Closing tekkers: handling "I'll get back to you" with ease

Author

Dan Cons
January 21, 2024

Today, I’ll show you the process I use to handle the common objection, "I’ll get back to you."

Understanding how to handle this situation enables you to maintain control, keep deals moving forward and helps you manage your pipeline and avoid getting ghosted all the time.

Unfortunately, when faced with "I'll get back to you", too many inexperienced sales pros lack assertiveness and agree to this, resulting in a bloated pipeline full of deals that will never close.

Do yourself and the prospect a favour, and always ask for the next step 

Fear not, as in the next 3 minutes, I will explain how to respond to this to either get a time-specific next step in place, or a “no” so you can move on, and stop wasting time on sh*te deals.

Let's dive in: 

Step 1: Agree with their objection

Prospects expect you to react negatively and argue when they don't go ahead. It's human nature.

By accepting their wishes, letting them know it’s not a problem, and even showing understanding by relating to them, you instantly disarm them and pull the prospect towards you rather than pushing them away. 

I say something like:  

“Yeah, sure - no worries.”

Or 

“Yeah, no worries. It makes sense that you would need to speak with your sister (business partner) about this.” 

Step 2: Book a quick confirmation call

So many people go wrong here. They either give away their power by passively agreeing to let the prospect get back to them with no clear timeline. 

Or they start going into objection-handling mode. Objection handling is better, but you risk pissing them off, which will make it hard to get the next call in place. 

Instead, guarantee that you will live to fight another day by suggesting a 15-minute call to get a yes/no decision when they are ready.

Here’s how these conversations tend to go:

Me: How long do you need?

Prospect: Oh, not long. A day or two.

Me: OK, let's schedule a 15-minute call on Thursday to get a decision. How does that sound?

Prospect: Sounds good.

Me: Great! I can do 11 am, 12 pm, or 2 pm atm? What works for you?

Prospect: 12 pm works.

Me: OK, I've sent you an invite. Can you accept it so you get notified, and have the meeting link?

A lot of people don't do this because they think it's pushy. 

I say this all the time and rarely get negative pushback. If they want to work with you, they'll schedule another call.

If they don't want to have another conversation, they probably aren't serious about working together. 

In this instance, I say:

"OK, no worries. Typically, when someone isn't up for another quick call, it’s because they aren’t all that serious about getting our help. 

Level with me. Is that the case in your situation? If so, would you like to go our separate ways?"

From here, you'll get a follow-up call or you'll save yourself from chasing a deal that wasn't going to happen. It's a win-win.

Step 3: Clarify and isolate their objection

Now you've secured the confirmation call, it's time to delve into the reasons behind why they can't go ahead now.

You want to ensure the reason is genuine and not a fob-off. 

Here's what I usually say:

"OK, before we shoot (so I can prepare for our next call), what specifically will you go over with your sister to make a decision on this?"

Most of the time, they will share their concerns if they have any. 

Next, you want to check there aren't any other lingering concerns that could jeopardise the deal before your next conversation.

For instance, in a recent call with the owner of a sustainable bamboo products brand, our conversation unfolded like this:

Me: “OK, so apart from needing to run this by your sister, are there any questions or reservations about you have about wanting to go ahead with this?”

Prospect: “No, I’m super keen to get started. What we’ve been through over these last two calls is more than enough to convince me that you guys are the right agency to help us take this to the next level.”

Me: “OK, so it sounds like you 100% want to do this. How about your sister? What potential concerns do you think she will have (if any)?”

Prospect: “Tbh, none. We spent about an hour last night looking through the video testimonials on your website and reading your Trustpilot reviews. The only reason why we are not going ahead right now is because my sister thought this call was yesterday, not today, and she couldn’t get out of work today.” 

Step 4: Respond appropriately

Sometimes, it's clear you can handle their issue right away and close the deal. Waiting for a 3rd call doesn't make sense in this case. Ask if you can talk about it now, share your response, and ask if they're ready to move forward is the way to go here.

For example: 

Me: “Can I give you my take on this? 

Prospect: Yeah, sure.

Me: (Insert pre-planned objection handle). Given what you’ve said, It sounds like it makes sense to go ahead with this now. What do you think?”

On the other hand, the prospect might have a valid reason for not moving forward immediately. 

In the bamboo brand example, they want to work together, but the prospect's sister couldn't make the call, and he wasn’t going to go ahead without telling her. Fighting him here is pointless. 

Social awareness is crucial to read the prospect and the situation, allowing you to respond appropriately and enhance the chances of winning the business. 

Sales reps lacking this skill may come across as pushy rather than assertive, which is the opposite of what we are going for as Conscious Closers.

Summary

And that’s it. To avoid having a massive pipeline full of deals with no idea what will close (and when) you need to know how to handle “I’ll get back to you” in a way that allows you to get a concrete next step in place. 

When you follow the steps above, you either get a “no” from the prospect, close the deal or live to fight another day. All of which are outcomes you should be looking for. 

What do you think about this method? Do you agree, or do you think it’s too soft and lets the prospect off the hook too easily?