It’s been awhile since we’ve touched on objections and how to go about overcoming them. Every salesperson, no matter how experienced, is going to encounter objections. Your ability to deal with an objection and save the sale will go a long way in determining your success.

Here’s a review of some of the most important things a salesperson must do when dealing with objections.

Listen to the entire objection: The quickest way to lose a customer to an objection is to interrupt your customer as they are telling you what the problem is. A salesperson must listen to the entire objection before attempting to save the sale. If you listen closely enough, they may actually give you a clue as to what they need.

Acknowledge the objection: This simply means that you restate the objection back to the customer. It shows them that you fully understand what they are objecting to, and it confirms what they said for the salesperson.

Give agreement: It’s important to let the customer know that that are not in for an argument. However giving agreement is not the same as agreeing. If a customer says, “I need to think about it,” then agreeing would be, “Yes you should think about it.” Giving agreement would mean a salesperson would say something like, “I can understand why you would need to think about it, it is a big decision isn’t it?” Remember every step in the process is designed to get your customer to say “Yes.”

Relieve resistance: There are many times when an objection is simply leftover fear from a customer and can be relieved easily with a simple question. Ask your customer, “Before you go, may I ask you a quick question?” Then the quick question is: Did you love the ____? To this question you will either get a “yes” or “no”. Should they not love the item – then fix it by going back to the needs assessment and asking more questions. If they say “Yes, I loved the ____.” Then move on to the next step. You would be surprised at how often a question like that will relieve tension and help the customer feel better about their purchase.

Review NA=A/DA: As a reminder, that stands for Needs Assessment=Answers so demonstrate the answers. When dealing with an objection, take the time to review what the customer wanted/needed and that you demonstrated to the wants and needs. By doing this, it should allow your customer to tell if their objection carries weight or if they are ready to buy.

We will continue with the steps in overcoming objections next time, but the biggest thing a salesperson can do is this: acknowledge the objection and then work with the customer to work out a solution.

FINAO - Brad Huisken