Test a timing objection and decide whether to wait or deal with it now.
Next time a buyer tells you "it's not a good time", ask one question before you say anything else: what would make the timing better, and when is that likely? Their answer tells you which kind of objection you're dealing with, and that decides what you do next.
A timing objection comes in many forms. "Let's revisit after Chinese New Year." "We're in the middle of our busy season." "Maybe next quarter, once things settle down." These often sound reasonable, and often they are. The risk is that "next quarter" keeps sliding to the quarter after, and then the buyer stops replying.
The objection can mean one of two things. The timing may really be wrong, in which case you agree a date and step back. Or "timing" may be the polite name for a concern the buyer hasn't said out loud. You handle both with the listen, clarify, respond, confirm method from lesson 4.2, and you start by clarifying.
A real timing problem usually has a clear answer: a specific event with a date. The buyer knows when things will change. Their financial year ends in March and the new budget opens in April. They're moving office next month and won't take anything else on until they're settled. "My wife is due in six weeks."
A vague answer is a signal. "Things are just busy at the moment", "we'll see how it goes" and "maybe later in the year" don't name anything that will change. If the buyer can't say what would change, the timing objection may be covering something else.
Even when the timing reason is real, waiting has a cost. The cost of waiting, sometimes called the cost of delay, is what the delay costs the buyer, worked out from their own impact figure. It's fair to show them this, gently and with their numbers. Be just as honest about the effort of starting now, which is what starting would involve for them. Then let the buyer weigh the two. You don't tell them what to do. The aim is a decision that takes account of both the cost of waiting and the effort of starting.
Hafiz is selling to Rachel, whose business is adding a night shift. Rachel tells him Kelvin wonders whether they should wait until the night shift has settled in. Hafiz asks what "settled" would look like, and when. Rachel says about three months.
Rachel's impact worksheet put the overtime problem at about S$13,800 a year, before the night shift. Hafiz uses her estimate: S$13,800 / 12 = S$1,150 a month, so three months of waiting costs roughly S$1,150 x 3 = S$3,450. That's before the night shift makes overtime harder.
He's also honest about what starting now involves: one week of sending data, two training sessions for the clerk, and one pay cycle run on both systems. Then he puts both sides to Rachel. Waiting costs about three and a half thousand, probably more once the night shift starts. Starting now means about three weeks of setup during a busy time. He asks her which would be easier for her team and leaves the choice with her.
Use only figures the buyer gave you and confirmed. Inventing a cost of delay is the same as inventing a deadline, and it does the same damage.
Sometimes the timing really is wrong. The budget opens in April, the business is mid-move, or a family event takes priority. Accept it. If you push past a genuine timing reason, you look as if you care more about the deal than about the buyer's situation.
Before you leave, agree two things: a date to talk again and a reason for that date. Tie the date to the buyer's own event so the follow-up has a natural purpose. For example: "Shall we speak in the first week of April, once the new budget is open?" Record the date in your CRM or calendar straight away, as Prospecting lesson 6.3, "The minimum CRM fields worth tracking", recommends for every next step.
Then send a short message that confirms the date and the reason and invites the buyer to get in touch if anything changes. For example: "Thanks for your time today. As agreed, I'll call you in the first week of April, after your new budget opens. If anything changes before then, do let me know." It costs nothing and shows the buyer you listened.
If your clarifying questions only get vaguer answers, ask about the other conditions. Two questions work well:
Setting timing aside, what else would need to be true for this to go ahead? If the timing were perfect, would this be the right choice for you?
Both questions give the buyer permission to name the real concern.
Daniel, a financial adviser, had a client who kept saying she would review her plans later in the year. He asked her, "If the timing were perfect, would this be the right choice for you?" After a pause, she said she wasn't sure she understood the difference between the two options. Her real issue was clarity, and it took ten minutes to fix.
Once the real concern is out, handle it with the four steps: listen, clarify, respond, confirm. If timing still matters after that, come back to it.
Before you start the activity below, have the buyer's impact figure and their likely timing reasons in front of you.
Write the questions you will use to test a timing objection, and the message you will send when the timing really is wrong.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).