Well like most things there is a short and long answer.

The long answer is that a well-defined sales process will help you eliminate most objections prior to them ever arising.  For instance, how many times have you heard “I like what you say but I’ll have to talk with my (wife, husband, accountant, lawyer, dog, cat whatever) before going ahead.”  This is the classic excuse that will drive you to despair.  Often the prospect will use this objection so they don’t have to make a decision or because they are too “nice” to tell you the real reasons.  To prevent this happening your must always ask the prospect “so who needs to be involved in the decision.”  Then only meet with the prospect at a time when all parties are available – and be firm with this!!!!  It also pays to understand the prospect’s budget before presenting your solution.  Nothing will kill the sale quicker than a prospect that has a figure of $5,000 in mind and you present them with a solution requiring a $20,000 investment.

So let’s say you have structured your sales process for success and the prospect still has an objection.  As an example the objection comes in the form of the classic “I just need some time to think about it.”  Here’s what to do.  You say “no problem, I know it’s a big decision and you should take some time.  Now two heads are better than one . . . what specifically is it that you want to think about?”  The prospect may say something like, “well I’m just not sure that I can afford it at the moment.”  You say “so are you a bit short of funds at the moment or are you concerned about whether what we discussed will actually work for you?”  These questions are looking to see whether they are short of money right now (cash flow) but like the concept or whether they just don’t see the value in your solution.  If they say “we just don’t have the money right now” you ask this powerful question.  “So if money was no object and you had the cash to invest now would there be anything else that would hold you back?”  If they say “no we’d go ahead” then you know you have uncovered the objection.  If the prospect says yes there is something else you keep asking.  When you have uncovered the objection you can deal with it.

The key here is to be persistent in a respective and helpful way.  And take a note of the main objections you face and then develop a standard answer for dealing with them.  Once you have these answers sorted you can use them over and over again!

Good objection handling!

Successfully

Tony

by