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. Why am I saying this? 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, your buyer is interested in your product or service. 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 opposed 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.

Read my previous post: Nobody likes to be sold (but everyone wants to buy!).

The Objection Handling: Mind vs. Heart is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

Not all objections should be received as a negative blow to your sales presentation. In fact, with the exception of two very specific objections, most others can be dealt with effectively and are actually a positive sign that your client is showing some interest. In other words, if the product or service that you are offering holds no appeal to the client, they will not object and will have no desire to continue the conversation with you.

Broadly speaking, the following objections may be viewed as an honest indication that your client will not be persuaded into making a purchase:

1. Firstly, if the client does not have the means to pay for the product and there is no prospect of affordability, this financial objection can essentially put an end to your approach.
2. Secondly, if the prospective client truly has no need for the product or service you are offering, this objection may be considered conclusive to your sales presentation.

If an objection can be removed from the conversation between you and your prospect, the resistance will begin to break down as the proposition automatically becomes more attractive. From this point, a genuine requirement and desire for the product on offer is easily identified, enabling you to make your approach more effective and tailor-made to suit the client’s needs.

However, a clear distinction needs to be made between a genuine objection versus excuses and postponements. These should not be handled as if they were objections because, by doing so, you are effectively creating an obstacle. There are real instances where a client will ask for a postponement or will provide a legitimate excuse – but these are generally easily identifiable. Most other excuses are a polite effort on the prospect’s behalf to end the sales presentation and to make an exit.

By accepting the excuse you have enabled the prospect to accomplish his or her purpose. There is a natural tendency for a prospect to become defensive when they realize they are being approached by a potential sales pitch. But if you are able to courteously side-step the excuse or postponement, about 99% of the time a prospect will not pursue his excuse any further, allowing you to present your proposal without any resistance.

When a client makes an honest objection, it is in your best interest to eliminate the objection. If a client’s concerns are addressed, their confidence in your knowledge and in the value of the product will grow. In that light, if we can use such objections to our advantage then only the real obstacles need to be addressed further.

There really are only three such obstacles that could further prevent a sale:

1. The prospect lacks clear understanding of the product or service you are offering
2. The prospect’s current lack of resources available for buying
3. The prospect’s inability to make use of the product to his benefit

If a prospect doesn’t fully comprehend the proposition that you have presented (WIIFM), your efforts to continue to sell him will be fruitless. If you’re able to identify this obstacle, you need to become an educator to your client and clarify any issues surrounding the product or the proposition. Once there is an understanding, you’re able to proceed with your presentation.

If there is a lack of available funding on the prospect’s part your efforts to continue selling would be unfounded, unless you were able to assist or advise in getting the necessary funds. A pause in the sales process in order to address the financial implications is necessary, until the issue is resolved. If the funds have become available you are able to continue your presentation.

If the obstacle presents itself whereby the prospect lacks the capability of using the products to his advantage, you need to see if you can change the prospect’s circumstances and eliminate the obstacle, before being able to proceed with the sale.

But if there is genuinely no need for the product then continuing the sale is futile. The objective at this point would be to attempt a new sales approach. Failing that, any effort to sell should be abandoned and a new prospect sought for a new sales presentation.

An alternative scenario is that the client has not yet recognized his need for the product.  If you’re able to identify a need that would make your product useful to the prospect, you should point this out to him in the hope that he realizes the benefits attached to making the purchase.

In handling any objection, always try to draw out the client’s reasoning in order to gain an understanding of his situation. A skilled and well-trained salesperson will be able to gather a certain amount of information about the prospect just by communicating effectively with him.

If you start preparing your responses to the most common objections you hear, you will be able to successfully remove any obstacle that may hinder the closure of your sale.

The difference between excuse and objection is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

Call on a thousand average people to whom your proposition is salable. You’ll find the same objections on the lips of the majority of them. And these objections, boiled down and standardized, resolve themselves into a very small number.

For instance, in the paint business the standard objections are:

(a) “Too much money tied up in present stock to consider changing.”
(b) “Nobody is asking for your products.”

And really these two objections represent the big buffing points of the paint salesperson today, found in the mouths of the great majority of their prospective buyers.

Now considering the fact that the majority of a salesperson’s calls have the same objections, it is only reasonable to suppose that the same rebuttals or answers should overcome them.

When I say objections, I mean what I say – bona fide objections, not merely excuses for not buying. That kind of objections is a reflection on the salesperson by not yet selling the customer. A real objection can be defined as a valid, existing reason for not taking the products or proposition. When it’s overcome the sale is made.

The effective rebuttal or answer to an objection is one that gets past; it settles it forever. Every salesperson should study and classify the objections met throughout his or her career. Then when these objections are well established in mind, the salesperson should start formulating rebuttals. They can be (the rebuttals) taken from colleagues, common sense, experience, and experiments.

Whenever an answer overcomes one of these standard objections and makes the sale, put that answer down as a standard rebuttal to that particular objection. There’s nothing better than your own success journal. And the first thing you know, your skills toolbox includes a standard, effective rebuttal that will clear the path of every common objection you meet.

It is positively a shame to see salespeople stumble and stammer and “hem and haw” in answering an objection they have been up against forty times before. It is inexcusable.

Further reading:

• If you live by price – you will die by price
• How to win the deal without discounting
• Three Classes of Price Objections
• Six Common Objections and How to Handle Them

What are Sales Objections? is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer