subject: Sales Objections and How to Overcome Them [print this page] Sales objections have brought sleepless nights to the best of sales executives. In fact, being in the sales business, I have first hand knowledge about sticky customers and believe me, I totally understand what you are going through. Some customers are particularly nasty, but you can't afford to lose them, because as we all know, every sale counts.
So how do you go about dealing with prospects like that? Currying favor with them and building a rapport seem to be two insurmountable hurdles. Or do they? You might be surprised at what a little bit of communication skills can do for your career.
Body language and the tone of voice are two things which every sales executive should work on, if they are in the face to face sales business. In fact, if you are a telemarketer, you should particularly hone your tone and voice skills.
Tackling Trouble
Now, suppose a prospect comes up and makes a totally false accusation against your company or organization. Your first instinct would be to refute it, albeit in a courteous manner, right? But this is where most sales persons make their mistakes. Try and use a different approach.
Don't make up some excuse or the other to pacify your customer. They'll see through it immediately and all hopes of your overcoming sales objections will be shattered. Ask your customer the reason why they feel the way they do. This is basically because, at that point, your prospect being angry and frustrated is looking to "charge" the company and the best thing for you to do would be to give them what they want!
Start off by apologizing for whatever it is your customer is angry about. Talk to your customer like a representative of your company and use a lot of "we"s. Towards the end of the exchange, shift to "I". Why? Because your customer will then feel that they have made an impact on you and that you will personally look out for them and deal with their problem.
That way, you will definitely establish a rapport with your customer and if you fix the problem, you can definitely look forward to a sale or two in the future. Don't, even by mistake, tell your customer that he or she is wrong. You will have hell to pay!
A Few Pointers
Another, important part of objection handling is first fully understanding the problem. Never assume that you have correctly guessed your customer's problem if they are ambiguous. In sales talk, there is a term called "nominalization". This means that you must never start speaking until you have comprehended the full extent of your customer's objection. It's better to ask your customer what exactly they mean when they use a particular term.
Always remember to hear them out because that is the first step to overcoming objections. Then, gently address the issue and answer your customer's objection. Be smart. You can sometimes get a customer to find the solution to their own objections by asking the appropriate questions! Good luck with those sales objections.
