Sales Objections – How to Overcome Objections and Create a Win-Win
March 24th, 2010 | 
Author:
“I can’t afford it”. ”I don’t have the time”. ”I’m afraid I won’t be able to do this”. If you’ve been in sales or if you own a small business or any business for that matter, you’ve no doubt come across one or more of these in your time. Sales Objections. But what exactly is an objection?
An objection is simply a need for more information, communication, clarification and alternatives. It is your customer’s way of saying they are interested in what you have to offer but they need to be sure they have all of the information first. So a sales objection is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, more often than not, it is a good thing and means your have an interested customer. In Relationship Selling it is crucial to remember that they key to success is relationship building. Much the same way as you build those relationships with your customer you become more aware of their concerns and problems, thus enabling you to overcome their objections with solid resolutions.
So how do you resolve an objection?
1. Clarification – it is crucial to first clarify in your mind exactly what the objection is your customer is relating to you.
2. Communication – Communication back and forth is key to help obtain an answer for what they consider their issue. Clarify exactly what it is that your customer is looking to achieve.
3. Alternatives – if your customer is uncomfortable with the prices, be prepared to offer them alternatives; perhaps a payment plan that fits into their budget or a discount for a first time buyer. So let’s delve a little deeper into sales objections and handling objections.
How do you respond to an objection?
- Emphatically – you want to focus on your customer and their problems and objections without focusing on your product features or benefits. Take yourself out of the picture for a moment and put yourself inside your customer’s brain. Be sure to write down all of their objections so you are able to better help resolve their problem.
- Ask open-ended questions – engage your customer so you can create a more inviting atmosphere; one of trust and honesty. If you lose trust with your customer, you have lost your credibility.
- Focus on what your customer is saying.
- Customize each response with a resolution that will create a win/win. You get the sale, they get their problem resolved.
- Stay focused on the objection so that you can continue to relate to that objection with your responses.
Give the customer positive feedback and show them you are trying to relate to them and find a solution for them. For instance, say a customer needs new windows but they are a family on a very tight budget and feel that they cannot afford your bid. A great response may be “I know as we discussed that maintaining a budget is a concern of yours (This shows empathy with the customer). Can you tell me who you are comparing us to in the way of prices so I can address this with you”? (Engaging your customer creating a dialogue so you can truly help them find a resolution to their problem).
Maintain a positive attitude, stay poised and customize your responses to your individual customer’s needs and wants. DON’T get caught up in memorization of a script. It takes away the personalization and will cause a loss of credibility. Retrain your thinking and welcome objections instead of dreading them or becoming defensive.
Be sure to get clarification from your customer by asking them “why” they have these concerns or objections and NEVER show disrespect to your customer or anything that shows conflict. Stay away from condescending words like “but”. ”But” immediately brings conflict to mind and will put your customer on the defensive. Be open and engaging. Stay poised and customize your responses to your individual customer’s needs and wants.
Remember, sales objections are good! They show that the customer is listening and is giving you the go ahead to move along in the sales process. By changing your mindset to welcome rather than dread objections, you will overcome your fear and truly create a win-win for both you and and your customer.
Posted in Sales Objections | 
Tags: Creating Customer Value, Relationship Selling, Sales Follow Up, Sales Objections
i have enjoyed reading thank for sharing your story Greeting.
I tried to subscribe to your rss feed, but had problems adding it to google reader. Could you please look at this.
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.”