"I'll Think About It" Means Something — Here's What It Actually Means
By Bill Guertin, The 800-Pound Gorilla
Ticket Playbook Contributor
You made a great presentation.
You asked smart questions, you listened well, you matched the right package to the right need, and the prospect seemed genuinely interested. Then they leaned back, nodded thoughtfully, and said the seven words that have haunted salespeople since the beginning of commerce:
"Let me think about it and get back to you."
And just like that, the energy drained out of the room.
Here's what most reps do next: they say, "Absolutely, take your time” and then they spend the next two weeks sending increasingly optimistic follow-up emails into a void, wondering what went wrong.
Here's what I want you to do instead: understand what "let me think about it" actually means. Because it's rarely what you think.
It's Not a Stall. It's a Signal.
"I need to think about it" almost never means the prospect is going home to carefully weigh the pros and cons of your offer in a quiet room. What it almost always means is one of three things:
One: There's a question they didn't ask something they're uncertain about that they didn't feel comfortable raising in the moment.
Two: There's a person they need to talk to a partner, a CFO, a spouse whose buy-in matters before they can commit.
Three: There's a concern they didn't voice a hesitation about price, timing, value, or fit that never made it into the conversation.
None of those are objections you can overcome after the fact, from a distance, through a follow-up email. They have to be surfaced right there, before the prospect walks out the door or hangs up the phone. Which means your job when you hear "let me think about it" isn't to give them space. It's to gently find out which of those three things is actually going on.
The Response That Opens the Door Back Up
Don't push. Don’t panic. Stay calm, stay warm, and say something like this:
"Of course I want you to feel completely good about any decision you make. Can I ask: is there something specific you want to think through? Because if there's a question I haven't answered well, I'd rather address it right now than have you spinning on something I might be able to clear up in two minutes."
Then stop talking. Wait.
What happens next is usually one of two things. Either they tell you what's actually holding them back which is exactly where you want to be or they confirm that they genuinely do just need a day or two, and now you have a real follow-up with a real reason and a real timeline.
Either outcome beats "absolutely, take your time."
When There's Someone Else in the Decision
If they tell you there's a partner or a boss or a budget committee involved, resist the urge to just say "no problem, loop them in." Instead, ask:
"What would be the most helpful thing I could give you to make that conversation easier?"
Now you're not asking them to sell your product to someone else unaided. You're equipping them. You're their ally in the internal conversation, not a passive bystander waiting for news. That shift in positioning matters — both for your close rate and for the relationship you're building.
The Follow-Up That Actually Works
If they do need a few days, don't follow up with "just checking in." That phrase communicates exactly one thing: that you have nothing new to offer and you're hoping they forgot they said no.
Follow up with something of value. A relevant news story about how a local competitor used a group outing to land a major client. A brief note about a date that's selling fast. A one-line question: "I was thinking about what you said regarding your sales team's morale — did anything change on that front?"
Give them a reason to re-engage. Make the follow-up about them, not about your pipeline.
The Honest Truth About "Think About It"
Here's what twenty-plus years of watching salespeople win and lose has taught me about this objection: the reps who handle it best are the ones who aren't afraid of the answer.
They ask the clarifying question because they'd genuinely rather know what's wrong than pretend everything is fine. They follow up with substance because they have something useful to say. And they stay in the conversation persistent without being pushy because they believe in what they're offering and they believe it will genuinely help the person on the other side of the table.
That's not a technique. That's confidence. And it's the one thing no objection can stand up to for very long.
So the next time someone tells you they need to think about it, don't give them space.
Give them a reason to stop thinking and start saying yes.
Bill Guertin is a sales trainer, keynote speaker, and founder of The 800-Pound Gorilla, Inc. He has trained the ticket sales departments of more than 100 professional sports teams across the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, NASCAR, and many Minor League and Division I athletic programs. Reach out to Bill at bill@the800poundgorilla.com.
