Nothing defeats an inexperienced salesperson faster than an unexpected objection. Most salespeople invest hours perfecting their sales pitch without a second though to what comes afterwards. But even a perfect pitch can be ruined by poor objection handling.
Every prospect who you speak to has sales objections or reasons why they’re hesitant to buy your product. Why are sales objections inevitable? Because if the buyer didn’t have misgivings about your solution’s price, value, importance to their situation, or their buying ability, they would have already bought it.
If you’re tired of losing deals to responses such as, “Your price is too high,” “Now isn’t a good time,” or, “We’ll buy if you add these features,” it’s time to get serious about overcoming these types of sales objections. Rather than hoping your prospects won’t have objections (they always will), spend some time preparing for them in advance.
What Is Objection-Handling?
Objection-handling is when a prospect presents a concern regarding the product/service which a salesperson is selling. The salesperson responds in a way which alleviates those concerns and also allows the deal to move forward.
Objections that you’ll find in sales calls are generally around the following:
- Price,
- Product fit,
- Competitors, as well as
- Good old-fashioned brush offs.
Objection-handling means answering the buyer in such a way which changes their mind or alleviates their concerns.
Some sales reps argue with their prospects or try to pressure them into backing down. However, this isn’t true objection-handling. If this type of objection-handling is carried out, prospects typically end up being more convinced than ever of their position. Worse, salespeople lose the trust and rapport which they’ve built up.
Instead of telling your prospect that they’re wrong, help them come to a different conclusion of their own accord. And if you can’t persuade them, that’s a good sign they’re a poor fit.