Are Objections All That Bad?

Many salespeople tend to see prospects’ objections in a purely negative light.  When these salespeople hear objections, they simply see them as obstacles in the way of their finalizing a sale.  However, you can view objections in several ways that are more positive.

A good place to begin examining the positive aspects of prospect objections is to see these objections as challenges, and requests for more information, or cries for help to understand better. 

An objection is simply a person’s way of requesting additional information before making a new and more informed decision.  People WILL NOT change their mind, but they will make new decisions based on new information you provide, and do so in your favor if you properly determine what new information they require to make a favorable decision. To determine the new information a prospect seeks, all you need to do is ask.

Let me ask you a simple question.  Would you like to have a sales job where you would never have to face an objection or a difficult question?  

Any salesperson that would actually enjoy a position without any difficult questions should perhaps go to the ballpark and sell hot dogs and peanuts!  There, fans wave you down and say "Please give me a hot dog!" 

The point of this line of reasoning is that without the challenging aspects of selling, you would simply be a person with a relatively unchallenging job, and sales is certainly not that!  You’d be an order taker like the person behind the counter at McDonalds.

In terms of personal satisfaction, the number of objections you meet on a daily basis in your particular marketplace tends to indicate the amount of money and prestige that is assigned to your particular position. 

In general, people are rewarded for the difficulty that goes with what they do.  Going back to the ball park example, common knowledge tells us that those who sell hot dogs and peanuts at baseball games definitely do not generate as much income as those who encounter objections regularly in their sales positions, such as in-home sales. 

Where would you prefer being on the financial ladder?  Would you rather be on top, facing numerous objections throughout your sales day, or on the bottom, facing no objections or adversity, but making no money?

You should actually sometimes be optimistic when you are faced with an objection or tough question.  You should see this objection simply as an indicator that you are moving either in the direction of successfully completing the sale or in the direction of failing to make the sale.

In either case, you know where you are and what you need to do in order to move ahead, course correct or break off the relationship.  You see, when a prospect voices his or her concern over a certain aspect of your product or service, a chance has arisen for you to redirect your sales presentation. 

You now have the chance to move away from things that the prospect see as undesirable in favor of moving towards those things that the prospect wants from you, your organization, or your product or service. 

Unless the prospect’s objections completely blow away your product’s benefits, you still have the opportunity to save the sale.

Objections also give you the opportunity to hone your sales skills.  The more objections that you face and successfully conquer the better salesperson you become. 

As you begin to notice patterns in the ways prospects present their objections as well as the consistent themes in these objections, you will begin to be able to almost predict what kinds of objections your prospects will present.

You will learn how to ask questions that help you flush them out or even eliminate them.  Knowledge leads to improvement, so knowledge involving the ways you deal with prospects’ objections can only lead to improvement in your sales record, and, in turn, improvement in your income.

While objections obviously present you with barriers to actually finalizing transactions, viewing these objections and tough questions in a positive light can only help you make more sales.

Objections can be seen as challenging aspects of your sales job and mastering objections can lead to an improvement in your sales performance as well as your income. 

Objections may also be seen as "road maps" that point you in the right direction toward the successful completion of the sale. 

Finally, these questions and objections help you to become more skilled in dealing with objections. 

Remember, "practice does make perfect," and in the case of conquering objections it is no different.

Published: May 31, 2008 7:31 AM by Drew Cameron

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