Tips for effective objection handling

At some point of the sales journey, your prospect will flag their concerns about your product/offer. A customer can object your proposal for many reasons (price, convenience, time, other products in the market, among others) but it’s very important to understand that an objection is not necessary a synonym of a resounding NO.

Objections are inevitable along the sales journey and, in order to move your leads further in the sales funnel, it’s fundamental to understand why your customers are objecting. It takes the skills of a sales person to change an objection into an opportunity to close a sale.

Although objection handling can be seen as one of the most challenging parts of the sales process, this skill can be mastered as any other sales skill can. At CPM we have gathered some hot tips that will help you become a ninja at objection handling:

1. Change your mindset around objections

Objections are commonly perceived in a bad way from most sales reps, however top sales professional understand that behind an objection lays down an opportunity to address a concern from the customer and a start point to begin the conversations. Instead of panicking, ignoring or getting defensive with the customer when you receive an objection, thank them for giving you the opportunity to address their issue and seek to understand the reason for their objection.

2. Empathise with your customer

Putting yourself in your customers’ shoes is key when handling an objection. It’s very important to listen and acknowledge their concerns. By empathising with them, you will give your prospects the peace of mind that their issue is going to be dealt with by someone that understands their point of view and will offer the best solution. Ask yourself questions that will help you evaluate the situation from a different perspective and more importantly ask yourself questions about how you could overcome the issue, such as “What would make me feel more confident?” By focusing on understanding the client's perspective, you will be in a better position to recognise their concerns and point them in the right direction.

3. Show the value of your proposal

While it is very important to acknowledge your prospects concerns, a good sales representative has the ability to use this opportunity to demonstrate the unique value of his/her proposal. For this reason, it’s mandatory that sales reps have a good understanding of the unique selling points of their proposition. Spending time to fully understand why your prospects should buy your service/product is going to be time well spent.

4. Use the power of customer references

There is no one better to speak about the value of your proposition than your existing clients. Success stories are always a great way to demonstrate how your product can overcome those pain points that your potential customers are currently facing. Incorporate your clients’ testimonials as a reference in your sales speech and offer exact details or figures of how your product helped them to overcome a specific issue.

5. Record the objections

It’s advisable to keep a record of the objections that your sales representatives are facing on their daily basis and create an objection management document. The file should not only include the most common objections but also a suggested response for each. This will allow your team to know beforehand what type of objections they are most likely to deal with as well as delivering confident and compelling responses every time.

At CPM we understand that the way in which a sales representative handles an objection can make or break your sales process. For that reason, we invest in a comprehensive training program that targets the most common development areas for sales professional, such as objection handling. If you’d like to know more about objection handling and how CPM train their staff to respond effectively to prospects concerns, please contact us.

References:

https://www.thebalance.com/overcoming-sales-objections-2951793

https://blog.leadforensics.com/5-hot-tips-for-super-effective-objection-handling

https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2013/03/6-techniques-for-effective-objection-handling.html