by Tim Connor
I have spent the better part of my life both buying and selling and I believe there are seven reasons why people stall when making a purchase. See if you have ever heard any of these or as a consumer do any of them resonate with you?
1) They don’t really want it.
2) They are not sure whether they can afford it.
3) They suffer from decision dysfunction.
4) They don’t feel the benefits equal or exceed the cost.
5) The timing just isn’t right.
6) They are uncomfortable with saying no.
7) They really don’t have the authority to make the decision to buy.
Let’s take a brief look at each of these.
They don’t really want it.
People love to shop, dream and want stuff. Whether it’s a personal want or a business one buyers tend to sometimes desire to purchase when in reality they really don’t want things but want to want them. Ever wandered around a TV store dreaming about a 96” Television when you currently have a 48” one? Ever spent a Saturday afternoon looking at home models when the house you are living in is more than adequate? Ever wanted to upgrade some element of your organizations technology when the current application serves your employees or customers just fine?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, why were you taking the time to shop, consider or evaluate a new purchase? Many reasons; it’s fun to dream, want or daydream. But in the end you just really were not all that interested in committing your resources for whatever it is that you are shopping for.
So when the salesperson asks if you are ready to buy, you just tell them you are; looking, shopping, considering, evaluating – whatever. But the reality is – you just don’t really want it.
They are not sure whether they can afford it.
Most people have credit lines that they keep close to their limits. Many businesses just don’t have the budget for new toys, services or products. But this doesn’t mean they don’t wish they could afford them. In an uncertain future economy this makes this buying proposition even more scary or hesitant. They want it, believe they need it, try and justify the purchase but in the end when they confront reality, they will have to wait. So when the salesperson asks if you are ready to buy, you just tell them you are; looking, shopping, considering, evaluating – whatever. But the reality is – you just not sure you can really afford it.
They suffer from decision dysfunction.
Dysfunction - a disturbance in the usual pattern of activity or behavior. I once had a client that after 14 meetings, numerous telephone conversations and more emails than I care to admit, still wanted to wait. Quite frankly I’m not sure why I kept pursuing them as a potential client, but I did. Fourteen months after my initial contact, they decided to move ahead with my services. If I divided all of my time and resources by the fee I earned, well, I’m still not sure it was all worth it.
The problem – excuse after excuse after excuse and none of these excuses had any validity in the end. They just couldn’t pull the trigger to begin. They needed my help, believed that I could help them, wanted to begin, had unanimous agreement among their management team that hiring me was a good decision but they still waited and waited. Why? Their major problem as an organization was “decision Dysfunction” and it wasn’t just in doing business with me but with almost every purchase, investment or decision they considered. Why?
Apprehension? Anxiety? Nervousness? Fear? Uncertainty? Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes. So when the salesperson asks if you are ready to buy, you just tell them you are; looking, shopping, considering, evaluating – whatever. But the reality is – you just can’t bring yourself to make a decision.
They don’t feel the benefits equally the cost.
If a prospect or customer doesn’t see or understand the relationship between the benefits they will gain and the price of a product or service they will stall. Why? No one wants to purchase anything that they feel will not solve their problem or satisfy a need or want. This price/benefit ratio is nothing more than either poor sales ability or the failure to understand that everyone has their own agendas, interpretations and perceptual filtering process that if not understood, addressed and effectively dealt with will end in a stalemate.
Product or service benefits must be tailored to the customer’s/prospects way of seeing things both in terms of the short and long term. Everyone brings expectations to a buying encounter and if these expectations are not understood and then dealt with guess what? So when the salesperson asks if you are ready to buy, you just tell them you are; looking, shopping, considering, evaluating – whatever. But the reality is – you just don’t see the value in buying now or at all.
The timing just isn’t right.
It’s been said that timing is everything.
What is timing exactly? Well it could be due to any number of reasons – money, circumstances, expectations for a solution to a problem, politics or any number of other personal or business related situations. Timing doesn’t say no, but not now. It doesn’t say never, but not now. It doesn’t say maybe, it just says not now.
There is a simple concept that salespeople need to grasp – “People buy when they are ready to buy not when you need to sell.” How can you deal with the timing issue? Wait or push? Sometimes waiting is the best approach and often pushing might work but at what cost? I have done both and I can tell you from years of experience and often pushing too hard or too soon, that the best strategy is to understand what issues are contributing to this timing concern and then decide if you are willing to pay the price of waiting or you may lose it all by pushing. So when the salesperson asks if you are ready to buy, you just tell them you are; looking, shopping, considering, evaluating – whatever. But the reality is – you’re just not ready for any number of reasons.
They are uncomfortable with saying no.
Some people are just too nice when it comes to buying. What do I mean by this? They don’t want to buy for some reason, but they just don’t want to hurt the salesperson’s feelings by saying no – they want to be nice. So they say maybe, give you an excuse or just stop responding to your calls, emails etc. and hope you will just go away so they never have to say no. Why don’t they just say ‘no thank you’ and be done with it? I’m not a psychologist but after over 40 + years selling I can tell you I’d much rather have a no than a stall. I can handle no, so please don’t try and not hurt my feelings, just be honest and tell me the truth. So when the salesperson asks if you are ready to buy, you just tell them you are; looking, shopping, considering, evaluating – whatever. But the reality is – you are just not interested.
They really don’t have the authority to make the decision to buy.
This one is simple. They would like to think they have the authority to make a buying decision whether it’s caused by ego, insecurity or some other cause but in the end they just do not have the authority to make this purchase but they have difficulty admitting it. So when the salesperson asks if you are ready to buy, you just tell them you are; looking, shopping, considering, evaluating – whatever. But the reality is – you know you don’t have the authority to buy.
Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally-renowned sales, management and leadership speaker, trainer and bestselling author. Since 1981, he has given over 4000 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management, leadership and personal and business relationship topics. Tim has been a member of the National Speakers Assn for over 30 years. He is the bestselling author of over 75 books including the international best sellers Soft Sell, Corporate Disconnect, 81 Challenges Managers Face, Your First Year in Sales and Life Is Short. He can be reached at
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704-895-1230 or visit his websites at www.timconnor.com and www.CorporateDisconnect.com. Connect with Tim on FaceBook, LinkedIin and Twitter.