subject: Overcoming Sales Objections - Your Greatest Asset [print this page] Sales objections! Reading those two words gives me the heeby jeebies! When I was a sales person, trying to sell clothes and market them in the best light possible, right at the beginning of my career, during my college days, I would have to deal with all kinds of clients and trust me; I have had my fair share of sales objections to handle. In fact, there were times when I felt like quitting because I thought that overcoming sales objections was just not my kind of thing.
But a bit of patience and perseverance changed all that for me. I've come a long way since then and now I actually have two apparel stores of my own. But the knowledge I gathered during my days as a novice has still stayed with me and what is more, I have learnt a lot about objection handling since then. As they say, every little bit of experience does count.
The Basics
When you are dealing with sales objections, it is always essential to maintain a sympathetic front. Your customer must get the feeling that you are genuinely interested in correcting their problem and nor merely in selling your product in my case, a pair of jeans! You have to take the time to total hear your customer out.
Don't ever try to anticipate or predict what your customer is saying. No matter how many times you've had to deal with sales objections, you do not have the right to put words in your customer's mouth. In fact, it has landed me in deeper trouble sometimes!
Next, do a quick mental classification. Analyze your client's objection or objections, whichever might be the case and then classify it as a true or justified objection or a false objection. Then, if it does not ring true, try and ferret out the real reason why your customer is not patronizing your product. Try saying something like "Is that the only reason why you aren't interested or do you have any other objections"?
If your client says yes directly, you can start addressing the issue at hand. If there's a no, then you know that it is a false objection and there's more to follow. Then, when you finally figure out the real reason why your client isn't purchasing, then you can address the issue.
Once this is done, you can then move on to gentle prodding and questioning. Ask your customer to explain why they feel the way they do. Take everything lying down even unreasonable accusations- and then answer the objection in such a manner that you reek of a promise of the solution. This will ensure that you have a better equation with your client.
You can thereafter go on to re orient your client to what is really important, based on their needs and requirements and paint your product in a favorable light as well. Then, you can go right out and ask your client for their order. Works every time! Then, finally, close the deal. Sales objections? They'll vanish into thin air!
