“Okay.”
Really? Are you actually going to do that? Lets’ face it, we have all done it and some of us are still doing the: “Okay.”
Really? Are you actually going to do that? Lets’ face it, we have all done it and some of us are still doing the: “Okay.” To compound this, we sincerely believe that they are a hot prospect that will be calling you back ‘any day’ now with the purchase order. If you look at the days of the week, there is no ‘Any day.’
It is the salesperson’s fault as to why it happened. Yes, that’s correct, you are the one that caused the: “I need to think about it” response. Was there a decision-making process, CAP, (Customer Approval Protocol) established prior to the meeting? In all likelihood, the answer would be, no. However, sales professionals do establish a CAP prior to meeting so that the above never happens.
There are many reasons that a prospect or even a customer may hit you with the: “I need to think about it” reason. They include:
• They don’t want to say no. Something that CAP takes care of.
• They have no authority to make the decision. Again, something that CAP makes you aware of.
• There is something they are still confused about in your proposal.
• You have not triggered their emotional response to buy.
• They either don’t like or trust you.
There are many more, but those seem to always hit the top five.
How one handles the ‘think about it’ statement is again, one of those small things that differentiates a salesperson from a sales professional. These small things may not seem too important, but the accumulation of all the small things can make a huge difference in your outcome.
Two of the above are handled by having a proper CAP established. The emotional response comes from answering the ‘why.’ It is evident that what you sell, be it a product or service, is immaterial if you do not understand ‘why’ the customer may want to buy it.
The trust and like issue comes from a lack, be it perceived or real, of no effective bonding and rapport, the second step in the sales process. The biggest challenge is the ‘trust’ factor for it can never be made, it has to be earned. There are many ways to earn their ‘trust’ including, but certainly not inclusive, in having others speak for you; AKA, testimonials.
There is also a follow-up question that you can ask if you should get the above statement: “I feel that there may have been something in my presentation that you may not have completely understood. Could you share with me what that may have been?” The very neutral question with you taking the blame of not explaining it properly. Again, as with the ‘trust’ issue, numerous ways to make sure by using simple questioning techniques, that you never get to the ‘think about it’ outcome.
Stop thinking about it yourself and make the decision that you know has to be made.