To turn sales objections into new biz you only need to do one thing
Sales objections. Don’t you love them!
“I don’t like it”
“Too expensive”
“That won’t work for me”
Now don’t think I’m being sarcastic, I’m really not. The thing is I really do love objections.
Why do I love objections when most people don’t?
Well I know what to do to turn them into new business.
Why fear sales objections?
First of all, why do a lot of people, especially non sales people who need to sell fear objections. Personally I think it comes down to two things.
- We don’t like being rejected. Human beings are sensitive souls on the whole, and often a no to a proposal can seen as a personal criticism. This is highly applicable to those working in small and medium sized businesses where selling is often part and parcel with delivering the solution to clients.
- No one wants to appear to be pushy or too salesy trying to overcome the objection. Everyone has probably experienced a fearlessly pushy sales person trying too hard to overcome an objection. Door to door sales people are so often tarnished with this brush that many householders have little signs in their windows stating sales people aren’t welcome. Therefore, why would anyone want to copy this approach.
Once you know what the process is to turn an objection into a sale, then winning new work is a breeze. However, there is one thing that you need to establish before you try to handle the objection. It is the one thing the pushy sales person never does, which is why no one wants to behave like they do.
“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome”
Samuel Johnson
Find out if the sales objection is True or False
The thing is you need to find out exactly what the sales objection really is. No offense to all the lovely customers I have met over the years, but prospects don’t always tell you everything you need to know.
Think of it like this. If you don’t have the complete picture, as to what your prospects needs are, then how can you present a solution to them that they will willing hand over cash for.
Here is an example I always like to use.
Say it’s a super cold day and you own a coffee and doughnut stall. By accident you made too many doughnuts, which you need to sell before the end of the day. In order to drum up some more sales you decide to stand in front of your stall and talk to passing people about how wonderful your coffee and doughnut are, and how they will make them feel warm and cosy as a result of trying them.
First a man walks past hunched up with the cold. You ask him if he would like to buy one of your hot coffees and a delicious doughnut to warm himself up. He says he is cold and that he would like one, so money changes hands and off he goes.
Then a second man shuffles past looking cold so you suggest the same thing to him.
However, this man says no.
You then explain how wonderful the coffee is and that the doughnuts were freshly baked this morning.
He still says no.
You go on to to say you are the cheapest in the area and that you are excellent value for money.
The man says no again followed by a “Look can you leave me alone”. Then walks off.
Now that was the pushy way to handle an objection.
What you should have done was ask why the second man didn’t want to buy a coffee or doughnut BEFORE trying to justify how fabulous they were.
How to handle the situation better
Now the best way to do that is to ask why they objected to the offer. So as the coffee and doughnut owner, this is what you should have said after the first no:
“May I ask you why you don’t want to buy my amazing coffee and doughnut?”
The answer received would then help you to handle the objection correctly. The second man might have replied back that he had just left a restaurant and was so full he couldn’t eat another thing.
This is what’s called a true objection. He couldn’t actually eat or drink another thing.
If the man had responded with “You don’t do decaf”. Then you could have overcome the objection by say that yes you do actually.
That would be a false objection, because the man was making an incorrect assumption based on a lack of knowledge about your coffee.
True sales objections are hard to overcome, but false ones are really easy.
It is vitally important to establish which you are dealing with sooner rather than later. If you keep trying “to sell” without finding out the type of objection it really is, then you will definitely come across as being pushy and way too salesy. You don’t want that and neither do your customers!
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Thank you for sharing this! Probably the most common objection I hear is my prices on customized quilts are too high (“I can buy them cheaper at Walmart” is the type of comment I hear), yet these people don’t consider the work that goes into them. Or the fact they are getting handmade, customized quilts in their choices of colors, even personalized with imprinted photos. The expression “you get what you pay for” goes both ways!
Thanks Karen. I tell my clients it’s a bit like trying to compare apples and pears. At first they look similar, same size/colour, but when you take a closer look and taste them, they are very different. I have a free objection handling formula, which will work perfectly in this scenario. To download it just click on the link at the end of the post. Let me know what you think!
Susan, I really enjoyed this article. I really need help with sales scripting, and you have made very helpful points with the coffee-donuts example. I would like to read more of your work and have subscribed. Thanks, and all the best!
Thanks Kebba. I’m so glad you found it useful. I am continuously sharing 30 years of knowledge into helpful tools and videos that my clients find really useful. Please do let me know who you get on!