an offer before we pulled away because it was our dream home and we didn't want to lose it. Even after doing that, I suffered because I wondered if we should have just said we'd pay the asking price and not let someone else come along and do that and steal it. ;bg It worked out okay, though. Whew! -destiny

Create an urge. Putoff excuses occur when the prospect doesn't have the urge to act

I used to get them daily at a carpet cleaning firm. I was below quota on deodorizer sales. I linked up deodorizer with steam cleaning by telling customers that steam cleaning activated deodorizer (everybody was interested in steam cleaning, but deodorizer had nothing to do with appearance plus it was never put on sale like steam cleaning was).

The result was the putoff excuses stopped, completely, and my deodorizer sales quadrupled (One lady though asked if it was okay to wait for the tech to show up before she made up her mind. I replied she can do whatever she wanted and simply reminded her that deodorizer is activated by steam cleaning. She responded by saying to add it to the order!). -Wonderboy

If you have enough time to try to close low probability prospects, you need to learn how to find High Probability Prospects.

The former creates pressure and aggravation; the latter is easy and enjoyable.

The former costs you time and money; the latter saves time and makes money. -JacquesWerth

After reading all the different post I see we all have a large variety in the amount and type of sales training we have been through.

In my training I was always taught to agree with the customer first, this way you make them feel comfortable giving you any answer that comes into their mind. So I start of my reply with like

I understand how you feel

Now in order to make my first statement more credible I add many of my favorite clients have said the same thing.

and the main reason I am there is because I want them to buy, not "think about it" because I know if they are thinking about it they are not buying and if they are not buying they have to believe they made the right decision so all they are thinking about is the reason not to buy, not the reasons they should buy.
So I also through in before they bought.

This lets them know that they are like other customer who have bought. And then i ask May I ask what your concerns are?

So you can find the real objection.

So put together it goes like this

I understand how you feel, many of my favorite clients have said the same thing before they bought (signed the contract, made an offer). (pause) May I ask you what your concerns are? -Jorel

I’m pretty sure that almost always works for you.

I guess that most salespeople would recognize that as a very clever way to get the prospect to buy when he/she did not really want to. Most of those salespeople would see the logic of it, too.

And, a few, very few, might also remember times when they did it and it actually worked for them. -JacquesWerth

Thank you for flattering me by refering to my objection handler as very clever. ;sm

I believe my product is useful to my clients or I would not even be speaking with them. And most sales people who believe in their product see the logic of this belief. -Jorel

Ninety-seven percent of 1030 surveyed salespeople admited that they will say or do "whatever it takes" to close a sale.

They justify whatever they do or say with the argument that it is always for the good of their prospects. -JacquesWerth

Professor Rob J Hyndman says 97.3% of all statistics are made up. lagh2;


And a fact that I have learned through life experiences and has nothing to do with statistics is that people who put down others ideas with out a suggestion or an idea of there own are ussually too ignorant to be listened to in the first place.
This is true because it is easier to criticize than create. sn; -Jorel

Harry Truman said, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen."
On the other hand, you could make false accusations, whine and do some name-calling. -JacquesWerth

I'm glad I never purchased your HPS techniques if this is the kind of advice that you dish out. -Jorel

"Ninety-seven percent of 1030 surveyed salespeople admited that they will say or do "whatever it takes" to close a sale." I don't buy this statement as it implies that salespeople will go over that line and be dishonest to get the sale.

From my knowledge of statistics, it's easy to word a survey to get
the results you want when you question the people. Among other
things I would want to know:

1) Who gave that survey?
2) The questions asked
3) Was this survey audited?
4) Were other studies of this type done?
5) The purpose of this survey
6) Who participated in the survey? -Wonderboy

If you had, you would be entitled to a full refund - no questions asked. -JacquesWerth

My persoanl integrity was always more important to me than 'going all out to get a sale'.
Short skirts will only get you so far. Eventually, you better have something meaningful to say to the customer.

Susan -susana

I am not asking you to "buy this statement." It is a statement of fact whether you buy it or not. If you are implying that we fixed the survey to get the results we wanted, you don’t know who you are talking about.

My company conducted a group verbal questionnaire with every new student who attended our sales training workshops for over one year. Three of our senior certified trainers asked the questions of the groups they were training, as the first exercise of the workshop.

The purposes to the survey was
A. For us to learn the percentage of salespeople who practiced Total Disclosure vs. Half-Truths.

