Dealing with Stalls and Objections

by: Tom King

When you greeted Mr. and Mrs. Jones, they informed you that they just wanted to look around. You proceeded to befriend them and through the use of your communication skills, found common ground. This enabled you to acquire information about what they were interested in, what they had seen elsewhere, and their plans for moving forward. As you walked them through the inventory, showing a couple of units, you found one they took a particular interest in. You answered their questions, pointed out some desired features, and even asked a few trial closing questions. All seemed to be moving along well, so you popped the question. “Well folks, what do think? Can you see yourselves in this RV on your next trip?”

Then you hear it. “Well, it’s a nice fifth wheel, we really like the layout, and storage seems plentiful, but as we said when we came in, we are just looking and not ready to do anything just now.Why don’t you give us your best price and when we get closer to making a decision we will give you a call.”

A Common Scenario
You’ve heard it before, and if you continue to work in this business, you will definitely hear it again. Now let’s analyze this scenario and see what you might do to prevent it in the future.

Let’s agree on what is needed before a potential customer can make the decision to purchase.

First and foremost, they must find the RV that has all the elements that make up their idea of the perfect RV, or at the very least, a unit that is near enough to their idea to be acceptable. This RV has to be affordable; and it has to fit reasonably within the budget they have determined to be acceptable. All of the customers’ questions and concerns need to be addressed. They have to be comfortable moving forward before they can sign on the dotted line.

Using these three factors as a basis for buying, and following the scenario in the opening paragraph, let’s analyze what we can do to make more sales.

The most common first reaction is to find an answer to their opening statement about not buying today. But, because this statement is typically a shield, forcing the customer to defend it only creates boxes that require the customer to lie to get out of. So I ask, why even go there? The better solution is to keep the mindset that, regardless of their reasoning, it is just a reaction, and if you sell them they will buy today.

What causes these types of stalls, and how can we prepare for them and address the situation when it occurs? Almost everyone in today’s market does some research before setting out to look for an RV. They most likely will have a fairly strong desire to either enter into the RV lifestyle or replace an existing RV before taking the time to visit a dealership. Therefore, finding out the customers’ true wants and needs along with the motivation behind their visit should take precedence in the sales process. Interviewing the customer is time well spent. You will find that all the answers to making a sale are in the interview, and all the reasons for failing to close are because the interview was rushed or taken for granted. So, to be able to address, eliminate, or prevent these stalls from occurring, you need to find the answers that cause them by spending quality time with the customer. You can use the information obtained in the interview to set the course and direct the sale to where you want it to go. You can now create and build value in your presentation to justify the price of the unit you are showing. You can create desire and emotion to own by tying it all to the RV lifestyle. You can now overcome objections before they are voiced as objections. Salesmanship is your ability to lead someone down a path while being able to address the concerns and objections that arise while overcoming the fears and justifying the desire to purchase. This can not be accomplished without knowledge obtained in the interview or consultation.

When your customer counters your attempt to close with a stall such as, “We have just started to look,” or “We’re not impulse buyers and need to talk it over first,” they are telling you they are not sold. All their concerns or fears have not been justified. And even if you do everything right you still might find yourself addressing one of the many variations of stalls. But, even if this happens, you will be better prepared to address and overcome the stalls. Let’s go back to our stall in the opening paragraph. You might respond this way:

Show Empathy
This helps to show you understand their feelings and relieves the pressure to make a decision while at the same time indicates you are concerned about their needs. You may say something to the effect of, “I understand how you feel. This is a big decision and I am sure you want it to be the right one.”

Take Control
In order to determine the real objection or concern you must take control of the situation. An example may be to say, “Let me go over a couple of important items with you and get you an idea of a price before you leave.”With this technique you can now show service and parts while leading the customer back to your office.

Lead
At this stage the customers should be in your office where you can have their undivided attention. You will now have the ability to review everything that was covered in the interview while using your notes in relation to what you have shown them. This, when done properly, will help draw out the real objection to determine what is keeping them from moving forward now.

Remember, a stall is nothing more than a smoke screen for the real objection. Sometimes the customer is hiding the real objection on purpose and sometimes they aren’t sure themselves what is causing their reluctance. In either situation, you cannot address it until you can get them to reveal it. With knowledge, objections can easily be overcome.