As a sales rep, you’re rarely going to speak to a prospective customer who has no sales objections. There will almost always be a reason the prospect is hesitant to make a purchase, whether it’s pricing, value, relevance to their needs, purchasing ability, or any number of other issues.
You must accept objection handling as a part of the sales process. Getting a “no” from a prospect when you’re trying to move them through the sales pipeline can be discouraging and frustrating. But learning to navigate customer objections, listen to customer concerns, and resolve those concerns can turn your iffy deals around and make you a better salesperson.
Below, Poised discusses some of the most common sales objections and objection handling techniques to help your sales team flourish. Poised is the Ai-powered communication coach that will help you self reflect to have better sales calls and win more clients.
What Is Effective Objection Handling in the Sales Process?
Basically, objection handling is when a sales rep responds to a prospect's concerns about the product or service at hand in a manner that resolves those concerns and keeps the deal alive. Most sales objections are related to competitors, product fit, or pricing. Not to mention, you might experience the classic brush-off now and then.
The point of objection handling is to change a buyer’s mind or at least help them feel comfortable proceeding with the next steps. Some sales professionals attempt to pressure prospects into backing down. While this works in some cases, it often reinforces the buyer’s objection, and the salespeople ruin any trust and rapport they’ve developed with the prospect.
The key is to guide your prospect to a different conclusion while allowing them to remain the decision-maker. If your persuasive tactics fail, it’s typically an indicator that the prospect isn’t a good fit. This is sometimes an inevitable part of the objection handling process.
What Are the Most Common Sales Objections?
You may come across hundreds of different customer objections throughout your sales career. Some prospects are already in contract with a competitor or have no interest in committing to a contract. Some are working with a limited budget and simply can’t fit in anything else at the moment.
Then there are the potential buyers who are hesitant because they’ve never heard of your company or they don’t understand your product — the list goes on.
You could spend months, even years, preparing for every potential sales objection under the sun. But if you just take a bit of time learning how to navigate the objections below, you’ll position yourself to develop stronger customer relationships and close more deals.
Price Objections
When you make a sales call, the most common type of prospect objection that you’ll hear is a price objection. Even potential customers who plan to buy your product will object to the price in one form or another and might call it a deal-breaker. It’s critical to remain focused on the value of your product instead of on price as a selling point.
If you get whisked away into justifying the cost, you’ll essentially become a transactional middleman. Take control of the sales conversation by confidently communicating your brand’s value proposition.
Concerns About Quality
Quality-related concerns are some of the trickiest sales objections to navigate. Unfortunately, you’ll encounter many of them when handling sales objections. The challenge lies in proving the quality of your product order without using deception or smokescreen.
Some sales reps use their objection handling skills to convince a prospect that the product’s quality is well worth the price. They might allow the buyer to sample the product or provide a free trial.
Still, quality is subjective, and it’s hard to prove empirically that your product is a tier above the competition. That said, garnering customer testimonials and learning how to explain your product’s long-term reliability can help you close the deal.
The “Brush-Off”
Perhaps the most frustrating objection to salespeople is the brush-off. It most commonly happens during cold calls, and you may be guilty of it yourself! Getting brushed off is when the prospect doesn’t even give you the time to get to your opening statement. They answer, hear you’re a sales rep and say a short phrase before hanging up.
Many salespeople are tempted to immediately call back, but that rarely works. Instead, take a moment to put yourself in the prospect's shoes. They could be busy planning a meeting, in the middle of a conversation with clients, or simply having a bad day.
Try not to make it about you. Give it a bit of time, and try sending a handwritten note or email with a sincere message apologizing for calling them at a bad time and briefly stating that you have an idea that could possibly help their business.
What Are the Best Objection Handling Techniques?
Now that we’ve reviewed some common obstacles, consider these techniques for handling sales objections:
Use Active Listening
As in so many other communication areas, active listening is crucial when navigating a sales objection. Make it clear to the buyer that you are all ears and genuinely care about their concerns and needs. Maintain consistent eye contact, keep an open posture, and ask them to elaborate on their ideas.
Ask Open-Ended Questions
Asking the right questions can assure the buyer that you want to resolve their concerns, and it can help you uncover their pain points. Learn the art of asking thoughtful, open-ended questions, and avoid asking anything that would warrant a one-word answer. Once they’ve provided input, ask follow-up questions and offer a rebuttal for their concerns.
Build Trust
Some prospects simply take longer to convince than others. Don’t be afraid to play the long game, and be willing to commit the time and effort necessary to build trust. Trust and rapport will get you the best sales outcomes possible.
One of the best ways to establish trust is with cold, hard facts. This is where remote sales truly shine. On video calls, you can share your screen to show potential customers case studies of successes you’ve had.
You can guide them through what your team did and how your client’s bottom line benefited from that. They can ask questions in real-time, and you can clarify concerns that might arise.
Reframe Your Sales Conversation
Reframing allows you to turn sales objections into opportunities. Find ways to show a prospective buyer a fresh perspective. Consider the information the buyer has acknowledged as true, and reframe the conversation accordingly.
For example, suppose a prospect tells you that they’re already working with a competitor. In that case, you could refocus the conversation on how your product complements the existing solution or stress its unique value proposition.
If you need a little help, AI like Poised can help you adjust your presentation as you go along and give you an honest breakdown afterward for learning purposes.
Overcome Buyer Objections With Help From Poised
Buyer objections are a way of life for salespeople. Try not to get discouraged and quit too soon on your prospects! Follow the guidance of and learn to navigate objections with grace.
Using tools like Poised can also help you win over prospects and grow significantly as a communicator and salesperson. Our communication coach will help you improve your verbal and nonverbal communication during video calls in real-time and track your long-term performance so you can improve over time.
Sources:
If a Customer Says Your Product or Service Is Too Expensive, This Is What You Should Say | Inc
The Four Types of Sales Objections and How To Overcome Them | Forbes
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