Having discovered the need to identify objections and deal with them appropriately, it is also important to keep in mind that objections should not be handled aggressively. Because there are many different reasons for objections being presented, each one must be handled in its own way, on its own merit. You need to understand the nature of an objection if you wish to address it properly and with the right amount of care.

The nature of an objection is based on the fact that the buyer’s heart and his mind are engaged in a struggle. As we know, it’s the heart that does the buying and the mind that prevents the purchase. Therefore, when a buyer is making an objection, it’s clear that his mind is creating an obstacle for the bit of interest that has been stirred in his heart. In other words, he IS interested in your product. If he wasn’t, he would have walked away. But the fact that there is an objection means that his heart and mind are competing in a battle of wills over the validity of the purchase.

If an objection has been made in good faith, it may simply be that the prospect is interested in the products but hasn’t the means available to buy them. His common sense (mind) may be trying to prevail over his desire (heart) to make the purchase; but only because he knows that he should keep his money aside for a more essential need. This is a difficult resistance for any salesperson to overcome. However, it may well be in the prospect’s best interest to purchase your product as opposed to buying a new pair of shoes or some other essential item. It is your responsibility to demonstrate this to him, in the appropriate manner.

Again, if the prospect has objected with good intentions, it may be that he does have a strong desire to purchase your product but he thinks that it’s not a wise decision to make as there are other essentials that he needs to buy. Subconsciously, he’s wistfully hoping that his heart is right and his mind is wrong.

Let’s suppose that he thinks it’s foolish to spend money on your product when he needs a new pair of shoes; but he’d rather do without the new shoes if he could have your product without seeming foolish. All that you need to do in this case is to demonstrate to the prospect that making the purchase is a wise move and is not a foolish decision at all. The degree of opposition is in proportion to the weakness of his desire. If he has a strong desire to purchase your product, the opposition of his mind won’t be difficult to overcome and his heart will eventually win the duel.

Most failures in objection handling are due to the salesperson failing to understand the double nature of what he or she is dealing with. You will not succeed in trying to overcome an objection by using a purely mental approach. This is because when two minds are at loggerheads it can only result in antagonism instead of the harmony that you need to acquire the sale. Similarly, meeting an objection with a purely emotive approach will also not secure the deal. A prospect’s mind also needs to be satisfied before he resolves to make a purchase. Even his heart will suspect the sincerity of your emotional appeal.

To be effective, you need to know how to proceed without causing the prospect’s heart to doubt your sincerity or antagonizing his mind to reject your approach. To do this, it will help if you can classify an objection specific to its cause. Objections may be due to one of the following six causes:

1. The buyer’s fears
2. Buyer’s unwillingness to change his buying habits
3. Objection to some feature of the product; or to the proposition itself
4. To general conditions
5. Buyer’s opinion of the salesperson
6. To a “personal” cause that the buyer presently has

The objection is merely a symptom of the ailment – it is not the disease itself. The CAUSE of the objection is the disease. If you discover the cause, you can treat the disease and alleviate the symptom of objection.

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If you want to learn more how to effectively handle objections please keep following my blog; next week topic is about handling the price objections.