"Think About It" Objection

How to effectively answer "Think About It" objection

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the official podcast of the Hoffeld group. Your host is the CEO and chief sales trainer of the Hoffeld group. David Hoffeld.[inaudible]

Speaker 2: 0:14

Welcome to the science of selling the place where you get actionable sales insights that are backed by hard science. That's just what we do. We, we really can't change now. We're too deep into the science. So I'm your host, David Hoffeld. And today we're going to look at what for many salespeople is one of the most challenging objections they face in that is,"I want to think about it." When they hear this objection, they cringe. And many people just don't know what to do because there's not a lot of good content out there on what to do when you face this one. Now, depending on the type of sale you're in, this may be a big objection that you face on a regular basis, or it may not. But all of us, regardless of the type of sale can relate to stalls where our buyers want to push things out and procrastinate, and then often gets to the root of what the majority of the thing about an objection. So let's talk about this as we do, let me share with you some of the most common ways I hear this objection being answered, and these are all bad. Please, please don't do these. And if you're doing any that just stop. Just, just, just promise me. You'll stop because it's not good. So I'm going to share with you a couple of them, and then we're going to talk about the psychology of what's going on. Get a little into that science, and then we're going to talk about exactly what you can say. I'm going to walk you through two different ways to handle this objection. So let's get started and let's talk about some of the ways I commonly hear people answer this objection. The most common one by far is this response. So they're at the end of the sale and paint the picture for you. And they're at the end of the sale. They're going in for the close and the buyer says, or the buyer's saying, this looks good. You know, let us think about it. And you can tell they're procrastinating. And the number one response by far that I hear people say is, what do you want to think about? I just get down even saying it. Ah, what do you want to think about? And of course the buyers go on and they don't never say anything useful, please, please stop saying this response. It never ever works. And it's a tell that someone doesn't know what they're doing when it comes to handling objection. What do you want to think about? People don't know it. It's not like when you leave that, they're going to go sit in a dark room and just sit and ponder your company and your product or service offering. They're literally probably going to do the exact opposite of what they just shared. In other words, they're probably never going to think about you ever again is more likely what's going to happen. So when you say, oh, what do you want to think about? That's the worst thing you can say. And I know there are still some trainers who saying to do that, please just, just stop it. It doesn't work. And if you've ever used that response, you know this already, cause you're like, eh, he's right. It didn't work. Right. Let's go into the second common response that I don't want you to use because it just doesn't work. And that is something like this. Someone tells you, I want to think about it. Another group of buyers saying, well, we're going to think about it for a little bit. Let's talk down the road. And a lot of salespeople have been trained to say something like this, where they focus solely on the money. The trainers will say, you always got to get to the money because if it's not the money, well it's the money and that's not true, but they're, they're so focused on the money. And so they'll say things like, you know, oftentimes when people say they want to think about something, barely what it is is they're just not sure if they can afford this. Now, is that the case here? They'll say some version of that doesn't usually work. It really usually just creates the buyers to come defensive and they'll be like, no, no, no. And, and nothing productive comes from it. Uh, third and final way. And then we're going to get on to some more productive ways to handle. This is to be really direct. And some salespeople have been trained like this. I've got a quote, a sales trainer. I have the book right here in front of me. I have so many sales books. And once in a while, I don't get as much joy from this. As I used to, I used to get a lot of joy out of this, but now not as much, not as much, but a long time ago, I used to read these, these, uh, these odd closes and the funny names they give them and ways they handle objections. But here's what this trainer who shall remain nameless, says regarding dealing with think about. And he says, and he gives an example here and you want to be direct. And to the point he says, no nonsense. So none of that nonsense, he says, you can say something like this. Look Jack, I'm assuming that's the buyer's name. Look Jack. You and I have spent a couple of hours together and we both know that this is the right product for you. What's more, you're getting a great deal. There is no reason why you shouldn't buy today. So the only way I'm going to allow you to walk out of here is as my customer, go ahead now and sign the contract. Will you? I don't even know what to say. Uh, just please don't don't do anything like that. Uh, cause that is just bad, bad, and most buyers today will not stand for that nor should they enough for the fun. Let's get to reality here. How do we handle this? Objection? First thing I want you to do is step back. And we gotta look at the