Responding to Objections

Once you have reformulated your customer’s objection into a need, it’s time to respond. Usually, this is straightforward—the answers lie in what you have already proposed and in knowledge you already have—but sometimes you will need to be creative to lead your client to a solution.

Playing to your strengths

Before you can move to the final stage of the selling process—closing—you need to deal definitively with the customer’s objections (or unfulfilled needs, as we know them) by using all means at your disposal (see section on Closing in on closing). If you still cannot not resolve the objections, you need to revert to problem-solving mode. If you still draw a blank, call a time out and ask to come back in a day or two with fresh ideas to move forward. Your customer will respect you for it in the long run.

Mopping up the concerns

Your final act in the objection-resolution process is to learn if there are other objections. This may sound like opening Pandora’s Box, but it’s critical. If other objections do exist, you need to learn about them because if you fail to uncover them now, they will certainly spoil the deal later. So ask the question. Keep your inquiry neutral and use expressions like: “Is there anything else we need to discuss?” Try to stay away from negative language and terms such as “objections” or “issues” or “concerns.” If you use words like these, you can give the customer the impression that you know something that they don’t. Keep it simple. If objections remain, go back and repeat the process until you have removed all the obstacles in the way of closing.

Closing in on closing

Highlight the specific benefits

Repeat or rephrase a benefit that the client has forgotten or did not fully appreciate during the earlier presentation phase.

Review the features and benefits

Go back over these trusted selling tools.

Sell yourself

Make your customer feel confident in your ability. Explain why you’re so well placed to address their concerns about service, quality, or specification.

Sell your colleagues

Make sure that the customer knows that you’re part of a dedicated and responsive team.

Get creative

Generate ideas together with your client to modify the strategy: use inclusive language when describing how to overcome objections: “we have to figure out why…” or “our priority is now to….”

Sell your company

Talk about your company’s history, successes, and commitment to excellence.

Create confidence in your solutions

Review similar problems that you have solved for other clients.