Most peoples brain goes like this and freeze when they get hit with sales objections. Here are my top 25 ways to manage the late sales block.

What you do in the final 10% of your sales conversation is critical. Particularly how you handle late blockages and objections. Your sales volume is usually 1 question and statement away from doubling. After spending 25 years coaching sales people, here are my top 25 strategies that I teach to unlock the sale late. For our customers I bespoke build, test, measure, refine then teach these “Sale Unlocking” strategies.

Here are some of my top 25 favourites;

1.“Between now and moving forward with your decision what are the obstacles you are going to be working through on your end??It’s important to identify and unblock the obstacles to purchase. Potentially even add value to those obstacles or push them over. It might also just be a timing thing. Make sure you time the follow up straight after the first obstacle.

2.“Can I ask why did you enquire on our product in the first place?”. This brings them back the core of their motivation. It should then be followed up with, “and has that problem gone away?" This strategy can often help reignite the motivation to buy.

3. "If money and resources were no object, would you be willing to start with our product today?" If your prospect says "no thanks" to your offer, they may not be convinced that your product is of value to them. If that's the case, try find out why — pin down the root of the issue. One way to get there is by taking price out of the equation and exposing any fundamental issues they have with your offering. If your prospect says "yes" to this question, dig deeper to discover what logistical hurdles are standing in their way to determine whether or not you can accommodate.

4. "What's holding you back?" By getting your prospect to talk through their reasoning for their delay or decision to back out entirely, you'll put yourself in a better position to address their hesitation and work to find some middle ground that suits both your business as well as the prospect.

5. "When would be a good time to buy?" Maybe, your prospect really does want and intends to buy, but just can't swing it due to factors like budget, current needs, or timing. Depending on their response to this follow-up question, you might be able to adjust your offering to suit their needs now, or you can follow up in a way similar to what you'll read below, in number nine.

6. "What are your company's other priorities right now?" It's possible that your prospect has several other pressing projects that need to be completed. If you have the whole picture, you'll be able to tell how much of an impact your offering can really make right now, or even better — how your product can help achieve the other goals. If it turns out your prospect's goals are being pushed aside by management, follow up with the next question.

7. "How can I help you get the resources you need to sell this to the final decision-maker?"Determine where your prospect's having difficulty gaining traction with their leader and/or team, then help get internal buy-in.

8. "Is X goal no longer or less of a priority for you?" Tie your product to a tangible goal you and your prospect have discussed. This question moves the discussion away from the actual purchase process and back to the story of how your offering can improve your prospect's business. You can also follow up to this with the next question.

9. "What happens to your goals if you don't act now?" What's your prospect's Plan B? Maybe they have a good one, and in that case your offering may not be a good fit. But making your prospect realize this is the best-fit solution for solving their problems will get you back in the game.

10. "When are you hoping to achieve X goals by?" If your prospect can't define this, you're either talking to them in the education stage or their problems aren't severe enough to warrant solving right now. But if they need to hit a goal in the next three months, there's a clear pain point you can address.

11. "If I call you back next quarter, what circumstances will have changed?"Maybe your prospect is in the middle of a massive internal initiative and doesn't have bandwidth to talk to you right now due to reasons beyond their control. Maybe there's an economic recession happening, or your prospect could be waiting on a round of funding to come in. Get your prospect to evaluate whether anything — their budget, their priorities, their goals — will really be different when you speak in the future to determine whether following up will be productive, whether you can accommodate their needs now by altering the deal, or if you just think they're stalling to back out of the deal entirely.

12. "What's going to be different next quarter?" A broader, rhetorical spin on the above response. Empathetically question your prospect's motivations for brushing you off without coming right out and saying it to better understand their point of view.

13. "How are you performing against your end-of-year goals [as they relate to your product]?" This is a good way to remind a prospect of why they were talking to you in the first place and why they need your product or service. A prospect who saw absolutely no issue with their current business wouldn't have taken your call in the first place — so remind them that delaying a deal could make those problems worse.

