14.1 How Objections can Occur in the First Place

Encountering objections is part and parcel of working in sales and there is no doubt that you are going to come across it at some point in your career and more than once.

Now, there are a number of reasons why people may have objections and it is important to understand where they come from to help you to deal with them in the best way possible. Objections can occur for a number of reasons and often it can come down to something you have done during the pitch, proposal, or negotiations.

One difficulty a number of salespeople have is that they are unable to really put across the key points they are trying to make in a clear and concise way which is easy for everybody to understand .This is often due to a lack of experience in understanding how to handle people or the mistaken belief that everybody is the exact same. This is not the case and understanding this yourself can make life a whole lot easier. That being said, the main ways in which objections can occur are as follows.

1. A lack of knowledge

The first point to address is that there can be a lack of knowledge on the part of the potential client. They may not fully understand what you are trying to sell them and at the same time they may also not realise they have a particular need or want that can make their life so much easier. Now, the easiest way to avoid this particular objection is to make sure that your pitch or proposal contains all of the relevant information so they feel that every potential question has been answered already.

2. They could have a real and logical concern

Another point is that they may very well have what could only be described as a real and logical concern about what you are selling. For example, they may be genuinely of the opinion that what you are offering is too expensive compared to other alternatives, so they could easily have an objection on that basis alone. However, once again this comes down to your ability to turn things around by making sure that you stress the important features of your product so they can see how they really do need it compared to other alternatives out there.

3. They could have a hidden agenda

There are times where the individual may have an alternative agenda, but they are not willing to reveal it to you at this moment in time.Unfortunately, there is very little you can do with this particular objection as it is extremely difficult to get them to change their mind since they have already made up their mind and not a lot is going to make a difference.

4. They may have the wrong perception

This is another major issue in that they can completely misunderstand what either you are about or what your product and service can do for them. This wrong perception can completely alter how they feel about you and lead to them making the wrong decision from the outset. At this point, it is up to you to attempt to correct how they perceive things, but even with this there can be a problem as sometimes this is going to prove to be impossible simply because they have failed to get to grips with the absolute basic point of what you are selling.

5. You may have misunderstood what they are looking for 

There are of course going to be a number of other ways in which you can come across objections, but the main thing we are pointing out is that it often comes down to some kind of misunderstanding on the part of one of the parties involved. This does not mean it is the end of the matter because it gives you the opportunity to look at the objection, understand the issue better, and try to turn it around in your favour.

14.2 How to Handle those Objections and Turn Things Around

We have looked at the way in which objections can occur, but even when you do realise this is what you are up against, it is still important that you are then able to turn it around.

Now, you may be taught how to do this by your sales manager, or the company itself may have certain protocols you are expected to follow, but there is no harm in learning additional techniques that can make a real difference.

1. Do not react on impulse

Even though a good salesperson is going to have to be able to think on their feet, it is also important you just take a moment to make sure that you have fully understood the situation before you act. It is all fair and well to believe you are doing the correct thing with your reaction, but you need to think about whether or not you have actually got to the bottom of the objection and the reason behind it. Even the smallest of misunderstandings at this point will make your life so much harder as you may dig a deeper hole for yourself and that is clearly something which has to be avoided.

2. Be professional and address things in a professional manner

One thing potential clients love is when the person selling things to them maintains a professional approach and deals with them accordingly. At times, people are quite happy for the salesperson to at least make an attempt at addressing their concerns and issues as long as they do so in the correct manner and appear to be trying to negotiate with them to clarify any misunderstanding that may have taken place.

3. Ask for clarification

It is important for you to ask for clarification as to what the issue is just to make absolutely sure you are on the same page as the buyer. We mentioned that not understanding the situation is a huge problem and it just makes sense that you rectify this by seeking clarification as early as possible. At that point, it becomes easier for you to take the appropriate action in order to hopefully turn the situation around.

4. Create a plan of action

After you are aware of what the problem is, you need to at least show the buyer that you are serious about rectifying things by creating a plan of action which addresses their concerns. Now, this is going to be directly related to the issue at the time, so we cannot logically go into details as to how you handle things, but you do need to show that you are taking things seriously as that can be a wonderful way of breaking down the objections and any other issues they may have surrounding the product or service.

The key to turning things around when you are faced with an objection is to never ignore the problem and hope it will go away, but rather deal with it head on and show that you are professional in the way you handle things. Those salespeople who refuse to accept the problem at face value are those who get nowhere in their career as it shows that they are perhaps not as good at dealing with people as they thought.

FACT

When buyers have a few objections and you can satisfy them, your success rate is 64%

Source: blog.hubspot.com

14.3 How to Overcome Most Barriers to a Sale

The problem with objections is that salespeople see them as being barriers to a sale and, to a certain extent that is true.

However, barriers are there to be overcome, although clearly the easiest way of doing this is to stop them from becoming an issue in the first place. If we do go ahead and accept that you come across some kind of obstacle, then how do you tackle that problem?

