No salesperson likes to have a negative call or leave a prospect’s concern go unaddressed. There are a few key things they can do to prepare for sales objections and see greater success.
What is an objection? An objection is anything that stops a prospect from engaging with a salesperson or making any commitment to a company. Many teams are afraid of taking these challenges head-on and often neglect them. There are many ways to overcome objections and put the pieces of the sales puzzle together by overcoming challenges to ultimately reach and exceed sales goals.
Objections come in many shapes and sizes but are generally about the price, product fit, competitors, or even brush-offs because prospects do not think they have time to engage.
We know… Phone sales and cold calling are hard, but the phone still reigns as the top way to connect with buyers. Learn more
Handling objections means responding to the prospect or buyer in a way that changes their mind or alleviates their concerns. HubSpot had this to say:
“Nothing is more dangerous to a deal than letting sales objections go unaddressed until the final stages. The longer the buyer holds an opinion, the stronger that opinion usually is — and the harder you’ll have to fight to combat it.” 1
Implementing 3 easy steps will help sales teams overcome objections and turn them into positive selling points instead of negative obstacles.
1. Listen
Listen to what is being said. When hearing an objection, your first action may be to respond immediately. When you react too quickly, however, you may not have fully listened. Take time to hear exactly what the objection is and compose an appropriate response. Putting thought behind overcoming identified obstacles shows that you are engaged with what the prospect is saying and feeling. It shows that your company or product will be there to solve the problem at hand.
Listen to the way they ask questions and how they respond to your questions and the details they provide. Many times, objections hide underlying issues that prospects do not feel comfortable articulating.
For example, if a prospect says they are not ready to purchase a product this could mean that they don’t have the budget, are not interested and/or want to avoid sharing the real reason for their hesitation.
What to do after they are done elaborating?
- Repeat the objection they stated back to them.
- Leave some silence in the air after they are done answering your question(s). It’s important to realize that prospects may need encouragement to share more or value some time to process the conversation.
Pro-Tip: Whenever possible, ask more open-ended questions instead of questions that would only require a yes or no response. This will get the prospect to engage in a conversation and help reveal more insights on whether they are ready to advance in the sales pipeline.
2. Document
It is important to document every objection that you hear, especially if you’re hearing the same one multiple times. Identifying all objections will help the entire sales team create a strategy to combat them. Gathering as much information as possible will make the process easier. Frequently stated objections should have the most documentation, and your team should spend more time strategizing ways to overcome them.
Develop an objection management file and update it frequently.
Ensuring you have a list of objections gives the sales team time to develop solutions when they are engaging with prospects. Even better, when you document objections ahead of time, they can be worked into the “script” or conversation before prospects have time to even mention the objection. Handle the objection with a solution, so it is not brought up again in the conversation. Turning objections into something positive and sound confident about the product or service instead of considering challenges as weaknesses.
Pro-Tip: Document objections through the prospects’ eyes. This will allow you to engage with the emotions and challenges they face.
3. Practice
Practice makes perfect.
- Rehearse the objections you gathered and documented.
- Practice delivering your approach out loud before you execute to prospects or customers.
- Listen to call recordings to determine if you are using the right rebuttal and tone of voice, and asses how you can better respond.
- Prepare to make changes to your rebuttals often because the more times you practice, the more you will improve your script.
- Continue to document what is or is not working throughout your practice runs. The more you go over your responses, the more comfortable you will be when answering them on the phone or in person.
Pro-Tip: Roleplay with your co-workers and record yourself speaking. Get their feedback on the delivery of your rebuttal to help perfect how it sounds.
The best approach to overcoming objections involves listening, documenting, and practicing responses. What’s next?
- Deal with objections head-on. Be proactive and close more sales.
- Collaborate with sales leadership and teammates to solve the sales puzzle.
- Implement these strategies. Accelerate to a place where a prospect or customer has minimal objections. They understand your product and/or service and secured their decision to engage and buy from your company.
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Curious about how to build authentic relationships with prospects? Read our previous blog, Building Authentic B2B Relationships, to learn more.
Sources:
https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/handling-common-sales-objections