psychology of this and this is why the science, we talk about it all the time. Why do I beat this drum all the time? Because as salespeople, you and I are waiting deep into the waters of psychology of human behavior and how our brains work, how we make buying decisions. And so, because we're engaging in this on an active level and trying to guide people through the process, you and I have no choice, but to either leverage the science or guests. And I think the science is a much better option, hopefully you as well. So what's going on here. If we think about when you get this objection of think about it. The majority of the time, it's an excuse, not an objection now, what do I mean by that? There's an important distinction here. What is an excuse and what is an objection? And objection is why the sale is not occurring. If you remember from in the past, we've talked about the six why's, the six commitments our brains must make for a buying decision to occur. And objection is a breakdown of one of those. What's an excuse. An excuse is a smoke screen. Aunt's an amicable way to end the sale. In other words, maybe I don't think that I want to spend this much money. Whenever you're asking for your product or service, I want to spend it on your product or service. Maybe I want to buy something else or I don't think now is the right time, rather than tell you that an amicable way, a lot of buyers will end this sale is just to saying, this is really helpful. You've done a great, great, great job. Um, let me think about this for a little bit and I'll get back to you later, rolling. And it's an amicable way for them to get out because they don't want any confrontation because sometimes sales people get upset when you give them an objection because they don't know what to do. They get frustrated. They want to avoid that. Cause everyone has had bad experiences with salespeople. And so the amicably and the sale by saying think about it. So first thing is, is think about it an excuse or is it an real objection? And so we need to decipher, uh, which of those that is. And that's what your objection handling process can help you do. We're not going to go into all that today because that's opening up a whole nother thing that, uh, I'm not going to do on this podcast episode about how to structure an objection handling process. But you need to have one. So one quick thing I'll share just in case. You're not sure what to do here is isolating is a great strategy to use. So anytime you get an objection, like think about, let's say you're talking to a group of buyers and you go, I, I completely understand. I mean, this is really an important investment for your business, other than wanting to give it some thought. Is there any other reasons why you wouldn't feel comfortable moving forward with us and then see what they say? A lot of times that alone will bring it up, but I need to identify as they say an excuse or isn't an objection. And oftentimes think about it. Can me either one often it's a smoke screen where they're just trying to amicably end the sale. Other times it's a very legitimate objection, which is why, as I mentioned a little earlier, assuming everything is about money, isn't true. They might not think your product is right for them. Then they, I think the timing is right. They, they might not even see a need for change, right? There's a lot of things that go on behind that objection. So I want to identify what's really going on there. Am I dealing with the real objection or is this a smoke screen? The reason being I want to get to what reality is also when you're dealing with a group of buyers, there's no rule that says they only get one objection. Then you can be talking to seven people and have seven different objections that I need to uncover and deal with. So you're gonna to be mindful of that as well. So keep that in mind, but how do we handle this response? Let's say we are dealing with think about it and the buyers we're talking to are just hung up. Let's say they've made their commitments, but they're just, they're feeling that little apprehension of making the final commitment of moving forward. Okay. That's the scenario we'll talk about. What are some specific ways and things you can say to deal with that? Number one, focus on those six why's. Here's what I mean, we've talked about how you can use them throughout the sale, but you can also use them when handling objections. So here's how you can use those six whys. You can say something to the effect of, I completely understand. And this is an important investment in your business. You know, oftentimes when people tell me they want to give this some more thought and often that is the right thing to do. And I think that's important to really think through everything, to make sure that it is the right decision for your business. But oftentimes they tell me that there are a number of things that are really important for them to think through the first one is, do they even want to make a change like this? So let me ask you based on what we've talked about and you can cite specifics, is this a change that you truly feel is right for your business? Oh, absolutely. If they say yes, you can go to the next one. If they say, well, I'm not sure there's your objection, right? And of course that was what, why are we focusing on, well, I change then we'll go to the next. Now a second thing that a lot of organizations we talk to are saying is also important from the really think through is timing. When is the right time? So let me ask you based on what we've discussed again, site specifics. Do you feel that now is the right time for you to move forward with a project like this? If they aren't sure there's your objection? There's the breakdown in the why? If they say, no, we