Of all the objections sales reps get when they call a prospect back to close them, this is perhaps one of the most frustrating – and the reason is because it’s usually caused by the sales rep! Here’s what happens: Sales reps send an email or brochure or link about their information out to a prospect, and when they call back, they invariably open the conversation with:
“Hi, I’m just calling to see if you received the information I sent out to you?”
OR worse:
“Hi, just following up on the information I sent to you – ah, did you have a chance to go through it yet?”
What do you think the prospect will say? Nine times out of ten the prospect will give you the stall: “I haven’t looked at it yet…” And then the sales rep is stuck and usually ends the call trying to schedule a time to get back with them…and you can imagine how this goes.
So, the first tip is to STOP asking IF the prospect has received/read/gone through the information, and instead open your calls with this assumptive opening:
“Hi this is _______ _________ with __________ calling about the information on our lead production process you wanted me to send to you. Now I’m sure you’ve gone through it a bit and probably have some questions for me. What stood out to you the most?”
And then hit your mute button and begin listening to what they say, and how they say it.
If at that time you get the stall that they haven’t gone through it yet, no problem! Just use any of the responses below to counter and move past this objection:
“I haven’t looked at the information yet.”
Response One:
“That’s fine, in fact we can go over it together, and this way I’ll be able to answer any questions that come up for you. Can you open that email up for me? I’ll be glad to hold while you do….
Response Two:
“That’s O.K., I know you’re busy, and it’s actually a good thing you haven’t looked at it yet. This way, while I’m on the phone with you, we can go through it together, and I can answer any questions that come up. Do you happen to have it in front of you?
Then use any of the following open ended questions to engage the prospect:
“By the way, how are you currently handling your lead flow right now?”
OR
“You mentioned that you have compared these kinds of services before – what have you particularly been looking for in a new provider?”
Response Three:
“I understand and that’s O.K. Let’s do this: let’s spend just a few minutes together right now and I can direct you to a few points that might have particular interest to you. Go ahead and open that email/brochure up…”
Response Four:
“It sounds like you’re as busy as me! No problem, though, here’s what we can do: while I have you on the phone, let me point a couple of things out to you so that later when you have more time to go through it, you’ll know what to look for. Can you open that email briefly for me?”
Response Five:
“That’s O.K.; I know how busy you are. If you have just a minute now, I’ll be happy to quickly point out some of the points that would appeal to you most. That will save you time later when you go through it. Do you have that handy?”
Response Six:
“I’m sorry you didn’t get it; it probably got stuck in your spam filter. Tell you what, I’ll just go ahead and resend that right now…..O.K., it’s on the way to you. Tell me when you see it pop up….”
Response Seven:
“I’ll go ahead and send the brochure again, and while it’s on the way to you, let me just ask you:
“How motivated are you and your department to make a change in the way you handle…?”
OR
“And if you do like the program, besides yourself, who else would have to weigh in on this decision?”
And any other re-qualification questions.
Response Eight:
“I completely understand and how about this: Go ahead and open that email up, and I’ll just briefly point out two things that will give you a framework for when you have time to go through it. Do you still have it in your inbox?”
Response Nine:
“Hey I get that all the time, so no worries. If you have just a few minutes now, I’d be happy to point a few things out – can you open that email briefly for me?”
Response Ten:
“I completely understand and let’s schedule a time when we can go over that together – how does later today or tomorrow morning look for you?”
As you can see, the best way to deal with the “I haven’t had time to look at the information yet” objection is by not causing it to begin with! After that, if you do get this annoying stall, it’s easy to sidestep it – if you know how. And now you do!