OVERCOMING THE OBJECTIONS is the next stage sparking your sales following the demonstration. Most customers will have only one or two objections. Rarely, they will have three. If you are getting more than three objections, your demonstration probably needs to be refined because it is failing to provide the basic necessary information.
The best way to initiate the objection component is to simply ask the customer.
“So, what do you like about this new car?”
“How do you feel about putting this new equipment into your production line?”
“How do you like the fit of this
Know your most common
objections in advance and be prepared…
suit?”
The key to handling the objection component is to know your most common objections in advance and be prepared to respond to each one. This way, when you confirm the objection with a validation question, you can comfortably answer it and move forward. Validating an objection is an important but often overlooked step by novice sales representatives.
Customers will throw out an excuse rather than the truth because it’s easier and less confrontational. For example, a customer could say that he needs to check with his wife before buying the table. To validate the objection, you would ask, “So if your wife says yes, then you’ll buy the table?” If he says yes, then you know that you need to work out how he’ll show his wife the table. If he says no, of course you will have to validate the new objection as well. “So if the price is what you were looking to pay, then you would to purchase this table today?” When he answers yes, then you know that you can bypass the talking to his wife objection because the real issue is the price.
Now you can come up with financing or some other value offer to meet his pricing needs. Because objection validation is such an important step, practice it out loud so it rolls smoothly off your tongue.
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The most common objections can be compiled into a most frequently asked list for easy training. The objections across all industries are usually the following:
• The price is too much.
• I need to talk with my partner/spouse/manager. • I’m not ready to buy this.
• I want to think about it.
What you need to recognize when you hear these common objections is that you have not solved the customer’s problem within a reasonable level of confidence. So, you need to correct that. An ordinary salesperson will hear one of these objections and accept it at face value. An extraordinary Spark Sales Professional will dig deeper to uncover the true objection.
“The Price Is Too Much.” This objection is fairly common when a customer has an expectation of the value, but the product is priced at a different level. This product may or may not be right for the customer, and it’s the job of a Spark Sales Professional to find that out.
Sometimes people view prices as the entire purchase price and sometimes they consider the monthly payment. This is often true for mortgages, car payments, equipment leases and other large ticket purchases. Many customers will be more interested in how they can afford the monthly payment than the purchase price. Finding the right leasing package can sometimes be as important to closing the sale as the product itself.
Another consideration is that the product package itself may be more than what the customer is willing to pay because it includes more options than what he needs. Does the customer really need the super premium deluxe package with all the trimmings or will the basic economy package do just fine? I will often take a small car when renting cars for business travel because I don’t feel the need to pay the extra money for a status rental car. Matching the customer’s needs to the right package option can address the pricing issue.
Customers will also feel the price is too much if they don’t understand the total value proposition of the product or service. Paying extra money for premium industrial equipment that can
Factor in the value added to help each customer make the right decision.
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manufacture more widgets faster can generate a significant cost savings down the road. Selecting the higher grade energy efficient washer and dryer saves on electricity bills and the environment. Purchasing the better made business suit means that you can get more years of wear.
In these cases, the additional cost of the purchase is related to the longer term view of an investment in future savings. Pay more now and save even more later. It is the Spark Sales Professional’s role to factor in the value added to help a customer make the right decision.
After you validate the pricing objection, you can respond with some smarter questions. Notice that your responses should be in question form rather than statements or arguments. Your job is to guide the customer, not win an argument about their need to make a purchase:
“Are you more concerned with the monthly payment or the total purchase price?”
“Which features of this package are necessary for you? We can design one that meets your specific needs better.”
“Is it more important for you to save a little money now or a lot of money later on?”
Remember that your goal is to help your customer to make the right decision. Ask the right questions, listen to the customer’s response and then meet their request.
“I Need To Talk With My Partner/Spouse/Manager.” This can be a fun objection if you know how to handle it, because so often it is used to hide the real issue. If you truly want to find out who’s in charge, then ask if the husband came home one day towing a brand new boat or a motorcycle he just bought, if that boat or motorcycle would have to go back to the store the next day. There are times when you are not speaking with the decision- maker of the household or office, but that is no reason to give up on the sale at the moment. Leverage this objection to confirm all of the information that you provided the customer to make sure that he got it correct. Then turn on your salesmanship.
