Objection Handling

Overcoming objections… a different approach

Why objections happen

The reasons objections happen is in fact universal, it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. They will be happening to you for the same reason they happen to every other salesperson.

Just because every person appears to be unpredictable, and different on the surface, when it comes to objections – we are all, at the deepest level, the same.

Why objections happen or issues come up from your potential clients is universal. There is one reason. How can I say this without knowing your specific industry, listening to your conversations, or understanding your prospects?

Because, as much as it seems everyone is different and people are unpredictable, at the deepest level, we are all the same.

• Objections happen because of fear.

• Specifically, the fear of change.

• The fear of the unknown.

• Fear of “What If”.

When we are born, we come into the world with a fear of loud noise and fear of falling. Which makes sense as an infant who can’t take care of itself.

Even once we can move around on our own, being born with these two fears keeps us alive long enough.

To really understand fear, it’s best to go back and understand that there were animals and situations which would lead to our death. Those who reacted best to fear and stuck to what they knew was safe, managed to prolong their life and therefore raise more progeny with that outlook or gene – so over time all humans develop this deep-seated fear instinct. Our best bet was to stick to what we knew, since that had not killed us yet. That is therefore where we prefer to be – in our comfort zone. With what we know and very weary of the unknown.

In the modern world there is less for us to be afraid of – perhaps. Yet this legacy of fear of change still exists deep down in our psyche. Some people are more risk averse than others – but we all have the legacy to some degree.

When you want to sell a product, service, or idea to someone – this transaction requires change.

If there was no change needed, the customer would already be using your product, service or idea and would just buy it – they wouldn’t need a salesperson or someone to change their mind.

If there is a decision to be made or value to be determined, then they need your help.

And that help, unfortunately means they need to change – to say “Yes”

Yes, in this case means change and remember – change could mean at least the potential of death!

Your sales success will be dependent upon your ability to help your prospect overcome their fear of change.

Of course, there will be customers who low levels of fear and are keen to try new things – early adopters – they do their research and don’t raise objections – they stay ahead of the game. The problem is that these ‘early adopters’ are a very small percentage of the population.

They are nice to have, but for these you don’t need a salesperson, you just need an order taker.

Helping your sales prospect feel safe

To be successful in sales you need to be able to persuade. You need a process for planning and a process for persuasion which you can refine.

I once saw a definition of SAFE as

• Success

• At

• Fear

• Elimination

In persuasion it is all about the fear of change, the fear of making a mistake, the fear of looking bad in front of peers or supervisors, the fear of being exposed as foolish, the fear of embarrassment.

So, make them feel safe!

What types of issues do they have?

During sales interviews, the prospect will bring up questions. Most salespeople will handle all these questions in the same way without identifying the intent behind the questions.

Inquiries fall into three main categories, and how you respond to each should be totally different and will affect the success of your ability to persuade or sell.

The three categories are: -

1. Questions

2. Concerns

3. Objections

Let’s take each of these in turn: -

Questions:

A question is where the potential customer wants to know more information. It could be about how a feature works or would benefit them or their customers. It could be they want more data

These are generally surface level questions and can be asked out of general curiosity or to check off ‘mental’ boxes.

The danger is the salesperson sees these as genuine Gold Standard objections and go into full ‘rebuttal’ mode and end up over explaining [potentially making things worse in the prospects mind]

The reason these questions occur is the prospect wanting to cover off mental bases for future discussion internally after the purchase – points I need answers for, to explain why I went with this proposition as opposed to others which were available. In this imagined future discussion with peers, significant others, or supervisors, they will need this answer to justify their buying decision to show they have considered all options, and this is the best for them, their business, their customers.

Most people make their purchasing decisions on an emotional platform, and they have begun the process of justifying it intellectually.

We have all been there, we have bought something, and we are excited about our great buy. Then we chat to our significant others [parents, co-workers, friends] who ask some questions and find or imply fault with our decision.

For example, you have just bought a new car and you can’t wait to show it to everyone you know. You are brimming with pride and would sleep in the damn thing if you could, you are THAT excited. Then you show it to your brother or best friend who asks how much you paid for it. When you tell him, they instantly tell you that you overpaid, you could have bought it for less, or that you got ripped of by the salesman over the expended warranty that you didn’t need.

Now you start to doubt your decision-making ability regarding this purchase and maybe others. You don’t want to share your new car with others, or if you do and they ask how much you paid then you don’t want to tell them. You don’t want to feel embarrassed again.

When this happens to someone, the next time they go to buy anything they will recall the memory of the embarrassment and reinforce the bad feeling – They will have developed a mental checklist of questions to ask – this is not always because they care about the features, data, terms but because they want to collect the vital information and check off those boxed. They want to arm themselves with the answers to the question’s others might ask them, so they can justify their decision as the correct one and avoid feeling embarrassed or wrong to protect their ego.

