How do I overcome the "Older Generation" objection?

How Do I Overcome the “Older Generation” Close?

“I’m not going to be around long enough to need that.”

It’s a tough moment—and one many salespeople avoid altogether.

In today’s Question of the Day, I address this objection head-on. I share why I used to be uncomfortable having this conversation and how shifting my approach made it both respectful and effective.

In this episode, we cover:

•  Why this objection is more about perspective than price
•  How avoiding the topic can actually weaken trust 
• Three practical strategies to navigate the conversation with empathy and professionalism 
•  How to position long-term value in a way that aligns with what matters most to the customer 

This isn’t about pushing—it’s about understanding and guiding.

If you’ve ever felt stuck or uncomfortable in this situation, this episode will give you a clear, respectful path forward.

Have a Question? - Submit your questions to chrish@nexstarnetwork.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome to the question of the day. Today's question is from Rochelle in Idaho. And Rochelle asks, We have a 10-year warranty, and often when I present it to the older generation, they respond with something like, I don't think I'll live another 10 years. Why would I buy something that will outlive me? Great question. This objection used to stop me in my tracks. And the reality was, I was just a very young guy that was too scared to talk about the concept of death with somebody older. And so I would get real nervous, I would get real fidgety, and and I didn't know what to say. So I would say something like right and then move on, right? But like any objection strategy, when you plan this out in advance and it makes sense, you can speak intelligently and respectfully about it. You you can approach this just like any other objection. And for me, it helped to think a lot as if I was talking to my own parents or grandparents, right? If I was talking to my own parents or grandparents about this exact scenario, like what would I say to them if they said no to this? And so I came up with three reasons, three reasons that this makes sense, three opportunities that you can use to approach this with customers that are of an older generation and maybe give you the objection of, you know what, I don't want that warranty because it's gonna outlive me. I'm probably not gonna live that long. So here's three opportunities. So the first one is I would just ask the question back respectfully. I would ask the question back, I mean, how long? How do you know how long you're gonna live? I I don't know how long I'm gonna live. Like none of us know how long we have. I I could get hit by a bus today, and that's it. So let's say, let's say you do live 10 more years, though, at that point of your life, at that age, wouldn't you want this taken care of? Wouldn't you want to not worry about this? I mean, because 10 years from now, without it, you'd have to go climbing around in the attic or the basement or wherever the system is at, right? And you'd have to check it out yourself, and you'd have to call multiple companies and get someone to come out and maybe shop around. And like, would wouldn't you rather just have one number that you call and just get this taken care of? Like 10 years from now, at that point in your life, wouldn't you rather just call a number and get this taken care of? So that's my first opportunity is just asking the question of none of us know how long we have to live. I mean, how do we know? Right, and then having that conversation. Number two, transferability. So many, many warranties um have transferability either to other people or to a home. So check for your specific warranties here. But if if there's some transferability, this would apply as well. So if the warranty transfers with the home, that next homeowner will have this as well. And so often in this kind of scenario, like the home would be passed on to family or kids. And and family and kids, they're gonna have a lot going on in that moment. Grief, missing their loved family member, and all the things that come with it, right? They're gonna have a lot going on. And so this would just be one more thing they have to worry about. Wouldn't it make it a lot easier on them that when that system has issues, they don't need to crawl into the attic or the basement or whatever. They don't need to crawl around, they don't need to go check it out, they don't need to call multiple companies and shop around, etc. They can just call one number and get it taken care of. And also, I mean, if it if financing is involved, you you could also speak to the financing that the loan is a simple interest loan. Simple interest meaning you can pay early, pay extra, and there's never any prepayment penalty. So they would be able to take the assets that are distributed and pay off that debt so that the home, the HVAC is is paid off and there's no prepayment penalty, and they're not getting hit with that additional interest from the length of the loan. So now it's all paid off, and they've got a system that they don't need to worry about because it's under warranty. And so if there are any issues, they just got to call the number and it's taken care of, right? Number three. Now, in the case that the home is going to be sold, whether that be by the homeowner here or if it's passed on to family and then sold, something like that. But but selling the home, you would want this as well. So if you were the kids decide to sell the home, what's going to happen is the next buyer is gonna have a home inspection. And a home inspector, there's a few major things that all home inspectors are going to look at. Those are going to be things like the roof, things like kitchens, things like bathrooms, things like HVAC and the age of the HVAC. And often, if an HVAC system is determined old, and it's a pretty low criteria, seven to ten years often, but if they determine it to be old, they're going to recommend in their inspection report of either the current homeowner purchasing a warranty for that HVAC system or just replacing the system altogether. And that becomes a negotiation point in the home sale. And so rather than that, get ahead of it by having the system already under warranty. And then you could even add that in your home advertisement. So when you're selling it, you now have something that puts your listing above all the others because one of those major issues is already taken care of. You don't need to worry about it, it's already got a warranty. So the next homeowner homeowner doesn't have to worry either. Because if there was anything wrong with it, it would have been taken care of under the warranty already. And if that warranty transfers with the home, they get the warranty. So, like even better for them. So, in summary, when you get that objection of I'm not going to live that long, or that warranty is longer than I'm going to live, don't be scared. Don't be don't shy away from that conversation. Just have a respectful conversation around those discussion points right there. Number one, how do you know how long you have to live? None of us do. Number two, the transferability of whoever's taking it over next, they're going to appreciate it. And then if you're selling the home, it'll help you out quite a bit. So these three points make sense, even if the customer is of that older generation. So that's a fantastic question. That's today's question of the day. If you're enjoying question of the day, follow, share, give a rating question today on major streaming platforms. If you have a question, reach out to me via email. It's going to be listed below in the show description. Let's get your questions answered. And if you're a Next Start member, schedule a call with me. Let's get it addressed one on one. Let's get very specific to your situation. I'm Coach Chris. We'll see you tomorrow.