Overcoming Objections 101

by: Kerri Salls

Every top sales person knows they will face objections. The most successful sales people aggressively prepare for the objections beforehand and address them directly, in order to win the sale. You can too. Here’s what it takes.

Be prepared, knowledgeable and current.
- It’s called being professional.

Assume there will be objections.
- Don’t be naive and look like a novice by thinking otherwise.

Rank potential objections and prepare good answers for each.
- Do your homework and your client will say yes and stay loyal.

Anticipate the objections and build them in to your presentation.
- Be organized, open and well prepared.

Ask for the objections up front.
- It’s refreshing to have a sales professional so confident of the solution they are offering that they ask for the objections up front. It will help build trust and confidence. It also starts a dialog, engaging your client where they live.

Deliver a sizzling presentation.
- When you draw your client into the experience you offer so they can’t live without your product/service, you have an effective tool to close the sale.

Focus on value and benefits.
- Feature by feature comparisons are all fine on paper. They are very useful collateral to leave behind. But the client is really only looking for the benefits he will gain and the problem you will solve for him. Is the value of those benefits and results warranted for the price tag you propose?

Prepare comparison or competitive data to show your product’s advantages.
- You need the meat to substantiate the benefits you are offering in your sizzling presentation.

The first NO doesn’t mean no, rather it is a request for more information.
- NO is simply an invitation to provide more information and allows you to ask more questions about their need. Each NO is an opportunity to learn more about their problem and offer the best solution tailored to their need.

Develop a counterpoint for every objection.
- Don’t hide past mistakes/product issues. Acknowledge them and what you’ve learned or changed to make it better for clients now. That is, make lemons into lemonade.

When you learn that objections can help, rather than hinder your business, those same objections will create opportunities to investigate clients’ needs more. With an increased understanding of their needs, you can better demonstrate your capability to deliver. Commitment will come in stages advancing you toward a final decision.

About the Author:

Kerri Salls, MBA runs a virtual business school to train, consult and coach small business CEO's and entrepreneurs in 10 key strategies to make more profit in less time. Learn more at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com/products.html or sign up for a free weekly newsletter at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com/newsletter.shtml.