Therefore, if a customer asks, “How do I know I’m getting a good price?” should be treated as a question NOT an Objection.

Concerns:

The next level of prospect questioning is a concern. This is when the prospect is potentially worried about something, but not enough for it to be a hard stop topic.

If you can overcome the concern easily and simply, providing enough safety and support they will be OK with moving forward.

Objections:

The final level is an Objection. In my experience an objection is when someone is holding up their hands [at least mentally] and saying stop.

There is something they object to, usually related to price, fees, terms, or conditions. This objection is more than a mental checklist item, it is a topic that if not addressed completely, could lead to the premature end of the buying process.

If those are the types of inquiries that occur, how do you identify what your prospect just brought up?

The nice thing is you don’t have to worry about having some kind of superpower that detects the level of fear in your prospects. You just have to deal with the inquiry in a particular way.

How to handle objections

Most people are taught to see everything as an objection and then go into defensive, objection handling mode like it’s a debate that needs to be won. If it is a true objection, then that mode is exactly what is needed.

But if it’s just a question or a concern, then hitting it with everything you have in your rebuttal arsenal will be overkill, to say the least, and most likely will lead to more harm than good. When you over-rebut (meaning you provide more argument than necessary in that moment), you can actually cause the other person, like your prospect, to become more worried and raise their walls up higher.

Subsequently, they will sense you are nervous, worried, or being defensive, which is why you are throwing a lot of unnecessary information their way. It will trigger them to become more defensive. I have witnessed this inappropriate rebuttal response kill sales that could have otherwise been closed.

Strategy 1:

Keep it simple

The first key is to fight that instinct to jump in with both barrels blazing. Don’t over complicate the response, keep your answers under control by starting with the shortest response possible to the topic they bring up. Most of the time when the prospect brings up a question, there is a simple answer, maybe even as basic as yes or no.

Example questions:

• Question: Is there a fee for that

• Answer: Yes

• Question: Do I have to sign a contract

• Answer: Yes

• Question: Will you do a credit check

• Answer: No

• Question: Can I cancel if I’m not happy

• Answer: Yes

• Question: How long do I have to return it if I am not happy

• Answer: 30 days  

• Question: Do you do sale or return

• Answer: No

• Question: Does it all arrive at the same time

• Answer: Yes

Super simple: Yes; No; Maybe; Depends; Let’s find out

All really good and appropriate responses.

You see, the key is to differentiate yourself from what the prospective buyer is worried about they are expecting that when they present a question to a salesperson, they will get a bunch of persuasion and or manipulation monologs thrown at them, so they have to keep their defences up. You on the other hand are different. You are on the way to becoming an authentic persuader. You don’t need to use every trick in the book when someone asks a question.

You can just provide a simple response, with confidence and then move forward. The focus must be on that simple response the first time they ask a given question. Imagine trip to the Post office to get a new passport. When you ask, “Do I need to fill in this form?” or “Is there a fee to pay for the new passport service?” the person behind the counter doesn’t go on a verbal journey about how great it will be once you have a passport – to justify the filling in the form or the price. They just say “Yes?” whether its about filling in the form or the fee or the need to queue up.

Your goal is to have your prospective customer see you as someone who is providing a service, helping them get something they need, and not like a salesperson they should fear. Professionals answer questions with the correct amount of response. No more and no less.

No Pausing:

Most people’s tendency as an act of courtesy, is when someone asks a question, they answer and then pause. That pause allows the other person to absorb the answer and ask any follow-up question. Maybe we pause as a result of watching or listening to interviews where someone is asking the questions and the other person is answering them or watching a courtroom scene where it is completely one-sided between the attorney and the person on the stand. We are conditioned to answer and pause.

Unfortunately, when it comes to sales, that pause is a terrible habit that makes closing the deal much harder than it needs to be for a lot of salespeople. This is the easiest trait of ‘Order takers’ to identify when listening to calls or sitting in on meetings. Again, Pausing is a nice, courteous thing to do. But stop doing it NOW. Don’t pause.

Why is pausing so bad? Because it signals to the prospect that they are still in control. It is universally true that the person asking questions is in control. Your prospect hit you with a question that you answered. In that pause, they will think of another question, and you have left the space for them to do that. You are on a slippery slope, where, if you are not careful, you will lose all control of the conversation and any chance of closing that sale. They will retreat into their comfort zone, into their fear’s and to stay safe by not buying.

I am not exaggerating – if there is one thing to stop doing that will dramatically improve your closing effectiveness, it is to recognise whether you are putting in that ‘death pause’ after you answer questions. If you have got into that habit – STOP IT NOW

Strategy 2:

Return to questions:

Based on your desire to improve your selling skills, let’s talk about what to do in place of pausing. Since we know pausing is ineffective, the first option is to address your prospect’s concern in a satisfactory way, and then pick up where you left off.

