Difficult objection

Hello all,

I have been facing a tough objection for a long time now that I'm hoping someone here might be able to help with.

I sell backyard storage buildings. Quite frequently, after going through the entire sales process with my prospects, and giving them a quote for a building, they tell me that they must go home and measure their space.

Sometimes this truly must be done. But other times, I feel, it is just a way of stalling, same as saying, "I want to think about it".

Currently, all I have been doing is to try to set up an appointment to meet them on site and help with measuring so that I can have another chance at closing. They don't always go for that though and then I'm left without any means of closing.

Any advice?

When you set up the appointment to meet them on site, is it with people who have said up front that they want a storage building?

MitchM

Yes,

We are primarily a retail business with customers who come to us.

I understand.

So after the YES - the person comes to you - what kind of commitment has that person made before you drive out to go through the sales process? Or do you go through the sales process on the phone?

MitchM

The way it usually happens is that people visit our retail store because they need a shed either because they are currently renting a storage facility or cannot park their car in the garage because they have to much stuff.

They see our commercials or know us by reputation and in they come. Wanting a shed.

At that point I introduce myself, interview them to find out why they need a shed, how big, what style, colors, show them what we have, go through my presentation, so on and so forth until they want a price. Then we sit down and work up an estimate.

Next I show them the estimate and go for the close. Ussualy something like, "For the shed you've chosen it will be $XX.XX and I just need you autograph right here."

That's when they will bring up the objection, or sometimes they bring it up early on.

To answer your question they have made no commitments to me

I understand.

I'm not going to go into any detailed sales methodology or role playing or sales resource recommending now, but I will suggest you continue to study yourself and what kind of commitments you and the prospect make along the way in the presentation.

Also, pay attention to the prospect's answer's to your questions to clarify whether or not you're speaking with someone ready, willing and able if you can meet his/her conditions of satisfaction and needs.

I've had many conversations on the phone and face-to-face that appeared to be very high probability prospects yet in the course of the interview/conversation they disqualified themselves for various reasons.

The best to you.

MitchM

JS, you mentioned that you try to go and do measuring. I'm just curious what would happen if you simply told the prospects that this is a step you must accomplish to give them a quote, as it is too time consuming for everybody involved to give quotes on buildlings that may not fit a particular space. What are your thoughts? Would this increase your closing rate with prospects overall even though some would fall by the wayside because they're just kicking tires?

It strikes me that you are having difficulty building sales momentum, and to do that I believe you need a well-defined process that is designed to make it comfortable for prospects to go from one step to the next step to the next step. What if you used your retail store only as a pre-qualification step, but the real selling was done on site?

jsherwood, what is the standard procedure in your industry for that scenario?

As I understand it you are dealing mainly with prospective buyers who are business owners. These type of customers are usually fairly quick decision makers. You may be taking too long trying to teach them about how your building is better than your competitions and not reading their sense of urgency to get the task over with. Buyers fall primarily into one of four catagories and if you use the wrong psychological approach with one they have a difficuly time hearing you.

You appear to know your product well, but how familiar are you with your competition. People buy from from salespeople that understand them and understand their needs. All you need is to study and grasp the psychological side of purchasing to go along with your current sales training and you will be all right.

O.L. Houston
President

	#1
jsherwood	Difficult objection Hello all, I have been facing a tough objection for a long time now that I'm hoping someone here might be able to help with. I sell backyard storage buildings. Quite frequently, after going through the entire sales process with my prospects, and giving them a quote for a building, they tell me that they must go home and measure their space. Sometimes this truly must be done. But other times, I feel, it is just a way of stalling, same as saying, "I want to think about it". Currently, all I have been doing is to try to set up an appointment to meet them on site and help with measuring so that I can have another chance at closing. They don't always go for that though and then I'm left without any means of closing. Any advice?

	#2
MitchM	Question When you set up the appointment to meet them on site, is it with people who have said up front that they want a storage building? MitchM

	#3
jsherwood	Answer Yes, We are primarily a retail business with customers who come to us.

	#4
MitchM	Another Question(s) I understand. So after the YES - the person comes to you - what kind of commitment has that person made before you drive out to go through the sales process? Or do you go through the sales process on the phone? MitchM

	#7
MitchM	Closing I understand. I'm not going to go into any detailed sales methodology or role playing or sales resource recommending now, but I will suggest you continue to study yourself and what kind of commitments you and the prospect make along the way in the presentation. Also, pay attention to the prospect's answer's to your questions to clarify whether or not you're speaking with someone ready, willing and able if you can meet his/her conditions of satisfaction and needs. I've had many conversations on the phone and face-to-face that appeared to be very high probability prospects yet in the course of the interview/conversation they disqualified themselves for various reasons. The best to you. MitchM

	#8
Skip Anderson "Top Sales Expert"	JS, you mentioned that you try to go and do measuring. I'm just curious what would happen if you simply told the prospects that this is a step you must accomplish to give them a quote, as it is too time consuming for everybody involved to give quotes on buildlings that may not fit a particular space. What are your thoughts? Would this increase your closing rate with prospects overall even though some would fall by the wayside because they're just kicking tires? It strikes me that you are having difficulty building sales momentum, and to do that I believe you need a well-defined process that is designed to make it comfortable for prospects to go from one step to the next step to the next step. What if you used your retail store only as a pre-qualification step, but the real selling was done on site? __________________ Skip Anderson Selling To Consumers \| Sales Training to Sell More™ Free sales training newsletter. Subscribe!

	#9
Houston	jsherwood, what is the standard procedure in your industry for that scenario?

	#10
olhouston	Difficult Objection As I understand it you are dealing mainly with prospective buyers who are business owners. These type of customers are usually fairly quick decision makers. You may be taking too long trying to teach them about how your building is better than your competitions and not reading their sense of urgency to get the task over with. Buyers fall primarily into one of four catagories and if you use the wrong psychological approach with one they have a difficuly time hearing you. You appear to know your product well, but how familiar are you with your competition. People buy from from salespeople that understand them and understand their needs. All you need is to study and grasp the psychological side of purchasing to go along with your current sales training and you will be all right. O.L. Houston President

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