3 Tips to Help You Handle Clingy Buyers

Watch out – you’ve got a stage four clinger!

It’s every salesperson’s worst nightmare – the buyer who sucks you dry. The buyer who dominates all your time and attention.

They take, take, take until you have nothing left to give and then they take some more. And sometimes they end up buying nothing at all!

Here are three tips for dealing with that stage four clinger. You. Are. Welcome.

Tip #1: First Come Does Not Necessarily Mean First Served

Your job as a sales person is to spend the most amount of time with the people most likely to buy. A clinger is not always a real buyer. A clinger likes to chat you up, drink your coffee and eat your free doughnuts.

Don’t feel bad about politely and professionally ditching them when a more promising prospect walks through the door. A clinger is often there simply for the company and conversation. You are there to earn a living. Be polite and move on.

Tip #2 Set Time Limits For the Conversation

Sometimes you are with a clinger who is clearly not going to buy anything and today is your unlucky day – no other buyer walks through the door to give you an easy escape. Fear not frustrated sales professional, there is still a way out of this sticky situation.

When you talk with the clinger you must set a time limit for the conversation.

Say something like “That is a great question, and I’m happy to answer that for you. Also, I just want you to know that I’ve got about five more minutes until I’ve got to… [be on a call with my manager, prepare for my next appointment, get a contract ready that I have to mail out today, etc].”

Whatever you say, the message is “Hey, you’ve got five more minutes my clingy friend and then we’re done”. Make sense?

Tip #3 Communicate Clearly and Set Boundaries for Your Under Contract Clingers

Clingers already under contract are a burden we have to bear. But interactions with them don’t have to be miserable if we communicate clearly and set boundaries.

We should let them know when we are available and when we are not and then stick to it. We should proactively set aside a little extra time when we know we will be meeting with them so we don’t become rushed and overly frustrated.

You may have to call them more often than your other buyers. You may have to schedule more appointments with them than your other buyers. And your conversations may be a bit longer than you’d like, and that’s all okay.

Just know how to politely yet firmly end the conversations so it doesn’t completely ruin the rest of your day.

Simply say something like “Okay, Mary, we’ve got about 10 more minutes in our time together. Are there any other crucial topics that need to be covered before we talk again next Tuesday?”

If the conversation continues to run long, don’t feel bad about saying “Okay Mary, I’m sorry, but I’m all out of time. I’m going to have to stop us here. I’ll talk to you again next Tuesday and between now and then I’m going to …”

Be polite yet firm to keep the clinger under control.

Finally, we have to remember that clingers are just people. And maybe you’re so darn good at what you do they just want to hang out with you.

Always be kind. Always be patient. And always treat clingers they way you would want to be treated.