Art
Siegel

Turning Around Sales Objections

Sales objections are an inevitable part of most sales situation. But objections should not be viewed as unmovable obstacles. Here you will find ideas on how to handle the most common sales objections, plus an overall strategy for Turing Around Sales Objections.

Why Do Prospects Raise Sales Objections?

In order to make any purchase, you need to fully understand what you are buying, and you have to be comfortable that this is a sensible decision. One component is certainly value: the price is right for what you are getting. Even more important for most buyers is that the product fits their complete needs.

When a prospect raises a sales objection, what that person is really saying is: "Your product sounds good, but I'm not yet comfortable that spending money on it makes sense for me." This person is telling you that he or she has unresolved questions in their mind.

How Do You Respond To A Sales Objection?

Many salespeople believe that the best response is to tell the customer all of the advantages, or offer to discount the price. These may work occasionally, but they usually fail because they don't address what this customer is really concerned about.

The most effective way to respond to a sales objection is to carefully listen to what the customer says and then follow this simple, 3-step process:

1. Identify the underlying issue behind the sales objection
The prospect's objection statement is usually very brief, such as: "I don't think that will work here." or "That's too much." You cannot respond to this statement until you know exactly why the prospect feels that way.

2. Present a response to that issue
Once you have uncovered the real issue, you can offer a clear, focused response to that issue.

3. Confirm that the prospect is satisfied with your response
After responding to a sales objection, you get the prospect to agree that you have addressed that concern before going on.

Let's look at an example of how this might work. The salesperson is selling movie theater advertising to a prospect who has never used that advertising medium:

Customer: It sounds like an interesting approach, but I don't think your slides will work for us.

 

Salesperson: Why is that?

 

Customer: Well, I know what we have gone through to get our other advertising to a point where it is acceptable. It took my agency years before they finally got it right. You people say you can develop 3 slides that will work for us? I don't think so.

 

Salesperson: So what you are concerned about is that since it took your advertising agency so long to give you what you wanted, it would take us a long time to get it right as well.

 

Customer: Exactly. And you might never get it right. And I'd be stuck with this 26-week contract.

 

Salesperson: What is it about your current advertising that's better than what your agency first tried to do?

 

Customer: It's hard to explain. But they just didn't understand the glass and mirror business. They didn't understand what our customers needed to draw them into the store.

 

Salesperson: But they understand that now?

 

Customer: Finally, they've got a gal named Marjorie over there who took the time to study our business and got to know what we are doing here to set ourselves apart. Now, she is producing pure gold for us.

 

Salesperson: Well, then maybe that's the key. What we should do with your movie screen slides is not try to reinvent the wheel. With your permission, I would like to call Marjorie and ask her opinion on the points for your MovieMax slides that would best support your advertising.

 

Customer: I could arrange that.

The preceding conversation represents one person's objection. This particular issue will likely never come up for you, but this example does demonstrate the most effective way to respond to a sales objection. The salesperson, rather than trying to "overcome" the objection, asked questions to fully clarify the underlying reasons for the concern. Then the salesperson was able to offer a practical solution.

When a prospect says: "I don't think this will work for us," he or she is actually saying: "I don't understand how this will work for us." You can't help them understand it until you understand it, which means you must start by asking questions.

Responding To The Most Common Sales Objections

No matter what you sell, there are some objections that always come up. For these examples, we will continue using movie theater advertising as the product being sold, but the examples apply to the sale of many types of products and services.

Sales Objection 1: Stall/Deferred Decision: "I Need To Think It Over"

Probably the most common form of objection is resistance to making a decision. The prospect says something like: "I need to think it over," or "Let me look through the literature one more time and get back to you." This tells you that the prospect does not have any specific objection. He merely feels a need to slow down and be thorough. The risk here is that while the prospect is thinking about it, he will begin to forget all of the advantages. The longer he thinks about it, the greater the likelihood that he will turn his attention to something else and forget all about you and your products.

When you hear this objection, your best response is an offer to help the prospect think it over:

Customer: I need to give this some thought before I decide.

 

Salesperson: That makes a lot of sense. Your advertising is important and you want to make sure the decision you reach is good for your business. What factors are you going to consider as part of your decision?

This salesperson's strategy is to get the prospect to voice the issues which remain unresolved. Either of two things are likely to happen. One is that the prospect will realize there is nothing else to think about. The second is that the prospect will raise new questions that the sales person can assist in answering.

