Six Major Sales Objections and a Plan on How to Overcome Them
You are an expert complex sales professional and you know how to use prospecting to your advantage. Before you even make a cold call you have already done solid research on your client and are ready to deliver to them multiple reasons why your product can benefit them. You know exactly how you can save them money or increase their profits; and you know how to communicate this properly.
But what if you’ve done all of your research, are presenting solid information, and yet the potential customer still raises an objection? How do you get around this objection and properly communicate the value of your solution?
There are six basic types of objections that any potential customer will raise. None of these are impossible to get around. For each of them, there is a simple solution. The trick is being able to properly identify which category of objection you are dealing with so that you can apply the appropriate solution and win the sale.
The Six Basic Objections:
1. We’re already working with someone else.
2. We have no need for or interest in this type of product.
For these first two, the best strategy is to bring up the name of one of your customer’s competitors that you have worked with or some other company that they are familiar with. Say something like, “You know that’s just what [XYZ Company] said until we showed them how much money our solution could save/generate for them.” By bringing in the name of a company that they know (especially one within their niche) you have already peaked their interest and made them wonder if using your solution is giving other companies an edge over them.
3. I’m too busy.
4. Send me some info.
Both of these are basically knee jerk reactions. The person who you are working with is busy and the last thing they want to do is talk to a sales person. They don’t yet understand the value of your product and just want to get back to what they were doing. Use this hurried attitude to your advantage. If they say “I’m too busy,” then you can say “Well then why don’t we just meet instead of wasting time on the phone. How’s Thursday at 2pm?” If they say “Send me some info,” you say “Well, I have reams of info. That would take you forever to get through it all. I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t we just meet and then I can accurately gage just exactly how my company can benefit you.”
5. We don’t have the money right now.
You don’t need to make a sale right away. If the customer complains about not having the proper budget, you can easily put them at ease by saying something like “Whoa, wait a minute, you don’t need to think about buying anything right away. I just want to meet with you so that you can see how our solution can benefit you. Then you can think about it once your budget gets freed up.
6. Misdirection
This is perhaps the trickiest of all six. Sometimes a potential customer will be so reluctant to speak to you that they will make up a false objection just to get you off the phone. If this is the case you need to recognize it and then work to find out what the real objection is (and it will be, without fail, one of the first five). However, do this while regarding this single caveat: if you can tell that the prospect REALLY doesn’t want or need your product, it might be time to move on. Once you’ve tried to get at the real objection two or three times and you are still being shot down, it is best to just let things lie. Instead of continuing to waist your time with a dead end, try going on to the next potential lead.
Question:
How would handle any of the above objections? Share your strategies by leaving a comment!
Is there a specific objective you have been dealing with? Let us know!
Good Selling
Mike & Joe
SalesRoundup Podcast
The no money objection has been a common one recently.
What to do when your contact person says, “We’ve just posted an X billion dollar loss this quarter, we’re on a cap ex freeze, headcounts frozen, and people being let go will not be replaced”?
Of course you can give them the “we can save you money” rebuttal, but I have found that it is more successful to empathize, wish them luck and promise to be back in touch in a month’s time. After 2-3 months of your regular calls, opening with - Glad you’re still employed!, the rapport insures when budget’s are free, they’ll call…
[...] Six Major Sales Objections and a Plan on How to Overcome Them You are an expert complex sales professional and you know how to use prospecting to your advantage. Before you even make a cold call you have already done solid research on your client and are ready to deliver to them multiple reasons why your product can benefit them. You know exactly how you can save them money or increase their profits; and you know how to communicate this properly. [...]
Hey Matt
Great Advice! Here is another reason… When someone is fearing for their job, the last thing they want to focus on is buying something from us. So giving them some space is good. Something we try to do is tactically suggest that we know a lot of companies and could help them network in the event they are let go.
Tell then if they send you their resume you would be glad to circulate it among your client base.
In my industry I get a lot of “I need to think about it,” or “I need to clear something up first.” For a while all I knew how to respond was “ok, I understand.” After reading Frank Bettger’s “How I raised myself from failure to success in selling.” I took a tip from the book and I started to respond to these objections with “Other than needing to clear that matter up, is there anything else keeping you from purchasing this product today?” What I have seen happening is after I ask this question, a lot of times I will actually get a different objection. It’s also usually a more specific objection such as “I’m afraid if I make a commitment today with you, my current widget provider will charge me a contract cancellation fee.” Which I can then respond with “Well let’s call them and double-check.”
This question is great for uncovering hidden objections and allows you to focus on what is really holding the customer back.
[...] Six Major Sales Objections and a Plan on How to Overcome Them You are an expert complex sales professional and you know how to use prospecting to your advantage. Before you even make a cold call you have already done solid research on your client and are ready to deliver to them multiple reasons why your product can benefit them. You know exactly how you can save them money or increase their profits; and you know how to communicate this properly.But what if you’ve done all of your research, are presenting solid information, and yet the potential customer still raises an objection? How do you get around this objection and properly communicate the value of your solution? read more [...]
“I’m too busy”
“Send me some info”
Your so called answers are incredibly salesy, pushy, and so outdated. If you didn’t piss the prospect off with your first smart alec answer “Well why don’t we meet instead of wasting time on the phone” You certainly would with the second:”I’ve got a better idea….” Why don’t we meet……
All that amounts to is just pushing your own agenda and people are hugely turned of by that. In fact it is people experiencing crap like this from other so called salespeople that makes it just that much tougher for real sales professionals to connect.
I also like to answer the “no money” objection with some emphathy towards their situation but reminding of the challenges they had and why they were looking for a solution in the first place..something like “I totally understand your situation. Is there a tie that is good for, where the $$$(whatever the price) will be affordable/ I can followup with you at that time, so we can get you the (solution=product) instantly.”
[...] Six Major Sales Objections and a Plan on How to Overcome Them … – You are an expert complex sales professional and you know how to use prospecting to your advantage. Before you even make a cold call you have already done … [...]