Today’s Sales Insight blog post looks at the best way to answering objections.
Similar to closing techniques, objection handling has been around for decades. Yet we are all guilty of kidding ourselves that an objection aired is actually a buying signal that will lead to a sale, if we employ a good enough technique to overcome it.
Although this can be true, many objections are simply due to the fact we haven’t done a good enough job of understanding the customer’s needs or demonstrating the value we can bring them.
Change the way you look at objection handling
It is entirely valid that a customer may have some concerns and, if left unsaid or not handled effectively, these can easily turn into objections.
Therefore, in my opinion we should think of objection handling as concern handling, and it should not be left until the end of the sales process. It is something that we can prepare for and even proposition with a customer during our fact-finding conversation.
Be prepared for answering objections
In my own extensive experience, there are really only six predictable concerns that a customer will bring up. Although these may differ slightly from company to company, it is no surprise that price is one of them.
Aim to write down the six typical concerns you commonly hear, then work on rehearsing your typical response to them. By being prepared, you have a much higher chance of answering a customer’s concerns in a more effective manner.
In addition, during that initial fact-finding conversation, check whether any of your predetermined concerns will be a factor in the customer’s decision making. This way you can handle concerns throughout the sales process rather than the customer hitting you with them at the end, when you’ll have a tougher job turning it around.
It’s better for your customer to air objections then keep them unknown
One final piece of advice is; if no concerns are raised during the conversation, give the customer the opportunity to discuss any issues outright.
Although it may feel counterintuitive to ask customers to share these with you, it’s better than them leaving with unknown concerns which may slow down and prevent the sale further down the line.
Don’t forget, if you would like any information on this or any other area of sales please contact me on steve@salestrong.co.uk.
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