101 Best sales and Marketing Ideas
IDEA 80:
LOG OBJECTIONS
Objections are ubiquitous in selling. We know we will get some, and we know too, from experience, that they should be regarded as a sign of interest. (No one is going to be bothered to query something they have dismissed out of hand). We also know that they will vary in topic, nature, and emphasis. Sometimes the same thing crops up repeatedly as a major stumbling block, and on another occasion something might be mentioned in passing, and is not in any sense a major hindrance. What matters is the balance of positive and negative points a customer sees as case is presented. It is not realistic to try to have nothing on the negative side: when did you last buy something perfect? But the positive side must weight most heavily in the balance, and what creates that situation may be a number of major points ( heavy ones, to stick with the weighing-up analogy), and a number of smaller ones too. Indeed, because it is impossible sometimes to balance one major point with another, several smaller ones may have to do the job.
Whatever else you do, you should be ready for objections.
Idea
Quizzing number of sales people who are good at handling objections shows that this skill does not just happen…
Occasionally, not often, an objection may surprise you, and if it does, you have to try to be quick on your feet and deal with it. But the majority of objections you receive will be repetitive. The same things recur, and some of them (like price) are common to most selling situations. So make sure that you are ready for them. It is good practice to collect objections – for a week or three, keep a note for every reason people give you for not buying. Then sort them out. Some may need little attention: they will be simple, invalid or simply so individual that they will rarely or never occur again. The others will fall into various categories. Some will pose the same question, or address the same area, but come at it in a different way. No matter – catalogue the main ones, and check that you are sure how to respond? Do you have rebalancing arguments? Can you, where necessary, point out – in an acceptable fashion – that the customer is wrong?
In practice
- Objections should not surprise you. You should be ready for the vast majority of them. This involves undertaking some preparation.