[Updated] There are two articles here. The original posting and one I just found for business to business objection dealings.
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Just posting this for my own reference. Maybe liberation forces and forces of the light are just trying to overcome objections? Human Objections?
Anyhow; the article below is just a vanilla "how to defeat objections" business article. Something that I need in order to overcome my own objections within myself. The uncertainty in the future while going into business and sales; while also tackling the darkness of war in my mind and becoming peace and light within my own heart.
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http://sbinformation.about.com/od/sales/tp/common-sales-objections.htm
7 Common Sales Objections and How to Overcome Them
Small Business Information Expert
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Selling doesn't come naturally to many small business owners, but that doesn't mean they can't do it effectively. Often the key is understanding what is stopping your potential client from making a decision in your favor. Once you know why he or she is hesitating, you can reply directly to that specific objection.
Here are seven common sales objections you may hear during the selling process, as well as some ideas on how you can overcome each one.
1. Price
Example: "Your services cost too much. I can get the 'same' service from someone cheaper."
When the bottom line is the biggest hurdle for a client, you need to help him or her justify the cost. Try breaking down your total cost into smaller amounts that are attached to smaller services so the client can see why your price point is what it is. And make sure you focus on the unique value of your products and services that the client won't be able to get from any other provider.
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2. Complacency
Example: "I'm okay with the way things work right now."
When complacency is the culprit, you can try to use just a touch of fear to get the client to see why he or the needs to start thinking about the making changing. Share some research about the competition and some of the changes they have made in their businesses. There is often nothing like a look at everything your competitors are doing that you are not yet doing to move you to action.
3. Fear of Change
Example: "I don't want to change the way we've been doing things for 15 years. Too much can go wrong."
Often related to complacency, having a fear of change can make the decision-making process a difficult one for many business owners. One way to overcome this objection is to demonstrate past examples of change and how it was positive. For example, show the client a list of different ways the industry has changed over the past 10 to 15 years, and how the potential customer has adapted to those changes for the better. This can help him or her be less fearful and more confident about changing things up.
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4. Trust
Example: "It seems like you know what you're doing, but how do I know you really have the necessary experience to do this?"
Trust is something that takes time to build, so if it is a hurdle for your potential client, you need to be honest and consistent across the board to overcome the objection. Be forthcoming with information and share testimonials, case studies and references that will take away some of the uncertainty and give the client confidence in your ability to get the job done.
5. Personal Politics
Example: "I told my brother's friend's wife I'd use her company for my next project."
Sometimes there's not much you can do to usurp a family connection, but you can get yourself in the position to be the next in line. If this is an objection you're hearing from a potential client, think a few steps ahead and show the client what you can do in phase two of the project or in an off-shoot that will likely come about from the work being awarded to a family member.
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6. External Input
Example: "I need to run this by my wife/business partner/mentor before I do anything else."
This can often be a positive outcome, assuming the client is truly consulting with others and not just using it as an excuse. One way to make sure it doesn't end up as a deal-ending sales objection is to attempt to stay in the process. Try suggesting a joint sales meeting between the client and their counterparts in order to answer any questions and help facilitate the decision.
7. Timing
Example: "It's too much for me to take on right now; I'm too busy; Call me again in 6 months."
If time management or lack of time is an issue for the client right now, chances are it will still be an issue in six months or a year. To overcome this objection, you need to make the decision to hire you an easy one. Start by listing all of the benefits of working with you, outline the value of the products and services you offer, and explain how easy it is to get started. Make the decision to hire you a no-brainer and you will remove this objection.
Keep in mind that your potential clients may have more than one objection so it's important to be able to identify each one as you see it occur. Once you know what is stopping the sales process, you can arm yourself with the right arguments that will tip the scale in your favor.
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[second article]
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tackling-common-b2b-sales-objections
by Ginny Soskey
Getting objections during your sales process is expected … though it can be one of the most frustrating aspects of selling. You’ve done your research, prepared for a phone call or demo, and then you’re hit with the but. "Your product is great and all, but I don’t have the money for it." Or, "I could easily use what you’re selling, but my boss won’t agree to it." Ugh. After all your hard work, it can feel like you’ve hit a brick wall.
… But (hehe) it doesn’t always have to be that way. Although they can be frustrating, objections are another opportunity for you to use your expertise to influence qualified prospects' decision to buy and even weed out prospects who aren't a great fit for your product or service. That’s great -- especially since you have the inbound marketing and sales collateral to help you out (right?).
So how do you get out of the negative spiral of frustration and into positively addressing objections? To help you figure it out, we’re going to use the four main objections you’ll hear on the phone and give you tools to address them with your opportunities -- all with a very inbound approach. Here’s what you should do.
The 4 Most Common Sales Objections, and How to Handle Them
There are four main objections you’ll hear on the phone when you're trying to make a sale, and they all revolve around budget, authority, need, and timeliness (also known as BANT). Knowing how to recognize these objections and having a process in place to handle them is key to closing a sale or removing a poor-fit prospect from your sales queue. We’re going to walk you through each objection and give you tips for addressing them, so let’s get started.
Objection 1: Budget
This is probably the easiest objection to identify right off the bat -- it’s all about the moolah, baby. Prospects may say things like, “I don’t have money for your product,” or “There’s no room in the budget for us to buy your product.” They may even ask if you can give them a discount. So when a person brings up the issue of money, how should you respond?