There are various techniques and methods you can employ that could at least make it easier for you to overcome the barrier which has been put in front of you. Some of the key techniques and methods are as follows.

1. Learn to listen more than you talk

It is important that you show a willingness to listen more than you are going to talk because by doing so you will have a much better idea of what the core issue is behind the barrier. Often, what buyers want is to know that the salesperson is not just going on this sales pitch and treating them like another person in a chain, but that they are dealing with them on a personal level.

By showing you are listening and willing to address their issues, it is amazing how quickly people can open up and seek to address any problems they may have with your products or services.

2. Learn how to negotiate better

Aside from listening, you have to think about how to negotiate better because often it can be the simple case that you have not done your part right and have failed to understand there are certain needs or wants for the buyer which have just not been met. This is poor on your part because it shows a lack of awareness and if you are too rigid on your side of things, then how can you ever hope to overcome a barrier if there is no movement on either side? It just does not make sense to adopt this approach, so never do it.

3. Explain yourself clearly

If you have not explained yourself clearly enough, then how can you expect to overcome any barrier, especially if it is through your own actions that the issue has developed in the first place? A good salesperson should be able to perfectly explain their product or service so that there are as few questions as possible at the end of the day.

4. Show empathy

The final point we need to mention is that you must be able to show empathy to the client. This means you let them know that you have addressed their concerns and you understand the way they feel. After this, you then have to look at explaining how you can help them to overcome these issues which means you switch back into sales mode, but rather than going through everything once again, you need to be very specific in the points you make because of the way in which the client will be focusing on those few issues that they are having.

What we are saying here is that there is a need for you to be able to explain yourself better and show that you are actually listening to what the client is saying before seeking to resolve their problems. Accept that there is an issue, never avoid it, and by doing so you will be able to turn things around more often than not.

14.4 Pitfalls you Need to Avoid

As dealing with objections can be difficult and very testing for salespeople, it is also important that we assess the kind of pitfalls you need to avoid due to the fact that you will just be making your own life so much harder.

There are various things that untrained and inexperienced salespeople are guilty of doing which will, as a result, make life harder than it has to be. The problem is the way in which they react and what you need to do is to be careful with how you handle each situation.

1. You misunderstand

The first major pitfall is a complete misunderstanding of the entire situation. How can you help to overcome an objection if you start off on the wrong road and then continue on down that road without ever correcting yourself. You may actually put in a considerable amount of effort and time trying to resolve what you believe to be the issue, but you could be making a real mistake that just leaves the potential buyer wondering what on earth is going on.

2. Never make assumptions

This is important because a salesperson should never make any kind of an assumption as to what the problem is before the client or buyer has had the chance to spell it out. Assumptions are dangerous due to the way in which they can lead to a misunderstanding, but at the same time if you are seen to just jump to conclusions, then it can often be read as you being slightly arrogant and not too concerned about the actual client or what their wishes are going to be.

3. Becoming desperate and not allowing them to talk

It is true that some salespeople are guilty of allowing their emotions get the better of them and due to this they will often become desperate when they come up against some kind of obstacle. The problem is that you could feel you have spent so much time and put in so much effort in trying to make this sale that you do not actually think about things in the correct manner. This can often lead to you over talking the buyer and this is not something you should actually allow to happen because you are then regarded as being ignorant and you will not be able to turn this situation around.

4. Never tell lies to save a situation

A good salesperson should always be honest in what they say or do and you should never tell lies just to help you overcome an objection.Yes, you might make yourself sound good, but sounding good is not what you are after because you want to not only sell to this person, but to maintain a relationship that could lead to further sales down the line.

We mentioned earlier how desperation is a bad thing and unfortunately that can lead to people being rather economical with the truth. Never, ever do this because you will not only be found out at some point, but also you will destroy your own reputation as well as that of the company you work for as you will have sold under false pretences.

5. Never make false promises.

This is getting its own mention as it is slightly different to the previous point regarding telling lies. What we mean by this is that some salespeople will just stretch the truth of what they can do for the client slightly, even though they are aware that this is not the case.You should only ever promise what you know can be delivered even if it does mean you are unable to overcome the objection.

6. Never undercut yourself

This is once again linked to the idea of the salesperson becoming desperate when they come up against some kind of obstacle, but even if you are wanting that sale so bad, you should never undercut yourself even if it hurts to walk away. Remember, some people can use objections as a negotiation tool and you have to accept that even though you could be very close to sealing that deal, there could be times where it is just not going to happen.

Have a bottom figure or a maximum you are going to do and never change it because at that point it really has not been worth all of the hard work you have put in.As you can see, there are various pitfalls that you could indeed come across and being aware of them should make it easier for you to avoid going down a particular road that has to be avoided at all costs. Objections are not something you should fear as they are part of being in the sales industry, but how you deal with them is the key.