B. For them to realize that:
1. Emphasizing Benefits without mentioning detriments obscures the truth.
2. Persuasion, Convincing and Manipulating almost always prevents Total Disclosure.
3. Overcoming Objections by restating, reframing and minimizing is a form of Rhetoric.
4. Asking Rhetorical Questions is inherently manipulative and insincere.
5. Exaggeration and Puffery are a quasi-legal form of lying.
6. Telling the Truth while withholding any pertinent negative information is deceitful.
7. "Half-Truth" is another word for “lie.”

We asked thirty-seven questions about how each of them sold prior to taking our course. At the end of the survey, we asked them, “Based on what you have already been disclosed, what will you do to make a sale.” Ninety-seven percent said, “What ever it takes.”
-JacquesWerth

I think most are in agreement with you about personal integrity. I myself have never worn a`skirt that was not long enough to cover my knees. lol The question your statement brings to mind though is how short of a metaphorical skirt is too short? We have all had different upbringings and life experiences that make different metaphorical short skirts acceptable. One person living on the east coast and who have been raised Amish would certainty where a longer skirt than a girl who grew up in sunny southern California near the beach. Now what gives us the right to say what is right and what is wrong? Is it the customer that person is talking to? The location? The Industry? Or maybe the only person who can judge us is ourselves and as long as we can look at ourselves in the mirror and feel happy with who you are is all that really matters. I'm sure most teenage girls have worn a skirt that their fathers or even grandmothers did not approve of but just because someone else does not approve does not make that person have any more or less integrity than the next person. -Jorel

Count me among the 3 percent. It would be interesting to see a copy of the 37 questions posed from that survey. -Wonderboy

Jorel,

I can only answer for myself. Anything above the knee is too short.

I had this exact conversation 2 weeks ago with a female sales manager who sells high end fractional real estate. She wanted to know how I dressed when I was selling high end products. Apparently, the wives are giving some of her female sales people a hostile attitude.
I told her, blue, black, brown and grey suits with nothing above the knee.

Susan -susana

In response to the original question...

I was taught to agree, "I understand you want to think about this. I would too. It's definitely a big decision."

Then ask the question, "Does a week to think about it sound good to you?" Use any appropriate length of time. This lets your customer know you are really giving them the opportunity to do what they want; think about it. And by giving the thinking process a finite time, you prevent it from becoming an end to your sales process and it becomes more of a step along the way.

Then recap with your customer the main factors that will influence the sale; the house and how it fits their needs and wants, the way they were treated by you, the professionalism of the company, and finally the financial aspects of the deal.

"So, how do you feel about the house as it pertains to what you are looking for?"
"Have I been helpful so far?"
"Is there any more information I could help you with?"
"What do you think about the overall price compared to your opinion of the house?"
"Do you think that financing or buying this property fits into the budget you have set for yourself?"

A lot of times, their 'think about it' objection is a stall that is masking a real objection. Using that process will most likely uncover what is bugging them. -jamesrobertstclair

Yes James! It is so GREAT to hear someone speak up for VALIDATING the prospect! Few average or low-performing salespeople validate (especially prospect objections), but most top-performers do.

Yes! You're right, it is often a stall.

And it's also often an automatic response without any real meaning behind it. It's just something that prospects have learned to say.

It's kind of like "have a nice day." How many people really mean "have a nice day" when they say "have a nice day?" It's just an automatic response we've learned to mutter throughout our day-to-day lives, just like "I need to think about it". -Skip Anderson

Unless of course one subscribes to mr. werth's rather odd theories wherein I'm not allowed to respond to a customer's objections.

Odd that, often after answering several questions for my customers, some of which mr. werth would term "objections" they have found that the tool I was suggesting to them was precisely what they needed.

Mr. Werth, I would say that I respectfully disagree, but after a year or so here reading your cockamaimie ideas I have little or no respect for you.

There are no low probablity prospects, only low probablity sales people.

Pat -toolguy_35

I agree with JacquesWerth. This is about qualification. When I go on vacation to a new place, and I'm really knocked out by the beach and the resaurants and all the good things I'm seeing and doing, I start to think, "how can I hold on to this." It's not to big a leap to go to a realitor and look at a house. I usually want to find out if I could buy a house and get some personal use of it but also get investment return from it. That's what I'm looking for. So when I tell the realitor "I need to think about it," what I'm saying is I've got to make a few comparsions and figure out if anyone around this town is able to buy and get investment returns. The realitors usually qualify me pretty quickly. They get excited window shopers all the time at beach resorts. They usually try to get my name, phone number and email contact so they can send me info about investment properties as they come available. -ToddR

What not to say. I once heard on a sales training course the suggestion... "let's think about it together". If I was buying a house and the agent said this I'd be down the road in 5 seconds!
--
Mark
RealLifeSelling -markg

If someone needs to think about it, say what will it take to wrap up a deal today? If they still need to think about it, say you have contract(s) out to these competitors in the area and the first one to send it in gets the spot. -fljs83

If a prospective buyer says he/she needs to "think about it" that does not mean he/she is not seriously interested. Personally, I would probe deeper into what prompted the "think about it" response. -Jeff Blackwell

I have found that "I'll think about it" means there is a disconnect between: the prospect's verbal language; body language, and what these catalysts generated as the real communication; and or the reps interpretation of all three factors.

