No one likes rejections…but in sales we must all face our fears and deal with the avalanche of objections that quite often tumble our way.
The key to objection handling is not to push a sales script! I’m sure you have been on the other end of a phone call where a rep doesn’t listen and continues to revert back to ‘their script’ at every given opportunity. There are many words I can think of to describe the frustration of these calls, but for the purpose of this blog lets focus on how better to deal with the daily objections we face in sales.
Here are the 3 most common objections we have found … and how to tackle them…
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‘We don’t have the budget’
This is almost a siren shouting ‘You haven’t sold it to me’.
In this situation, you prospect hasn’t seen the real value of what you’re selling. Let’s face it, if you can see a good return on investment (ROI) then the budget will be available.
Start by digging deeper. Find out what their real concerns are. Then solve them, show how much they can save and the potential ROI on offer. If you offer a real solution, to a real problem, with real implications then your budget worries will soon disappear.
On no account offer up discounts – this won’t help you hit your figures!
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‘We are interested, but not just yet’
Also known as ‘it’s not a good time to buy’.
It might not be, but before firing them off into another nurture campaign it’s worth positioning some strong ROI statements. Instil some urgency into your prospect. What would the implications be of delaying the decision be based on their current situation and problems? Highlight the ROI again, and the potential costs over the period of time they are looking to delay by.
If this doesn’t work – set a watch on their IP address and alert yourself to when they next visit your website (you can do this through visitor identification software such as GatorLeads). This way you can proactively make contact at the right time.
And don’t forget, find out what their decision making process is and when this is likely to happen. Keep up one to one communications in line with this and you’ll find yourself prepared well in advance of the sale.
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‘I don’t have authority to buy’ or ‘I have to speak to my boss’
So you’ve hit an authority stop. It’s important to work from the top down in most selling situations to instantly avoid timewasting blocks like this.
The first part of overcoming this objection is simple. Find out who holds the decision making power.
Now you have an advantage. You understand the problems, the need, and how your solution will fit. If you also find out what the decision makers objections are then you can pre-empt your responses.
Be careful not to go above the head of your main contact, they can also be your in to making contact with the decision maker.
The reason not to buy is not always in your control. But if you can effectively overcome common objections through understanding the problems, implications and needs then you are well on your way to selling successfully.
Understanding your prospect is important. With technology such as GatorLeads you can see the prospects on your website, the pages they have visited and score their levels of interest in real time, all of which will help tailor your sales pitch.
Find out how IP lookup technology can help you understand your prospects behaviour.
