We have a Sandler Rule that states, “If you feel it say it gently.”
It’s important in sales to deal with stalls and objections. If people give you a “think it over” response, often the only one who would be thinking it over is you. How do we take that common response and get more information from prospects?
We use a series of tactics called the Five Steps to Getting the Truth:
1. Match and lead. First, meet your prospect where they are. The prospect assumes you are leaving and begins to lower their defense walls.
Here’s an example:
Prospect: “John, let me think this over.”
You: “No worries, is there anything else I can get for you today?”
Prospect: “No, this has been great.”
You: “How much time do you need?”
Prospect: “Give me about two weeks to think this through.”
You: “I’ll follow up with you two weeks from today. Is there anything else I can get for you?”
Prospect: “No, thank you.”
2. Get permission to ask tough questions. This is the step that begins the five seconds of the gutsy method.
You: “I’ll follow up with you in a couple of weeks. One last thing, can I ask you a tough question?”
Prospect: “Sure John ask anything”
3. Make it third party. Remove the blame from them by stating a phrase along the lines of, “It may not be the case here, and I don’t want you to misunderstand my comment.”
4. Tell the gentle truth.
You: “In my experience Pete, when I’ve sat down with someone for a couple of meetings and the meeting ends with a ‘let me think it over’ response, I feel I may have missed the mark here and you may have already decided not to move forward.”
5. Ask. Salespeople get new information 85% of the time after asking tough questions. Asking that question allows you to begin the deal centralized around the TRUE objection.
When you hear a stall and you feel it, say it gently.
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