Probing deeper into what was in fact communicated is an intuitive process seasoned sales reps know very well. In effect, more experience is needed here or as is too often the case with all of us, they were not qualified buyers in the first place. -John Voris

In my opinion...and I came to this opinion from selling big ticket items for a long time...why not allow them the opportunity to think about it?

I completely understand why you would want to think about it. We are talking about a lot of money. When can I get back with you on your decision? -MPrince

It isn't how you answer the reply "I have to think about it" that is important...it is more important to understand why you did not ask better questions during 'qualifying' the prospect, to determine if you really have someone 'willing and able to buy' that will make the necessary commitments to move forward. -Paulette Halpern

What if you asked GREAT questions and they STILL wanted to think about it before making a commitment? Is that their right? Or not? If it IS their right, is it something you want to take away from them?

Is there anything inherently wrong with a corridor existing between Able and Willing? If so, please tell us what you think it is.

Or are the answers to the above questions something you want to think about? -Gary A Boye

You may believe that the questions you asked were 'great' but they still did not accomplish getting a commitment. Learning how to set up the appointment with the 'close' planned as the outcome and getting the prospect to agree, that at the end of the meeting he will give you a decision is key. If the perameters are set correctly you will get more decisions and less stalls that come to you as "I have to think it over, for a few days'....too may times, the next part of the process is that the salesperson is following up to 'get the decision' yet all he has is 'free unlimited access to the prospects voice mail'. -Paulette Halpern

I think that's a fair and well expressed answer. -Gary A Boye

I agree 100% with Paulette. I might add that a good up front contract will prevent the TIO from happening. I.E. "Mr. Prospect I understand you are looking for ______(product or service), I am not sure at this point whether there is a good fit for both of us. However, if at the end of our meeting, you are uncertain about anything will you bring that attention before we conclude the meeting? (expect a yes) Great, one last thing at the end of our meeting can I expect a yes or no? Please keep in mind that no is my second favorite answer, maybe or I want to think it over really won't help you or me wouldn't you agree. You can say no and we can still be friends OK? -triadtraining

I believe that is horrible advice. You are SELLING..remember. It's not about you. Selling is not about setting the ground rules for a prospect's or customer's behaviour. Neither is it about instructing that person what he/she needs to do for the privilege of being your friend. If we eliminated all the people who think things over from our lives, we would either live on an island--or be surrounded by stuffed dolls.

The best "up front contract" consists of mutual trust and respect. An experienced salesperson can identify such conditions often with very few words being spoken. It is a bilateral contact if you need to use that word. -Gary A Boye

Gary,

I agree and disagree with you. Selling is a process, it starts with bonding and rapport and bonding and rapport must be present throughout the process. One of the strongest bonding and rapport (trustbuilding) tools is to make your prospect aware first, that no is OK. Secondly, to inform the prospect of how the process works (isn't that more refreshing than the dog and pony show most "salespeople" deliver and waste the prospect's time.
Selling is all about trust. Most prospects don't trust sales people. The more you act like, talk like, walk like and dillydallie around, the more your prospect's have a reason to mistrust you.

Disarming honesty is not only refreshing to the prospect, but it set's you ahead of your competition as a professional and consultative salesperson. -triadtraining

OK.. fair enough..but let's explore it further.

First of all, rapport is NOT trustbuilding. You could have two sociopath professional con artists telling lies to one another with mega-rapport.

If you want to substitute Conditions of Mutual Trust and Respect for the stale word "rapport", then we can get to the same page.

Second, in spite of what most sales trainers say, selling is not a process--it is an ENGAGEMENT.

I agree wholeheartedly with the message that NO IS OK, as did the late David Sandler, and his recent pastiche, Jim Camp (Start With NO). However, the examples that you gave on how to deliver that message are what I described as horrible (and still do describe that way).

Third, we DON"T describe "how the process works." If we are good--really good--we tell them how WE work. Examples: "Let me tell you how I work with clients." or "Let me tell you what I believe." (Very powerful--those seven words.)

Fourth, we don't "disarm" people with our honesty. They disarm themselves. That is the power of engagement over control. Your suggestions are of the latter.

Fifth, consultative selling is another topic. -Gary A Boye