There are many bad ways a sales pitch can end. An interruption during the pitch. A faulty slideshow you just can’t get working. A spurned lover kicking down the door and telling someone off while three security guards try and hold them back. (Trust me, it’s more common than you think.)
But there is one dreaded fucking response worse than all those combined
“I’ll think about it and call you back.”
Usually followed by feelings of despair and frustration, when a customer wants to think about it.
Do you remember when you’d ask your parents if you could stop by the candy store and they respond “We’ll think about it?”
It was a definite way to strike you down without hurting your feelings. You wish they’d just tell you the truth! Instead, you’d have to wait another ten minutes to ask, and by them, they’d change the subject. Those sly devils! However, have you thought it might not really be their fault? Maybe you should have taken some goddamn ownership and done a better sales pitch about that candy store.
Is it your fault?. Damn right it’s your fault!
Would you like to fix it? If you do keep your eyeballs reading.
These are a couple reasons the customer wants to “think about it”.
1- More than likely, you have not instilled enough confidence in what you’re selling.
They can sniff that lack of confidence out of you like a bloodhound and because of it they brush you off like a pile of dirt into a dustpan. (I’m still working on my analogies.)
2- Perhaps you just didn’t wow them enough with your presentation.
It all comes down to one factor: trust. They need to think about it because they don’t trust you. Trust is extremely important in any relationship, let alone when one party is giving money to the other. Would you give money to somebody you didn’t trust? Outside of by paying taxes, that is. (Zing!)
If the client says they need to think about it, you did something to lose their trust, or never gained it the first damn place. Your limp handshake made them feel uncomfortable. Your standoffishness made them put off the decision. Your straight up lack of a personality bored them to death. You didn’t show them why what you’re selling is so amazing they must pay for it at once. And the worse part if your a fucking rockstar and you failed to show it. At least wear the tie!! (C’mon, man! Rookie mistake.)
So how can you fix it?
How can you change the mind of a customer who wants to “think about it”?
- Give them that strong handshake you’ve practiced.
- Make that fucking laser beam eye contact which tells them, I BELONG! and YOU NEED ME! Be personable.
- Smile!!
- Ask questions about them
- Speak in benefits, not features
Maybe they don’t like what you have to offer. That’s fine. All you have to do is be honest and perhaps they will be able to connect you with others.
It’s all about building that trust and eliminating the doubt.
By following that mantra, you’ll never again have to hear the words-that-must-not-be-named
again.