How to Handle the Objection
Concerns about the cost of your product can go deeper than the sticker price, so it’s up to you to figure out what their true reasons for indecision are. Dig deeper to find out why they aren’t happy with the product's price. Is it just sticker shock? Or is it that they don’t see the value in your product for the price that they have to pay? Getting to the root of the objection is key -- it will help you choose the right language to use with the prospect.
If it really is just sticker shock, you can explain about all the components that make up your product and emphasize how much value they're receiving for the price they are paying. If the prospect isn’t convinced of the value of your product, you’ll probably want to explain how much he or she could save using your product. Both conversations are similar yet slightly different to better address the needs of your prospect.
Also, if they ask for a discount -- don’t feel like you need to offer it right away. First, find out how much of a discount they are thinking is possible. No need to promise $1,000 off a product or service if the potential customer is willing and able to pay the price with only a $100 discount. You also probably have a monthly revenue goal to hit, so giving discounts to anyone and everyone isn’t feasible. By asking up front, you’ll be able to better set expectations and maybe even close the sale.
Objection 2: Authority
In this objection, prospects may try to pawn the decision off on someone else. This is a very common objection, especially if there are multiple decision-makers within a company. You’ll hear, “I have to speak with my boss/CEO/designer/coworker/mother about this before deciding,” or “My boss/CEO/designer/coworker/mother says no thank you.” So what do you do when you're given the slip because of someone else?
How to Handle the Objection
First, validate that the objection makes sense. While this may seem like a small step that doesn’t necessarily need to be addressed, validating the opportunity's concerns will help you better connect with them. It also opens you up to the next step: finding outwhat the third party's needs and fears are about your product or why the decision-maker said no.
After you get to the root of the problem, you’ll be able to do two things: 1) address the third party’s objections before you even get them on the phone, and if this step goes well, 2) potentially set up a time to speak with the third party in the future. If you can thoughtfully address these objections and reiterate that you are a resource for your prospect and his or her decision-maker, you’ll be much more likely to make the sale.
Objection 3: Need
Especially for complex products and services, this is a prevalent objection sales representatives will face. You’ll recognize this in the field when someone says something like, “You know, we really don’t need your product or service,” or “Your product is too hard to use … we’ll just stick to our old ways of doing things and get by.” This is probably the hardest objection to handle since it revolves around the product or service you're selling.
How to Handle the Objection
Like in Objection 2, you’ll want to first get to the root of the problem. Do they view yourentire product as something worthless, or are there a few features they love? Or, are they just overwhelmed with your product offering? Or, are they just too scared to make a purchase? No matter what their reasoning is, you need to get to the bottom of it before moving forward.
Their responses can vary greatly depending on what you’re selling, but you have two weapons up your sleeve to help address this objection: content and data. If your company is really drinking the inbound Kool-Aid, your marketing team has probably already created blog posts and offers that your prospect might be interested in. Maybe you have case studies of customers who are similar to the prospect -- if so, go ahead and send the case studies over.
If your prospect is especially skeptical, try using some hard data to help convince him or her. Let’s say you’re selling inbound marketing software … for example. ;) If the prospect were concerned that inbound marketing wouldn’t be as effective as outbound marketing, you could pull up some stats from the 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report that show that more than half of marketing agencies (51%) reported positive ROI for their inbound marketing efforts in 2013. That data is much more convincing than just “inbound marketing works … just trust me and give me your credit card.”
With this objection especially, it's very possible you may find that prospects might not need your product at all. For example, if their company goals aren't aligned with what your product or service can solve, you should get off the phone. No hurt feelings here -- you just want to focus your time on helping those who are a good fit for your product or service.
Objection 4: Timeframe
Last, but certainly not least, many sales representatives will have prospects procrastinate or put the sales process on hold. They'll say things like, “It’s not the right time to make a decision. Please call me in a month or so once our imminent project/hiring plan/budget/etc. is in place.” The chances of them actually coming back and purchasing something from you? Slim. So how do you handle this non-committal objection?
How to Handle the Objection
Again, this objection can be tricky based on the opportunity's reason for delaying the sales process. How you handle the objection all boils down to his or her reason for delaying -- but you should always remind him or her of the long-term payout from buying your product or service right now.
If the upcoming project your prospect is citing is somehow related to your product, one thing you can emphasize is how much better it would be to purchase your product before the big change. For example, if you were selling inbound marketing software and the prospect was about to undergo an intense website redesign, you might want to emphasize that it would be much better to buy the software before the redesign -- they wouldn’t want to have to re-write content (and potentially rework the design to fit the content) if it wouldn't align with their future inbound marketing goals.
For the future hire objection, you can emphasize that purchasing your product nowmakes sense because the prospect will be able to enable new hires with all the tools they need from day one.
If the issue is a far-away budget allocation decision, you’ll need to get more information. What’s the process for approving budgets, and who is involved in that process? You may have to switch to handling Objection 2 by addressing the decision-maker’s needs and fears. By getting more information about prospects’ processes, you’ll be able to be much more helpful to them.
Ultimately, knowing how to address these objections could help you close a sale … or just disqualify a lead from being a fit for your company. By handling these objections, you’ll better understand your prospects' needs -- which could help you focus your time on turning the right prospects into a new, excited customers.
Do you have any special techniques for handling objections on your sales calls? Share your tips with us in the comments!
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