ACTION 5: ASK FOR AND WORK THROUGH OBJECTIONS WITH STOP, DROP, AND ROLL™
The final Action in the Facilitate step of WIIFT is to ask for and work through objections with a strategy called Stop, Drop, and Roll, the topic of this chapter. As you work through Facilitating the match of your solution to the buyer’s POWNs, it’s natural that this is when the buyer will think of and express questions . . . and objections. And believe it or not, that’s a good thing.
We can’t work through objections if we don’t know about them. Give your buyers the opportunity to discuss them by asking if they have any objections, concerns, or questions.
Asking for objections may seem like we’re giving buyers an opportunity to slow down or stop the sale. Maybe you’ve been taught to push forward in the sale and hope that objections don’t arise, or perhaps you’ve had training in how to “handle” objections.
Those approaches don’t work well in building loyal customers. Ignoring or “handling” an objection doesn’t make it go away; it just buries it temporarily. The objection will surface again—usually when you aren’t expecting it. Instead, buyers want you to resolve their objection quickly, productively, and with a focus on Them.
To set the stage for collaboration when an objection is voiced, respond with Stop, Drop, and Roll (see Figure 9–1).
Why “Stop, Drop, and Roll?” The term represents an important safety tip taught in many schools: if your clothes are on fire, stop, drop (to the ground), and roll to extinguish the flames. Though we aren’t literally on fire when we hear an objection, concern, or question, the conversation may get heated and seem as if we are.
Stop, Drop, and Roll is a strategy for working through objections or questions:
Stop what you are doing, saying, and thinking to pay attention to the buyer. Listen to their tone, observe their body language, and pay attention to their words. This pause allows you to take a breath and engage your mind before your mouth.
Drop your defenses, agenda, assumptions, and ego before saying anything.
Roll forward by working as a problem resolver with Them using the three A’s as your guide: Acknowledge the objection; Ask clarifying questions; and Answer collaboratively.
Acknowledge the Objection
Acknowledge that you hear the objection and demonstrate you will not fight or flee. Acknowledgment sends the buyer the message that they have been heard, that you are open to what they have to say, and that you truly want to understand their objection.
Acknowledgment sounds like this:
• “I understand that the timing of implementation doesn’t work for you.”
• “What I hear you saying is that there are questions about the reliability of our solution.”
Notice that the acknowledgment phrases focus on the fact that you hear their concern or objection, not necessarily that you agree with them. Agreeing with their objection can seem condescending, as if you are pacifying them, or faking it. It can also appear as if you are working against your company, which doesn’t support the Win3 focus.
There are many ways to begin your Acknowledgment. To keep it from sounding scripted, use phrases that are comfortable for you and that resonate with your buyer’s Tribal Type, such as:
• “I appreciate knowing or hearing _______.”
• “Thank you for sharing that _______.”
• “What I hear you saying is _______.”
• “Uh-huh, or Okay, _______.”
• “I can understand that _______.”
• “It sounds like _______.”
• “If I understand you correctly, _______.”
Be careful that your Acknowledgment does not “name” their emotion, such as: “I understand your frustration . . .” or “I hear that you are afraid that . . .” If they haven’t named their emotion, neither should you. If you name the wrong emotion, you create a new objection. If you tell the buyer you understand they are afraid, or confused, or frustrated and that is not their emotion, they might then want to address that topic instead of the real one. Instead, use “I understand that you are saying _______” or “I hear that you _______,” and then paraphrase the objection.
Ask Clarifying Questions
After acknowledging that you hear the buyer, clarify that you have heard the root objection or concern. This clarification actually may speed up the process of resolution. As American author and magazine editor Dorothea Brande said, “A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved.” That’s why we need to stop and ask a question to ensure we are addressing the right problem.
Ask an open-ended question to draw out more information and clarify the objection or concern. Seeking clarity saves you time and energy from trying to solve the wrong problem.
The clarifying question should be indirect, nondefensive, and designed to seek understanding and more information. Gaps in information often create concerns and objections. As buyers clarify the objection or concern they often talk themselves through it, removing the objection before it becomes necessary for you to offer price discounting, concessions, or changes to the solution or terms.
Segue from your Acknowledgment to Asking a clarifying question with phrases such as:
• “So that I can determine what can be done, . . . .”
• “Let’s see how we might look at this together. Please tell me more about ____________.”
• “I’d like to explore that further . . . .”
Then use questions or phrases that request more information, like the thought-starters that follow:
• “What makes the timing of delivery challenging for you?”
• “Help me understand more about your feelings/thoughts that your resources will be underutilized.”
• “How do you see this getting in the way?”
Listen to their response, paraphrase, and, if necessary, ask another clarification question.
A caution about your clarification questions: Be aware that initially asking the question, “Why?” may cause a defensive reaction. Though we need to understand where the objection is coming from, “Why?” can put the person on the defensive and make it harder for us to collaborate with Them. Instead, ask: “How does _______?” or “What makes ________?” to start.
Answer Collaboratively
After the buyer clarifies their objection or question, you can determine which way to Roll in WIIFT—back to the Investigate step to further explore POWNs or back to the earlier Actions in the Facilitate step to discuss more WiifTs. You may also find you have addressed the objection through the clarifying questions and can simply Roll forward to Then Consolidate.
Since a collaborative approach to objections might be a new approach—and a welcome one—for your buyer, set the collaborative expectation by letting the buyer know that you want to work with Them to identify the best resolution. Give them hope that their objection can be resolved with collaborative Answers like:
• “I can see how this is a concern for you. A client of mine had the same reaction last month. Then we worked together to identify a solution that worked well for them. Would you like to see what we can do to explore additional options?”
• “Thank you for explaining further. What I recommended may not fit as well as I thought with the initial information I had. With the new details you shared, we can look at other options that may suit your needs better.”
Your Answer to the objection may be clear-cut where you explain certain details or information. As you Answer, use the Whats to WiifTs format discussed in Chapter 8 to connect the details to the What’s in it for Them.
At other times you might not have an Answer, there may be several options that could work, or a resolution is not available. These are the situations when your Answer is a collaborative discussion with Them to identify alternatives or change the scope of the solution.
That’s how Stop, Drop, and Roll, illustrated in Figure 9–2, keeps the conversation collaborative. It’s a strategy we can employ at any point in the conversation when an objection or question is stated, not just during the Facilitate step.
Your approach to any objection is going to either move you through the objection collaboratively or create a barrier that you will need to climb over at some point. Using Stop, Drop, and Roll with Acknowledge, Ask, and Answer removes all barriers and advances you through the rest of the WIIFT conversation.
TIMELY TIP
To Facilitate through an objection within a group, you also want to Stop, Drop, and Roll. Stop, then Drop the agenda, emotions, and assumptions. Roll with an Acknowledgment of the objection, and then Ask your clarifying question, first to the person stating the objection and then to the rest of the group if necessary. Group members may resolve the objection among themselves. If not, continue to Ask and Answer as appropriate. Then Roll forward to the rest of the conversation.