There are a few objections that seem – at first glance – almost impossible to overcome: “I want to think about it,” is one of them – but a close second has to be the “I’ll have to speak with….” someone else – a supervisor, regional manager, spouse, etc. In this case, like the one before it, the prospect isn’t objecting, per se, but they aren’t saying yes either. In both cases, however, they are stalling the sale and if your experience is like many others, then you know that a stalled sale often doesn’t close. So what to do?
First of all, I hope you anticipated this stall and even gained some insight and leverage for it by uncovering it during the qualifying stage. A simple question like, “And besides yourself, who weighs in on the decision on something like this,” would be enough to expose who all is involved in the decision process. Once you do, you can use any of the layering questions I’ve written about in other articles.
But if you have found this out and you still get this stall when you ask for the deal at the end of your presentation, then you don’t want to say what 80% of your competition says when they get this objection which is, “When should I check back with you?” Instead, you’ll want to begin to delve into the stall and gain more insight into whether it’s something that will potentially kill the deal, or if you can learn enough about the other person or process to properly access if this has the potential to turn into a sale and what it might realistically take to do so.
So the key to this stall is to begin questioning your prospect to learn as much as you can about the other person’s buying motives and their process. As you begin asking some of the questions below, you’ll find that the more information they have about the other person’s process, the more likely it is they are involved in the buying decision, and the less they know, the less involved they generally are and, unfortunately, the less likely it is they can influence them. Choose any of the questions below and use as many of them as appropriate. As always, spend some time to customize them to fit your product or service and your personality.
Objection: “I’m going to have to speak with my regional manager,”
Questions:
“Based on what you know about them, what is their timeline for acquiring this?”
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“And what sort of timeline are they dealing with for putting something like this to work for you?”
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“Share with me a little bit about the process they’ll go through to make a decision on this?”
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“Are they looking specifically for something like this right now, or are they in the information gathering stage?”
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“What do you think some of the questions are that they’ll have on this?”
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“Is this something they specially tasked you to find, or are you going to be bringing this to them on your own?”
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“What questions can you see them having on this?”
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“Based on what I’ve shown you, do you think this is something they will approve?”
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“What concerns can you see them having on this?”
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“Does he/she tend to make quick decisions on something like this?”
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“What would be the biggest reason they wouldn’t move on something like this?”
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“What would be the biggest reason they would go for this?”
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“Is your regional manager (wife/supervisor) generally supportive of your recommendations?”
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“Who besides your supervisor would be weighing in on this decision?”
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“Would it be O.K. for me to speak with them directly to answer any questions?”
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“I know you’re going to explain this to them, but I don’t want you to do my job for me, so I’d be happy to reach out to them directly if that would be alright with you?”
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“What would be the best way for me to help them come to a positive answer on this?”
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“What would you recommend is the best way I can help them see the value in this?”
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“Can we do a conference call right now with them to just see what their initial reaction to this is?”
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“Based on the other suggestions you’ve taken to them, what do you think their reaction on this will be?”
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“You like this solution, right? And I take it you’ll be recommending it to them, then?”
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“Since we both think this solution will work for you, how can you and I persuade them to agree to go with us on this?”
As you can see from these questions, just because your prospect says they need to speak with someone, it doesn’t mean that you have to go away. Instead, by asking questions and delving into the buying process and the decision making process, you’ll learn what it’s going to take for you to advance and close the sale.