Dealing with ‘I have to discuss it with (someone else)’ when closing a sale’
27 Jul 2008
We all know that we should qualify our prospects and confirm whether or not they have the authority to make a decision to invest in our product or service. But even when we have made that qualification, the person we are selling to may still come out with that dreaded phrase – “I have to discuss it with (The Board, Co-Directors, Wife, Husband etc)”.
The fact is that when they do say that, they are either:
1 - Telling the truth or
2 – Not telling the truth.
In most cases you have no idea which of those statements is correct, and even if you do know they are NOT telling the truth, this is not the time to become confrontational! So how do you deal with “I have to discuss it with ……” in the sales presentation.
Taking into account the fact that you have made your sales presentation to this person and you are unlikely to get the opportunity to present it to this ‘other person’ or those ‘other persons’, your prospect is going to have to make the presentation for you. So the simplest and most effective way I have found to deal with this is to ask a simple question which is:
“Will you be recommending you go ahead?”
If the answer is ‘yes’, they may well be telling the truth and you need to ask what help and support they need to present your proposals - and give them everything they need to sell it for you.
If the answer is ‘no’ or ‘I need to think about that’, then they have not been sold on your product or service and you need to find out what is stopping them from recommending your proposal. When you have identified the reasons and dealt with them satisfactorily, you may well find that they no longer have to discuss it with anyone.