Handout p - Overcoming Objections

Skill Category P Overcoming Objections

© 2002, Frontline Learning LLC. Used by permission. 1

Never Ask a Pig to Dance. It Just Frustrates You and Annoys the Pig.

Never ask a prospective customer to buy your product or service until you have thoroughly qualified them.



“I Want to Think About It.” I need more information to make a decision. I’m not sold. Yet. I have a specific concern you haven’t addressed. I’m bidding this out to several vendors, but I don’t want you to know. I’m MOSTLY sold, but I need reassurance. You never had a chance. I’m giving the business to my brother. I want to let you down gently. I like your products, but I’m not sure I want to do business with YOU. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________



Learning Objectives At the conclusion of this session, participants will:

• Understand the difference between customer apathy, concerns, stalls, obstacles and roadblocks.

• Understand the underlying reasons for customer apathy, concerns, stalls, obstacles and roadblocks.

• Develop a strategy to handle apathy.

• Develop a list of common concerns and a specific strategy to handle them.

• Develop a list of common stalls, and a specific strategy to handle them.

• Develop a list of common obstacles, and a specific strategy to handle them.



Qualifying Before presenting product or service solutions, be sure to confirm: Need for the product or service ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Interest in the benefits ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Ability and authority to make a decision ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Financial capacity ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Any and all other factors that might effect a customer’s decision to buy ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Customer Apathy

“We’re already working with someone else.” “We’re happy with our current supplier.” “The timing isn’t good right now. Try us next year.” “I don’t have the time to really get into this.” ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Handling Apathy Acknowledge Apathy: “Mr. Jones, I understand that you’re happy with your current supplier and I

appreciate your telling me so.” “Mrs. Jackson, I know that your current vendor has earned your loyalty, and I appreciate your being up front with me about them.”

Get Permission: “Mr. Jones, would you mind if I took just a moment of your time to ask a few

questions you might find helpful?”

“Mrs. Jackson, I’d like to ask a few questions you might find helpful, would that be all right with you?”

Ask Questions Carefully: “What do you like best about working with your current supplier?”

“Do they have room for improvement in any area?” “ How do you stay current with new products and technologies?” “How often do you compare your current supplier’s prices and product offerings with competitors to make sure you’re still getting the fairest value for the investment you’re making?” “To what degree are you open to exploring other options or possibilities, at least to see what else might be available to you?”

Slowly Advance the Sale: “Mr. Jones, please understand that I'm not trying to push an unneeded change. I'm

just interested in being fair and professional with you. And I’d appreciate an opportunity to let you know what other options are available. Would you have a few minutes next week to meet briefly with me?”

“Mrs. Jackson, I’m not interested in wasting your time discussing things you don’t want or need, but I would appreciate an opportunity to let you know about other options that could benefit you. Would you have a few minutes to meet briefly with me?”



Handling Apathy 1. Acknowledge. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. Get permission to question. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Ask questions carefully. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4. Take small steps to advance the sales process. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Apathy Exercise Typical apathetic comment: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 1. Acknowledge. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. Get permission to question. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Ask questions carefully. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4. Take small steps to advance the sales process. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Customer Concern “What’s REALLY different about your product?” “Can we be sure we’ll get delivery on time?” “What happens if there is a production error?” “Can we get a full color package?” ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Handling Concerns Acknowledge and Confirm Concern: Mr. Jones, I can understand why you would want to be certain that working with

me and my company means you’re getting the greatest value for the money you’re investing.

Ask Clarifying Question: “Is that right?

Offer Assurance and Evidence: “It’s a common concern, and the reason we’ve become the market leader is

because we’re the VALUE leader in the industry. And that’s not just me talking. When you conduct an apples-to-apples comparison with our competitors, we’re always the price/value leader. For example, every other major competitor charges extra for overnight delivery, but because we know that timeliness is important to the majority of our customers, with us overnight delivery is standard. How does that sound?”



