What To Do When a Customer Wants To Think About It

Quality salespeople will tell you they'll take "no" over "let me think on it" any day. 

No is easier to work with. This person may have been an unqualified prospect or someone to circle back to within a month. On the other hand, somebody who wants to think about it can require some gymnastics to get to the real objection. 

It's nothing you can't handle. Maintain a positive attitude, and don’t forget the tools in your back pocket. 

Building a Case Against Objections

An objection is just part of the sales process. What happens before you ask for the sale is critical at every stage. Building rapport, asking qualifying questions, and identifying dominant buying motives come before you can begin isolating objections. You can use the details you learned about your customer to overcome the common objection of “wanting to think about it.” Knowing what motivates your customer to buy, their main needs, and which accessories would enhance their lifestyle will help you decipher what's on their mind (and how you can keep the process moving). 

Building Rapport

If you're a salesperson, you're a natural at this part. Get to know your customer on a personal level that isn't necessarily related to the car. Ask about the person's family, pets, quality of their day, or where they're from. And avoid making assumptions that could offend the buyer and kill your sale. Maybe someone tells you they've had a long week at work because of staffing issues, then later objects with, "Let me think about it." You can say something like, "That's understandable. It sounds like you've had a mentally taxing week, and sometimes making another decision is tiring. Let me grab you something to drink and you relax while you look over this.”

Qualifying Questions

The right questions will help you learn your customer's needs. Sometimes, a customer will come in with a general idea of what they want, and other times, they're confident of precisely what they've come for. Qualifying questions are essential for both. They will help you uncover the customer's budget, wants, and actual needs. You’ll also want to discover what accessories would benefit them or make them enjoy their vehicle more. If you learn that your customer is adhering to a strict budget during the qualifying stage, you'll understand when they say they need to consider it. You can respond by saying, "I can understand that. I know you want to shop around for the best price since you're very disciplined with your budget. I think I can help. Let's look at a lower trim level and accessory options so you can get what you need at your price. And when you buy accessories today, you can roll them in with F&I.”

Dominant Buying Motives

The next step is to identify their dominant buying motive. This will be beneficial leverage. It’s the main reason they're looking at a car. It could be because they're rewarding themselves with an upgrade, fell in love with something that just rolled out, or simply because the family car died. Make sure you circle back to their motive and remind them of it when they begin to waver. You might tell a relatable story to keep the conversation moving. "Sure, I hear you. You want to think it over to make sure it's the right decision since this is a big reward for your hard work. This isn’t something you want to regret. I’ll grab you a coffee, and then we can talk about what we need to do to ensure your long-awaited purchase is perfect."

Isolating Objections

Objections come in many forms, so you have to separate it from the fluff to get down to the heart of the matter. You might ask, " What do you want to think about?" It's impossible to overcome an objection without being clear on what it is. Once you've got the objection in front of you, you can respond accordingly. For example, if the objection is price, you can reply, "I understand you're mulling over the price. If I can get this car to fit your budget, are you ready to move forward?" If the answer is no, you haven't received the real objection yet. 

How Accessories Can Help 

When a customer tells you they want to think about it, you know you're about to get a yes or no. Accessories are often a great resource to help you close the deal. Personalizing a vehicle allows the customer to connect with it by visualizing that car fitting into their life. It's no secret to the salesperson or the buyer that car buying can be long and tiring. When you run into "let me think about it," you can honor that request without abandoning the sale. Register your customer into the IG Suite system, and fill up a cart with the most popular accessories, along with any personal recommendations. Show them how they can add accessories to the vehicle they're considering to make it exactly what they want. Then, leave the customer for a short time so you can get them something to eat or drink and give them some space. In the end, you can print the cart and let the customer take it home if they’re still not ready to buy.

Insignia Group Can Help

For more than twenty years, Insignia Group has been the leading provider of digital accessory-selling systems in dealerships nationwide. Our sleek interface allows dealerships to create profitable accessory programs at the point of sale. Using the Insignia Group accessories selling system, dealers can bundle accessories into custom packages featuring hot-selling accessories, process orders, and more. In addition, our integration with major digital retailers covers all your bases and allows for a seamless transition when customers decide to come into the store.

Schedule a demo today to see how our system can help you sell more accessories at the point of sale!