Objection handling is something salespeople seem to fear the most.
Do you find that you’re continually thrown by objections? If so, there may be reasons your objection handling isn’t working.
1. You don’t listen to your customer.
Once an objection is raised, are you formulating what you’re going to say before your customer has even finished talking?
When your customer raises an objection, try to focus even harder on what your customer is saying. Listen to them thoroughly to make sure you don’t miss out on any details.
Acknowledge what your customer is saying and then question what they mean in order to completely understand the situation.
So, in the case of budget concerns, explore if there’s a willingness to buy, but the timing isn’t right, or explore if there are other ways of packaging your product to fit the available budget.
2. You get defensive.
Frequently, our first reaction to an objection is to get defensive.
Instead, try to acknowledge what your customer said. “I understand how that might be a concern … ” is a much better start than, “What do you mean?”
Acknowledging our customer’s objection demonstrates that you care about what they said instead of signalling that you’re “ready to fight.”
3. You don’t explore what your customer means by their objection.
It’s important to explore objections further in order to fully understand the meaning behind their words. If your customer tells you they don’t like your service don’t jump int and guarantee they’ll have a dedicated customer service contact.
Perhaps what your customer meant was that they didn’t like how your service range wasn’t as large as your competitor’s. Asking “Can you tell me what you mean by ‘service’…” could provide clarification to allow you to respond to their objection more appropriately.
4. You view objection handling negatively.
Starting a sales call with the idea that objections are “bad” can lose a sale before you even start.
Instead, view objections as a way to help your customer solve their problem. An objection gives you opportunity to provide further value by clarifying and addressing their concern. It can even help you build a stronger relationship based on trust.
5. You see the situation from your perspective.
Sometimes we’re focused on one thing… doing whatever it takes to close the deal. With this mindset, it’s hard to see the situation from your customer’s perspective.
But selling isn’t only about getting what you want, it’s about helping your customer solve their problem. If an objection is raised, you’ll be so blindsided by your desire to win the business that you won’t be able to effectively handle their objection.
If you want to respond in a way that moves the sale forward and builds trust, you need to view the situation from your customer’s point of view.
There’s an entire module in our EPIC Selling training programme focussed on handling objections, or if you’d like to discuss how we might be able to help you in handling objections, then arrange a free exploratory discussion.
07776 203 431