I call it “Return to Question” because most of the time, objections come up in response to a question you ask the prospect. Sometimes they come up during your monologue, but generally, it’s when you are pushing the prospect for information, which triggers their fear of change or lack of trust. Your questions are like poking a stick at their comfort zone bubble. That is when they will get a little defensive (or sometimes really, really defensive), avoid answering, and ask you a question back.

Here is an example of what the interaction and pause look like:

You: Would you like to put this on a debit card or credit card?

Prospect: [Realizing this transaction is getting real.] Can I cancel if I am not happy with it?

You: Yes, you can cancel at any time. [Answer provided, talking stopped, pause initiated.]

Prospect: What are my options for cancelling?

You: If you want to cancel, you can either call our customer service team or make the request in writing. Just make sure you do it five days before your billing date or the payment will go through anyway, and you will then need to wait for a refund. [Answered. Stopped. Paused.]

Prospect: Do you have a way I can try it out before signing up?

You: [Continue to answer questions; keep pausing after each one.]

Prospect: [Continues to ask questions]

Remember, the person asking questions is in control. When the prospect hits you with an objection or issue, they are grasping for control. They are trying to determine whether it’s safe to proceed. Your strategy is to address their question, concern, or need for information, and then return to the question you had asked.

Here is what a more effective way looks like:

You: Would you like to put this on a debit card or credit card?

Prospect: [Realizing this transaction is getting real.] Can I cancel if I am not happy with it?

You: Yes, you can cancel at any time. Did you want to use a debit or credit card?”

Analysis:

You were asking a question; they ignore it and asked a question of their own – you answered their question and returned with your question WITH NO PAUSE.

Most salespeople would have answered the question and then paused. Instead, you can see you don’t want or need to pause. You want to return to questioning [the one asking the questions is in charge]

Strategy 3:

Gentle unpacking:

Now, before we get into the next strategy, let’s see what happens when what they ask is more than just a question. How do you identify if it’s a question, concern, or objection? They will let you know. The great part about keeping your initial answer short, sweet, to the point, and then returning to your question instead of pausing is that it will handle the questions and potentially the concerns. But if the prospect sees it as an objection, they will hit you with another question or ask you the same thing again. That is your indicator that they weren’t satisfied with the response you gave.

And that is great news—because you can now take it to a deeper level of response. If you overexplain upon their initial question, you could do more harm than good. If you underexplain and they are unsatisfied, they will usually let you know. (Note: Of course, some people will be more passive about their lack of satisfaction with your answer and not want to move forward, which you can usually detect when you listen closely to what is said and not said, because you can hear their tone change. That is your indication to probe into what they are thinking.)

Let’s get into what to do if they bring up the same question again. Traditional sales training might tell you to use a tactic called “reversing,” which is the act of answering a question with a question. In the above example, you might have been trained to say, “Why would you want to cancel?” Sometimes this will work, but if you use reversing every time (not answering their questions but just asking a new question instead), it will annoy the prospect—and it usually comes across as confrontational or passive-aggressive. Rarely does using reversing as the main objection-handling tactic produce long-term sales success. Usually, it just triggers the prospect to put up bigger walls and retreat further into the safety of their comfort zone.

However, I have used a modified form of reversing for years and found it very effective in certain situations. I call it Gentle unpacking. It is a deeper-level approach to take when met with a question or concern. Let’s look at how to use it by revisiting our previous example, picking up where we left off:

You: Yes, you can cancel at any time. Did you want to use a debit or credit card?

Prospect: So, what is the process for cancelling if I am unhappy? (Notice that the prospect still isn’t answering the question—a huge red flag that what they are asking about is a hot button issue for them.)

You: If you want to cancel, you can either write to us or call our customer service team. Just make sure you do it five days before your billing date or the payment will go through anyway, and you will need to wait for a refund. Let me ask you, why are you concerned about cancelling?

Prospect: I signed up with a program like this last year, and they didn’t do what they said they would. Then, when I went to cancel, it was a real painful process. I want to make sure that if this doesn’t work, I can get out of it easily.

A lot actually occurred in this short back and forth, so let’s dissect it. First, notice that the prospect didn’t answer the question a second time. Again, that is a sign that the issue is important to them. Often, people ask questions out of curiosity or to mentally check a box. Then, at the other end of the spectrum are the burning concerns that could be deal-breakers if the prospect doesn’t trust you, your company, or the product/ service. Asking a second time about the same issue should prompt you to shift from using Return to Question to Gentle unpacking.

