The 3 F’s: Feel, Felt, and Found

I received an email over the weekend asking me to elaborate a little more on my most commonly used sales practice when I am involved in a conversation and hit a significant objection.  One of the objections that were suggested for me to use was the infamous “I don’t want you to pull my credit” or the “I don’t want to give my social security number right now”.

 

I always stick to the 3 F’s (Feel, Felt, and Found).  It’s extremely important, however, that you allow the client to express how they feel.  You can ask this simple question:  Tell me why you feel that way.  After you get an answer explaining how the client feels, you can now go into the 3 F’s.

 

Feel – Reiterate their feeling, and make them aware that you understand exactly how they feel.  In this certain situation, “I completely understand why you feel a little timid about me checking into your credit, and I would never want to do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable or pressured”.

 

Felt – Explain to the client that you have had several other clients that have felt the exact same way.  In this certain situation, “Now, I have had several clients in the past who have felt a little nervous and anxious about checking their credit as well”.

 

Found – Tell the client exactly what your clients have found.  In this situation, “However, what they have found is that I don’t need to do an initial check into your credit right now.  I operate a little differently than other Loan Officers.  We can either do a Pre-Qualification where I do not check into your current credit situation at all, OR, I can provide a full pre-approval which is the safest way to go because your loan is run through initial underwriting, and you know exactly what conditions you have to meet in order to get financing.  Which do you feel more comfortable doing right now”?

 

Either way you look at it they are committed to buying a pre-qualification or a pre-approval, but it is their choice overall which method they are going to use.

 

In conclusion, the Feel, Felt, and Found method is one of my most used objection handling series of statements.  It truly shows that you care about the client, you have been through this before with other clients (so you are experienced), and you have worked this out to benefit them as much as possible.

 

I hope that you all stop by and read through these related posts:

• Overcoming the First Objection
• Selling Emotion After the First Objection