December 30

How Are You Handling Objections?

Sales

Many sales people struggle with objections, especially those that are new to the profession. They don’t know how to handle them, they get flustered when a Customer or prospect states an objection, and some simply fear even hearing them. Sometimes it prevents them from contacting a Client at all…“oh, he’ll just say our price is too high. Why should I call him?”

Objections take many forms: price concerns, competitive concerns, people not interested in your company’s products, etc. These “objections” are the bumps in the road that prevent sales people from ultimately winning a customers business. Without an effective strategy to work through objections, salespeople find themselves facing insurmountable obstacles assuring them of major struggles and most likely, failure.

So, how should you handle objections?  Here is one very easy framework that sales people can use when they encounter objections:

Step one – The first step is for the salesperson to realize that objections are good.

Yes, that’s right, objections are positive, not a negative outcome of a sales call. Most sales people view objections as something they want to steer away from. Great sales people know that it is not an objection that is bad, but indifference that is the real killer. Customers who take the time to tell you what they want are much easier to close than those that don’t tell you anything at all. Gaining information is one of the keys to closing potential customers.

Think of it this way: customers that have objections must be interested in your services. Otherwise, wouldn’t they just hang-up the phone? Objections allow sales people to engage in conversation about something that the customer is interested in.

Step two – Acknowledge the objection

Acknowledging the objection tells the customer a few things.

– You listened to their concern.
– Their concern is understood.
– It’s o.k. for a customer to have concerns.
– Concerns do not have to be confrontational.

Example:

Customer: “Your price is too high.”
Sales Person: “I understand your concern about the price of our product and your desire to get the best value for every cent you spend.”

Step three – Align with the customer

This means you need to put yourself in their shoes and relate to their concerns. Aligning with a customer shows that you and the customer are more alike than different. It shows that you would have the same concerns if the tables were turned, and demonstrates that you are looking out for their best interests. Aligning with the customer focuses on creating a long term relationship, not just trying to “push your product”. Continuing from our previous example:

Salesperson: “….In fact, I am also very particular about getting the best value for my money. It’s important that I’m not over-paying for what I get.”

Acknowledging and aligning with customers does something very important, it allows for the customer to put his gloves down and to listen to what you have to say. So many sales people try to “overcome” the objection by indirectly telling the customer he’s wrong, or bullying him into agreement. We have never seen this work effectively. In fact, it usually alienates the customer and leaves a bad taste in his mouth for him to share with other potential customers.

Something to think about, even if the customer is wrong about his objection: would he concede that to you if you didn’t “acknowledge and align” first? We doubt it. Think of a time when you’ve argued with your significant other. Even if you realized they were right during the course of the argument, you may not concede that to them. Sometimes ego and the desire to win don’t allow people to remain objective.

Step four – Counter proposal

This is your counter proposal to the objection. There are many different ways to counter objections. Some counters are: clarifying the objection, presenting specific benefits, probe for other objections/benefits, pre-closing, using an example, and asking the customer for the solution. The appropriate counter depends on the salesperson’s style and the customer situation. Here are examples of counters. Again, these counters are to be used after you “acknowledge and align”, not before, or on their own:

Clarify – “You mentioned that our price was too high. Can you give me a little more information on that? Such as, is that because of what you’ve paid in the past? Essentially, how did you arrive at that?”

Benefits – “Although our price may be higher than the competition’s, our value to our customers is also much higher. Let me explain…”

Probe for other Objections/Benefits – “What are your other thoughts on our proposal? Are you concerned about any other specifics in regards to it?”

Pre-closing – “If we are able to alleviate your concerns about our price to your satisfaction, would you buy our product?”

Using an Example – “Mr. Customer, what car do you drive? I’m sure that’s not the cheapest car you could have bought. Why did you choose to purchase that car instead of a cheaper car?………..Well, those are the exact reasons our customers choose to buy our product as opposed to our competitors. We believe the key for all of our customers is the benefits and value that our company brings to them.”

Customer solution – “Mr. Customer, do you have any possible solution in mind that might help us alleviate this concern?”
The counters mentioned in step four can be used together or separately. You can combine any of these depending on the situation and the benefit you feel it will bring to the conversation.

Step five – Reaffirm

Ask the customer if you’ve answered his objection, if he has further questions, if he understood your points, and/or if he’s ready to move forward. This gives you a true test of whether or not you were effective in discussing his objection. It also allows you to plan your next course of action with the customer. It’s really easy to “feel” what the customer is thinking when you ask him directly. Don’t be afraid to do it.

Handling objections comes down to having a strategy going into the conversation, remaining confident, and being optimistic during the course of your conversations with the customer. You’ll be amazed at the results when you put all of these together.

 


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