Sales Objection 2: I'll Have To Take A Look At The Numbers

This is a variation on the "get back to you" theme:

Customer: Well, I'll have to take a look at the numbers and get back to you.

 

Salesperson: Definitely. The numbers have to work for you. After all, this is a business decision and you have to make sure it is cost-justified.

 

Customer: That's the way I always try to do it.

 

Salesperson: Mr. Wilson, I have a lot of experience helping businesses analyze advertising costs and paybacks, and I would be happy to help you with your analysis. The best place to start is usually with the value of a new customer. How much would you estimate the average new customer would spend with your business over the next year?

In this example, the prospect's objection needs little clarification. But the salesperson does not want the prospect to do the analysis by himself. This salesperson responds by offering to help with an objective analysis. And before the prospect can say yes or no, he asks a question. If the prospect answers with a number, he will allow the salesperson to help him with the analysis.

If you try an approach like this, and the prospect still wants to think it over, move to selling your next appointment. This puts a limit on how long the prospect will think about it and helps prevent him from forgetting about it altogether.

Sales Objection 3: I'm Not Interested

This is a standard brush-off objection used by many decision makers. It will come up most often on cold calls. It simply means they don't want to talk to a sales person right now.

When you hear this objection, your first response should be with a surprised question:

Customer: I'm not interested.

 

Salesperson: Oh, really? Why not?

 

Customer: I looked into a similar thing from one of your competitors a while back and determined it wasn't right for our business.

 

Salesperson: Do you recall why their program was not right for your business?

At this point you have no idea who the competitor was, what exactly they were offering, whether they presented it competently, or what the prospect did not like about it. However, you succeeded in getting your prospect to start talking to you. Now you are in a position to begin clarifying his needs.

When a prospect says he is not interested, it will usually take you several questions to get to the bottom of his concern. Then you can formulate a proper response.

Sales Objection 4: It's Not Appropriate For My Business

Maybe this objection is true and maybe it is not. Most likely, the prospect just doesn't know enough about the new product to see how it fits into his business.

Customer: I think it would be insulting for my customers to go to the movies to relax and then have to look at my advertising.

 

Salesperson: I'm glad to hear you say that, because I agree completely. That's why I would suggest a very special type of slide campaign for you.

 

Customer: Such as what?

 

Salesperson: I know that your company does a great deal of public service work in the community. What you might want to consider is a public service announcement slide that asks people to contribute or become active with one of those organizations. The slide would have that message, a photo of the people who are being helped, plus your logo to add credibility to the appeal.

Notice the techniques this salesperson used. Since the objection needed little clarification, the salesperson did not respond with a question. Instead, he turned the negative into a positive by agreeing with the objection. Then he paused in his response, causing the prospect to ask "Such as what?" Always use pauses like this to keep your prospect involved in the conversation.

Sales Objection 5: I Think I Will Go With Your Competitor

Customer: I like the idea, but I think I will go with your competitor, Large-Screen Entertainment.

 

Salesperson: What is it about Large Screen that appeals to you?

This sales rep knows that it won't work to knock the competition, so she asks the customer to describe what he likes about them. Once she knows the customer's perception of the competitor's advantages, she will now how to frame her response.

Sales Objection 6: What If You Go Out Of Business?

Customer: I have heard about fly-by-night operators in this business. What happens if you go out of business or you don't deliver my slides to the theater?

 

Salesperson: That's extremely unlikely to happen. We are a national company with customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. But it is a fair question. You need to know that your advertising dollars are not wasted. Since we, like any other company you buy from, can't prove conclusively that we will be in business in the future, what could we do to make you comfortable that you won't lose your money if you go with us?

 

Customer: Well, I suppose it really isn't that likely that you will go out of business. I mostly wanted to hear how you responded. And I can pay for this on a quarterly basis, right?

 

Salesperson: Absolutely, so your financial risk is always minimal.

By forcing the prospect to assess the maximum downside risk, this salesperson made the prospect realize that his objection was frivolous.

Summary

Most sales objections are just part of the dance many buyers go through on the way to a decision. You usually can't overcome them with clever rebuttals, and you can't talk someone into buying until he or she is ready. What you usually can do is ask smart follow-up questions after each objection to uncover the underlying concerns and to help the prospect assess what he or she really expects from you.

SeaBird Associates Inc
3011 NE 7th Drive
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Phone: 561-750-9233
E-mail: Art Siegel

About Art Siegel