feel this is the right one. Then you continue on a third thing that a lot of organizations saying is important for them to think through, right? Mirroring what they said they want to do would also be helpful for you as well as to really think about who is the right partner that you want to work with. Now we've talked about our capabilities cite some of the specifics in five or 10 seconds. Let me ask though, do you feel that we are the right company, that whenever it may be, that you feel comfortable about partnering with and if they say yes, move on to the next, if they're not sure there you go address that, then you'll say another thing that companies say is also really important is what's the right product or service, depending on the context. And so we've talked about what we offer again, a few seconds of a reminder, let me ask, do you feel that our product would solve some of those problems that we have discussed for your organization? If they Hammond hall, you'll go deeper and you identify what's going on there. Cause there's your objection. If not, if they say no, we feel what you offer is exactly what we need. Great. Move one to the last one. And that is this, the final thing that organization's saying it's really important for them to think through is if this is an investment that they want to make and are capable of making at this time. So let me ask you, when you talked about the project costs and go into specifics, or is this something your organization couldn't do if you wanted to at this time or if they're not sure then you address it, there's your objection? And if they say, no, I think that's something we couldn't do. If we, if we felt it was the right thing, then you got commitment to that. Now what this is either going to do is a and reveal an objection or be solidified a sale. Then you can say, it sounds like on your team is really given this a lot of thought. I mean, if I, you know, you've thought through and you know, this is something you want to move on because of the problem we've discussed. You'll feel that now is the right time. We're the right partner. And the offering we put forth is the right solution for you. And this is the right price. And what else is there? I mean, it sounds like you've, you've already made this decision. So now you're helping people because oftentimes this can be a reflex for people when they say, I want to think about it. And so now you're helping them realize you've already given this a lot of thought. And often when you use this well, and you have it smooth that people have this aha moment like, oh yeah, I guess that's, that's true because no one wants to make a rushed decision. There's a lot of risk with that. They want to make a thoughtful decision. And sometimes in the moment, people don't realize all the commitments they've made, especially when they've been main over an extended period of time. They're just lack of memory, right? They forget certain things. And so as you go through that simple process, condensing those six whys and helping them think through those five areas that others just like them again, leveraging social proof. It's incredibly powerful and it works and it helps bring clarity either. It'll reveal a breakdown in one of the wise or, you know, solidify in the sale and allow you to go in and let's do another one. I want to do a, there's a, not a ways we can handle this objection. Well, let me give you one more. And this is on reframing. I'm going to do a cognitive reframe here. So let's say I'm talking to a group of buyers and they've made all these commitments, but they're just falling back into procrastination, but they're just having a hard time making that final decision. And there's nothing else holding them back. And they're saying, well, maybe we're just going to, I don't know, maybe we'll push this out nine months or so. And let's revisit it then. And that is not the right thing for them. So I need to help them rethink this. Let me just give you a response and give you a way to handle this. Assuming everything else in the sale has gone well. So you can say something like they say, I want to think about it. You've talked a little about this already. And then you say, so let me ask this when the time comes, you mentioned, I mean waiting nine months and maybe that's the right thing to do. Are we the provider? And is this the product that you would like to go with now? If, if everything has been true that we've already set up, they'll go, oh yeah. Yeah. Well, we love you. We love the company and we love the solution you put together. It, we feel it's right. It's just, we might want to push this off a good nine months till, you know, laner Rowan, uh, in the, in the year. And you can say, okay, so just so I understand, then eventually we'll be working together. It sounds like, oh yeah, yeah. Right. So I'm just confirming that commitment and making it a little stronger in their mind. Okay. This is just one way. And again, like the last one, you can modify this for your context. And then you say something like this. So it's really not a matter of if then it's just a matter of when, again, the commitment grows even deeper, but now you have that consistency principle in your favor, because they've just told you, they're going to move forward with you when the time comes nonchalantly and then you go, so we'll be working together. And they say, well, yeah. And then you say, it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when and they go, well, yeah. And now the reframing begins because you can say, well, let me, first of all, saying, thank you for the trust you place in our organization. We don't take that lightly. And since you made the decision to move forward, I guess you've made not big decision already. We should