Sellers often encounter hurdles—also known as objections—during the sales process. Here are some b2b sales training tips intended to help sellers turn a NO into a YES!
Understanding the Root Cause of the Objection
Sales objections—also known as a “no” or “let me think about it”—happen for one or many of the following root cause reasons:
- Price (too expensive or not worth the investment)
- Product
- Person (the prospect is not a fan of the seller)
- Process (the prospect feels manipulated)
- Prospect (the prospect does not have cash)
Improving Sales Performance Begins with these Five Tips
Understanding why objections occur is a great place to start, however, additional work needs to happen to overcome an objection. Here are five things world-class sellers do to overcome and minimize the existence of objections:
1. Finis origine pendet (the end depends on the beginning)
Another way to think about this statement is, “A sale opened well closes easily.” Here are some tactics designed to help sellers open a relationship and sale properly and minimize objections later in the sales process:
- Develop and use a Personal Marketing Resume (PMR) that communicates how a seller does business and solves business problems.
Why this is an objection buster: This tactic may shift a prospects attention toward the seller’s ability to help and move focus away from price and product.
- Use a valid business reason (VBR)—with focus on why the prospect should want the initial meeting—to set the first appointment.
Why this is an objection buster: A strong VBR not only increases the likelihood of an appointment, it also tells the prospect or customer the seller cares about them and establishes trust and value. People buy from sellers more often when trust and value is established.
- Have a LinkedIn profile that communicates important things—like problem solving skills—about a seller’s brand.
Why this is an objection buster: This tactic also improves the initial trust and value level of a seller in the mind of a prospect or customer. The higher the level of trust and value = fewer objections during the sales process.
2. Get beyond “let me think about it” to a firm NO and a clear reason why a prospect does not want to buy.
Why this is an objection buster: A firm NO provides an opportunity to focus on and overcome an objection. Without a firm NO the seller is sitting in pending limbo.
3. Make sure a NO comes from the decision maker (DM) not a decision influencer (DI).
Why this is an objection buster: Decision makers are the only source of YES during the sales process. On the other hand, decision influencers have the ability to say NO but not YES. It is important that sellers know the difference between a DM and a DI. It is extremely important that sellers avoid taking a NO from a DI and move the sales process along to engage the decision maker.
4. Use a proposal format that includes the following elements
- A summary of customer needs.
- The main need or needs to be addressed (solved) as a result of the proposal.
- An idea (by the way, “buy my product” is not an idea).
- The plan (how the sellers product will interface with the idea and the investment level of the solution).
- A critical path that outlines all the steps of the solution implementation.
- An appendix (any data that supports the solution).
Why this is an objection buster: When faced with an objection world-class sellers use this format to find the main source of a NO by addressing each element of a proposal starting with the needs.
Here’s how: Start by asking the prospect or customer if the needs outlined are correct. If the answer is YES, mini-close and move to the section of the proposal. If the answer is NO address accordingly and move to the next section.
Repeat this process through each element of the proposal and mini-close the way to a YES!
5. Contract throughout the sales process.
Why this is an objection buster: The best selling book Close Like the Pros by Steve Marx teaches the importance of contracting to keep the sales process on track and moving forward. Proper contracting is tied to clarifying expectations, asking questions and mini-closing between each step of the sales process. Many sellers overlook contracting and hurry through the sales process which leads to a quicker NO more often than a YES.
Sales Consultant Resources for World-class Sellers
Feel free to take these tips for test drive when faced with a sales objection. To find out more about resources for consultants and training courses and materials check out The Center for Sales Strategy’s Partner Program. This program is designed to improve sales performance and pay a commission to partners in the program.
