I Need to Talk to my Wife/Husband

This is a very common objection that may sometimes be an excuse. I'm married and I would never buy a car without talking about it with my wife first but isn't it true that sometimes you sell a car to a husband or spouse without the other-half being there? Perhaps they had already discussed the purchase or perhaps one can make a decision without the other.

The purpose of this article is to help you determine if the person really needs to talk to his wife or if it is an excuse. The word-track below works wonders--give it a try sometime.

CUSTOMER: I need to talk to my wife first.
YOU: Jim, when you talk to your wife, are you going to talk about the car, the price or me?
CUSTOMER: The price.
YOU: What do you think she'll say about the price?
CUSTOMER: She'll probably say it's too high.
YOU: What price do you think she'll like?
CUSTOMER: $30 less a month.
YOU: (Isolate the objection): Do you think there'll be anything else that you'll talk about?
CUSTOMER: No
YOU: Sounds like she's on a budget like my wife. Jim, do you think if we fiddle around with the numbers a little and get it to fit within her budget, she'll go ahead and take the car?
CUSTOMER: Yes

You then overcome the objection as normal. Now, I'm not stupid--I have been selling cars for a while and know that most of the time, the husband will still want to talk to the wife but will you admit that this might help you sell a few more cars here and there? Also, will you admit that if the car is within the budget the husband will have a better chance of closing the wife?

Other tips to consider:

1) Offer to let the husband take the car to his wife so she can see it. Make sure you remind him that he is obligated in no way to buy the car to take the pressure off.
2) Do not ever say, "Let me call my wife and see if I can sell it to you." I know they used that line in the movie "Suckers" and I heard my boss in Tennessee use it a few times but insulting a customer NEVER WORKS!
3) I never try to pressure a person to buy without spousal support by saying things like, "Come on--you know it's easier to get forgiveness than permission." Also never works.
4) Do say something like this, "I've been selling cars for a long time and sometimes people say that they need to talk to their wife because something is bothering them like the price, the car itself or something I said I did. I just wanted to make sure--none of those things are keeping you from the car, are they?"

You can also use #4 if they say they want to go to lunch, study things, think about things, talk to their banker, talk to their priest, talk to their dog, etc.

All in all, the theme of this post is do not ever insult your customer. Hope this helps and I promise it will help you sell more cars here and there by increasing your odds across the board.