14. "Here's the timeline for ROI if we start in X months. Does that work for you?"Here's that sense of urgency again. Remind your prospect that implementing a new product doesn't produce overnight results. The question here is implicit — can they really afford to wait to buy, or can they agree to come to a middle-ground regarding the deal?

15. [Silence.] "Hit the mute button and wait to see how the prospect continues”.A prospect with a real objection will ask, "Are you there?" or wait for you to follow up, says Tyre. But, if your prospect starts to waiver more or talk in a stream-of-consciousness, it's a likely sign they're trying to brush you off.

16. "Do you understand [product's] value?" "In all my years of selling, nobody's ever said no," Follow up with the next response to really drive this point home.

17. "Have you heard/ seen enough today to make a decision". This closing question I find really gets cut through. You either get a yes or the objection surfaces.

18. "Which part of [product] do you think would help your company the most?"This question gets your prospect to reiterate their goals and forces them to tell you why your product is a good fit for them, instead of making them listen to you talk about it. It can also trigger important red flags — for example, if you've been focusing on one area of your product but they bring up an entirely different area, it's a sign you need to restart the conversation on different terms to reengage them.

19. "Is it the timing, or is something else concerning you?"A timing objection may be a smokescreen. To find out what's really holding your prospect back, ask this question.The prospect will either say something along the lines of, "Well, I'm worried about [different issue] … " or, "It's not a good time to buy because [valid reason] ... "In both cases, you'll uncover the true issue, which you can focus on working to resolve.

20. "Why?" Simple responses are sometimes the most effective responses. The prospect is probably expecting you to try and convince them it is a good time to buy, so this response will catch them off-guard (in a good way). Once they've given you context, you can decide whether they're in a position to move forward or not.

21. "I understand, as a customer of mine was in a similar situation. They ultimately decided to purchase [product] because of [trigger event, challenge, opportunity] and [product's ROI]. In the past [X amount of time], they've seen [Y results]."Your prospect has shared why they want to wait (see the previous question) — but you think it's in their best interest to act sooner. Use a relevant case study to make your prospect think twice about holding off on the deal. After you've shown them evidence your solution works, they'll be eager to reap its benefits for themselves.

22. "Thanks for your honesty — I don't want to waste your time or mine until you're ready to make a decision. In the meantime, can I send you any valuable content I find on [prospect's industry, market, challenge, role]?"Pressuring them to buy will only make them screen your calls and emails. Instead, ask to periodically send them helpful, educational content to support them. You'll stay top-of-mind while adding value and building up your status as a trusted advisor. When they are ready to buy, you'll be the first salesperson they contact.

23. "When you decide to move forward, what will need to happen in your organisation for us to speak again. When do you forecast that might be?" Here we get to create an agreement to follow up toward this time frame.

24. "Are there any large company events or initiatives coming up that would make this a priority?" If a prospect is unable to commit to your timeline, it might be because their budget is uncertain, a large company announcement is on the horizon, or an important industry event is looming that would make your timeline difficult to implement.Ask questions like, "The timeline seems to be a stumbling block for us. Is there a company/industry event coming up that might be causing you hesitation to pursue an aggressive timeline?" If the answer is, "Yes, I'm actually worried my budget might be cut next week," you know what the objection is and how to proceed. If the answer is, "No, our company has a lot of red tape, and I'm worried this timeline doesn't reflect that,"you've still gotten to the bottom of the real issue and can move forward.

25. "Is there anything I can give you to make a stronger case to [decision-maker]?"Sometimes, your prospect might be hesitant to move forward simply because they've received pushback from their manager or the ultimate decision-maker.Ask if there's anything you can do to support your prospect and help them make a stronger case to their boss. This might look like a one-sheet of talking points, a case study, or an informative blog post. A simple, "How can I help," can be the difference between deal that's closed and lost versus won.