It is difficult to find a buyer who does not have one sales objection or a reason not to buy your product; if the buyer does not have concerns about the cost, utility, applicability of your product, or his or her ability to purchase it, then there would be no reason why he or she would not immediately buy the product.
Selling is a process where buyers will most likely object, but this can be a major challenge when one is trying to manage the leads’ flow in a specific funnel. You may even be inclined to deal only with the objections and type the breakup email immediately. But you need to know where these issues are when you need them and how to address them when you want to solve them if you want to be successful.
What is a sales objection?
A sales objection is any statement that a potential buyer makes about a factor that restricts him/her from purchasing something – the clearest signal that there is more to cover regarding the buying process than what was originally assumed.
Lack of a specific capacity is the general force behind a typical sales objection. Customers use this technique in that they oppose a sale if they do not have the desire, ability, requirement, or capital to buy your goods at the specific time you are selling them. Although evaluating objections is one of the more challenging aspects of sales, and can at first glance seem futile, they are in no way automatically a waste of time or a non-productive path to explore.
What is objection handling?
Objection handling refers to a situation whereby a buyer argues the reasons why they cannot purchase the product or subscribe to the service being offered by a salesperson and how the latter can counter those reasons and proceed with making the sale. Concerns are often cost, applicability, or similar services. In this sense, the objection is sometimes a mere case of fobbing off.
Objection handling on the other hand refers to the action talents of saying the right thing to the buyer to make him/her change their mind or reduce their concern.
objection handling and its significant
The most detrimental thing that a sales representative can do is ignore stalling objections as the bottleneck of the process. Simply, when the buyer has an opinion about your brand, product or service, the longer duration they take to hold that opinion, means that opinion is stronger. And it will take you more time to sort out the objections of the buyers.
You should accept buyers’ objections rather than avoid them. You can also proactively find them by periodically asking questions.
- Would you like to know about some issues with X?
- Are there any of these factors that would discourage you from purchasing?
- What do you think would prevent you from buying one of these home cookers?
- I anticipate that in using [product], how optimistic would you feel that you would see success?
- Why? “Hey, they tell me you’re a little concerned about X.”
- What are your thoughts?
Types of Sales Objections
Some common fears have been grouped into ‘lack,’ which seems to underpin most objections that are normally given in the course of sales and they all come from a rational basis. The objections normally given by buyers are that they cannot do business at the current moment.
It is not active as those “lacks” are often misplaced and if one knows where to look, it is always possible to look for a way out. Now that we know what objections are and why they occur, we must examine the most typical types of customer objections.
1. Lack of budget:
The most frequently encountered objection is the lack of this budget and that kind of requires devotion. This makes sense because any purchase or investment entails a certain level of price risk. Most especially because in many cases where high-quality products and services are being sought and purchased, the prices are usually impressive.
But when it comes to company strategies, pricing is one of the areas that is rarely the problem. It is arguably the most favorable type of objection to be encountered, as it implies the existence of purchasing interest.
Concentrate on what your product or service can do for the consumer or client. This way you can show them how much money it is costing them to have these problems in the first place. You can also alter your offerings according to the needs of your buyers.
2. Lack of need
The next one might seem like a complete negative, but it often happens when the buyer doesn’t know there is an issue, doesn’t feel they have a problem, or doesn’t comprehend your solution. Some people are just very busy and your business proposal and website can only tell so much about your product and that is why they can easily decline it.
To be an effective salesperson, it is imperative to understand the industry of your buyer as well as the company itself. It will help you to understand their daily struggles or at least it will equip you with questions that will show their burdens. This can be done by asking them questions and striving for depth answers, then introducing them to what your product can offer so that they draw a line between problem and solution.
3. Lack of trust
Employees engage with people or companies with which they have close relations. If a buyer for instance is in any way doubtful about your company or the solution that you are providing, then he/she is likely to pause before proceeding to the next step. They may have a problem that fits the solution that you are offering, but they don’t trust that you can solve it.
Some of the best techniques to handle this kind of sales objection are to gain a deeper understanding of the prospects and to demonstrate that you are capable of delivering what you promise. There are the following techniques to do this:
- Show them results
- Provide social proof.
- Engage in conversation.
4. Lack of urgency
It is possible to sit and wait for such a moment when the circumstances will be quite suitable for a meeting of two people. It is reasonable to say that this is one of the most common sales objections, and your prospect has it for some reasons, including he may have large expenses in the near future, he has more important things to attend to, or he simply does not feel the necessity to jump right in. It is also used when they do not wish to decline your offer, yet they do not consider the value of your service, probably because you cannot offer them anything.
Strategies for Handling Sales Objection
If a buyer peruses and says he is not ready to purchase, do not be discouraged. Use the following four steps to overcome sales objections and move closer to the sale: Use the following four steps to overcome sales objections and move closer to the sale:
- Listen
- Understand
- Respond
- Confirm
1. Give the Opponent Your Full Attention
One of the first tendencies a person may have when he or she hears an objection is to immediately counter it. Resist this temptation. When one reacts too quickly, one can make the following mistakes; Instead:
- Allow the person’s objections long enough to finish stating them.
