By: Abby Garcia
Have you ever felt that sales is like a battle? At first, you’re pitching your product or service to a customer. You’re confident that everything’s going well so far. Suddenly, he’ll ask a question or make a comment that will catch you off-guard, objecting to all the things you’ve said. Some examples are, “Isn’t this too expensive?” or “I don’t have time for this right now.” Don’t you hate it when this happens? Well, here are 4 tips on how to “counter-attack” when you receive these big blows:
1) Don’t react emotionally.
Remember, your next courses of action will depend on how you react to the opposition. If you get irritated, you might not be able to make further persuasive responses. Talking from experience, I had a client who thought our product was just a waste of money. It went along the lines of, “I don’t think your service will help us right now. Sadly, we have to decline.” Ouch, right? But remember, your reaction is the key. Don’t take the objection to heart, as it will mess up your head.
2) Understand the root cause of the objection.
Going with my story earlier, I was flat out rejected. Crushed. Although this seemed like a devastating defeat, I still had the crazy idea I could turn this into a sale. I felt that if I stopped, I would lose the battle. So, I had the guts to ask what specifically went wrong. After hearing his side, our team was able to find a solution, which made him continue the service. The point is, try to know and understand the customer’s cause of objection, work your way out, and then see the results.
3) Consider objections as “learning points”, professionally and personally.
If you want to be great in sales, you may want to change your view of objections. If you think of them negatively, then forget about counter-attacking. Good sales people, in fact, tend to see objections as a way of improving their products and services, and even themselves in the process. In my experience, if I had given up on the first sign of rejection, I might not have changed the customer’s decision. I know it takes a great deal of courage to accept these negative criticisms. But once you face them, you’ll obtain a great deal of confidence in return.
4) Think long-term when solving the problem.
Some sales people tend to make the mistake of countering an objection with a short-term solution. One client of mine complained about a particular feature of our service, saying that its quality was not enough. So, the immediate solution we gave was particular to that feature only, ignoring the other aspects. A few months later, another client criticized this feature as well. If you think about it, would another objection have happened at all if a long-term general solution was applied at the first sign of the problem? In short, long-term solutions could avoid possible future objections.
Have you ever felt that sales is like a battle? At first, you’re pitching your product or service to a customer. You’re confident that everything’s going well so far. Suddenly, he’ll ask a question or make a comment that will catch you off-guard, objecting to all the things you’ve said. Some examples are, “Isn’t this too expensive?” or “I don’t have time for this right now.” Don’t you hate it when this happens? Well, here are 4 tips on how to “counter-attack” when you receive these big blows:
1) Don’t react emotionally.
Remember, your next courses of action will depend on how you react to the opposition. If you get irritated, you might not be able to make further persuasive responses. Talking from experience, I had a client who thought our product was just a waste of money. It went along the lines of, “I don’t think your service will help us right now. Sadly, we have to decline.” Ouch, right? But remember, your reaction is the key. Don’t take the objection to heart, as it will mess up your head.
2) Understand the root cause of the objection.
Going with my story earlier, I was flat out rejected. Crushed. Although this seemed like a devastating defeat, I still had the crazy idea I could turn this into a sale. I felt that if I stopped, I would lose the battle. So, I had the guts to ask what specifically went wrong. After hearing his side, our team was able to find a solution, which made him continue the service. The point is, try to know and understand the customer’s cause of objection, work your way out, and then see the results.
3) Consider objections as “learning points”, professionally and personally.
If you want to be great in sales, you may want to change your view of objections. If you think of them negatively, then forget about counter-attacking. Good sales people, in fact, tend to see objections as a way of improving their products and services, and even themselves in the process. In my experience, if I had given up on the first sign of rejection, I might not have changed the customer’s decision. I know it takes a great deal of courage to accept these negative criticisms. But once you face them, you’ll obtain a great deal of confidence in return.
4) Think long-term when solving the problem.
Some sales people tend to make the mistake of countering an objection with a short-term solution. One client of mine complained about a particular feature of our service, saying that its quality was not enough. So, the immediate solution we gave was particular to that feature only, ignoring the other aspects. A few months later, another client criticized this feature as well. If you think about it, would another objection have happened at all if a long-term general solution was applied at the first sign of the problem? In short, long-term solutions could avoid possible future objections.
 | Abby Garcia is an account executive at Leadfunnel.ph. While she is an amateur as a blogger, she is an expert as an academic and creative writer. If you have comments, suggestions, and violent reactions, beep her up here: 0917-909-0754! Learn sales, while entertaining yourself! |
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