The Costly Mistake I Made in Home Sales
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Understanding the "Too Much Money" Objection
A big mistake that cost me a lot of money when I started out in home sales was not understanding what the customer really meant when they said, “It’s too much money.”
It was costly because I not only handled the close wrong, but not understanding what they meant kept me from improving my sales presentation based on the real reason they didn’t buy.
Why People Buy
Here is my theory on why people buy: anytime somebody buys something, they usually only have two decisions to make. One, do they want it? And two, is it affordable? If the answer to both questions is "yes," then they buy. Those are the only two decisions they have to make—everything else is a smokescreen.
If you want something and you can afford it, you buy it. During the sales presentation, you make them want it. Then, through the close, all you really have to do is make it affordable for them. Once they’ve established internally that they want it and can afford it, they pretty much buy on their own.
That’s why I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Bring it to the money in the close.” Once you isolate the objection to money, you usually work on making it affordable. An important key is that they also have to think it’s worth it.
If they don’t want it or don’t think it’s worth it, then you lost it in the sales presentation.
Isolating the Objection to Money
When you are in a one-call close or any closing situation for in-home sales like home improvements, the first thing you are trying to do is isolate the objection to money.
In other words, there’s a place in the close where you say, “So, other than the money, is this what you want?” This helps bring the objection to the surface.
Let’s recap how it fits together:
The Sales Strategy
After the salesperson is done with the sales presentation but before they get to pricing, they usually ask for some type of pre-close commitment. This establishes that you’ve done your job in the sales presentation and that they want it. Usually, it’s a variation of this:
“So, if this is affordable, is this the roof you want to put on your home?”
Then you deliver the price.
Once the customer commits that it’s something they want, the closing steps are just a process of helping the customer get what they want by making it affordable to them. At some point in the close, money will come up. Hopefully, you use this dialogue to isolate the objection to money:
“So, other than the money, is this what you want?” or “Is your only concern the money at this point?”
If they say yes, you’ve brought it to the money.
Digging Deeper: Value vs. Affordability
What I failed to realize early on is that “too much money” can mean two different things.
Value: They don’t think it’s worth it.
Affordability: They can’t afford it right now.
These are two completely different types of money objections, and if you handle it the wrong way, it’s not going to work.
Affordability Objection
If I’m selling you a brand-new Ferrari for $10,000, but I need it paid in five installments of $2,000 every hour for the next five hours, and you say it’s “too much money,” does it mean value or affordability?
You know it’s worth the $10,000—the issue is that you don’t have $2,000 in cash every hour. So, it’s not a value issue but an affordability one.
If I try to sell you on how the Ferrari is worth $500,000, it means nothing because the issue isn’t whether it’s worth it, but whether you can afford it.
Value Objection
If I try to sell you a can of soda for $100 and you say, “That’s too much money,” does it mean value or affordability? It’s value.
Would it make a difference if I offered you a payment plan or 12 months of no interest? No, because the issue isn’t whether you can afford it, but that you feel it’s not worth it.
Clarifying the Objection
When you’re in the close and they say, “It’s too much money,” and you’ve done your job by isolating the objection to money, you need to clarify whether it’s a value or affordability issue.
The easiest way to do this is to say:
“So, other than the money, is this what you want?”
They say, “Yes.”
Then follow up with:
“When you say it’s the money, do you mean you’re not sure if it’s worth it, or you just can’t afford it?”
By doing this, you can be sure which one it is. If they say, “I’m not sure if I can afford it,” you make it affordable. If they say, “I’m not sure it’s worth it,” you know it’s a value issue, and you’ll need to rebuild the value.
Dealing with Value and Affordability
Handling Value Objections
If they think it’s more than it’s worth, ask them, “Well, how much too much is this price?” If you’re at $20,000 and they say they’d pay $15,000, then you know the gap is $5,000. You don’t have to sell the whole $20,000, just close the $5,000 gap.
Rebuilding the value can be as simple as reminding them of the resale value:
“Well, remember the kitchen is $20,000, but if you’re going to get back 50% of that in resale value, then the true cost is $10,000.”
Handling Affordability Objections
If the issue is affordability, work on the payment gap. Ask, “How much too much is the monthly payment of $400?” If they say they want to be at $300 a month, you know the gap is $100.
You can close this gap by adjusting the deposit, extending payments, or finding other solutions. Affordability is about working on the payments, while value usually deals with the total price.
Combining Value and Affordability Objections
Sometimes, when you isolate the objection to money and ask if it’s value or affordability, they’ll say, “It’s both.”
In this case, work on the value first. Once they agree it’s worth it, they may say, “Well, I can see the value now, but I still can’t afford it.”
Re-isolate it to affordability, saying, “So, other than affordability, is this what you want?” Then handle it from there as if it was an affordability objection from the start.
Conclusion
You may need to read this a couple of times to make sure you internalize it, but if you do, your bank account will thank you! 😊
