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If you have ever sold anything in your life then you’ve encountered a sales objections at some point in time. In fact, regardless of your profession, we all deal with objections in life with co-workers, business partners, spouses, and family.
The good news is, there are some simple steps you can take to better handle and even reduce the number of objections you are confronted with if you take a little time to prepare.
First of all, in the process of selling (a product, service, concept, etc.) when an objection arises it shouldn’t come as a surprise. I would encourage you to embrace the objection and think of it as an opportunity. It’s a clue as to what your prospective buyer is thinking. This simple step alone will take some of the negativity off the objection as you mentally process it.
When an objection presents itself listen completely, pause, and make sure you understand the situation. When you respond, the most effective responses are generally framed as a question.
Basic Examples:
Objection: Your Price is too high
Reply: “I understand your concern, what were you planning to spend?”
Objection: I want to think about it.
Reply: “That’s a fair statement, so what are the specific items you want to think about?
Dig for information
The main thing you want to do is get your prospect to open up and tell you more about what’s keeping them from making a decision. During this dialog be real, be sincere, be understanding, and be positive. Honest, heartfelt questions will normally get prospects to open up. And, you must answer the objection to the satisfaction of your client, before moving forward in your process.
Objections are never a signal to argue or debate with your client, there may be nothing that stalls or even kills a negotiation faster. They are also never an open door to speak poorly of your competition. If an objection forces you to compare your product or service against a competitor, use factual information only. Hearsay and rumors are not recommended for long-term success.
What if there was a silver bullet to eliminate Objections?
The reality is they are part of the selling process and they will never totally be eliminated. However, they can be greatly reduced. How? By spending more time diagnosing your prospect and getting confirmation about what the needs and expectations are before you’re get caught off guard during your presentation. You need to ask questions, lots of them. And then make sure you listen to the answers. You can defuse objections by clarifying the expectations before you ever start your presentation.
Example: At the end of a perfect presentation the potential buyer announces they need to consult with another person before they can commit. Could this objection have been prevented? If the salesperson had asked up front about decision makers and had a commitment that everyone who needed to be there would in fact be there for the presentation, this issue could have been prevented completely, by simply asking the right questions ahead of time.
A short exercise to start improving the way you handle objections is to write your top 5 most common objections on one side of a piece of paper. On the other side, for each objections list 2 to 4 clear responses (framed as questions) that will address the objection and keep you engaging with your prospect. Remember – the point of the sales discussion is to really understand the needs of your prospect, the objections help you figure those out. Review your list regularly and get comfortable with the idea of smoothly addressing the objections.
We would love to hear how you handle objections with your product or service. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Chris Steinlage Kansas City Business Coach
Photo by Marco Bellucci
