Understanding & Handling Objections Part 1

Handling objections is what selling is all about. Without objections you have no direction and cannot close. It is quite normal for customers to have concerns about making the buying decision. These concerns are presented in the form of an objection. Don’t let objections dampen your enthusiasm, rather see them as an opportunity to provide more information and find direction to continue closing.

Customers usually don’t make the decision to buy until they have justified it. I’m sure that most of you have a dream that one day you’ll visit a customer, do a presentation, they’ll agree with everything you say and then help you fill out the order.    That’s a dream! If it’s a dream and you laugh about it, then why are you so upset when your customer presents you with an objection? Most sales people fear objections because they think it means no. You have to always be thinking positively to be able to handle objections.

An objection from a customer means that they are not completely convinced yet. It is a request for more information and justification as to why they should buy. It means, “if you can give me an answer that satisfies my concern (objection) I’ll buy” Remember an objection is what we call it, to the customer it’s a concern.

So rather see objections as the customers concern about a particular point relating to your product or service that they need more information on, rather than an objection. An objection means they’re interested in buying your product or service but need a little more convincing on the particular point that they have raised as an objection. Remember, you are the seller, they are the buyer, and they need you to help them make the decision to buy!

Every product, service and Industry will have one or two common objections that the customer will raise. If you’re getting lots of objections regularly then you as a salesperson have not done your job properly. You have not been convincing enough during the sales process. Most objections that customers raise are defense mechanisms. They’ve used them before on less professional salespeople and it worked. It’s a way of avoiding or delaying the buying decision. Minor objections are what customers use to slow things down during the sales process. Don’t take objections personally, it’s a part of selling, it’s a part of your job.

Expect to get objections – in fact, look forward to them because this indicates that the customer is interested in your product or service and just needs you to resolve their query (Objection) before they say YES. It’s the customer’s way of making sure you’ve covered every point that is of concern to them. Salespeople spend far too much time handling far too many objections. You should concentrate on eliminating objections by doing a proper presentation of your product or service. You should be asking questions and getting commitments along the way. This will eliminate a lot of minor objections towards the end of the sales process.

Make sure that you are matching the benefits of your product or service to their requirements (Needs)

The only real objections a customer should have once you have started closing are:
PRICE, VALUE, SERVICE, DELIVERY, TIMING and THE END RESULT.
At this point they should have bought you, your company and your product or service.