Transcripts
1. Introduction to the Course: Hello, and welcome to the course about
overcoming objections. If you are like most
sales professionals, you are always looking
for ways to overcome customer objections
and close the sale. And this course
will help you plan, prepare and execute
proposals and presentations that address
customer concerns, reduce the number of
objections you encounter, and improve your batting
average at closing the sale. So in this course, we
will learn together how to identify the steps you can take to build
your credibility, identify the objections that you encounter most frequently, develop appropriate
responses when prospective buyers
throw you a curve. Learn ways to disarm
objections with proven rebuttals that get
the sale back on track. Learn how to recognize when
a prospect is ready to buy. Discuss how working with your sales team can
help you succeed. I wish you a happy learning,
and let's get started.
2. Building Credibility : Hello there, and welcome back. Today we will talk about
building credibility. If we want to build our
credibility with other people, we have to, first of all,
be credible to ourselves. That means selling ourselves on our products or our
services first. If you believe you are selling a good product or offering
a valuable service, you won't have much difficulty selling that product or
service to other people. Your body language, open, confident, and your
tone of voice, positive, enthusiastic,
pleasant, will tell them that you believe
in what you are selling. The first impression goes a long way to establishing
your authority. You want a clean vehicle, polished shoes, trimmed,
clean fingernails, clean groomed hair, no
heavy scent or body odor, and preferably, only one bag. Women must have
their briefcase and purse under control to
prevent a clattered look. If you can, scale back
to just the briefcase. As well, be aware of
your body movements. Don't fiddle with
your hair, tug, at or adjust your clothing, play with your beard or
mustache, or otherwise fidget. Fidgeting detracts from your credibility and
your confidence. If you have a demonstration, this can add to
your credibility. However, ask permission first and know exactly
what you are doing. A demonstration that
goes wrong sells nobody. If you have testimonials, you can have several written
up and ready to pass out, or you can have the names of
people willing to be called. Please make sure you
ask their permission first and get the correct
contact information for them. Keep any testimonials
and contacts up to date. You must believe
that your company, your products, and your
services are the best. So think about it.
What makes you believe in your products
and or services? Can you think of any other ways you can build your credibility?
3. Your Competition : Sooner or later, every person
in sales has to be aware of the fact that others are offering similar
products and services. Often, there isn't a great
deal of difference between the products and
services you offer and those of your
competitor down the street. Your client may also
decide that there are alternative solutions
to their dilemma. Your client may decide on using internal resources as a
solution to the problem, or they may decide
to do nothing at all and use their budget for
something else entirely. Learn about what your
competitors are doing and consider other alternatives
to your client's problems. Then forget about them. Concentrate on
your client and on the strengths of your own
products and services. In sales circles,
we often talk about our USP or unique selling point. If we can differentiate our
products and services from everybody else's by knowing what is unique and
special about ours, we already have
an advantage over many people who are
in sales today. Here are five steps to determine your unique
selling point. First and foremost,
list the features and benefits that are unique about
your product or service. You can even do a Google
search and compare your features and benefits
with your direct competitors. Identify the benefits
what set you apart. Number two, decide
what emotional need is being specifically met by
your product or service. Think about this from your customer's perspective
and add it to your list. Identify aspects
of your product or service that your
competitors cannot imitate. Put a star beside
anything that cannot be easily duplicated,
reproduced or copied. Number four, create
phrases about your unique product or service that are short,
clear and concise. Use the words from steps one to three that you singled out. Be sure they can be easily communicated to and
understood by your customers. Number five, answer your
customer's primary question. What's in it for me? Make it to the point and state it as a benefit to the customer, such as Domino's pizza. You get fresh hot
pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes
or less, or it's free. Target, expect more, pay less. USPS Corp the toughest
job you will ever love. M&Ms melt in your mouth,
not in your hand. FedEx when your package absolutely positively has
to get there overnight. So what's your unique
selling point? Stop putting your
business at risk. Put an end to getting
lost in the crowd. Stand out in your mind
of your customers.
