Your success in dealing with objections depends on your attitude toward those objections.
Do you look at them as obstacles or opportunities? An objection is anything the prospect says or does that presents a hindrance to the smooth completion of the sale. Professional salespeople look positively at objections prospects offer, and realize that they are a normal and natural part of almost every conversation.
People seem to enjoy objecting, no matter what the topic of conversation might be. Observing the deceptions and cover-ups among political and business leaders today, people no longer simply accept what somebody says at face value.
Since purchases are more often than not made from an individual or company that is somewhat unknown, objections are raised that will ease the fear or risk the person feels.
If prospects have been properly qualified, objections are really buying signals. Answering their objections helps convince them that buying is in their best interest. Therefore, it is in your best interest to think of objections as opportunities stated in the form of questions or concerns.
Look positively at the questions prospects ask. These questions move you closer to the sale by revealing what the prospect is thinking, and your success in selling depends on how well you answer their concerns.
Questions (objections) asked by a prospect are really requests for more information or a reassurance that they are making the correct decision, and should be viewed as opportunities and not as obstacles, the real problem is when your prospect has no questions at all. Then you have no way to discover what is blocking the sale.
Prior preparation and a servant’s heart helps you develop a positive attitude toward objections. Product knowledge is a fundamental tool for understanding and overcoming questions that are raised.
Today’s buyers are more sophisticated and better informed than in the past. Product lines are more complex, and buyers want and need information from you. However, they are sensitive to poorly informed salespeople or to manipulative techniques. If you are both mentally and emotionally convinced that the prospect will benefit from the purchase of your product, your belief produces an attitude that allows you to say, “Thank you for raising that question.” Your attitude toward objections is the key to handling them effectively.
Professional salespeople suggest that the sale does not begin until the prospect raises an objection. Objections actually show that the prospect is interested in your proposal. Most people will raise no objections to a proposal in which they have no interest. By your failure to qualify the prospect and ask the questions that discover the prime buying motive, you create a situation in which the prospect automatically rejects your buying recommendation and objects because you have not addressed real interest and needs.
Again, preparation is the key. Not only product knowledge, but awareness of the types of objections that are possible. If you do not understand the type of objection being offered, how can you handle it effectively? Was the objection a valid or invalid one? Was it logical or psychological? A professional salesperson must get to the heart of the objection, and show persistence.
Most objections that an experienced salesperson hears are not original. If you have been selling for any length of time, your chance of encountering an objection you have not heard before is remote.
To deal effectively with the objections you hear, develop a worksheet to categorize them and the responses you use to answer them effectively. Write out your response word for word, commit them to memory and practice delivering each one so that it becomes a reflex action. If a response you have prepared does not work discard it and try another one until you know what works best for you. Polish and refine your responses; keep a record of how they are received, you will soon be able to choose the best possible response from your prepared list for each situation.
Remember, if you assume that the sale is over when you hear an objection, it will be. If you regard an objection as an invitation to keep selling, you are more likely to enjoy a long and successful career in selling.
Attitude determines your altitude.