Do you keep hearing “let me think about it” and feeling frustrated with how to get them to actually move forward – FASTER?
It’s such a delicate balance.
How can you save the sale or at least get clarity on what the hell they need to “think about” without coming off pushy and desperate (what they call commission breath)?
And when to implement these urgency inducing strategies or when to respect that the other person needs to honestly think about it (because that’s a real thing!)
There are a couple of really popular tactics people suggest:
Offering a DEEP discount (like $5k off of an originally $15k service) available on that call ONLY.
- The thing about this gimmick is – it makes me question whether it was ever worth $15k in the first place.
- Were you grossly overcharging me before? Now I’m just pissed.
- Offer a discount or a valuable addition for the call only and let them know it’s your “fast action/decision makers discount” because “you’ve found action takers succeed the most with you and people who “think about it” don’t succeed.”
- Some people take this strategy a step even further by telling you when you need to think about it that you must not be “serious” about solving your problem or succeeding. You’re not really a “winner.”
- So, not only does this feel like a cheap gimmick but you’re also insulting them.
That strategy is only going to work on the most naive of people.
Once someone has been around the block a few times, they know this for the gimmick it is, they’re not buying anything you’re implying about their character, now they want to work with you even less and they will NEVER recommend you to others.
Because you have to resort to gimmicks/insults to get sales and that smacks of self-serving deception.
Which leads to a lack of trust.
And trust is crucial for sales. Nobody buys something from someone they don’t trust.
Tell me – what’s so wrong with telling people you want them to buy something from you?
We all know what’s going on here – it’s when you mask the truth that it feels sleazy.
So, what works even better? THE TRUTH.
In my experience, yes – offering a carrot can absolutely be the thing that gets someone over the line.
And you’re probably missing sales if there’s no strong reason for someone to move forward with you.
But it’s the DELIVERY of it that makes all the difference.
- When you offer prospects an incentive, tell them you’re offering it because you want them to move forward.
- And tell them you offer this incentive because you’ve found if you don’t give them a good reason to move forward, you’ve noticed people have a habit of “thinking on it” and 3 months later remain stuck in the same spot.
Because THAT’S the truth.
It’s a win-win situation.
Does it benefit the person selling? Absolutely.
You want them to buy your thing and that’s OK – it doesn’t make you a bad person (unless the prospect isn’t a fit and won’t see results with you).
But it also benefits the person buying because they can finally start solving this hairy problem causing them stress.
Some people just need a good reason to do it sooner than later.
Here’s the exact format I’ve found works well:
- Offer them a discount (nothing HUGE but enough to be enticing) or something valuable that would make a difference for them
- Give them 24 or 48 hours to take advantage – anything longer than that is too long and anything shorter than that feels like too much pressure
- If they don’t move forward on the call, you now have a fantastic and easy reason to follow up!
Because once you use either of the first 2 gimmicks – you’re going to fail with us because you’re a “thinker” or get overcharged when you come back – how do you follow up from there?
“Hey want to buy my overpriced thing or the thing I told you that you wouldn’t succeed with because you’re not an “action taker”?
And follow up is where 80% of sales are made.
So, if they don’t move forward on the call, send them follow up information.
Examples are a list of what’s included for them to reference and/or some testimonials (bonus points if they’re similar to their situation).
Check in with them closer to when the incentive is up and if they’re still not sure, ask them if it would be helpful to extend the incentive for them (still put a time limit around it like no longer than a week)?
ASK FIRST – don’t offer. This is important.
- The law of reciprocation is powerful and gives you some idea of whether they actually want what you’ve got or are just pushing you off.
- You can also ask if it’d be helpful to put down a small, refundable deposit to hold the incentive while they do their due diligence?
- If they say no to either of those – then you know this person is not really interested and can stop wasting effort.
- And now you can avoid the never ending follow up hole.
- But when leading up to that, the difference is you’re coming from a HELPFUL place – not a pushy place.
- And of course, there’s a lot more that happens before this moment that plays into them moving forward.
This is not a save all strategy.
Leading up to this point it’s crucial to make sure to connect dots to ultimate results, ask strong check in questions, customize your conversation, etc.
And I cover those in another post.
But without a doubt, in my experience offering some kind of incentive to move forward at the end of your call can make a hell of a difference in your sales.
As long as you’re not a douchebag about it.
- Winning more sales by not being a stereotypical sales douchebag is something we cover in depth during my 6 month Matchmaker Sales Method™ Mentorship.
- Using a powerful combination of one-on-one, mastermind and course you’ll walk away with a custom sales framework specific to you that converts 80%-100% of your sales conversations.
- We’ll craft questions that position you as an expert to work with instead of digging into pain and a clear, compelling explanation of how you help your prospects that makes them excited to sign up.
- If you’re a service provider selling something $3,000+ with at least ONE quality sales appointment/week (they want, need and can afford you) I GUARANTEE you double your investment.
If you’re interested in winning more business without pressure, pitching or pretending to be someone else please book a call and we can discuss whether it’s a fit 🙂