4. Critical Communication Skills: If you want to be prepared
for handling objections, you should be an
exceptional communicator, which means being a good
listener and good at asking questions so you understand
your clients and their needs. So today, we will
start with listening. How do you feel
when someone shows interest and enthusiasm
for what you say? Flattered, of course, that someone thinks you've
got something to say. An interested listener
makes you feel appreciated, confident, and good
about yourself. Most people, on the other hand, see poor listeners as rude individuals who
are disinterested and unwilling to acknowledge other people's opinions,
feelings and experiences. You are far more apt
to get the sale by listening carefully to what
the client has to say, than you are to at the part of the slick talking salesperson who doesn't give the
client a chance to talk. Listen and learn is a good
motto for everyone in sales. So here are the three
stages of active listening. Active listening is actually
a three stage process. First stage, eye contact and head nods or other non
verbal affirmations. Second stage, verbal
cues or phrases such as, uh huh, go on. Really? And then
what? Third stage. Questions for clarification or summarizing statements such as, does this happen every
time you plug it in? Have you already got an idea
of what you're looking for? Do you already have
a budget in mind? Of course, we must stop talking if we want to
do more listening. One way to remember
that your role is to do more listening and
less talking is to plant a small post in note on your presentation with
the letter S shut up. You have to also ask
powerful questions. There is probably no better
way of getting your client or buyer involved in the sales presentation
to ask questions. Ask only one question at a time and give the other person
enough time to respond. Remember, there
are closed versus open questions rather than
common closed questions, which gives you only one
tiny bit of information, usually a yes or no, get in the habit of asking
more open questions to get a sense of the other
person's ideas and opinions. Some open questions can give you a lot of useful information, include tell me a
little more about. Let me see if I understand. Tell me how the idea
is like or different from tell me what you mean
when you help me understand. Could you give me an example of? There are also
clarifying questions. Listen very carefully to
what the client is saying. Clarify any implied or
unclear statements. If someone says, This isn't exactly what
they had in mind, you might say, tell me
what you were thinking of. Asking questions to clarify
statements greatly decreases your chance of making
a verbal blunder or promising more
than you can deliver. First ask yourself, what
is this person not saying? And then ask the other
person directly. Here are some examples. I'm not exactly
sure what you mean. Can you go into more
details for me? From what you are saying,
I have the impression. Would I be right or wrong? I'm not sure I understand
what you really need. Let me see if I
understand you correctly. You are going to. From what you've just said,
you've decided to. Also, you should use such questions to find out what your client
wants and needs, to deal with the objections before they get in
the way of a sale, as a way of being prepared for your next sales presentation as a way of engaging
your client.
5. Observation Skills : Observation skills. A keen ability to observe
your surroundings to better understand the situation is another useful skill to have. Pay attention to
the appearance and behavior of the individual
you are meeting, as this can be a rich source of clues for learning
about the other person. We learn much of
what we need to know about other people
by observing them. When we observe, we collect the non verbal information
they present to us. From this, we can make some inferences about
their energy levels, how they are feeling, and their readiness to
say yes to the cell. So here are some other things we should be aware
of. Body movement. Is that person exhibiting
open, relaxed movements, and making eye contact or are they fidgeting
during a presentation? Are they arms crossed or is their body turned
away from you? While closed or turned
away body movements do not necessarily indicate
a closed mind or a person not interested. These are clues to
pay attention to. Facial expressions. Notice whether they are
looking you in the face, have an alert expression on their face and appear relaxed. Signs you have talked
too long or not engaged their interest
might include yawning, rolling eyes, or taking peeks at their watch
or smartphone. Indication they are uptight
about something include a tense or worried look and whether their hands
are relaxed or busy. By the way, generally, the higher up the
corporate ladder people go, the less they smile. So don't be put off
by a stern visage. As for you, try for a pleasant expression rather
than a lot of smiles. Grooming, careless attire
or lack of grooming, could be an indication this person is
unimpressed by himself, by his organization, by his
job, and perhaps by you. On the other hand, everyone will expect your grooming
to be impeccable. Body build, someone
with a wiry build is usually active with a
lot of pent up energy. Engaging them in the
presentation is one of the surest ways of
keeping their interest high. A square build can
be an indication of someone with a very
practical nature. Make sure you give them the practical aspects of
whatever you're trying to sell. The rounder body shape can be
that of a person who would like to engage in a bit of small talk before getting
down to business. PostaRlax or tense, ramrod
straight or stooped. We do make some assumptions
based on poshta. Well, it may be dangerous
for you to make assumptions. Make sure your own posta
would make your mother proud.
