The Secret to Get Rid of Objections

Once again the phone rang and a sales manager was sharing how very frustrated he was with the way his sales team was responding to objections.

He had recently witnessed 3 deals go south with 3 different sales representations as soon as the customer had an objection.

He said the sales representative either ignored the objection (and probably hoped it would go away) or responded immediately with a comeback to counter what the customer had just said.

In all 3 cases, the sales manager saw the customer’s body language change and the client sped up the process to end the meeting.

Does anything like that ever happen to you?

Instead of objections turning in to the end of a sales conversation – they can and should be the turning point to advance the sale.

If the objection – which really are innocent questions or concerns  – is addressed properly, they can solidify the buying decision in your favor.

There is a stress free way in which to respond to objections to help advance more sales.

Asking a question instead of spouting out a great comeback engages the customer, discovers what they really mean by their objection, finds out what is really worrying them and provides the seller relevant information about the motive that will overcome the objection.

For example:  A customer says, ‘That price sounds quite high.”

A sales representative may respond with dropping the price – the worst thing to do! or says, “Oh no it’s not because you get xy and z.” or they go on and on about the value they’ll receive for that price.

But what does the customer really mean when they are saying the “Price sounds high”.

Do they mean (a) someone else has presented a lower price (b) they personally do not see the value (3) their boss is going to ask them to get any price lowered or (4) they’re not certain it’s worth making the change?

When a seller responds with their pat answer or rebuttal there is no way their answer matches up to all four of those possible meanings behind “That price sounds quite high.”

Basically in 3 out of 4 of those situations the customer did not hear a satisfactory answer.

That’s why asking a question is better than having an answer.

Ask questions to gain more specific information in order for a targeted response.

It’s what the buyer wants to happen; yet very rarely do sellers do that.  You’ll be surprised at how asking a question rather than having an answer builds customer trust, loyalty and sales.

Don’t make the other most common mistake of sales representatives and that’s ‘winging –it”.

The right question doesn’t naturally roll off the tip of your tongue.  It’s important to have mastered this Ask A Question response.

List all of the common objections heard from your buyers.

For each objective write 2-4 questions using who, what, how, tell me, or share with me to begin the question.

Some will be good, others okay and you’ll eventually find the stellar question to ask.

Now don’t stop there.

When you ask these questions intently listen for the response, as you’ll hear the underlying message that needs to be addressed before any sale will be forthcoming.

Then watch for body language, the level of engagement and the follow up questions the customer asks.

Asking a question collaborates with the customer to process through any barriers that may have been keeping them from moving forward to buying.

Remember, when you hear an objection you don’t need an answer.

You only need a question.

Start to sell more today by putting this tip into practice.

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Top performing and top producing sales managers guarantee their sellers meet sales quotas consistently because they conduct Field Ride Alongs, One-on-One Coaching and Sales Meetings that build skill and will.  Check out the done-for-you bite-sized nuggets of sales training to build top producing sales teams.