Next, notice that the response became about addressing the concern a second, deeper time, but with a twist. You can see that the second response ended with, “Let me ask you, why are you concerned about cancelling?” This is the Gentle unpacking part because it’s not just about answering a question with a question—you give them an answer, but then you ask why it’s important to them. The key difference is that you actually care (the empathy part) about why they are concerned. You want to know the deeper reason, instead of just throwing back the response you were trained to use.

The other vital key is in how you say the last part, which is why I call it Gentle unpacking. Many salespeople will ask in a defensive, combative way. When they do that, they might win the mental/ emotional battle, but they will always lose the sale. Instead, you need to speak from a place of actually caring about the other person. (For fun, practice the above dialogue in your mind, first in a caring way, then in a defensive “salesy” way to hear how well it can and cannot work.)

The end result of Gentle unpacking should be you learning something you wouldn’t have found out if you hadn’t asked the second part. That piece of information is what you are after. It will allow you to address their real fear, usually based on something negative that happened to them, or someone they know. If you can help them, feel comfortable with your solution, provide evidence that they can trust your company, or ensure they fully understand their options, you will have a much more solid deal. And once you can use Return to Question and Gentle unpacking seamlessly, you will have almost fully graduated from General Order Taker to World Class Persuader!

Summary

Here is what I know from my experience as well as seeing hundreds of salespeople interact with prospective customers – how you handle questions and objections that come up is the key determinant of whether a salesperson will be successful. What has just been covered will help you in almost any sales situation. You need to have appropriate responses that help answer prospective buyers’ questions or overcome their objections. Now you can see how to structure those responses in such a way that you have a tiered response and strategy when questions come up.

Remember to always start with the absolute simplest answer possible. The shorter the answer, the less like a salesperson you will feel to them. Receiving an unnecessary longwinded answer will trigger most people to become suspicious and anxious and potentially defensive. That is the last thing you need to trigger in your prospective customer. You want them to feel confident that you are there to help them, not trick them or manipulate them.

After you answer, avoid that death pause and return to question or go back to wherever you were in your process. If they weren’t totally satisfied with your response, indicating that you either didn’t do a good enough job addressing it, or their question is actually a concern or objection, they will let you know by asking it again or in a similar way. That is your indication to jump to Gentle unpacking to identify the source of the concern. Once you know the source, you can respond in an appropriate way.

Always keep in mind that your prospect is afraid. They are afraid of change, of making a mistake, of looking bad, or of failure. If they weren’t afraid, they wouldn’t need you, they would have gone online and ordered it there. That they are interacting with you and going through this process indicates that they haven’t decided. Overcoming questions, concerns, and /or objections doesn’t have to be hard, so don’t make it more difficult than it needs to be. When they raise questions, treat is as such. Don’t assume you have to go into objection-handling-rebuttal-battle mode. Focus on helping them get past their fears and you will close more sales.

By the time most of us enter our selling role, you will have had your own experiences, your own successes, and failures as a customer – being sold to and indeed within relationships, and you will have conscious and subconscious preferences about the right and wrong way to function with others. If you are not aware of it, you will bring with you that baggage into your sales career.

Included in that mental baggage will be how you like to buy and things a salesperson does that turn you off. It is based on what has happened to you that you didn’t like or transactions you were unhappy with afterwards. It could also be handed on to you by your significant others view of salespeople and indeed you could also hand it on to your significant others too.

Growing up, my view of salespeople was shaped by my mother – who was very wary of them – she saw them all as wanting to take her money under false pretences. Fortunately, my father was a different kettle of fish, as a sales person himself, he loved salespeople and wanted to understand why the salesperson thought he needed the product they were selling – he loved to understand and was very inquisitive – There were of course several witnessed purchases which became notable ‘white elephants’ in our family – but he always laughed it off explaining it to us as part of life’s learning – I was fortunate his view balanced my mum’s view!

Personally, my biggest fear when making a purchase decision is messing up. Buying something I shouldn’t have done or overpaying and being embarrassed or ridiculed by significant others. This means that as a customer I want all the facts and information and no pressure as I assimilate them and imagine my life with the new product or service in it.

In my sales career, this tended to be how I approached every potential customer of mine – maybe not always the right option – you soon discover that in life not everyone is “like me” – It took me some time to work this out, but once I did then my personal performance improved, and closing became much easier.

Most of us salespeople bring some personal baggage with us – and this impacts how we treat the buyers’ questions, concerns, and objections, particularly ones that, if you were the buyer, you might actually agree with.

The subtle silent, unspoken sale killers of how you handle objections is often your own biases showing up.

It is now up to you to examine what baggage you bring and how you might change your selling approach and the way you deal with questions, concerns, or objections to better suit each potential buyer you meet.

If you still need a little help with the process of overcoming objections, then download my FREE PDF worksheet here.

Remember, there is always…

More Than One Answer

Good Hunting.