probably discuss the smaller decision of when is the right time. Now you mentioned maybe waning nine months from now. And again, maybe that's the right thing to do. I'm curious if you were to wait nine months, what would be an advantage for that? Now, if we've done our job, we've gotten our commitments going in here. They're just procrastinating. And there's really no good reason. Right. Which is often what will happen in this sale at the very end when we've done everything. Right. And then just that final hurdle or that final commitment. If you pose someone that question, they don't know what to say. We'll often go, well, I don't, I don't know. Now you're getting them to think about the benefits of waning. And if we've done a good job here, there are not because they're just procrastinating for procrastination sake. And so after they've struggled with that, you'll quickly after they start to struggle with that. And you can say something like this now to me there, and we should probably look at the alternative as well. And you want to frame it with fairness to me fair. And we shouldn't look at the alternative as well. If you move forward, we're now what would be an advantage to that? And if you're not sure if they're going to remember, let's say that was a few meetings ago and you can remind them of that. Now, to be fair, we should probably look at the alternative. I know when we talked about possibly moving forward, now we had discussed and remind them of that. Now I'm curious. So from your perspective, as you think through the timing of this, what do you think would be an advantage to moving forward now versus waiting? Now they shouldn't be able to share some of the reasons you've already given them, right? You've given them the answers to this question already in the past. And so they go, well, I guess, and now they're thinking through it. So this reframing isn't about manipulating anyone in the doing anything they don't want to do. It's about helping remind them and reveal to them the advantages of moving forward now versus not. And so after they give some of the reasons that you shared with them, why in the advantageous to move forward now, right? Letting the problem persists the outcomes, that problem is producing persist and so on. And then you can say, well, I guess I would have to agree with you. I mean, if we move forward, now you get the solution you need sooner and that'll help in, you know, ABC areas just recite back, whatever they said, mirror back to them. She had a great Mount osseous, there's really no risk here. You helped design this solution. We all agree. It's the right thing for you. So why not give us a try? Okay. Notice the reframing process there. So you guide them first and making a commitment to you though. You'll leave timing out of it. And then you thank them for making that big decision to move forward. And now you want to discuss the smaller decision of when you look at the advantages of procrastinating. And if it's just, there's nothing else behind that, which we would have already identified and they just aren't running the move forward yet. And there's no reason. They're just like, Ugh, just that final step can be hard for people. Sometimes this helps them see it from a new perspective. That's what reframing does reframing is so powerful. Boy side note, I have a whole chapter on reframing in my upcoming book comes out in March of 22 in is awesome. I I'm wanting to put it in. Science is selling. Wasn't done the research three and a half years of research, getting excited on reframing because, uh, just going through this little one right here and we go into some powerful stuff in the book, it is the most advanced reframing process that I'm aware of in selling. So check that out anyway, make a note of that. I went back to this, uh, so you're, you're getting that commitment. Then you, you congratulate them on making the big decision and then you say, well, the smaller decision is when you ask them what media advantages and when meaningful, where now they struggle, then you remind them or ask them if you think they'll remember the advantages of moving forward now, and they share that with you. And then you agree with them. Remember those words I used? Well, I guess I'd have to agree with you and you recite back what they shared. And now you go back in really gently because remember, think about it. Oftentimes in this an answers I'm giving you here. There's so many ways to answer this depending on the context, but I gave you some of the most common ways that work in so many sales scenarios that you can modify them slightly and begin using them today. Most likely in your scenario as well, when you want to help get people unstuck in their decision process. And if there's not a real objection, holding up the sale that think about it as masking. And the previous example I gave you using those six why's would help identify that. Then an example like this, I'm just some reframing is incredibly powerful because sometimes the sale will stall through no fault of your own. It's just people get stuck in their decision making process and they need an expert to help them guide them through that process. In fact, that's, our job is to help people through their decision-making process, help them make the best decision for them. And oftentimes they need you to learn some of these advanced strategies so you can help deploy them. So if that's some thought on, how do you deal with think about it? I gave you two extremely powerful ways that I've seen work in so many different sales contexts. So give them some thought, listen to this a couple times till you get it down yourself, what are you waiting for? Get out there, use these strategies and then go sell something. We'll see you next time.