"Your price is too high!" When you've frequently had to
sell your products or services it is very likely that
you've heard this kind of statement before. It could be
called the 'king of objections'. Other frequent objections
concern product/service details, commercial terms, and
performance issues (like delivery time, warranty, etc.).
In the course of this article I will share with you my
views on objections, how they can be minimized if not
avoided, and how to deal with them when they show up
despite our best efforts. Before I get into the four types
of objections, let's see where objections come from and how
they could be avoided in the first place.
Trust is Key If you want to find a way to minimize or even
completely avoid objections, it is imperative that you
develop a deeply (!) trusting relationship with the
potential buyer. No, it's not good enough to just get along
well with the buyer. Our own research has found that true
trust requires three key elements:
- Competence. You know your product, services, the market
environment, etc. and you are proficient in presentation,
communication, etiquette, and so on.
- Rapport. You know how to make another person feel
comfortable with you.
- Care. You truly (!) care about the well-being of your
counterpart and accept the possibility that your
product/service might not be a very good fit for your
prospect... in which case you will not sell it.
I found that many successful sales people are quite good in
the first two factors. But what do most sales people care
about? Well, they care about the sale (or the
commission/bonus they might get). And what do buyers care
about? Certainly not about the seller's commission.
The good news is that you can decide to care about your
prospective buyer at any time, but genuinely caring about a
good outcome for the buyer is key. We've come to call this
the NATOO (Not Attached To Own Outcome) mindset. When we
manage to achieve deep levels of trust with the potential
buyer, we reap some great benefits: - We are much more
likely to hear the truth from the buyer. - If our
product/service fits, we might be the preferred choice
because chances are good that the buyer doesn't trust the
other sellers that much. - The buyer will allow us to
assist in the buying decision making process.
I repeat: Your care must be genuine. If you fake it,
chances are high that you'll get just the opposite of what
you want. Once we build trust, we can actually clarify all
the decision-making criteria of the buyer. We can talk
about the available budget, expected payment terms, etc.
and negotiate terms that may lead to win-win outcomes.
A proposal then becomes only a confirmation of the
discussions we've had. In this 'ideal' scenario where trust
is built, there won't be any objections at all because we
won't offer anything that isn't asked for by the buyer.
Objections can appear only when we offer information that
isn't asked for or expected in the way we offer it. So, to
minimize objections, it is of prime importance to:
a) Build deep levels of trust with the buyer (there are
techniques available to speed up this process);
b) Stop offering information that isn't asked for; it is
much more useful to clarify matters as much as possible
through appropriate questioning;
and c) Be sensitive to the slightest signs of resistance
and to pull yourself back immediately. When this approach
is executed perfectly, you won't face any objections at
all. That's one of the key aims of the Stop Selling!
approach.
But let's be honest. We are not perfect, and even very
proficient users of the Stop Selling! approach sometimes
fall into the trap of inducing objections. So what's to do?
We've noticed that there are four types of objections:
- Buyer tactics
- Subjective objections
- Objective objections
- Excuses
Let's examine them individually, as a doctor would a
patient.
Buyer tactics
Diagnosis: This is quite common when dealing with
executives who make purchasing decisions. They tend to
raise objections just to weaken your position and to gain
more bargaining power.
Medicine: Become aware of the tactics and remain cool.
Acknowledge the objection while showing that you won't get
emotionally affected by it. Try to reframe the conversation
towards win-win outcomes. See how you can build more trust
with the buyer.
Subjective objections
Diagnosis: The objection is more like a feeling without
profound basis. It might even be that there is something
else disturbing the buyer and it's difficult for the person
to clearly express that.
Medicine: Use questions that help the buyer to become
clearly aware what actually doesn't match. Once this is
discovered, deal with it in a collaborative manner with the
buyer.
Objective objections
Diagnosis: You find out that these objections are clearly
based on facts that can't be denied.
Medicine: In this case there are only two choices. You can
either do something meaningful about it or you will need to
be ready to accept that you aren't a sufficiently good
match because the buyer may choose not to work with you.
Excuses
Diagnosis: If you notice that objections seem just to be
simply excuses to get rid of you, then you certainly
haven't achieved a very trusting relationship. People who
truly trust you won't make any excuses because they will
feel comfortable enough to tell you the truth.
Medicine: Check if there is still a chance of deepening the
trust between the buyer and you. You may also attempt to
find out the truth by asking more questions... but chances
are that you won't get anywhere in this situation.
Conclusion: Objections can be minimized if not completely
avoided. The key is to build deeply trusting relationships
with potential buyers. Trust is based on Competence,
Rapport and Care (CRC). If you start caring for your
buyers' outcomes and become proficient in the areas of
competence and rapport, you are on the best way to build
strong trust with your existing and potential buyers.
If objections still appear despite your best efforts, then
you may need to diagnose them first and then use the
appropriate 'medicine' to deal with them.
----------------------------------------------------
By Charlie Lang, executive coach and trainer and Managing
Partner of Progress U Ltd., an executive coaching and
leadership training company. For more articles or
information about Progress U's leadership and sales
training programs, please visit http://www.progressu.com
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