Until you learn how to handle objections, you’re not going to approach your potential in sales. Champions (true professionals) have almost an affection for even the peskiest objection because it’s concrete. They know they’ve reached the Klondike and are digging for gold when they start hearing objections. It’s when they don’t get objections that they’re really worried.

Years ago, I had a dream that repeated itself several times in a few months. In this dream, I went to sell my product to a married couple and they were so helpful! They agreed to everything. No objections! They even helped fill out the forms and then the transaction when through quickly and smoothly. Nary a problem in the whole thing. THIS WAS A DREAM. SUCH THINGS ONLY HAPPEN TO SALESPEOPLE WHEN THEY’RE UNCONSCIOUS!

Objections aren’t sales killers, they’re sales makers! People who don’t object aren’t seriously involved. They won’t buy because they don’t care enough to challenge the price, ask for more proof, or question their need to own what you are offering. Objections are the rungs of the ladder to sales success. When you climb to the top of that ladder, customers buy what you’re selling. Unless you can step on those rungs and overcome the objections, continually climbing, you’ll never achieve the level of success you desire and deserve as a true “Champion”. Objections are statements by your prospects indicating that they want to know more. Of course, objections don’t usually come out sounding like a polite request for additional information.

Selling means helping people benefit and grow…yet, the average salesperson sits and waits. When he finally meets a prospect, the slightest breeze of objection blows him away – and that prospect walks off without the benefits.

THE OBJECTION-HANDLING SYSTEM

1. Hear them out.

Far too many salespeople leap on an objection before the other person has a chance to finish saying it. The prospect barely gets five words out – and already the salesperson is yammering away as though the evil thing will multiply unless it’s stomped out faster than now. “I gotta make him wrong quick, or he won’t take the product,” seems to be their panicky reaction to the first hint of any objection.

Not only does the prospect feel irritated to be interrupted, he also feels pushed. And uneasy. “Why’s he jumping on that so fast and so hard?” your prospect will ask himself. “I smell a rat.”

And suppose you run south when he hits north, and answer the wrong objection? Maybe even raise one he hadn’t thought of? How embarrassing.

2. Feed the objection back.

This is one of the best techniques for getting them to answer their own objection. It works especially well with husband and wife buyers. I’ve often fed an objection back to the husband, and then sat back while the wife hopped on it and closed him for me.

3. Question the objection.

Ask them to elaborate on their objection. Do it seriously. Avoid any hint of sarcasm, impatience, or contempt. If you really get into the detail of their objection, they’ll feel a strong pull toward removing it themselves. Even if that doesn’t happen, while the prospect is expounding further on his objection, you have more time to decide what course will best overcome it.

4. Answer the objection.

You might think, “Well, that lets me out.” Don’t worry – I’m going to show you how. When you’ve learned all this material and made it yours, you won’t tense up or buckle when prospects favor you with objections – you’ll just smile to yourself and move forward, confident that you can overcome them.

Have you ever stared at the ceiling in the dark of night thinking about all the objections that prospects could hit you with? Sometimes it seems like they have their own training program to learn every negative that can possibly be raised. Some salespeople strike one objection they can’t overcome, and that gives them nightmares. It works on their minds so much that soon they’re expecting to hear the objection they dread most from every prospect.

Guess what? Pretty soon that’s the one they always get.

Here’s how it works. That cruncher objection is on their minds when they go in for every appointment, or walk up to every prospect. They don’t know when, or even if, that wipe-out objection will strike – but they can’t get it out of their thoughts. So the tension builds until it’s too great. Without realizing it, they start dropping little hints that cause the prospect to bring up the objection they dread most.

Is there a single product or service that doesn’t have a few soft spots, a few places where it isn’t quite as good as something else?

If there is, I’ve never encountered it.

I feel very confidence in telling you that throughout your career everything you sell will have a few features or weaknesses you wish it didn’t have. There’ll always be something that can turn into a cruncher of an objection if you let it prey on your mind.

Champions study the weak points of their offering, and they learn how to handle the situation. They often do this by admitting a disadvantage and immediately comparing it to an advantage. “Yes, our matrix platform adjusts only forty degrees horizontally, but it provides 50 percent more vertical adjustment than any other machine. That’s because our engineering studies prove that…”

5. Confirm the answer.

Don’t reply to the objection and then leave it hanging in the air. They may not have understood you. Or maybe they stopped listening before you finally covered the point because they thought of something else. Always allow for the possibility that people who are close to a decision may be a little strange. After you’ve answered the objection in a way you feel should overcome it, confirm that you have. Ask things like:

“That clarifies the point entirely, don’t you agree?”

“That’s the answer you’re looking for, isn’t it?”

“With that question out of the way, we can go ahead, don’t you think?”

“Do you agree with me that we’ve covered the question you raised, and given you a way to handle it?”

“Now that’s settled entirely, isn’t it?”

“That solves your problem with _________, doesn’t it?”

6. Change gears, and immediately go to the next step in your selling sequence.

Once you’ve confirmed that you’ve overcome an objection, move on briskly.

To signal that the last step is over, and that you’re all now going on to the next step, use body language as you speak. That is, make an appropriate gesture, look or step in a new direction, turn the page on your proposal, shift in your chair – make some small or large physical move. As you do this introduce the next step with a phrase such as, “By the way . . .”

Let’s review the six steps to handling objections: 1) hear it out, 2) feed it back, 3) question it, 4) answer it, 5) confirm that the answer was accepted, and 6) move on with a gesture and a “By the way.”

These are some of the ways I teach my students to handle objections. I hope that you’ll internalize what I’ve shared with you and then PDR (practice, drill, and rehearse)!

Being a “Champion” takes courage, dedication and determination in order to become a true professional and achieve the greatness you deserve. Champions invest in their minds because it’s the best investment they’ll ever make. Then they know that their future’s in the best possible hands it can be – their own!