TRAPS TO AVOID WHEN FACED WITH OBJECTIONS AND CONCERNS

Stop, Drop, and Roll is helpful for working through objections and questions, yet there are traps and blind spots that will diminish your effectiveness if you aren’t aware of them. Using Stop, Drop, and Roll will keep you from falling into the traps of assumptions, past experience bias, and responding too quickly.

Assumptions You may have heard the objection or question hundreds, if not thousands, of times. For Them, it’s their first time and they need you to work them through it, without shortcutting the process. Avoid making assumptions about what they are saying or what the real objection is. Assumptions stop us from listening and clarifying the objection or question. Our assumption in “where this is going” may be wrong. Take the time to listen and clarify the objection or question.

Past Experience Biases Your relationship and experiences with an existing buyer creates its own set of assumptions that impact your emotional reaction to their objections. You may think “here we go again” or “she always does this.” Though knowing their pattern can help you in preparing for potential objections, once you are actually having the conversation, remain open to objectively finding out more about the what and why of this particular objection or question.

Responding Too Quickly In the effort to resolve the situation quickly, we may prematurely make commitments to a deal. This leads to unnecessary discounts and unrealistic delivery expectations. Stop when they state their objection, pause (take a breath if you need to), and then Acknowledge.