Opportunities In Objections

Objections are a normal component to sales. How we engage with an objection can alter the course of the sales cycle. We have three options: ignore the objection, overcome the objection, or engage with the objection.

Ignoring the objection will not go very far. There are few instances where that will work. Ignoring the objection will most likely offend the prospect or shut them down.

Overcoming the objection produces varying degrees of success. Overcoming objections was cool 10 years ago. Today, it will just lead you into another objection. After masterfully overcoming three objections, you will still be in the same place, no appointment and no closer to getting one.

Engaging with the objection is an effective way to build trust and rapport with a prospect. Engaging with an objection requires active listening and empathy. Through engagement, a seller listens to a prospect’s objections and clarifies the root cause.

By engaging with the objection, the seller creates opportunities to advance the sale or advance the relationship. Either ending will help the seller. Here is a brief insight into how to engage with objections.

Proper Mindset.

Mindset is everything when it comes to objections.

Only 5% of people are ready to buy what you sell. This is true for any product, in any market. That means 95% of people are in a different part of the sales funnel.

In short, the 95% is not ready to buy. If they are not ready to buy, then we should expect some form of objection. It’s simple math.

Understanding that the objection is the appropriate response should change how you approach the objection. The prospect is not objecting to you because they do not like you. The prospect is giving you an honest response.

As a seller, it is your job to find the need or increase awareness for your product. In doing so, you move the prospect in the sales funnel. Eventually, the prospect will become a buyer.

Be mentally prepared to hear objections. Then get curious. Clarify objections. Find the root cause. The more information you collect the better.

Get Uncomfortable.

Most sellers either attack or avoid objections. Sellers learn so much about their product or service that they truly believe it is the best product or service out there. That is the mark of a great sales person. The true believer.

The prospect is not a true believer. The prospect is most likely a skeptic. In 2024, people have been told so many things about the pandemic, politics, causes for inflation, etc. No one knows what to believe anymore. Do not take it personally. Most people are skeptics.

Hearing objections can feel like being offended. So, sellers pounce on objections. They push them out of the way so they can get back to their reality. In that reality, their product is awesome and no one says any differently.

That is not the prospect’s reality. And if there is going to be any chance of a sale, it is going to happen in the prospect’s reality, not the seller’s. So get uncomfortable. Get on the prospect’s level and in their world.

Most of all, know the objection is coming. Be humble to the fact that the objection has merit. Listen, have empathy, aim to gain clarity.

Create the Opportunity.

In every objection lies an opportunity. An opportunity to build trust, build rapport, advance the sale, or just get more information. All of those factors will help in an overall sale.

Most sales do not happen overnight. As mentioned at the beginning, 5% are ready to buy right now. That’s only ready to buy. It doesn’t mean the prospect pulls the trigger right away.

Approach the prospect with the intention of developing a sale, not having a sale ready made and waiting. Listen closely to what the prospect says. Acknowledge the objection. Ask questions.

Be curious and gain clarity. Be prepared. Know what causes your prospect pain. Know what keeps them up at night.

Ask questions around likely pain points. Position your product as the solution, but do not push it as the only solution. Even if the prospect is aware of the pain or need, they might not be ready to deal with it.

We all put off dealing with problems. Even if we know it is a problem. Have you ever had a leaky sink? A small drip here and there is a problem. It is not a big problem. Until the day it is. On that day, the leak gets fix.

Prospects are people and respond the same way. Even if the prospect is aware of the problem, they are likely looking at solving it in a variety of ways, including ignoring it or trying to DIY it.

Be the solution consultant, not just a one trick pony. Know that there are other paths for the prospect to go. Sometimes they will take those paths. Most times, they will find their way back to you.

The key to this whole process is consistent follow up. None of it matters if we never go back. The goal is to develop a profile of information about the prospect.

The more you know, the easier it will be to get the eventual close.

Take Aways.

Understand that the objection is the likely response from a prospect. It is not personal. It is normal to get objections.

Know that the sale will take place in the prospect’s world. In the prospect’s world objections are truths. Seller’s need to see objections as truths and engage with the objection.

See the objection as the opportunity. Through objections, pain points can be found and needs uncovered. A curious seller can turn objections into learning experiences and opportunities to strengthen relationships with the prospect.