Overcoming objections or objection prevention?
Overcoming objections vs objection prevention.
I don’t like the term “overcoming objections”, primarily because I feel it puts the saleperson “at odds” with his or her prospect or customer. (I’ll show you why in a moment).
I also feel that “overcoming objections” is reactive instead of proactive.
In my opinion good salespeople are proactive not reactive. Good salespeople know everything there is to know about their product or service, about their prospects interests, hobbies, families, affiliations, buying criteria, etc… and lastly and most importantly about their competitors offerings, their competitors policys and their competitors strengths and weaknesses.
Selling should be effortless and have a certain flow, if you present your product or service properly and you are well prepared.
The number one problem I find for most salespeople and businessowners today is they walk into a presentation and they simply are not prepared!
I think of it like a lawyer going to trial, would you win your case? More importantly, do you deserve to win your case?
If you are not prepared to present your case to win, you will lose, it’s as simple as that. Do not underestimate the value of being fully prepared for your presentations!
1) I have the mindset that what I am selling is the best possible solution for my client. Your thinking (mindset) is critical to your success. I also have the mindset that objections are not necessarily bad, they are simply “initial” resistance from someone who may not understand all of the pros and cons to what it is that I am proposing.
2) I ask solid indepth questions that really get my prospect talking about their expectations, their concerns, their budget, their time line, etc…
For example :
Have you ever made a great presentation to a prospect and thought, wow I’ve really nailed it! With 100% confidence you ask for the sale, and your prospect says, “I’d really like to move forward on this but I would like to speak to James in IT first.”
My question to you, is how do you overcome that objection without placing yourself at odds with your prospect?
I don’t you think you can!
But how about if you practiced objection prevention and in your appointment setting call you said…
“Besides yourself, Julie, who else is involved in the decision making process? Do you mind if we can arrange a meeting where James can attend? I would actually be very interested in his input as well.”
3) I am fully present and I LISTEN!
During the meeting, is there one person in particular who is offering resistance or being a naysayer? You MUST address that persons concerns while you are physically there doing your presentation, if not in the 5 minutes after you have left, that person will torpedo your proposal!
4) I use “success” storys to help make my points, I check with my prospects (be very mindful of their body language) to see their reactions and I proceed accordingly, and in this way I actually am able to flush out any remaining objections or concerns.
5) I use a sales technique that I developed where I speak candidly about the stereotypes, biases and beliefs about my industry and it’s products and services, and I turn it against itself, and in doing so completely Reposition my Competition.
Lastly, being well prepared has a side benefit that up until now you may not have thought of.
Being well prepared increases your self-confidence! Need I say more?
Being self confident allows you to relax and be more genuine with your prospects and customers, but more importantly it also allows your prospects and customers to be more relaxed and genuine with you.
Self confidence is one of the most important “sales skills” you can bring to the table. Think about that for a moment… can you think of a better way for “handling objections” than that?
Would you like to learn practical sales skills and strategies on how to get your foot in the door, book more sales appointments and dramatically improve your sales results?
Kevin Boyle
Author / Public Speaker / Sales Trainer and Coach
“The Secrets to Sales Mastery”
ps – Did you enjoy this post? Do you have any tricks or tips on how to prevent objections? Please feel free to add your comments!
Other Blog Articles on Overcoming Objections Techniques;
Use Storytelling to overcome objections
ps. A few people have written in to ask me about using the terms “overcoming objections” even though I personally don’t believe in the concept. It really comes down to using terms that people are familiar with. That’s it!
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