Three Things You Always Wanted to Know about Overcoming Objections

Do you view overcoming objections as a separate skill somewhere late in the sales process, before a deal can be closed? You are not alone. The majority of salespeople have been trained as such. But there is another way, a more effective approach that can significantly improve your sales performance. 10,000+ salespeople are already reaping the benefits of this method. So it must be good.

Here are three new perspectives on how to overcome objections:

1. It’s not a separate step

The thought of – a separate Overcoming Objections step – is outdated and does not fit the new way of selling. Sure, customers object to the price, to the next meeting, or to involving more stakeholders. But are they objections? Gosh, that word is used by lawyers!!

For a start, let’s give it a different name: “Clarifying Concerns.” That sounds less like ‘your opinion versus my opinion.’ What do you think?

2. What customers say and think is different

Why does your customer not want to commit to what you ask them (your price, next meeting, more stakeholders)? Most likely, you went too fast in your sales process, and the customer is not ready to commit. They have concerns.

And hence, they respond with things like: “Now is not the right time”, “Can you call me back in six months?” or “Your price is too high”.

When customers respond like this, what they actually think is ‘I am busy with something else that has my priority, and so far, you have not said anything that helps me with achieving better results. I think you are not worth my time.

Customers choose to stay polite, so they do not tell you the whole truth, and they want you to go away.

3. Communicate the value you will deliver.

If they think they would get something valuable from meeting with you, they would willingly accept your request. So, if customers understand sooner what value they will receive from meeting with you, they will willingly move forward with you.

We need to deal with the unspoken concerns by telling them directly how you intend to create value for them in exchange for their time.

Is it that simple? Yes it is.

Some examples:

TIME: If they express a time concern, tell them:

“I wanted to let you know that what I have to share with you is worth your time. If there is a next step for us, that is great, but even if there is no next step, I promise, I will not waste your time.”

In the new way of selling, Selling with the Buyer’s Perspective, our job is more about helping customers discover something about themselves and advising them on their buying decisions.

But we have to work hard for that; Thirty-three per cent of all buyers desire a seller-free sales experience — a preference that climbs to 44% for millennials. Why is that? There have been salespeople before you, and hence, you cannot ignore their experience so far with previous salespeople who have not brought enough value to their tables.

They have concerns when asked to give their time and attend more meetings. So the message is to slow down and listen carefully if your stakeholders are ready to move forward. If not, they have genuine concerns that you must resolve. You’ve got to prove to them that you are not one of those salespeople they based their disappointment on.

INVOLVING OTHERS: Many buyers are protective and have concerns moving forward by bringing in more stakeholders. How should you deal with that concern? Tell them:

I understand, and it can get more complicated when we bring other people in. What we discussed so far made sense to you, and you are interested in exploring a change. In my experience, when we do not bring other people in, then nothing will happen. How do we bring in one other person who has a stake in this and might support our discussion?

PRICE: I can hear you thinking; What about the price objection? There will always be stakeholders who will raise concerns about the money. We should treat these as real concerns instead of something we can overcome by certain closing techniques. Again, what they say and what they think is different. You will hear: “Your price is higher than what we pay now” – what they think is: ‘so far, I have not heard enough value that is worth paying more for. Your price does not give me the confidence to take this to the people involved in this project”. Your contact is not convinced that a higher price will yield the desired results for their company. Resolve their real concern. Respond like this:

I understand this is a concern to you. I may not have explained well enough the investments we do to get you the results you are looking for, and that is why our price is higher. Can I share more about that with you, so you are more confident moving this forward?

I hope this is helping you to see a different perspective on ‘Handling Objections”. Customers don’t have objections. They have concerns. They feel anxiety about moving forward. The sooner you can uncover that, the better you can resolve their real concerns.

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