I hear a lot of sales reps’ recordings, and when it comes to dealing with objections, you’d be surprised by the mistakes I hear! One of the biggest mistakes I hear is reps not even hearing their prospects out, and instead rushing in to answer what turns out not to be the real objection. This leads to other mistakes such as talking past the close and actually introducing new objections!
Because some reps don’t get to the real objection, once they do give a rebuttal, the prospect then just comes out with another – and another – objection, and soon the sales rep is worn out and only too glad to schedule another call.
Here’s the good news: all this can be avoided if you follow the three keys to handling objections. Here’s what they are:
First, learn to listen.
Don’t be so quick to interrupt your prospect because often times the way to overcome their objection is actually in the objection itself. In other words, make your prospect fully explain themselves, and listen for the real objection or the way to handle what it is they are telling you.
My favorite technique is simply to listen to what they say – whatever it is – and then to respond with “Oh?”
That’s it. Practice saying it with a giant question in your voice, and then hit your mute button and let your prospect explain away their objection. It works better than you think and is fun to do!
Second, ask your prospect if there is anything else holding them back.
Often times, the first objection you get is just a smokescreen, so get them to clarify what else might be standing in the way.
An easy way to do that is to simply ask, “And besides _________, what else would prevent you from (buying, investing, purchasing), putting us to work for you today?”
Listen very carefully to what the real objection(s) is.
Related: 5 Secrets to Motivate Your Sales Team
Third, after your prospect has clarified their real objection and you fully understand what it is, you should always isolate it before answering it!
Again, you must be patient and give your prospect every opportunity to help you deal with their objection before you launch into an attempted rebuttal.
Let’s use “The Price is too high” objection since it’s the most common. Most sales reps have been taught to build value to justify their price, or drop close to a lesser amount, or try to negotiate in some other way. While these techniques are valuable tools, they should only be used after you isolate the objection. Here’s how to do that:
“I understand __________, and let’s put the price aside for a moment and make sure this (product or service) is really what you’re looking for. Let me ask you, if price weren’t an issue here, in other words, if this fit in with what you were willing to pay, would you go ahead and put me and my company to work for you?”
This one technique is the most powerful closing tool you’ll ever use in dealing with objections. Sadly, it’s used less than 10% of the time, and that’s the reason I keep getting emails asking me what the best way of dealing with objections is.
My suggestion to you today is to incorporate these three keys and so see for yourself how much easier objection handling becomes for you.