Selling Around Objections
Selling Around Objections
Have you ever encountered this situation? If so, and if it were true that you didn't have the feature the prospect said he wanted, how did you deal with it? If you're like most salespeople, your response was one of the following:
1. You got defensive and replied, "Yes, we do" - knowing full well you didn't.
2. You told the prospect you'd deal with it later, hoping he or she would forget about it.
3. You told the prospect, or tried to convince him or her, that the feature wasn't important.
Are any of these responses valid? The answer is, "Yes", "No"... and "Maybe!"
Now that I have you thoroughly confused, let me explain.
First, the straightforward answer - response #1 is always "No". Why? Because it's flat-out lying, and that's something we as sales professionals never do. End of conversation. Next, the not-so- straigthforward answers. Whether responses #2 and #3 are good strategies depends on:
* when in the sales cycle it's brought up
* by whom it's brought up
* whether you believe it's a legitimate, important concern of the prospect
* whether the benefit you believe the prospect desires can be realized with another feature (or features) you offering does have.
In other words, they are situation-specific. An example should help illustrate this.
Let's say you're selling copiers and the prospect says, "I need the machine to be able to make 70 copies per minute." You know your best copier only makes 60 copies per minute. If this is brought up early in the sales cycle - say, in the discovery process - it might be well to use response #2. Often times, as the discussion of needs and wants progresses, and solutions are presented, the importance of the feature the prospect said he "needs" is reduced by the prospect himself. So why risk putting yourself on the defensive early in the game when it may not be necessary? You might also sense that the prospect is "blowing smoke", and that the "need" really isn't set in stone. However, if it's brought up by a decision-maker or strong influencer whom you sense would be put off by what he perceives as a delay tactic, whether you sense that the concern is legitimate or not, you might want to go ahead and address it head-on (but follow up by probing on why he needs it).
How about response #3? Well, I think we can agree that telling your prospect that a feature he tells you is important is not important is a recipe for disaster. Because by doing so, you're both showing disrespect for his opinion and coming across as arrogant. Neither of these is likely to endear you to the prospect; in fact, it will likely have the opposite effect. But is it OK, is it ethical, to try to get the prospect to reconsider how important the feature is? Absolutely! In fact, that's what the most successful sales people do, and do well. Your job as a professional sales person is to help your prospect make a purchase decision that is best for him and best for your company. In our first example, delaying your response to the prospect's objection allowed him to view this one feature in the proper context - as one of many other features he should consider. As a result, he convinced himself that he really didn't need the feature he said he needed, and was thus able to make a more well-informed decision. In many cases, though, the prospect will not come to this realization on his own. Or he may become fixated on the one feature. You help him make the best decision for him (and for your company) by telling him he'd be well-advised to consider features a, b, and c of your offering (which provide the same benefits as feature X, which we lack), as many other customers did. Features a, b, and c, of course, are features/capabilities that you offer that the competitors doesn't, or in which you are superior. This is known as getting the prospect to "change his base" - his perspective. Once the prospect is shown (as above) how to view this one feature in the proper context, he'll convince himself (again, as above) that he really didn't need the feature he said he needed. And you're off the hook with that objection.
ACTION ITEM:
Examine a deal you're currently working where you face a situation such as this. How can you assist the prospect in "changing his base"? What benefit does the prospect expect to get from the feature you don't offer? What other aspects of your offering could provide the prospect with those benefits? Once you have the answers to these questions, schedule a meeting with this prospect, review what he likes about your offering, and help him view this one feature in the proper context. You'll be surprised how often prospects who are seriously interested in your solutions will come around and see the light - the light you want them to see. Your light!
Good Selling!
Selling Around Objections - To learn more about this author, visit Craig James's Website.
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"I'm sorry, Craig. I need to have Feature X and, well, you just don't seem to have it. It looks as if you can't meet our needs."
Have you ever encountered this situation? If so, and if it were true that you didn't have the feature the prospect said he wanted, how did you deal with it? If you're like most salespeople, your response was one of the following:
1. You got defensive and replied, "Yes, we do" - knowing full well you didn't.
2. You told the prospect you'd deal with it later, hoping he or she would forget about it.
3. You told the prospect, or tried to convince him or her, that the feature wasn't important.
Are any of these responses valid? The answer is, "Yes", "No"... and "Maybe!"
Now that I have you thoroughly confused, let me explain.
First, the straightforward answer - response #1 is always "No". Why? Because it's flat-out lying, and that's something we as sales professionals never do. End of conversation. Next, the not-so- straigthforward answers. Whether responses #2 and #3 are good strategies depends on:
* when in the sales cycle it's brought up
* by whom it's brought up
* whether you believe it's a legitimate, important concern of the prospect
* whether the benefit you believe the prospect desires can be realized with another feature (or features) you offering does have.
In other words, they are situation-specific. An example should help illustrate this.
Let's say you're selling copiers and the prospect says, "I need the machine to be able to make 70 copies per minute." You know your best copier only makes 60 copies per minute. If this is brought up early in the sales cycle - say, in the discovery process - it might be well to use response #2. Often times, as the discussion of needs and wants progresses, and solutions are presented, the importance of the feature the prospect said he "needs" is reduced by the prospect himself. So why risk putting yourself on the defensive early in the game when it may not be necessary? You might also sense that the prospect is "blowing smoke", and that the "need" really isn't set in stone. However, if it's brought up by a decision-maker or strong influencer whom you sense would be put off by what he perceives as a delay tactic, whether you sense that the concern is legitimate or not, you might want to go ahead and address it head-on (but follow up by probing on why he needs it).
How about response #3? Well, I think we can agree that telling your prospect that a feature he tells you is important is not important is a recipe for disaster. Because by doing so, you're both showing disrespect for his opinion and coming across as arrogant. Neither of these is likely to endear you to the prospect; in fact, it will likely have the opposite effect. But is it OK, is it ethical, to try to get the prospect to reconsider how important the feature is? Absolutely! In fact, that's what the most successful sales people do, and do well. Your job as a professional sales person is to help your prospect make a purchase decision that is best for him and best for your company. In our first example, delaying your response to the prospect's objection allowed him to view this one feature in the proper context - as one of many other features he should consider. As a result, he convinced himself that he really didn't need the feature he said he needed, and was thus able to make a more well-informed decision. In many cases, though, the prospect will not come to this realization on his own. Or he may become fixated on the one feature. You help him make the best decision for him (and for your company) by telling him he'd be well-advised to consider features a, b, and c of your offering (which provide the same benefits as feature X, which we lack), as many other customers did. Features a, b, and c, of course, are features/capabilities that you offer that the competitors doesn't, or in which you are superior. This is known as getting the prospect to "change his base" - his perspective. Once the prospect is shown (as above) how to view this one feature in the proper context, he'll convince himself (again, as above) that he really didn't need the feature he said he needed. And you're off the hook with that objection.
ACTION ITEM:
Examine a deal you're currently working where you face a situation such as this. How can you assist the prospect in "changing his base"? What benefit does the prospect expect to get from the feature you don't offer? What other aspects of your offering could provide the prospect with those benefits? Once you have the answers to these questions, schedule a meeting with this prospect, review what he likes about your offering, and help him view this one feature in the proper context. You'll be surprised how often prospects who are seriously interested in your solutions will come around and see the light - the light you want them to see. Your light!
Good Selling!
Selling Around Objections - To learn more about this author, visit Craig James's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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