Your price is too high. I don’t want to invest the time. I don’t need what you’re selling. I’m happy with my current provider. I’m not comfortable sharing information.
When you’re trying to sell, the list of objections you run into is endless. The traditional sales rep faces these objections and more on a daily basis, and is “trained” on how to overcome them. Unfortunately, most of the time it takes way too much time and effort to cause a mindshift and finally get the "Yes" they were looking for.
When it comes to handling sales objections, there are 3 critical pieces to keep in mind.
1. A vast majority of objections are actually created by the sales rep. They talk way too much, they make too many assumptions, and they tell prospective clients how much they are going to like your product. They treat every prospect the same and fail to adapt their sales process to the specific person to whom they’re speaking. This is a recipe for objections.
2. If the sales rep fails to handle the front end correctly and does receive objections in the end, they should never respond with a statement. What reps fail to understand is that the problem the prospective client is bringing to their attention is never the real problem. Gain clarity to the objection by responding “tell me about that” or “what do you mean?” By gaining clarity, you will get to the root of the real problem and be able the answer the real question.
Here’s a classic example from a typical prospect: “Your price is too high.” Compared to what? Tell me about that. Is that because you don’t believe we can help or do you not have the funds available to invest? From one simple price objection, there could be three reasons why it was brought up. Coach your people on how to find and fix the real problem, not the symptom of the problem.
3. There is only one person who can handle the prospect’s objection. It’s the prospect. Help them discover the answer to their own question. Analogies, third party stories, and examples from their own business are great ways to help them work through their problem.
Handling objections can be exhausting, and it often causes the traditional rep to start justifying. Instead of letting that happen, coach your people on how to defuse the bombs up front, and how to help prospects work through their own objections rather than trying to do it for them.
