One of the most common excuses for turning down a sale is the age-old spousal objection, in which prospective clients reject a gym membership with the excuse of needing to talk to their spouse before deciding on a purchase. In today’s episode, we show you how you can respond!
In this live role play with a group of fitness studio owners, Mike offers tangible ways to push past the oftentimes B.S. spousal objection to get to the core of where a client’s true grievances lie.
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Spousal Objection: An Overview
Especially in 2021, both men and women are well past the point of making decisions based on their spouse’s call. Mike highlights that the spousal objection is not only an outdated objection for clients to use, but it also serves as a smokescreen to hide a client’s true dissatisfaction.
The First Date Analogy
Mike uses the first date analogy to describe how a spousal objection works. He highlights that when an individual says yes to a second date request, it is likely that they said yes because they enjoyed the date all the way through, not because the person asked them out in a perfect way. Similarly, if you say no to a second date, you often already made up your mind to this question early on in the date.
He notes that like on a first date, if your client isn’t hooked by a product or workout class early on in the conversation, they will say whatever is necessary, such as a fabricated spousal objection, to get out of the purchase.
Easy Ways To Overcome A Spousal Objection
Like a first date rejection, a spousal objection is merely a bandaid to the true issues a client has with your services or product. Mike walks the group through a helpful role play that shows participants how to effectively respond to this type of rejection.
By asking prospective clients questions after a spousal objection, such as “What did you like about the workout?”, “What is something you wish was different about the workout?” or “What would have made your workout experience 10 out of 10?” you are able to get much closer to your client’s authentic needs and desires in a fitness experience. With more concrete reasons behind why they rejected the offer, you are now able to provide a true solution.
With the answers to these questions from your prospective client in mind, you have the information needed to offer them a different solution, such as a free trial, different class-type option, or any other offer that better suits their communicated needs.
The Key Takeaways Of Spousal Objection
Here are the key takeaways that Mike discussed throughout this live call on how to respond to the spousal objection:
- Your First Impression Is Everything: Making a solid first impression is one of the most important ways to seal the deal and avoid a spousal objection, as many individuals have their minds made up early on in a conversation. Mike highlights that after a first interaction, you are either moving closer to a sale or straying further from it.
- Always Ask Good Questions: At the core of every successful client interaction is being a good listener and asking thought-provoking questions. This is the key to getting to the root of what gym services are best for their needs.
- See What’s In Your Prospective Client’s Mind: Sometimes a client doesn’t even know what they want until you inquire further with impactful questions. Having a solid idea of what is on their mind, free of assumptions is important information for making a sale.
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