How to respond to objections

Anyone selling for any length of time knows they will encounter objections. Some are harder to deal with than others. At Sales Concepts, we define an objection as any concern of a prospect or customer, whether stated or not, that can keep you from closing a sale or moving a sale forward. Objections come in all shapes and sizes and can occur at any point throughout sales.

We must prepare to deal with them effectively. We suggest you keep an objections journal. Keep track of every objection you encounter and think about how to respond. The best way to respond to objections is with questions. Develop questions for every objection you encounter. Here are some ideas to help get you started.

Your price is too high. (or some variant of this)

Questions you might respond with are:

What do you mean? I don’t understand.

You may think you know what a customer means when they tell you your price is too high, but do you? Too high compared to what? Do they have a budget? Are they comparing you to a competitor? Are they just trying to save money? We have to dig deeper to find out why they feel this way.

Some other questions you can ask: Can you tell me more about that? Why do you feel that way? What else besides price is essential to you? How will you measure the success of this project?

The main point is not to immediately accept everything a customer or prospect tells you. Ask questions and seek to understand the situation completely.

You must be careful with your timing and tone when asking these questions. However, when done at the right time and in the right way, they can be incredibly effective at helping you understand what your prospects want. That will put you in a position to provide it.

Another objection we often hear is I am not the decision-maker. The best way to overcome this is to avoid it in the first place by asking questions about their buying process sooner rather than later. When you are dealing with someone who is not the decision-maker, you could ask questions such as:

• How do you feel about what we have covered so far?
• If this were your decision, would you choose us?
• What concerns do you have?
• Do you plan on recommending us?

Again, timing and tone make all the difference. We have to earn the right to ask these questions. Be looking for appropriate opportunities to ask them throughout the sales process. Objections are a sign of interest. We should welcome them, and with the right questions asked the right way and at the right time, they can be what we need to close business more quickly.

There is something liberating about not having to have all the answers. The customer is the one with the objection. Ask questions, and they will do the work to overcome it.