6. Handling Customer Complaints: Handling customer complaints. You represent your company
annual products and services. Customer wants to know you will be there for
them when they need you and that you will go that extra mile to help them
when they need you. Just as important
as making the sale is following up afterwards
with your client. When you are in front of the decision makers
at companies ABC, making a presentation
for your next sale, you can present with confidence
when you know there are no nagging customer care issues still not dealt with
from, you last sale. Remember, these days, customer
service is suffering as less qualified individuals
fill jobs out of necessity. How you handle a
customer complaint is a critical component in the
longevity of any business. So look at these tips. One, listen and understand. First, always listen
to the customer. The unconcerned about an
aspect of your services, let go of the temptation to
respond in any quick fashion. Take the time to
listen and truly understand what is
driving their concern. To emphasize once you have
listened to their concern, immediately emphasize
with their position to create a bond between you and the customer so that
you know you have heard their concern and are going to work with them to
resolve the issue. Three, offer a solution, offer a solution
to their problem. In this regard, always focus on what you can do as opposed
to what you cannot. There's always a solution. It may not be exactly
what they are asking for, but if you focus
on what you can do versus denying them
their requested remedy, you have still
offered a solution, and often merely having another option is sufficient
to remedy the situation. Four, execute the solution. Solve their problem, be it with the originally
requested resolution or an alternative
you have proposed. Five, follow up. Once you have gone through
the first four steps, make sure to follow up with them to make sure that they are satisfied with the
solution and that you have taken care
of their concern. Find complaints and fix them. Get in the habit of finding any complaints your
customer may have and fixing them before you go back to the client
for another sale. Sometimes we run a mile
from a customer complaints. We have the attitude that a customer complain
is a bad thing and mark against us in our product or services
that isn't so. A customer complaint indicates there is dissatisfaction
somewhere. You can make yourself
look like a hero to that client by rooting out the dissatisfaction
and fixing it. Every time you find
dissatisfaction, make a note of it. When you are making your
next sales presentation, you can mention the client and the dissatisfaction and explain how you were able
to take care of it. That is far more impressive
to most clients than saying that all your clients are 100% satisfied all the time. However, don't
mention that client by name unless you have
their permission to do so.
7. Overcoming Objections : Overcoming objections. The word know can be a
tough pill to swallow. Dealing with
objections sometimes seems to be the salesperson's
worst nightmare. However, when you are prepared and know your
products and services, responding to objections is another way to reinforce the
value of your offerings. We all know that
the sales objection is an explicit expression
by a buyer that a barrier exists between the current situation
and what needs to be satisfied before
buying from you. Beyond that, it's an indication that the buyer is engaged, which show beats apathy. However, you still
have work to do. When a buyer
indicates that he is not ready to buy,
don't get discouraged. Use the following four
steps to overcome sale objections and move
closer to the sale. Listen fully to the objection. Your first reaction when
you hear an objection may be to jump right in
and respond immediately. Resist this temptation. When you react too quickly, you risk making assumptions
about the objection. Take the time to listen
to the objection fully. Don't react defensively. Train yourself to ignore any negative emotions you
may be feeling and stay focused on what the
buyer is saying and the business problem
you are helping to solve. Listen with the intent of fully understanding the buyer's
concerns without bias or anticipation and allow
your body language and verbal conformations
to communicate to the buyer that you
are listening intently. Understand the
objection completely. Many objections hide
underlying issues that the buyer can't or
isn't ready to articulate. Often, the true issue isn't what the buyer
first tells you. It's your job to get to
the heart of the objection and then fully understand
it and it's true source. To do this, you must
ask permission from the buyer to understand
and explore the issue. Once explored, restate the
concern as you understand it. Sometimes when you
restate the objection, the buyer sees the
issue more fully, and you get closer to the true source of the
objection as a result. Even after the buyer
confirms you understand perfectly, ask what else? And why? Questions
for clarification. Often, it is the
answer to that last. What else that contains
the biggest barrier to moving the sale forward.
