Heard any of these objections lately?
- "No need."
- "All set."
- "Have no money."
- "Have no budget."
- "Happy with whom we are currently using."
- "Under contract."
- "My brother takes care of that for us."
- "No time to deal with that right now."
If you're in sales, you've heard some (or all) of these at one time or another. So, what's a salesperson to do?
OK, let me start by stating what not to do. When a prospect offers a bit of pushback, don't immediately back down and assume that you should simply offer to send them information and get the hell off the phone, out the door…whatever. Don't immediately offer to be a second source or fallback supplier. And don't immediately say that you'll "check in" with them in another few months to see if their needs have changed.
All of these are far too passive and, unless you are fortunate enough to sustain your business with simply picking "low hanging fruit," then I suggest you consider some of these tried-and-true approaches:
The "we've heard that before" approach
Three simple steps, but do them exquisitely and you're golden:
- John, I can appreciate that you think that way.
- We've had other clients say the same thing when we initially started to speak with them.
- What they found out, however, is that we have been able to effectively reduce/enhance/increase their __________ and the results have been wonderful. How are you currently doing _________?
This approach requires that you understand exactly how your product or service will equate to an improvement in the prospect's situation and are prepared to restate this improvement in your rebuttal. You end the rebuttal with an open-ended question that allows for the dialogue to continue.
