Handling Objections

Every prospect has sales objections or reasons don’t want to buy your product.

Because they would have already purchased your product if they have reservations about:

• Your price
• Value
• If it can solve their problem
• If they can afford it

Because of this objection handling is normal but can be a roadblock when selling to prospects.

So in this blog post we will learn:

• All about Sales Objections
• Types of Sales Objections
• How to handle them

Let’s dive right in.

What are Sales Objections?

Sales objections are concerns prospects have that stop them buying from you.

These objections give you signs of adjustments you have to make to your buying process.

Sales objection come from buyers not being able to purchase due to a lack of:

• Resources
• Interest
• Need
• Ability

Remember, sales objections are the tricky and frustrating parts of sales, but not dead ends.

Objection Handling

Objection handling is when a salesperson eases a prospect’s concerns about products or services being sold to them.

Doing so the salesperson helps the deal to move forward, towards a sale.

Objections are usually about:

• Price
• Product fit
• Competitors

Or simply because the prospects just don’t want to buy.

Objection handling helps change the buyers mind or ease their concerns with responses.

And remember arguing or pressuring prospects isn’t objection handling.

Doing so will only convince prospects of their objection and ultimately end up losing the trust and rapport you have developed.

So don’t tell prospects they’re wrong, persuade them of an alternative conclusion and if you can’t, they’re simply a poor fit.

Also it’s important to know the difference between sales objections and excuses.

Objections are prospects seeing value in your product, but not sure about buying for certain reasons.

But excuses are simply made when people don’t want to speak to you.

So make sure to look up common sales objections to get a rough idea of what to expect.

Handling Objections

Handling objections is part of sales and every salesperson should know how to:

• Be aware of the situation
• Get background information
• Have empathy first
• Ask thoughtful and open-ended questions

Being Aware of the Situation

A few examples of factors you need to know include:

• The position your at in your sales process
• The type of deal you’re pursuing
• Your prospect’s needs and interests

Understanding why your prospect’s have objections is how you will ease their concerns. 

So situational awareness is needed as you progress in conversation with prospects.

Getting Background Information

Getting prospect’s background information is part of situational awareness.

Researching prospects and their company to know:

• The challenges their company is facing
• Issues the prospect’s industry peers run into

If you’ve worked with similar sized organisations, think about objections they had.

And understand company roles of previous customers or prospects, like:

• Their decision-making authority
• Company operations they interact with day-to-day
• Struggles of their job position

Knowing this information will further help you handle objections.

Having Empathy

Objections are reasonable concerns at times.

So stop getting frustrated and impatient with your prospects when they bring them up.

Because every sale in order to be successful needs empathy.

So don’t sell to prospects only to make money, sell to them because your product or service is best for their pain points.

And always remember prospects’ needs and interests.

Basically, prospects problems and circumstances approached with patience and empathy.

Will help you anticipate their objections so you can address them effectively.

Asking Thoughtful and Open-Ended Questions

Asking thoughtful and open-ended questions helps you get to the source of a prospect’s pain points.

Then you can use this information to understand and handle their objections effectively.

So start by asking relevant and tactful questions then allow them to discuss them thoroughly.

Make sure to avoid questions that only have “yes” or “no” answers and use silence to your advantage.

By allowing buyers to openly talk about their thoughts and concerns, you are in a position to ease the objections they bring up.

Effective Objection Handling

When an objection occurs, listen to it.

This shows customers you are interested in their concern and care about what they say.

Then acknowledge customer’s concerns to show you’ve been listening, a simple nod or restating the issue is enough.

A sincere acknowledgment prevents argument and has a calming effect because customers want to know they are being heard.

Next, delve deeper into the concerns that led to the customer’s objection so you understand what your customer means.

For example, customers may have a price objection, but really they like a competitor’s salesperson and enjoy the attention they give.

Not going deeper into the customer’s objection, means you won’t know the price objection was an excuse and can’t respond.

Finally, respond to prospects, after fully understanding customer’s objections, response with:

• Recommendation
• Alternatives
• Solutions
• The next step

Doing so will ease customer’s concern and close the transaction.

Remember, objection handling is an opportunity to help customers and build relationships.