Respond properly. After you are confident, you've uncovered all objections. Address the most important
objection first. Once you work
through the greatest barrier to moving forward, other concerns may no longer matter or feel as
important to the buyer. You should do your best to
resolve the issues right away. The more you can resolve
issues in real time, the greater chance you have
of moving the sale forward. If you need more information to resolve a specific concern, you may have to look
something up. Don't wing it. Buyers can sense that, and it creates distrust. Long winded responses
can seem insincere. So keep your responses
clear and to the point. Confirm you've satisfied
the objection. Once you've responded to
the buyer's objections, check if you've satisfied
all of their concerns. Just because they noted during the response doesn't mean they agreed with
everything you said. Ask if the buyer is happy with your solution and explain your solution further
if necessary. Some objections require
a process to overcome, not just a quick answer. If the client isn't ready, don't try to force a commitment. Be sure not to accept
a lukewarm, yes. For an answer, though, either, many buyers will accept
a solution in a moment, but once you are out of
sight or off the phone, the objection still remains. When faced with
sales objections, don't lose sight of your goal. Use the steps mentioned
in this lesson to listen, understand, respond,
and confirm, and you will strengthen your
relationships with buyers, overcome obstacles in
the buying process, and move closer to the sale. Remember, objections are really a technique that buyer uses to slow down and make sure he or she isn't
rushing into the sale. If you have no objections at the end of your presentation, either people weren't listening, weren't interested
or weren't buying. Also, it can be worthwhile
investment of time for every member of
your sales team to document the types of
objections they get. Then you can all sit
down together and work out some effective
responses to these objections. Inputs from your peers can help everyone in sales to
be more successful.
8. Pricing Issues : Pricing issues. Of all
the objection salespeople here in the run of a day, your prices is too high is the most common objection and usually the most difficult
objection to handle. Yet price is rarely a
true outstanding issue. When you don't know much about what you are buying,
you buy price. Part of your job as
a salesperson is to educate clients about
what they pay for, when they buy your
product or services. There are several ways to
handle this objection. Here are several options. If there is no flexibility
in your pricing, you can find out in
advance what their budget is and then price your products
and services accordingly. One advantage is that you
should be within a ballpark. The disadvantage is that you may have left money
on the table. You can give them
the pricing and triplicate the Catalac version, the mid range version, and the economy version. Frequently, the client will pick the mid range and sometimes
the Cadillac range, but rarely do they
like the image of the company buying
the economy version? Use a differentiator
if you have one. Yes, your fee may be higher
than that of the competition, but you can demonstrate
the added value the client gets when they
choose your product or service. This works when you do
indeed have a feature or benefit that puts you
in a competitive position. For this one, you have to do
your homework ahead of time. You want to be prepared
with your USP or unique selling point and know what the competition
can offer as well. Make it easy to say yes, suggest a payment plan or
lower up front cost with the final payment after the product or service
has been delivered. There are some things
that you should always emphasize when dealing
with this objection. Stress the value of ownership versus the cost of purchasing. Stress the value of the service versus the cost of the service. Stress the value of
long term benefits versus the upfront costs. Stress the benefits
rather than features. If you get tongue tight, every time you have
to talk price, practice until you
can get it right. You want to sound
relaxed, confident, and in control, not
uncertain, tense and fearful.
