Published on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Every salesperson worth his salt will have a repertoire of instances where he tracks down prospects, approaches them, launches his sales call - only to have them start spewing objections on anything from the product, service, solution or even say, the delivery schedule.
Needless to say, it’s a nightmare come true as the customer lashes out with, ‘The price is too high’, ‘Product quality is not up to the mark’, ‘Company reputation is not good enough’. Even diversionary tactics like, ‘I am satisfied with another service’, ‘Send me more information’, ‘Call me after two months’ or simply, ‘I am not interested’ surface.
Discomfited and dejected, sales personnel often turn away in the face of such hostile rejection.
Well, sales opposition is uncomfortable and confusing, but as a frontline salesman, you have to realise that resistance is quite normal. After all, no matter how compelling the need, how good your product, how perfect your presentation or how persuasive your sales spiel is, prospects always have and always will reject and have objections. They may misunderstand your description, be sceptical of the product, stall (for maybe a better deal) or basically be sales-adverse.
While the objections are obstacles, you can still counter them effectually. Yes, all is not lost; you can still close the sale.The trick is to shrewdly turn the sales-breakers into sales-makers. In fact, top marketing experts actually welcome objections as the stepping stones to sales success. Not only does it open the door to further communication and clarification, but also presents an opportunity to establish the much-needed buyer-seller rapport.
Needless to say, it’s a nightmare come true as the customer lashes out with, ‘The price is too high’, ‘Product quality is not up to the mark’, ‘Company reputation is not good enough’. Even diversionary tactics like, ‘I am satisfied with another service’, ‘Send me more information’, ‘Call me after two months’ or simply, ‘I am not interested’ surface.
Discomfited and dejected, sales personnel often turn away in the face of such hostile rejection.
Well, sales opposition is uncomfortable and confusing, but as a frontline salesman, you have to realise that resistance is quite normal. After all, no matter how compelling the need, how good your product, how perfect your presentation or how persuasive your sales spiel is, prospects always have and always will reject and have objections. They may misunderstand your description, be sceptical of the product, stall (for maybe a better deal) or basically be sales-adverse.
While the objections are obstacles, you can still counter them effectually. Yes, all is not lost; you can still close the sale.The trick is to shrewdly turn the sales-breakers into sales-makers. In fact, top marketing experts actually welcome objections as the stepping stones to sales success. Not only does it open the door to further communication and clarification, but also presents an opportunity to establish the much-needed buyer-seller rapport.
When on the grill
Take the heat – Some emotional preparation is in order as customers will definitely upset you with their objections. Accept the nauseating remarks as a natural part of the sales process and do not take them personally. Keep your sense of balance and perspective by making a determined effort to maintain your composure despite the provocation.
In your stride – Recognise that the prospect’s needs are important and allow him to express his objections freely. Do not dismiss them as dumb protests with standard ‘objection handlers’ like, ‘You are wrong’ or ‘You don’t understand’. Pay attention to what he has to say and understand his problem instead of talking around the issue.
Line your ducks in a row - When faced with a valid objection, you cannot afford to shoot from the hip or just ad lib a response. It is advisable to learn everything about the product before you venture out to sell it. This way not only will you sound confident and knowledgeable, but can also fine-tune your message to meet specific needs. Again, it turns handy for reselling a product or shedding light on new advantages to overcome an objection. You can even go to the extent of arming yourself with prepared responses to all actual and anticipated objections.
Do not refute an objection - The resistance has face value and you have to keep what the prospect has said in mind when framing a suitable answer. Imagine yourself in the prospect’s shoes to be able to determine the cause and analyse it as a reasonable objection.
When responding, question the objection without offering any judgement on its validity. Try sounding them out with, “If we were to do this (for correcting the objection), then what?” This will help you to probe into the actual needs and discover the real hot buttons, as at times people tend to forestall with price or budget objections to cover their real ones.
Make it a point to address every objection with a plausible response; the best sales people are those who do not let any objection go unanswered. At times, you can yourself draw attention to potential objections even before they are raised, by say, emphasising other merits or presenting a logical rationalisation. You can go to the extent of ‘putting words in the prospect’s mouth’ or breaking ground with a radical perspective like in the case of Heinz: ‘When customers complained that Heinz super-thick tomato ketchup was difficult to pour, company leadership took a revolutionary stance by asking, “What if we did nothing?” Rather than getting worried about the complaints, Heinz simply turned this feature into a benefit. The resulting advertising campaign sent a clear message: If it comes out of the bottle too easily, then it must be low-quality ketchup!’
So, do not take a blow-off like - ‘I am too busy’ or ‘I don’t have the budget’ - lying down, but convert it into an opportunity to make a point with a mini sales message. But, whatever you say or do, remember that arguing with a prospect, lying or trying to degrade the competition is completely forbidden.
Also, while you should definitely not take ‘No’ for an answer, some objections will be insurmountable and some prospects totally unyielding. It is advisable to let them be; you don’t have to sell to every person you come in contact with. Give your best shot to mastering the opposition of the more likely ones and you will be in business pronto!
Take the heat – Some emotional preparation is in order as customers will definitely upset you with their objections. Accept the nauseating remarks as a natural part of the sales process and do not take them personally. Keep your sense of balance and perspective by making a determined effort to maintain your composure despite the provocation.
In your stride – Recognise that the prospect’s needs are important and allow him to express his objections freely. Do not dismiss them as dumb protests with standard ‘objection handlers’ like, ‘You are wrong’ or ‘You don’t understand’. Pay attention to what he has to say and understand his problem instead of talking around the issue.
Line your ducks in a row - When faced with a valid objection, you cannot afford to shoot from the hip or just ad lib a response. It is advisable to learn everything about the product before you venture out to sell it. This way not only will you sound confident and knowledgeable, but can also fine-tune your message to meet specific needs. Again, it turns handy for reselling a product or shedding light on new advantages to overcome an objection. You can even go to the extent of arming yourself with prepared responses to all actual and anticipated objections.
Do not refute an objection - The resistance has face value and you have to keep what the prospect has said in mind when framing a suitable answer. Imagine yourself in the prospect’s shoes to be able to determine the cause and analyse it as a reasonable objection.
When responding, question the objection without offering any judgement on its validity. Try sounding them out with, “If we were to do this (for correcting the objection), then what?” This will help you to probe into the actual needs and discover the real hot buttons, as at times people tend to forestall with price or budget objections to cover their real ones.
Make it a point to address every objection with a plausible response; the best sales people are those who do not let any objection go unanswered. At times, you can yourself draw attention to potential objections even before they are raised, by say, emphasising other merits or presenting a logical rationalisation. You can go to the extent of ‘putting words in the prospect’s mouth’ or breaking ground with a radical perspective like in the case of Heinz: ‘When customers complained that Heinz super-thick tomato ketchup was difficult to pour, company leadership took a revolutionary stance by asking, “What if we did nothing?” Rather than getting worried about the complaints, Heinz simply turned this feature into a benefit. The resulting advertising campaign sent a clear message: If it comes out of the bottle too easily, then it must be low-quality ketchup!’
So, do not take a blow-off like - ‘I am too busy’ or ‘I don’t have the budget’ - lying down, but convert it into an opportunity to make a point with a mini sales message. But, whatever you say or do, remember that arguing with a prospect, lying or trying to degrade the competition is completely forbidden.
Also, while you should definitely not take ‘No’ for an answer, some objections will be insurmountable and some prospects totally unyielding. It is advisable to let them be; you don’t have to sell to every person you come in contact with. Give your best shot to mastering the opposition of the more likely ones and you will be in business pronto!
PAYAL CHANANIA
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