Handling Concern 1. Acknowledge the concern. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. Confirm the expressed or implied need. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Ask questions to clarify the concern. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4. Offer relevant evidence to satisfy the concern. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Concerns Exercise Typical customer concern: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 1. Acknowledge the concern. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. Confirm the expressed or implied need. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Ask questions to clarify the concern. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4. Offer relevant evidence to satisfy the concern. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Stalls

“We don’t have that much in our budget.”

“I need to check out other vendors.”

“It sounds good, but I wasn’t planning to spend this much.”

“I just need time to think about it.”

“We want to explore all our options first.”

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Handling Stalls Acknowledge hesitation: “I can appreciate that this is an important decision for you.”

Review: “Mrs. Jackson, you seemed to be most impressed with our ability to use

technology to save you time, energy, and most importantly reduce your stress level. And the other important point seemed to be the flexibility we can offer you on payment terms. You said that would really help you in your budget planning.

Present New Information: “In addition to everything else we talked about, I should mention something

about our customer service department. You mentioned that you have had some problems in the past with poor customer service, and that there had been some pretty frustrating situations. Well, our customer service staff is available from very early in the morning to late in the evening, and they are dedicated to helping people like you.

They have received national recognition awards for service level for the past five years. In addition, every customer gets my personal pager number so that if there is ever a situation that needs immediate intervention, I can be there to make it happen. Does that sound like the level of customer service you’ve been looking for?”

Ask for Commitment: “Do you want to go ahead with us then?”



Handling Stalls Exercise Relax. Take a thoughtful moment before responding. Review the features and benefits they responded to most positively. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Present a NEW feature and benefit relevant to their needs. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Ask for commitment. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Obstacles “I just don’t think I can justify the cost.”

“First we have to get you on the preferred vendor list.” “I have to wait until the next quarter, when more money is available” “It’s really not my decision, I’m just gathering information”

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 1. Acknowledge the obstacle. 2. Confirm the expressed or implied need. 3. Ask questions to fully understand the obstacle. 4. Present a NEW feature and benefit relevant to needs.

5. Ask for commitment.

The BIG lesson

When a customer brings up an obstacle, it usually indicates that the salespersons initial questioning was inadequate.



Obstacles Exercise Typical obstacle: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 1. Acknowledge the obstacle. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. Confirm the expressed or implied need. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Ask questions to fully understand the obstacle. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4. Present a NEW feature and benefit relevant to needs. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

5. Ask for commitment.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Roadblocks

An un-meetable condition. An unworkable situation. Cannot be met with an exception.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Personal Development Action Plan Have a written plan detailing the specific skills, habits or attitudes you want to change. The more specific the better. “To learn something new every week” isn’t specific enough. “To learn and APPLY one new specific selling skill or technique every week” is very specific.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

Include DAILY reminders and reinforcement in your plan.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

Include a plan of action to respond if you revert back to old behaviors. Don’t “beat yourself up” if this happens, because it happens to everyone. The key is to know this in advance and have a plan in place to quickly reinforce the desired behaviors when you do revert back.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Personal Development Action Plan (cont.)

Develop visual reminders of the benefits and rewards to be achieved through changing your behaviors and the price to be paid if you don’t change. Photos on the refrigerator, notes on your bathroom mirror, etc.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

Notice if your plan is working – if after a few weeks you don’t notice any positive change, it’s time to re-evaluate your plan. You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Share your plans with supportive friends and co-workers. Ask for their help in keeping your plan on track. Select a few people to give a weekly or monthly “report card” on your progress.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

Reward yourelf for small victories – but remember to keep the rewards proportional. Minor progress deserves a minor reward, but when you have achieved a major milestone, reward yourself with a major celebration.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________



Participant Feedback What did you like about this session? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ What did you NOT like about this session? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Did the information presented in this session have a practical application to your business? If so, how? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Please comment on the effectiveness of the presenter. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

Handout p - Overcoming Objections

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