The "I'll think about it " objection is one of the most difficult to deal with.
We all know that a customer who decides he needs to think things over is, more often than not, not interested, and that his objection is a way of politely dismissing the salesperson.
Traditionally, to try and salvage the sale, we use the question-and-answer technique, which has produced some interesting results.
Example: IT solutions salesperson
- The customer: "I'll think about it!"
- The seller: "I understand. It's indeed a major investment that requires a great deal of thought. However, if I may say so, you told me that you're not a technician, whereas I am. Would you like to take advantage of my presence so that we can think things through together?
- Or simply: "You're right, this is a major investment. Where would you like to focus your thoughts?"
Sincere customers will be happy to answer, while others will be uncomfortable and insist on taking a step back before making a decision. It becomes difficult to insist without coming across as invasive or aggressive. There is, however, a subtle technique that can resuscitate a few lost sales. Its implementation requires an indispensable ingredient: the possibility of granting a discount...
Let's take the previous situation and stage this last-chance technique:
- Customer: "I'll think about it!
- The salesman: "It's an important decision, indeed. May I ask what you're thinking about?"
- The customer: "I don't know, but I don't like to make up my mind on the spot, without giving myself some time to take stock and even discuss it around me to see if there are any aspects of the problem that I might have missed at first glance."
- The salesman: "That's your right, and I respect it. May I ask you one last question, Mr. Kirecul?"
- The customer: "Please do!"
- The sales assistant: "During our meeting, you told me about your expectations and concerns, and you agreed that this solution was perfectly suited to your needs. Do we agree?"
- Customer: "Absolutely.
- The sales assistant: " Given all that, how many chances do I have of seeing you again?"
- The customer: "I don't know... I'd say a 90% chance."
At this point, the salesman pretends to think, then continues:
- ... So I have a 10% chance of not seeing you again, Mr. Kirecul, let's say I buy your reflection. You're going to spend two hours thinking about your decision, for example. How much would you sell two hours of your reflection for if you had to set a price for them?"
- Customer: "That's an odd question... Pfff... I'd say 200 euros."
- Salesman: "Well, I'll buy them from you. I'll give you 200 euros off this global IT solution to win you as a customer."
Excerpt from : " Les Accélérateurs de vente " - Philippe LAFAIX and Michaël AGUILAR - DUNOD - 2005