You have done everything right. You established rapport with the customer, you identified a need for your product, you asked good questions, you made your presentation, you asked for commitment…but instead of a “yes,” you hear a stall: “Let me think about it.” “Call us next week; we want to mull this over.”

Even veteran salespeople usually are at a loss for a way to overcome stalls. After all, if customers have no specific objection but simply tell you they want to put more thought into a buying decision, how can you argue without making them suspicious or angry?

The answer is, you don’t argue. Action Selling ® teaches that a stall is the customer’s way of saying, “I’m not quite sold yet; sell me a little more.” So never challenge a stall. Instead, just comply with the customer’s wish: Sell a little more.

Never challenge a stall. Just sell a little more.

The best way to do this is by using the TFBR process that Action Selling ® recommends as the optimum way to structure sales presentations. Instead of presenting a long laundry list of features that may or may not interest the customer, you simply work quickly through two or three TFBRs:

Tie-Back — Connect to a need that you and the customer have already agreed upon.

Feature – Describe a feature of your product that relates to the need.

Benefit – Explain how will the feature meet the customer’s need.

Reaction – Ask how the customer perceives this as a solution.

Action Selling ® teaches that you always should go into a presentation with at least three TFBRs, tied to three important needs that you and the customer have previously agreed upon.

Furthermore, you should keep one TFBR in your back pocket, as a reserve. So suppose you finish your presentation, ask for commitment and, instead of a “yes,” you hear a stall. What do you do? You pull out your reserve TFBR and use it to do what the customer is asking you to do: Sell a little more then you ask for commitment again.

You will be amazed at how often this method lets you turn a stall into a yes. This is yet another reason why Action Selling ® succeeds while 90 percent of sales training fails. Try it. Practice it. Soon you will be unstoppable.

Want a quick, fun read that can jump-start your career and change your life? Check out my book Action Selling ®: How to Sell Like a Professional (Even If You Think You Are One).

Action Selling ® in Action

How would you like to send your confidence soaring, eliminate call reluctance, and equip yourself to play in the big leagues of sales? That is all within reach when you use and practice all 9 Acts of the Action Selling ® system.

Andrew T. of Chicago, a commercial account manager for the Pep Boys auto-supply chain, recently discovered how following the system enables you to turn a stall into a major sale. Here’s what he told us:

“OMG! It works!!! I set up an appointment with a large muffler shop who had been talking for weeks about buying new lifts. After the Action Selling ® training I had a game plan. My Commitment Objective (Act 1) was for him to agree to the purchase of four new lifts. I went in and used the Action Selling ® process, following all the Acts.

“When I asked for commitment in Act 7, I met with a stall. I used my back-pocket TFBR, then asked again for the sale. It was hard not to talk, but the silence paid off. Four lifts and $13,000 later, I felt great!

“The part of Act 8 where we scheduled a ‘next step’ blew him away! We agreed on delivery time, date, installer, and his grand opening.

“I left feeling terrific about the sale I made. And, yes, I did ‘Replay the Call’ (Act 9) in the car. I can’t wait for my next sales call!”

For information about how to make sales training pay huge dividends, contact Action Selling ® at (800) 232-3485.

Find out how to deal with stalls, objections, and so much more in my book Action Selling ®: How to Sell Like a Professional (Even If You Think You Are One).