It’s too expensive. I want to explore all options. It seems like a lot of work. I don’t have time right now. I haven’t talked to my significant other. I don’t like you. I had a bad experience last time. I need to ask my boss. I’m ignoring you. You don’t fit the specification I was hoping for. I want the best possible deal.
There are lots of customer objections out there. Learning to overcome them will boost your close rate no matter what industry you sell in. Gaining the skills to deal with customer objections is an important career milestone, and is vital to closing competitive or large-dollar deals.
First things first- let’s talk about what objections are at their core. With very few exceptions- sales objections are emotional reactions to a portion of the sale expressed with logical explanations. Rather than telling the car salesman that we don’t trust him- we say we want to consider all the options. Rather than tell the lady behind the perfume counter that we’re offended by her spraying us without permission we just say that we’re not interested.
In the same way that my wife tells me she’s cold when she feels lonely (so I’ll come over to cuddle), what your customer says is rarely the problem that you’ll need to solve to make the sale. It is, however, a problem that you will have to address to move forward.
The hard part for you as a salesperson is to both address the problem your customer tells you and identify/solve the emotional problem that lies beneath. Here’s a few examples of common sales objections and common emotional reasons behind them.
- “It’s too expensive.”
- This is a pretty common one. In my experience the underlying emotional problem tied to this is feeling a lack of trust (because of a lack of perceived value). Addressing the lack of trust in the business relationship AND the actual price problem is the only way to move forward. Simply dropping the price without instilling a measure of trust won’t close the deal.
- “I’m not ready to buy.” “I’ll let you know.” “Not right now.”
- There are many versions of the brush off. In my experience- this objection is usually tied to a feeling of annoyance, generally at the idea of talking to a salesperson in general. Demonstrating your humanity and genuine helpfulness while taking pressure off of the purchase decision will help on the both fronts. You can come back to the purchase decision when you’ve built a foundation of trust, helpfulness, and value.
- “We already use [brand X].”
- Probably one of the most daunting for many salespeople, this objection is usually tied to emotional feeling of satisfaction (but not for what you’re selling). It’s tricky, because you need to make the customer feel less satisfied with what they have, but not with you. Dial up the helpfulness and dial back the purchase pressure to keep yourself in their good graces- then introduce competitive advantages one at a time.
Looking for more? There are a library of potential answers to sales objections online. Here are a few articles I liked:
http://www.theideahunters.net/2014/10/19/answers-to-sales-objections/
50 Shades of “Not Interested.” A Sales Rebuttal Objection Strategy.
Understanding and being able to identify (and address) both the emotional and logical problems starts with understanding your customer. Ask the questions, make sure the opportunity is qualified before you attempt to resolve concerns. There’s nothing worse than spending your time and effort chasing down solutions for problems that aren’t actually important to your customers.
Here are some strategies to better identify the underlying emotional problems:
- Tone of voice and nonverbal cues
- Picking up on what’s not being said goes a long way. What is your customer giving away from his/her body language? Does he sound strained? Is she distracted when she’s talking to you?
- Ask past the objection
- What’s holding the close up beyond this objection? Ask- “If we were able to help with [objection], would we get a PO tomorrow?” This gets your customer thinking, and can be valuable in learning what really stands in the way of the sale.
- Propose a hypothetical solution
- Sometimes your customer simply isn’t giving you enough information-verbal or otherwise. Proposing a hypothetical solution will let your customer see past the objection, and their reaction will give you clues on the emotional problem underneath.
As with everything, the key to becoming better at handling objections is practice. Role play with your co-workers, be bold with your prospects, and build your confidence.
Christian McCall 