9. Buying Signals : Buying signals. How will you know when your
client is ready to buy? This is not an exact
science, right? However, there are some buyers signals that will be more
obvious than others, such as the buyer leans forward
and becomes more engaged. The buyer begins making
more eye contact. The type of questions the
buyer asks changes from the questions about
the product or service to the
details of delivery. The pace changes, it slows
down, or it speeds up. You can often rely upon your
own intuition, as well. If you have understood what the client was looking
for and you have presented your
solution to the point where all the buyers
questions have been answered, you should be in a
good position to look your client in the eye and
say, What do you think? Are we ready to do business? This still leaves the response
in hands of the buyer. He or she should not feel
they're being railroaded. At the same time, you have
asked for their business. If they say they
aren't ready yet, you can probe to find
out what else they need. This is really another
type of objection, so give them time to explain
what is holding them back. Respond to their concerns and
try moving forward again. When it comes to
online customers, it is online buying signals that can be more
difficult to pinpoint, making them easier to miss. The fact is 93% of sales executives have not received any formal
training on social selling, yet 90% of top performers include social media in
their sales strategies. However, it doesn't
matter offline or online. If someone ask a question, it is probably because they have seen something that picked their interest somewhere on your site or in
your social posts. Common questions that indicate interest include
product specifics. When someone inquires about a specific model,
feature, color, or service, they are indicating they have
something specific in mind. This means that they are
taking things one step further in the research and
interest in your business. Warranty information. This type of question can
have a number of purposes. First, they want to establish
you are trustworthy. And second, they are coming
closer to becoming a buyer. Delivery date. This is one of the clearest signs someone
is ready to commit. Whether it is the delivery date, how soon something can
go into production for the order or how soon you
can start their service, they are demonstrating
an eagerness to get the ball rolling. The logical answer
is a question. When do you need it?
Contract details. Questions related to
standard contracts or terms and conditions are another sign a customer is on the last legs of
their customer journey. If they have very specific
questions to see if changes can be made to suit their own needs all the better, as long as you can
accommodate those needs. Pricing. This is another end of the final discussion that is not often brought up unless
they're ready to commit. Mode of payment also falls into this category of questions.
Company details. No one will waste time asking questions about your
company if they are not interested in what you are selling, asking for more. If someone has made
initial inquiries and follow up to get more details or clarify certain aspects of the
original question, this is a good sign. They want to make sure they understand everything
before they commit. And of course, the moment
your customer asks you, what do we do next? In all probability, it means that you have already
closed the sale. Any salesperson who
fails to interpret these questions will only be a deadweight to yourself
and marketing team. Other than this, you and your
sales agents must also be able to read non verbal cues
on trade shows, for example, from your prospects like participating in
your presentation, taking a look into a
limited range of products, holding your
product, open hands, leaning forward as you speak, and a minute body language
all signify interest. Always be on the
lookout for this.
10. Closing the Sale : Closing the sale. Finally, let's talk about closing techniques. Remember that you can't
make a buyer do anything, including making a
decision to buy. Besides, trying to
force somebody to do something they don't want to
do is not only unethical, but it may work against
you in the long run. Textbooks will give
you all sorts of suggestions for
closing the sale. However, if you have two or three that you
use and use well, this can work in your favor. If you have too many techniques
you think might work, you may come across as
unsure and indecisive. So here's what works for you. Remember, whether the answer
is yes or no, find out why. If you presently have no
strategies at all, try this. Ask direct questions such as, are we ready to move on this? When can we get started? Shall I write up the order? The Ben Franklin approach. You take a sheet of
paper, divide it in half, and write up the pro
side of the sheet, then you invite the buyer
to write up the consit. This clause can be effective for the undecided buyer who just needs to get
everything in perspective. However, use it with caution. And if you get the
sense the buyer doesn't want to do this,
drop it immediately. They leave it with them
for the weekend close. Whether it's a new puppy, a photocopier or a new
plasma television, leaving the product
with the buyer for the weekend is an option
that often works. They get to try it
out on their own, and pretty soon they
are coming up with their own reasons why
they should buy this. Keep in mind,
persistent space off. While you don't want
to become a pest, you don't want to assume a note today is a
no for a lifetime. Some salespeople will
tell you they expect five rejections before
they get the green light. While they may or may not
be the right number of rejections to expect
to expect rejections. Learn from them, then use what you've learned when you
go back to try again. Finally, thank you notes. Never underestimate the
power of the thank you note. If you get the sale, send them a note thanking them
for their order. You don't get the sale, send them a note, thanking them for taking the
time to meet with you.
Mackenzie Wilson
