OBJECTIONS

OBJECTIONS

One of the lesser talked about sections in a sales process is fielding objections and roadblocks before they surface. There are no two ways about it - if you are trying to persuade people, you're going to be body slammed with objection after objection. Your ability to handle these professionally and precisely will determine the ultimate outcome. But if you are in an industry where time is of the essence, and the volume of competitors is very high, you often cannot afford to have days burned because "Sally Sue" now has cold feet.

1). Follow the yellow brick road:

You get around the hangups by helping the prospect think through their next steps after the agreement. As I mentioned in a previous writeup, the overwhelming majority of words that leave your mouth need to be questions, this is no exception. In my company buying houses, we said the following:

"OK [NAME], I appreciate everything you've given me. Let's assume you like our offer and decide to move forward...What is the next thing you will have to figure out?"

At this point, we help them find the answer. Make no mistake they will look for that answer one way or the other, so you want to ensure the person they do it with is you.

For another industry, you may restate what they said their problem was, and that they agreed that it needed to be solved. Then explain how your product fixes it using short anecdotal stories of other people's success. That should take no longer than 3-4 minutes. Punctuate the explanation by asking if the product would make their situation better, or worse. After their response, say: "Now, if this would help, what would be your biggest concern in making a decision today?". Let them tell you what you need to do to close the sale.

2). Close the doors:

The following process can best be thought of as walking down a corridor lined with doors. Each one is an objection. As we move down it with our prospect, we open every one of these thresholds and explain why they can not step through. Finally, at the end of the hallway rests one last opening - buy. Here are some examples of that:

"Is there anyone else you would have to talk to before making a decision?"

"If [Common Concern] happens what will you do next?"

"What is the absolute (best) worst case scenario if you decide to (not) work with us?"

You get the idea. Explain away their concerns. As simple as it sounds, doing these two things will make a massive difference in not only your closing ratio but also your deal fallthrough rate.

I will close by bastardizing a quote from Benjamin Franklin:

"Drive thy sale, or thy sale will drive thee."