People in sales are all aware of a well-known fact – there will always be objections. Maybe not from every potential client or a prospect, but you’ll always encounter objections regarding a product or a service you’re trying to sell.
Knowing and taking into consideration that objections are unavoidable, I’ve come to the conclusion that there needs to be an efficient solution to handling objections.
Now, you’ve probably run into similar articles out there, but the one thing that I’ve noticed is that people who have written those articles approach their readers as if they already have some knowledge on the subject, and that’s not always the case.
This made me pay close attention to the simplicity of the approach I’m going to have when writing the words you’re about to read.
Anybody should be able to read and understand articles like these, and that includes people that have never been in sales before!
Having said that, let’s get on to the article and take a look at 4 easy steps to overcome objections.
What Are Objections & Forms Of Objections In Sales
First, before we take a closer look at those steps of overcoming objections, I need to tell you about objections themselves so there is not a dilemma about what I’m telling you about.
| Objections are disagreements your potential client or prospect potentially has regarding the price, product fit, your competitors, and many other things related to what you’re selling. |
Now that you know what you’re standing against, let’s see what forms of objections there might be to what you’re selling, and then we’ll jump into 4 steps of overcoming objections!
First of all, and the most common, the price objection is the most likely objection you’ll encounter.
It occurs when a prospect likes what you’re selling, but the price tag that goes with it is something that doesn’t suit your prospect.
Now, if this kind of objection seems reasonable to you, or the price that your prospect is asking for seems normal, your first instincts may tell you to lower the price and close the deal, but that’s not exactly optimal for you as a salesperson.
But, you’ll soon find out how to overcome objections!
The second most important objection you may get is the product fit objection. This is a situation where your prospect doesn’t see how the product you’re trying to sell will fit their lifestyle, their daily habits, or how they’ll ever come to use it.
This is probably the hardest objection to encounter since there’s nothing much you can do, but don’t worry, I’m going to talk about that later on.
The third objection is the competition objection. Now, this may come in many different variations including the two objections above but in a combination of comparing what you’re trying to sell with what your competition is trying to sell.
If a customer says that they can buy the same thing but for less money from someone else, or that they can get a better product for the same money from somebody else, that’s a perfect example of competition objection.
Now that you know the most probable potential objection you may run into, or will definitely run into at some point, let’s take a look at those 4 easy steps to overcome objection.
The 4 Steps
How do you overcome objections? – That’s the main question right now. These 4 steps will help you do just that and with ease. Also, make sure to stick around until the end since I’ve got a little bonus for you waiting.
Now let’s take a good look at these steps and see how you can execute them and make your life as a salesperson much easier, especially when you have an objection in front of you.
Step Number 1 – Practice Active Listening
Listening sometimes may be more important than speaking in sales. That’s why this list starts with listening instruction.
You have to actively listen to what your prospect is saying back to you in order to figure out a solution to a potential problem.
If you don’t listen, you may miss an opportunity to fix the problem or overcome the objection, or even miss the whole objection!
That’s why it’s important to listen and not do anything that may drive away your attention from the prospect that you’re actively in contact with.
Almost always, the prospect or the potential customer will tell you what’s wrong in their eyes, and will often give you a road to a solution, but if you’re not listening, you can’t help the situation.
One of the best ways to let your prospect know that you’re listening is to repeat important things that they’ve stated and agree with them from time to time.
Step Number 2 – Understand The Objection
After you’ve heard what your prospect has to say about what you’re trying to sell them, now it’s time to get to the second step, and that’s understanding the objection.
Understanding the objection (and this step as a whole) is not quite concrete, but it’s more like a principle that you should follow every time you hear an objection.
The most important thing here is to understand what the objection is referring to and immediately start thinking of a solution that is acceptable for both parties of the conversation.
Doing so may lead you to resolve the objection right then and there instead of wasting time and scheduling another unnecessary contact.
Think of this step as room for thinking of a solution to an objection that you’ve fully understood and taken seriously as someone who’s responsible for resolving it!
Step Number 3 – Respond To The Objection
Responding to the objection will most likely determine the result of your contact with the prospect. If you respond in a way that reassures them, you’ll continue the conversation, but if you respond in a way that makes your prospect feel like you’re just trying to sell, that’s not good.
In order to avoid that second situation, I’ve put a big emphasis on this step, and I personally think that it’s the crucial step.
Responding will be considered the first thing you’ve said after you’ve understood and acknowledged the objection.
The most important thing is to resolve the objection at that moment. Everything that’s drawn out and seems longer than it should be, leads to mistrust.
Try addressing the objection then and there and not later on during the contact. It’s imperative that, if there’s a way to resolve the objection now, you do exactly that.
If not, try to come up with a way that’ll resolve the objection as soon as possible and set a date for another contact with the prospect as soon as that deadline is over.
Crucial DON’TS of this step are:
- lack of interest for the objection
- taking too long to resolve it
- sounding like you just want to sell the product
Step Number 4 – Confirmation
This may seem quite obvious, but you’d be surprised about how much people really neglect this step.
Namely, it’s because it’s that obvious, but nonetheless, people neglect it and skip it often.
In an effort to get you through all four steps in order and completely I have to tell you that this step should not be skipped under any circumstances.
Regardless of if you’ve come up with the solution to the objection or that you have to set a date for further contact after you’ve collected information or tried to resolve the objection, you have to confirm and get the confirmation back.
This means that you should repeat what you’ve made the deal about, and wait for your prospect to repeat it in any way, shape, or form to give you the confirmation that you’ve understood each other.
Doing this is crucial since it leads to making sure that you didn’t understand the agreement in one way, and your prospect has understood it differently.
Always make sure to confirm and get the confirmation before you end that phone call!
Overcoming Objections – Conclusion
Now that we’ve taken a look at 4 easy steps to overcome objection, and what handling objections requires, let’s sum up.
The most important thing is to go through these steps in the order that I’ve described them in. The second most important thing is not to skip any steps. The most skipped step is the last one, so even if something sounds obvious, confirm it regardless.
Also, it’s important to respect the deadlines that you’ve given. This is the bonus trick I’ve promised you. Also, if you manage to address the objection earlier than promised, contact your prospect and tell them that.
This is both good for time efficiency reasons and for trust reasons. Your prospect will trust you more if they see that their objection is of utmost importance to you!
Lastly, remember to never improvise since it may lead you to promise something that you can’t deliver on, and that’s never good. Have your terms and solutions ready in advance based on your and your coworkers’ previous experiences.