“Can I ask how you will present this offer to your partner/spouse/manager?”
“What do YOU like most about this product or offer that you are going to highlight?”
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What the Spark Sales Professional is doing when responding to this objection is getting the customer to admit what they like about the deal and why they are afraid to move forward with the purchase. The customer will outline his or her interpretation of the value of the product or service. The Spark Sales Professional has to listen carefully, find the sticking point and work through it. This can be
done by reiterating the positive aspects of the deal and then nudging the customer with a guided suggestion such as,
“Sounds like you really do like this deal. Why don’t we just go ahead and write this order up? The best
way to show this to your partner/spouse is to take it home and try it. We have a seven day return policy, so there is no risk.”
Great, you say, but your company does not offer a return policy. That’s probably because you haven’t sold the idea yet to your company. That’s right. Remember how it’s every person’s job within the company to sell? Well, it’s also the job of the Spark Sales Professional to provide feedback to the sales, marketing and executive teams on how to create better sales programs.
… sell the idea of what you need to the people in
If you don’t have all the sales tools that you need, you need to sell the idea of what you need to the people in charge. And if you really think you need something, then don’t take no for an answer. Sometimes it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission – as long as you are within the boundaries of applicable laws and regulations. If the company just wants sales clones and won’t listen to you, then find a company where the value you bring is appreciated and rewarded. Life is too short to keep banging your head on the wall.
“I’m Not Ready To Buy This.” This is a vague objection that often indicates that the customer’s concerns have not been fully answered. Many times, it is used as a polite way for the customer to say that he is not convinced about buying what you are offering. Now there are cases when a customer is just pre- shopping, and the statement is true. I have looked at Harley Davidson motorcycles with my daughter just to make my dream more vivid of owning one, without having any intention of making a purchase on that specific day. But most of the time when you hear this as the first objection, you should dig a little deeper.
The Spark Sales Professional will again respond with the right questions to draw out the important information:
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“What milestones or signs will let you know that it’s the right time to purchase this?” (Get
response from
customer, then ask:) “Why do you feel they are the right signs?”
“If the price were free, why would you take this today?”
“In a perfect world, what would you change about this product or offer to make it the absolute, must-have, no-questions- asked, I’ll-take-it-now deal?”
Now, armed with the underlying issue, the Spark Sales Professional can work with the customer to create the right offer. Did the product, service or offer have to be tailored to meet the customer’s specific needs? Was the price an issue? Was the customer looking for something different? Get the information, and you will be in a better position to help the customer.
“I Want To Think About It.” I love hearing this from customers. We all know that a customer is not going to go home, set aside 30 minutes of uninterrupted time and sit and THINK
The final decision to buy almost always comes from the heart,
ABOUT the product or offer. It’s not the way people buy. People buy mostly from emotions, not from cognitions. The final decision to buy almost always comes from the heart, not from the head. Your job as a Spark Sales Professional is to bring the conversation back to the heart by using words of feelings, emotions and senses rather than comparison-based thought.
“Sure, I can understand that. What do you like about the offer?”
“How does the offer look to you?” “How does the deal sound to you?”
“How do you feel about what we’ve talked about?”
What do you like, how does the offer look and sound, how do you feel about it? LIKE, LOOK, SOUND and FEEL are based on emotion and the five senses. The Spark Sales Professional is asking the customer to return to her heart in talking about the product, service or offer. People are often more confident talking about how they FEEL about something than how they THINK about it. The killer phrase to avoid is, “What do you THINK about
it?” This question can make the customer close down rather than
open up and put you back a few steps in the sales process instead of forward.
Focusing on feeling is not about getting the customer to make a decision without careful consideration of the facts involved. This is about leading the customer to make a decision,
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and decisions are often based on a feeling. It is important for the sales professional to help the customer to get in better touch with that feeling to make a decision.