Three Ways to View and Overcome Objections

It is said that the selling doesn’t begin until an objection is expressed. And, without objections, there would be not salespeople…just order takers.

All objections can be categorized as either Barriers, Brush-offs, or Legitimate reasons for saying no. By recognizing in which categories your prospect’s objections fit, you can choose the appropriate ways to overcome them.

A Barrier objection is the prospect’s way of saying, “I really don’t want to listen to you.” The individual does not even want to hear your “sales pitch,” so he has brought up a barrier to halt your progress.

Barrier objections will usually come early in the call and many sound like this: “I’m not interested,” “I’m perfectly happy with my current supplier,” or “We don’t need that.” They are the prospect’s attempt to cut you off before you can even begin to show the benefits of what you have to offer.

One way to overcome Barrier objections is to prevent them from ever coming up. The benefit you put in your intro statement will often eliminate Barriers by giving the prospect a reason why he should want to listen and talk with you. If you are making outbound sales calls, remember that the phone is by nature an interruption. You’ll need to start your selling by showing the customer why this interruption is worthwhile.

When you hear a Barrier objection, a good way to respond is to try to create the interest you need in the customer’s mind if you are to succeed. For example, if a customer says he is not interested, respond with, “If I could provide you the same semiconductors, with the same delivery times, and at a lower price, would you be interested?

The second category of objections is the Brush-off. These objections are more likely to occur after you have tried to close the sale. Brush-offs are the prospect’s way of avoiding a decision. Brush-offs allow the prospect to postpone having to say yes or no. For example, “Could you send me some literature on that?” may be a Barrier objection, if it occurs in the first 30 seconds of the call. However, it comes up after you have had a five-minute discussion about the prospect’s needs and your service’s benefits, then it is an attempt to brush you off and avoid a decision.

Brush-off objections are always false objections and should be handled accordingly. You will first need to find out if there are any real objections (Legitimate objections). “I understand I may be catching you off guard with this, and perhaps I haven’t explained clearly how this will improve your productivity by 25 percent. What questions do you have?”

If the objection is just an attempt to avoid making a decision, then you need to show the customer what he will gain by making a decision now, or lose by waiting. If money will be saved by using your product or service, how much and how soon will the savings start? Put the potential gain in specific figures, if possible. Show the customer why a decision right now is in his best interest.

The third objection type is the Legitimate objection. These are objections that offer the greatest challenge to you, but in many ways are the easiest to overcome. A legitimate objection is a specific reason why the prospect feels that your product or service is not right for his needs.

Legitimate objections may come in many forms: “Your price is too high,” or “I really don’t think that would be of use in our situation.” A Legitimate objection is a challenge for you to show the customer what he or she will gain by saying yes.

If the Legitimate objection is price, then you will need to show that your higher price is worth it because of longer product life, better delivery times or other valid features. If the prospect is unsure how he or she will benefit from the product, then you’ll need to demonstrate that by words or actions.

To Overcome, Get Commitment

There may be no way to overcome some legitimate objections immediately. For example, having to get another brand put on the buy list may be an objection that can only be overcome through a second call. But you can still close the customer on the commitment to take the steps necessary to eventually get a sale. “Would you agree to take these product specs to your engineers to see if they will approve this so that you can save some money on you…?”

When you hear an objection, the first thing to do is determine what type it is. The words “I’m not interested” could be a Barrier, Brush-off, or a Legitimate objection, depending upon when and how it is presented. Once you know with what objection type you are dealing, then you can determine the best way to overcome that objection and move forward.

As you sell over the next few weeks, try and think of objections in this manner. It will help improve your success in turning objections into sales.