Dealing with objections
Graham Trickey,
Editor, Graduate Prospects
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Our lives would run more smoothly towards our desired goals if we could find a fail-safe way of sweeping aside the vetoes of people who stand in our way. But, mostly, situations where we need to overcome objections occur infrequently. So we probably don’t have a tested way of responding.
Sales staff, however, meet objections every day. The thought of being confronted repeatedly with people saying why they don’t want to do business with you is enough to put some people off going into sales.
The surprising truth is that for the salesperson, meeting objections can actually be positive. Some salespeople even aim to draw out objections (of a polite sort) from their potential customers. The idea is that unless you can find out from the sales prospect the points that stand in the way of a deal you will never achieve it. Also a prospective customer’s objections signal that they are at least giving some thought to your pitch. Better than someone who agrees with everything - except when you ask them to sign on the dotted line.
An objection gives the salesperson the opportunity to restate their case in a way that is more relevant to the needs of the prospect.
‘Your company sucks!’
 Objections can arise at any point in an attempted sale, as anyone who has tried telephone selling can vouch. Even saying your name and company can be grounds for disagreement .
If you are in a pre-arranged meeting, however, a conversation will probably get under way without opposition. Initially your aim is to uncover the needs of the sales prospect (as the customer is often termed) that your product or company can help with. The chat should proceed to a point where you can offer your solution to the prospect’s problem.
This is a fertile moment for objections, and some will be more seriously meant than others. This being a sales negotiation, the other side may feel duty bound to aim a boot at some aspect of your proposition, even though they have already more or less decided to buy. The psychology of sales includes built-in reluctance on the part of the prospect.
Free give-away!
 Naturally enough customers fear a bad deal that could cost them too much, lose them kudos with their employer or family and, perhaps, become a long-running headache. But there can also be a spark of competitiveness – many buyers do not want to part with their money unless they feel they are getting more than the standard deal – just as buying ‘50% extra free’ lets supermarket shoppers feel they have got one over on the billionaire store bosses.
Some one-to-one selling strategies similarly include discounting, but in general tearing up the price tag in order to get a deal is anathema to sales people. It is sometimes claimed that being prepared to drop the price will literally cheapen your product in the eyes of the customer – and if they do buy from you again they will certainly expect another discount.
At the very least failing to get the full price will cut your company’s margin and reduce your commission. So though at the first hint of an objection, the novice salesperson might like to say ‘you can have it for less’, you need a different approach.
Ouch! That hurt!
 Even if you are used to hearing objections, they can still feel like a slap in the face, so take your time and collect your thoughts. You should never jump in and interrupt the customer. Let them say their piece and feel that you are taking on board their view.
A good next step is to paraphrase what they have just said: this has the double advantage of giving you more time to formulate your response while showing that you have been taking their words seriously. Your paraphrase can have the further benefit of directing the negotiation in a helpful direction while you find out more about the objection and how serious it is.
There is a classic response to objections about price. The customer may have said your offer can be beaten by a competitor or an existing supplier. The salesperson will paraphrase: ‘So you think that what I am offering is worse value than so-and-so’s product?’ When the customer confirms this, you are ready with a rundown of the merits of your product as overall more economic than the rival’s deal when features such as reliability and service are taken into consideration.
You’re so right!
 When dealing with objections you should as much as possible seem to be agreeing with the customer. This can be a difficult trick to pull-off. But going back to the fact that a salesperson’s customer, like the supermarket shopper, wants to feel they have won something: if you can greet their objection with something like ‘Good point!’, you let them feel that they are prevailing. And also, as we all know including customers: the customer is always right. So shake off the unhelpful image of the sales person as hell-bent on driving through a sale.
Another negative stereotype is that sales people try to be faster on their feet for running rings around their customers. But you really do need to think quickly to take the conversation forward after an objection. The really smart salesperson has thought about all the possible objections in advance and knows what to say. This is not so hard bearing in mind that if you are selling a handful of products you will soon become familiar with all possible objections.
The salesperson’s skill at dealing with objections can lead to one pitfall, however: failing to recognise in good time that some objections are so fundamental that they cannot be overcome. Sometimes you have to just move on to the next prospect who offers a better chance of a lucrative sale - after the requisite objections have been positively deal with.
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