I Thought It Was Going To Be Less!

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In House Sales Training: How to Handle “That’s More Than I Thought It Would Be”

If you have never heard. “That’s more than I thought it was going to be!” this video is not for you. When you do home improvement sales or anything else that requires a one call close there are a lot of subtleties and nuances that make the difference between you making money vs making a lot of money. This is an art and requires a higher skill set than if are just an order taker where you leave estimates and follow up on the customer. I’m talking about doing it with integrity and in a way where after you make the sale the customer says “ what I liked about you is that you didn’t try and pressure me. Thanks.”

In House Sales Training Starts With Asking the Right Questions

 To me closing is not about talking but about asking questions. The reason you have to ask questions is to be able to deep dive what a customer is really saying so you can help them solve their problem. If you do your sales call right the problem you are solving is helping the customer get what they want. That’s what closing is in it’s purest sense. Helping the customer get something they want. 

Now for that to happen you have to have done a good sales presentation which makes them want it and where they can see the value of what you are selling. If you haven’t done that then the close won’t work and you shouldn’t be trying to close them anyway. Otherwise you are just another high pressure clueless sales person.

In this video we’re going to cover something that I know you have heard and different ways to handle it and what it really means. At the end I’ll tell you the biggest mistake sales people do regarding this statement.

In House Sales Training: Reaction vs Objection in the Close 

One thing  that happens in the close is that  you  often hear  “ that’s half of what I thought it was going to be?” or “I didn’t think it was going to be this much money.” Your understanding of this and how you handle it could mean the difference between you making a sale or leaving empty handed. 

 It could mean two entirely different things. One could be a reaction and the other could be an objection. The difference  is whether their idea of what they thought the price was going to be or that they thought it was going to be half the amount depends if that statement was based on what they thought before you got there or after you you completed your sales presentation. What they thought about the price before you got there is not as important as what they think about the price after you show you value of what you are selling.  

Think about that . I know if you are selling home improvements you have heard someone say “wow that’s more than I thought it was going to be” You’re twice as much as I thought it was going to be. If what they mean was that’s what they were thinking the price was going to be before you got there then it doesn’t’ mean they don’t want to do it or don’t think what you are charging isn’t fair. It’s just a knee jerk reaction.

We all have bought things that before we saw the price or went to the store thought it was going to be less but once we realized what it actually cost still wanted it and we bought it. I can’t tell you how many times I’m handing someone  a credit card while I’m saying”you know that’s almost twice what I though it was going to be” The point is that if that’s the situation when they are saying that and you don’t understand you might start trying to turn an objection that isn’t even there.

What you are hearing is a reaction not an objection. Think about what would happen if I was handing someone my credit card while saying “ you know I didn’t know it was going to be this much or I actually thought it would be half this amount.” And instead of just taking the credit card the sales person starting arguing or trying to turn me right there. I probably take my credit card back and the sale would be lost. 

In House Sales Training: Fix the Presentation, Not the Close

The easiest way to determine whether a ‘that’s more than I thought it was going to be “ is an objection or reaction… in other words did they mean more than what they thought it was going to be  before I got there or more than what they thought after I went through the sale presentation is to ask them. “If you don’t mind you said it was more than you thought it was going to be?” yes “What were you thinking  it was going to be ?  oh about 10,000  And is that what you thought the price was going to be before I got here or after I showed you everything.” Oh that was before you got there” I lot of times I handle it by almost politely brushing it off by saying “that makes sense because until I got there here there was no way that you knew you were going to see a bathroom this nice.:) I almost just acknowledge the reaction but don’t really spend anytime dealing with it. 

The other situation regarding  where they say “I though it was going to be less or half that amount” is when they say that in reference to after you went through your whole sales presentation. I know this because remember when some says this I clarify again by saying “when you say you thought it was going to be less do you mean before I got here or after I showed you everything.” If they say after you showed me everything this means you haven’t built the value and properly price conditioned them in your sales presentation. Your loosing them in the sales call not the close. That’s what you need to work on in the future. You can build the value in the close but now you are on the defensive and it’s always easier to build the value before you show them the price not after.

If they say that it’s  more than they thought after you explained everything there are a couple of ways I handle it. One  way that has helped me figure out what is going on is to ask them “if you don’t’ mind me asking what makes you say that?” Once in while they actually defuse that themselves by saying “ I don’t’ know I guess I was just guessing or hoping”. Then in that case you can see it’s almost more of a reaction than a real objection. I handle that by almost joking “ isn’t that the way everything is today ‘ 😊

If they say there’s another reason they think your price is double what they thought then you know what you have to deal with. Or sometimes if they say I thought it was going to be 9k and you’re at 12k I say. “ Why so high I’ve seen it at 5k? Then when they look confused I say “ Sure I’ve seen people selling stuff for ½ of what we charge. It’s not the same thing of course. Theres nothing someone can make that someone else can sell for less using cheaper materials and labor. Is this what you want?  No…Well this is what it costs.” 

One additional thing on this subject. A lot of times in the close you hear a customer say some objection about the money. That’s too much money. I don’t know if I can afford it. The worst thing I’ve seen sales people do right here is that they start by asking  the question “Well what did you think it was going to be?” Think about it there is no benefit to asking that question because then they usually go back to telling you what they thought it was going to be before you got there. “Well before you got here I though it was going to be half”. What difference does it make what they thought the price was going to be before you got there. It’s like saying they guessed wrong. At this point it just confuses the whole issue and muddies up the close. Again what’s important is not what they think the price is going to be before you get there but what they think the price will be after you show them the value of your product.. 

The right direction when they give you a money objection is to isolate the objection. So other than the money is this what you want. yes Figure out whether the money means that they can’t afford it or don’t think it’s worth it. “So when you it’s the money do you mean not sure if you can afford it or not sure if it’s worth it. Remember if you price conditioned them right it should always just be that they  can’t afford it not that it’s not worth it. Then get the gap. When you say you can’t afford it how much too much is the monthly payment and then close the gap. That’s the process you need to follow.

If you want to know more about this topic check out the video on “Closing Training: How and Why To Bring It To The Money” or the articles on Home Improvement Closing Training Listed Above.

Happy Selling!