5 Insights to Manage Decision Reluctance In The Leasing Process

From a salesperson’s perspective, decision reluctance is one of the most frustrating parts of the job.  You’ve (seemingly) done everything you’re supposed to.  You greeted the guest as you were told.  You asked good questions, provided a great tour and it’s now time to talk about the lease.

And then…suddenly the prospect’s demeanor changes.  They go from being open, almost gregarious, to closed off. That great connection that you thought you had doesn’t feel as solid.  You ask the prospect to commit to a lease, and those dreaded words come out…”Let me think about it.”

You’ve just been confronted with decision reluctance.  How you handle this phase will determine whether the time you’ve spent has been well invested or a waste.

The next time you face this situation, keep these five insights in mind to succeed:

1. Decision reluctance is natural

When we do sales training, we often teach reps that the words “decide” and “homicide” have the same Latin root; they both mean to kill.

When prospects decide, they are “killing” the alternatives, and that’s risky.  Our biological system and brains are hard-wired to behave in certain ways when confronting such risk, and this exposes itself as reluctance.

Keep in mind that decision reluctance is different that dealing with objections.  Objections are aimed at specific issues that can either be addressed or not; reluctance is simply the manifestation of fear, and should be handled accordingly.

2. Decision reluctance is caused by something that has (or hasn’t) occurred earlier in the sales process

A primary tenant of the sales process we implement is alignment with how people make decisions.  One of the most difficult attributes of decision reluctance is that while it occurs at the end of the sales cycle, it is caused much earlier by something that was, or more likely wasn’t, done.

3. Make sure you’ve already established a strong connection before attempting to address.

The Inquiry phase, at the beginning of the process, is where salespeople have the greatest leverage to avoid any reluctance closer to the end. It’s one of the reasons we teach that the best way to shorten the sales cycle is to slow the sales process down.

Any incorrect assumptions you’ve made during the Inquiry process will acutely emerge at the end in the form of reluctance.  If you haven’t done a very thorough job with Inquiry early in the process, the only response you’ll have to the prospect’s request to think about their decision will be, “Um, okay call me back when you’re ready.”

4. The stated concern is rarely the real concern

When decision reluctance emerges, the prospect rarely identifies the true cause.  It will manifest itself in the form of an objection.  What’s important to understand is that the stated concern is rarely the real issue. When handling objection or reluctance, you must have a process of questioning that leads the prospect to discover their own answers.

5. The best way to handle reluctance is to be open about it

Decision reluctance is simply caused by fear and anxiety. As the salesperson, your job includes creating a feeling of safety and comfort, allowing the prospect to make their decision.  One of the best ways to achieve this is to be open and honest about the situation.

Acknowledge the prospect’s fear, let them talk it out, and lead them to make a decision that you and they know will make them happy.