Why is objection handling important?

Never leave sales objections go unaddressed until the last minute.

The longer the buyer has an opinion, the stronger it becomes and the harder it is to change.

So you should look forward hearing objections so your can ease buyers concerns by asking:

• If they have any concerns about products or services
• Any obstacles stopping them from buying
• How confident they are about your product or service and why
• If they seem worried, bring it up and ask their thoughts

Objections Types in Sales

• Budget
• Trust
• Need
• Urgency

Successful sales of products and services happen because:

• They appeal to the prospect’s budget
• You have the authority to persuade
• They needed it
• The timing was right

This is also known as BANT, which stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing:

Budget

Price objections are the most frequent because all purchases are a financial risk.

So think about your product or service’s position and how to show its value.

Doing so will make the conversation about risk versus reward.

So by showing its value and how your solution can help, it will convince them the reward is worth the risk.

Trust

People do business with people they:

• Like
• Know
• Trust

So your prospects will have read your content or already know your organisation.

So objections about trust can be tackled by reminding them or taking them through your sales cycle to nurture them.

But if they have never heard of you, use your elevator pitch to tell them the value you provide.

Whilst making sure to highlight your authority in the market.

Need

This objection is an opportunity to give information and get information from prospects.

By using open-ended questions and layered questions you can find qualified prospects and evaluate their needs.

And If you find a prospect that fits, show them product and service value.

Urgency

Find out if timing is the issue or if the prospect is making excuses. 

So ask them to tell you why it’s not important or the priorities that have their attention.

Then listen to see if their response is really timing issues or vague excuses.

Because if they are justifying inaction on real pain points, there is your opportunity.

If not, make an appointment at a later date to go deeper into the issue.

How to Overcome Sales Objections

• Active listening
• Repeat what you hear
• Validate prospect’s concerns
• Follow-up questions
• Social proof
• Set a date and time to follow-up
• Sales objections

Sales objectives need appropriate response and not impulsive reactions to prospect’s objections.

So use the following strategies for overcome objections:

Active listening

When prospects share their concerns with you, actively listen to what they’re saying.

And it’s important when prospects tell you their objections, listen to understand, not respond. 

So don’t interrupt them when they speak and allow them to freely voice their concerns and objections.

Repeat what you hear

When prospects tell you their objections, repeat back what they say to make sure you understand them.

This helps clarify their points and helps prospects feel heard and valued, which builds trust.

Validate prospect’s concerns

When you understand prospect concerns, build trust by empathising with them and validating their point of view.

Don’t downplay your product or recommend a competitor.

But acknowledge that their concern is valid and offer a solution to ease their fears.

Follow-up questions

After hearing objectives, keep the conversation going.

So if prospects are hesitant, ask follow-up questions to keep them talking.

Don’t ask questions with simple “yes” or “no” answers.

Ask open-ended questions so prospects can express what they think about your product.

The more information prospects give, the more information you have to turn the sale around.

Social proof

Depending on the prospect’s concern, share success stories about other customers with similar reservations.

For B2B sales, share information about prospect’s competitors and their success from overcoming objections.

Set a date and time to follow up

If prospects want more time to think, give it to them so they can weigh their options.

But don’t leave them hanging.

So set up a future time and date to follow up and answer any questions they have in the meantime.

Sales objections

The best way to handle sales objections is to prepare for them. 

Because preparing for objections means they won’t take you by surprise.

So offer neutral recommendations to prospects when objections come up.

And because you listened and went deeper into the buyers thinking, they will listen to the solution you have to offer.

It’s also helpful to keep count of the objections you receive the most.

Then when you know what to expect, you can practise your responses.

And sales reps should role-play to improve their objection handling by taking turns with other reps to:

• Ask common objections
• Answer these objections
• Give each other feedback

Conclusion

Objections are part of sales.

Some are legitimate reasons, others are excuses.

But as long as you know common objections and how to answer them, you’ll know:

• Prospects with potential to be good customers
• Prospects to part ways with

The overall result will help you become an efficient salesperson.

Now it’s over to you.

Tell me how you go about handling objections.

Let me know in the comment section below.