Handling I Will Think About It and Get Back to You
I will think about it is incomplete until you know what they will think about. Lock a specific next step, send the facts they are missing, and run a short follow-up that actually stops.
"I will think about it and get back to you" is not an objection. It is a blank. They might be comparing two vans, waiting on a trade number from another store, checking with a lender, or ending the conversation politely. If your team replies "ok sounds good" and waits, most of those threads never reopen. If your team replies with fake urgency, they block you.
Handling I will think about it and get back to you means attaching the sentence to a decision and a time. You ask what they need in order to decide, you supply what you can, you book a next step, and you follow up a finite number of times. That will not revive every browser. It will stop you from treating every polite exit as a maybe that lives in the CRM forever.
This is for BDC, floor reps, and managers on Marketplace, Facebook, text, and phone. A related household-specific version is handling I need to talk to my spouse first. This article is the generic delay. It is not a close-at-all-costs script, and it is not legal advice.
Handling I Will Think About It and Get Back to You Starts by Naming the Decision
You cannot follow up on a fog. You can follow up on a missing inspection, a payment question, or a Saturday calendar conflict.
Questions that turn a blank into a task
Ask one:
- Is there a specific question about this vehicle still open (condition, miles, options)?
- Are you comparing it to another car, and if so, which one?
- Do you need time with a number (price, trade, payment range) before you schedule a look?
- Is the next step a visit, extra photos, or a call at a set time?
If they will not pick any of those, they may be done. Thank them, leave the door open, and stop. For the same delay when it is specifically an online-lead objection pattern, see handling the online objection: I need to think about it.
Four common meanings
| What they often mean | Your move |
|---|---|
| Missing facts | Send the photo, record, or hours they asked for; then ask for a time |
| Comparing | Ask for the other year/miles/price so you can be honest |
| Not ready to visit | Offer a lighter next step (video, second photo set) plus one future window |
| Soft no | Give them a clean exit and one way to re-open |
Do not argue that they should not think. Of course they should think. Your value is making the thinking specific.
Illustrative replies
Need a fact:
Fair enough. What would you want answered before you decide — the service history, a walkaround video, or seeing it in person? I can do the first two today. For a visit I have 5:30 tonight or 10:00 tomorrow.
Comparing:
If you are lining this up next to another vehicle, send me the year, miles, and price on that one. I will tell you how ours differs instead of guessing. This one is still listed at $X.
Soft close:
If this is not the one, that is useful. If you want it later this week, text me a day and I will tell you if it is still here. I will not keep pinging you.
The last line is a contract with yourself. Keep it.
A Next-Step Ladder Instead of a Pep Talk
Pressure speeches in chat read like you do not have other buyers and also do not have a process.
Ladder (use the lowest rung that fits)
- Answer the open question in writing.
- Send evidence (photos, video, document you are allowed to share).
- Offer two appointment times.
- If they will not visit, offer a call window.
- If they will not talk, send one summary and stop.
Skipping to "this will be gone" from rung 1 is how you create the stall you thought you were curing. For buyers who want to complete the entire purchase in Messenger, use moving buyers who want everything by message to a visit rather than thinking harder in the same thread.
What you may put in the summary message
- Vehicle identity and listed price
- Miles as of the last check
- Known condition items already disclosed
- Hours and who to ask for
- The two times you offered
Leave out a new discount "to help you decide." If the price was right at 2 p.m., it is still the listed price at 2:10. Changing it because they said they would think trains every future buyer to say it.
Timing of follow-up (conservative store standard)
Illustrative only; set your own calendar:
- Same day: the clarifying question and the packet.
- Next working period: one check-in that references the open item, not "just bumping this."
- Final: a last note with a way to re-open.
- Stop.
Weekend inquiries may need the second touch on Saturday if the first was Friday night. Do not stack chat, text, and voicemail in the same hour unless they asked for a call.
Logging so the next rep does not restart the fog
Write down:
- What they said they needed to think about
- What you sent
- Times offered
- Whether the unit is still available
A second rep who opens with "are you still interested in a vehicle?" after a detailed thread is why buyers go silent.
Manager Standards for Handling I Will Think About It and Get Back to You
Some reps use the phrase as a way to mark a lead dead without doing the clarifying work. Some managers over-coach and force a fifth follow-up. Split the difference.
Weekly sample
Pull ten threads containing "think about it" or "get back to you":
- Did the rep ask what was open?
- Did they offer a next step with a time?
- Did they discount without authority?
- Did they stop when they said they would stop?
- Did sold units still get "still thinking?" pings?
Coach the transcript. You do not need a theatrical conversion percentage. You need fewer abandoned maybes.
Role split
- Associates: clarify, send packet, offer times, transfer if a manager decision is required.
- Sales reps: own the follow-up sequence on units they queued.
- Managers: price exceptions, holds, and coverage when the owner is off.
When inventory should change the conversation
If they are "thinking" about a unit that sold, say so immediately and offer a comparable if you have one. Pretending it is still there until they "decide" is how you get an angry Saturday. Mark sold and archive so the next "think about it" buyer is not looking at a ghost.
If they are thinking because the listing was thin, that is a merchandising problem. Fix descriptions and photos on aged units instead of asking reps to overcome missing information with charm.
How PostToMarket Automates This
"I will think about it" becomes an orphan when the vehicle record, the poster, and the inquiry live in three tools. The delay is human. The lost context is operational. PostToMarket keeps the unit and the owner together so the follow-up is about the same car they paused on. It is not affiliated with Meta and cannot make a quiet buyer answer.
Give them something real to think about
- AI-generated listing copy from specs, edited so the open questions (equipment, miles, known items) are already in the ad they will reopen.
- Photo picker so the packet is not three similar front shots.
- Import with row-level errors so the price they are thinking about is the price you imported.
Keep the pause attached to an owner
- Personal queues, per-rep queues, manager assignment.
- Team queue view to cover a promised Saturday callback.
- Leads inbox so managers can see think-about-it threads that never received the clarifying question.
- Mobile dashboard to send the packet between customers.
Do not follow up on a sold car
- Statuses (draft, posting, posted, sold, failed) and mark as sold / archive.
- Unlimited inventory so you can point them to a real alternative VIN instead of a verbal "we get cars like that all the time."
The Chrome extension still posts one vehicle at a time with human-like delays and server-enforced daily limits. That keeps the top of the funnel from looking automated. The bottom of the funnel still needs a named person and a stop rule.
Turn a Blank Sentence Into a Decision and a Date
People who say they will think about it are asking for space. Handling I will think about it and get back to you means giving them space with content: the missing fact, two times, and a follow-up that ends. Charm does not replace that. Neither does a surprise markdown.
PostToMarket ties unlimited inventory, editable AI copy, and per-rep queues to a leads inbox so handling I will think about it and get back to you is a short, owned sequence. Starter is $59 per month for one login. Dealership is $299 per month for up to 13 logins when coverage has to survive a shift change.
Start your 10-day free trial with secure Stripe checkout. Cancel anytime. info@posttomarket.com for questions on the workflow.