As I sat down to write a few articles, my phone rang. I got up to answer the phone  to be greeted with:

“Hi, this is British Telecom” …. Which was then followed by a pitch about extending our BT contract. As soon as the person had finished I said:

“I’m fine thanks”

The response that came back  from the other person was :

“Ok, thanks.”

And then they hung up.

Wow.

Tips in Objection Handling

That persons  sales figures must be terrible. This is a classic case of an employee just going through the motions in their role. I can’t even call them a salesperson because no attempt was even made to continue the conversation with me, ask me questions or to just find out why I said that – to make an attempt in objection handling.

This person probably thinks sales is awful and sets themselves up every day to fail. They might be saying to themselves “No one is going to want to speak to me on a Sunday” or something similar.

What to do achieve an effective Objection Handling

Now before I share a few things they could have done, let me just nail my flag to the mast. I think calling people at home is pre-historic and should have died out long ago. The only possible exceptions are from someone you have an existing relationship with such as your bank, credit card company and phone provider.

If they cared a bit more about the outcomes they needed  they could have said:

“I’m sure you have a good reason for saying that. Do you mind me asking what that is?” or

“Sorry. I couldn’t have done a very good job at explain how much this will benefit you – can I have 5 seconds to see if I could explain again?”

It doesn’t necessarily matter what you say, as long as you say something. If you are going to give up as easily as that then realistically what was the point in calling.

If you are going to make a telesales call then make sure you have prepared the strong reasons for your call, your fantastic answers to most common sales objections that you get and that you get into a positive state of mind and expect a positive outcome – proper objection handling.

If you want to know more about how you can do this then make sure you sign up for our free sales newsletter above where we regularly cover modern day objection handling strategies and sales training.

“If,you cannot get rid of,the family skeleton, you might as well make it dance.” George Bernard Shaw

The quote from George Bernard Shaw may not seem to have any relevance to sales and training but it does. It demonstrates an attitude that will serve you well in sales. That is to find out what your perceived negatives are and turn them to your advantage – make those skeletons dance!

You might confuse potential client comments as objections. You might hear:

• Your more expensive
• Your deliveries are too slow
• Your company is not big enough

And other such ‘objections’.

And if you do and your heart skips a beat then you ‘ain’t making the skeleton dance!’

Try being bold when confronted with:
“you’re too expensive”
and reply with
“Absolutely. We are because we can. We charge that because our clients are more than happy to pay those rates because of the results we generate. And let me tell you why………..”

Now that is a confident approach pre-empting any need to battle or overcome objections. It definitely negates any need for tricky sales closes.
Draw up a list of your perceived negatives and see how you can make the skeleton dance.

Note: Some of the concepts contained in this article were influenced by Barry Maher in his book: No lie:Truth is the ultimate sales tool. Check Barry out here: http://www.barrymaher.com/

Objection handling must be up there with closing as the two most debated parts of  sales training. Much has been written telling you what you should do, what lines to use and how to deliver them.

This article is refreshingly different because it tells you what not to do. There are a few key things that you should never do when faced with a sales  objection. They are:

Objection Handling “The Wrongs”

• Don’t pounce: an instant response, sometimes even before the prospect has finished speaking, creates an emotional barrier because it suggests you have not considered what has been said. It also indicates a ‘canned’ answer that you give to every one. People like to be heard and made to feel special and this does not help you do that!

• Don’t be glib: too quick an answer to your customers’ objection will seem unconvincing, because it suggests you have heard it all before and are just repeating a page in your sales manual.

• Don’t argue: never say, “…I don’t agree with you…” “…that’s not really true is it…?” “…no that’s not right and here’s why…” or anything similar; don’t even suggest that you disagree. One of the recent apprentice programs was a fantastic example of how not to do it. The female team arrived at a luxury ‘stretch’ limo hire business to pitch for the valeting  business. One of them (can’t remember the name) starts of at around £80 per vehicle to be told the current supplier does it for around £20 (going on a dodgy memory here!). The apprentice – or apprentee? – looked incredulous and insisted “You are wrong. That simply can’t be right.” She had been in the business a whole 2 hours by that time.  She was lucky the T.V. cameras were there as the business owner looked liked he was about to show her the door with the point of his expensive designer shoes. I have searched youtube and can’t find that clip. If you ever find it then let me know, please.

• Don’t point score: proving that they do not understand or have made a mistake will simply make them feel foolish or angry.

Would you like to know the 3 most successful objection handling techniques you can ever use?

Ok!  They are:

• Demonstrate so much value in your discussions and proposals that choosing you  is a ‘no brainer’. Develop a record of all provable business value you have created for clients and apply that knowledge and those facts into proving potential Return On Investment for your new clients.

• Deal with objections before they ever come up. This is the objection handling technique of  the ‘superstars’. If you are the most expensive on the marketplace and you know it, and you know they know it, then don’t leave it unsaid. Clearly demonstrate in your proposal and discussion,  why i.e.  “John, on first glance it might seem we are the most expensive provider in the marketplace per case of product. When you take into account your average order values, and order schedule,  and the fact that we don’t charge a premium for next day international shipping, we are actually one of the most cost effective. I have drawn up a total pricing plan for your planned purchases next year which shoes this.  Are you OK with that?”

• Brainstorm professional, credible answers to all of your common objections with every member of your sales team, your customer service team, your management team and draw up value proving answers. This one strategy alone could double your sales success in a 6 month period.

If you get into the habit of killing off the ‘wrongs’ and using the 3 best objection handling techniques in your business, your sales will take a huge surge.

Use these effective objection handling tips – let me know how it goes. If you want to make sure you get rid of sales objections in your sales once and for all then you really need to get your instant access to the most comprehensive, sales objections Manual available anywhere. You can access it here: Sales Objections Course

Get Instant Access to The Most Advanced Sales Objections Resource here (click the image):

This will solve your objection handling challenges once and for all!