- Don’t react defensively
- Learn how to disconnect your emotions in a way, so that it does not hinder anymore in any form of your work.
- Listen intently to the buyer and the business challenge this brings to your domain
- The buyer’s voice needs to be taken to open ourselves to the input of the buyer and not predetermined solutions.
- Avoid folding your arms or adopting other negative stances with your body, which will make the buyer feel you are not listening.
2. Understand the Objection Completely
Most objections that are raised have deeper meanings that the buyer is unable or unwilling to express. It’s not what the buyer says the first time, the problem lies there somewhere but he or she does not know how to describe it properly. Get to the root of the objection you have to, you’ll never be able to know precisely why the client is not willing to make the purchase you need him to make.
Thus, it is suggested to ask permission from the buyer to comprehend and investigate the problem. From there, let me rephrase the concern provided as follows. The buyer walks through the entire process again due to the re-statement of the objection.
However, after he/she affirms you that you know exactly what they want or need, continue to ask questions such as, ‘What else?’ and ‘Why?’ Sometimes the last “What else?” may question you is the biggest hurdle that you need to climb to proceed to the next level of selling.
To effectively challenge this sales objection, you have to figure out why they said it in the first place. This can be achieved by assessing their current issues, concerns, desirabilities, and required time to carry out the prospective acquisition.
3. Respond Properly
Finally, respond to the oldest objection first if you feel that you have discussed all the possible objections thoroughly. Where the greatest hindrance to progress is overcome other issues may not concern the buyer as much as they initially did.
It would be advisable that where possible they avail themselves and meet the customers needs as soon as possible. The better you are at addressing such concerns as they are being made, the higher your probability is of advancing the sale. Sometimes you might require further data to provide an answer for a given issue, you may search for something or even research further.
Don’t wing it. When the buyers feel that the seller is making up the answers, this gives the buyers the impression that they cannot trust the seller. They also do not like to receive long-winded answers since this can also look fake, so be concise.
4. Ensure that you have met the objections
After you have countered the buyer’s objections, ensure that you have effectively answered all the buyer’s concerns. If they have nodded when you were responding to the questions, it does not mean that they have had to agree with all that you have said. Finally, ask the buyer if he/she is right with the solution provided and elaborate further if needed. It is not always easy to give a straightforward answer or that immediate sales pitch moment to counter the sales objection.
If the buyer isn’t ready to provide a commitment do not pressure them for commitment. It is also important that you avoid hearing an ‘okay’ or ‘fine’ as an answer. Some buyers are willing to buy a product right there on the spot, but the moment they get off your car or your call, they come up with an argument.
Common Sales Objections
- It’s too expensive.
- There’s no money.
- We don’t have any cash remaining in our financial plan.
- Similarly, I need to use this budget somewhere else.
- I feel like if I sign that contract now, I will still be stuck in it next year.
- This is another vendor I have worked with already.
- I am restricted by a clause in the contract that states that the client is prohibited from engaging one’s competitors.
- Although it will fit me perfectly, I can get a cheaper version somewhere else.
- They’re not my choice, my first, second, or even third preference…they are not my type, they are not my flavor…or my cup of tea…
- You have chosen [competitor], and I believe this is a strong match, as competitor X claims that: [false statement about your product].
- While I want to give you the green light on this one, I don’t have the authority to do that.
- This I cannot sell internally The internal selling is therefore in itself a test of the viability of the business It is at this stage that the specific value proposition identified has to be reiterated.
- We’re being downsized/bought out.
- It is far too noisy here at present.
- I am a group or group buyer and a member of a buying group.
- As far as I am concerned, I have never heard of your company.
- We are on a good stand as far as this one is concerned.
- We do not have a by-product business plan.
- It’s none of that important now.
- To be specific, I don’t understand how your product would benefit me.
- This makes me think about what you have said about your product and to be truthful with you, I don’t understand it.
- I have received feedback from your company from [company] having some complaints.
- It is not that we cannot implement this product, we cannot do so.
- I found your product to be rather confusing and therefore, I got frustrated during the process of using it.
Bottom Line:
If you are a sales rep you will also need to be aware that you will encounter certain issues as you progress through the sales funnel but do not give up. Maybe objections are inevitable and instead of avoiding them allow the prospect to make one, because the more you can handle objections you are better placed to engage the client, making them visually see the benefits of doing business with you and thus sell more.
FAQS
The first major common sales objection usually deals with price. Consumers sometimes think or rather perceive that the price of a particular product or service in question is too high.
You can develop better objection handling by practising, with different hypothetical situations, and scenarios and by listening to others, colleagues, or customers’ feedback.
It is important because it makes you follow up on the things you discussed with the customer thus being of importance as well as helping address any remaining issues with the customer.
Knowledge and understanding of the customer and their problem allow for establishing some common ground, thus, the responses and solutions that are offered are heard and considered, unlike situations where the customer is angry and frustrated.
Yes, tools like those offered by CRM and sales training tools can be effective means of equipping one with adequate tools and mechanisms for handling objections.
