Universal Truth #9: As soon as a prospect displays resistance, most salespeople drop the price, modify the terms, or otherwise change the offer. But the truth is: It’s only when someone is in a receptive emotional state that you can close. This section will include strategies about keeping customers receptive, isolating the toughest customer objections, and uncovering the real and final objection so you can close more deals more quickly.
As my husband will be delighted to tell you, I am a horrible cook. The good news is that there are a couple of dishes I make well. One of them is buffalo tacos. There are a couple of steps I follow. I write out the ingredients I’ll need—taco shells, onions, cilantro, cheese, avocado, and, of course, buffalo meat. Then, I head to the market. I arrive at the grocery store, select the various items, place them in my cart, and proceed to check out.
Question: At what point did I buy the buffalo meat?
Some people tell me, “When you checked out at the cash register.”
Others say, “When you took it off the shelf and placed it in your cart.”
The right answer: before I even left my home, at the moment I decided to buy it.
The point is that your clients often decide to buy your product well before you ask them. At each step along the way, however, they are evaluating the buying decision they’ve already made. This means that selling isn’t just closing the deal; it’s actually not lousing up the deal the customer has already accepted (but hasn’t told you about yet).
Most salespeople need to shift their perspective when it comes to closing. Too many think a magic close will win them the deal. They say things like: “Give me a good close for ‘I want to think about it,’ ” or “Help me deal with ‘We love it, but we need to run it through human resources, accounting, or the lawyer.’ ”
Selling isn’t that simple. Once the ship is sunk, an anchor won’t do you any good.
Before you even think about closing, you need to study each sales step we’ve discussed so far. More than that, get in the habit of constantly checking in with your own emotional state. Are you radiating empathy, curiosity, and responsibility?
To perform with confidence at the close, realize that customers are probably still deciding when they push back on price or another concern. Initial resistance is rarely real. They haven’t placed the buffalo in the basket, but they may have taken it off the shelf and just need to read the label!
To effectively handle customer resistance, it’s essential to know:
In this chapter, I’ll share all four.
In our live Closers Workshop seminar, I start out with an assignment: “Write out every objection you’ve heard in the last six months.” Participants love this! I play The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and everybody gets juiced.
After sorting themselves into groups of five, they write their objections out on a white sheet of butcher paper. Invariably, each group asks for more paper. The intensity increases. Soon each group has laid out 25 to 35 reasons their customers won’t buy. Next, they tape the sheets up on the walls, a wallpaper of customer concerns.
Some participants become noticeably uneasy. “How can I possibly learn rebuttals for all of those objections?” someone asks.
“Sheeesh! No wonder I haven’t been selling so much lately,” says another.
In that moment, I reveal the startling truth:
“Of all the objections you’ve ever heard to buying anything, there are only six real objections. And by the end of the seminar, you’ll learn how to answer all six.”
There is a palpable sigh of relief.
After I divulge the six real objections, salespeople want to know: “Where’s ‘I need to think about it?’ Why isn’t ‘Send me a proposal’ one of the six? Didn’t you forget something?”
That’s when I explain that these kinds of statements—“I want to think about it,” “We need to check with accounting,” “We’re just gathering information”—are almost always an excuse. Customers use them to mask one of the six real objections.
To close effectively, you must start by learning the difference between an excuse and a real objection.
An excuse is a reason your customer invents so they don’t have to buy. Excuses are sometimes real, but more often they’re defense mechanisms. An objection, on the other hand, represents the customer’s true concern. Both excuses and objections can be easily overcome, but they require different approaches. Learning strategies to distinguish between the two—and overcome them both—is key to your sales success.
Just as there’s a seemingly infinite number of colors in the world—did you know we can see 10 million colors?—customer objections may seem endless.
But just as every hue is some combination of the three primary colors, there are only six real objections. I suggest you write down the most common objections you hear. Then, match them up to the six that I am about to show you. If you find that most of what you hear from customers turn out to be excuses, that’s great news. Why? Because as we just saw, excuses are pretexts—you mustn’t respond to them as though they’re real. I’m going to teach you how to move through every possible excuse to expose your customer’s core issue. Only then can you make the sale.
1. There’s no need: “No-need” objections result from one of two possibilities. First, your product legitimately has zero value for your prospect. For example, if you tried to sell me air-conditioned shoes (yes, there is such a product), they’d be of no value to me at any price. I don’t run the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley in July, and even if I did, my air-conditioned shoes would probably melt before mile six.
The other “no-need” scenario happens when the customer already owns a similar product that works well or that they’re not currently using. Perhaps the customer has a medical condition that prohibits use of the product, or the VP of sales has just invested in a similar product or service. If you are like most people, you’ll find these objections among the most difficult to overcome because the customer simply isn’t sold and doesn’t have the power to overcome the no-need reasoning. But there’s still hope, as we will discuss shortly.
2. It doesn’t make financial sense: Don’t confuse this objection with It’s not in our budget or We can’t afford it. What the customer is telling you is he can achieve his objectives for a lower price or get more value for the same amount of cash outlay. Don’t treat this objection as though it is a financial objection. It’s not. It’s about value, not financial wherewithal. Later in this chapter, I’ll show you the reframing technique you can use to isolate and overcome this objection.
3. I don’t believe it will work: The prospect has doubts about the ease of using, installing, or owning your product. Prospects who feel your offer sounds too good to be true will resist you and your offer. To overcome this objection, consider the customer in front of you. If he’s more analytical, back away from your grand claims. Use numbers, charts, and graphs. Show him customer testimonials and white papers, and consider bringing in a higher authority. Tell the customer what your product won’t do, so he’ll believe what it will do.
4. It’s too confusing: Sometimes they just don’t get it. Your prospects may not have the mental bandwidth to understand how your product will fit into their work or personal life. They’re asking themselves, “What sets this program apart?” or “Why do I need it in the first place?”
Who made it too confusing? Yep, that would be you. Most likely, you dished out too much information, too fast. Why? Because you wanted to hit it and quit it—get the sale and keep moving. Slow down; you’re moving too fast. Listen more, talk less. Information overload, often caused by commission-obsessed salespeople, paralyzes your prospects. People would rather make no decision than make the wrong decision. To minimize this objection, you should:
5. It takes too much effort: We’ve already talked about the fact that your biggest competition isn’t a product or a person, but the status quo. The more complex your product appears, the less likely it is that your customers will choose it. When this objection surfaces, highlight customer service and support systems. Reconfirm your experience and competence. Reiterate how after a quick ramp-up period, their lives will be made much easier. People want things to be easy.
Customers don’t always spell out objections for you like you’re playing a game of Scrabble. They may not say, “This takes too much effort.” Often, you need to delve deeper and read between the lines.
6. It’s too much money: Sometimes, your customer really wants your product, but legitimately can’t afford it. (This isn’t the same as “It doesn’t make financial sense,” which occurs when you haven’t yet shown the value of your offering.) Be wary of this objection; it’s often used as an excuse because it seems like a painless way out. The prospect may not want to hurt your feelings. In complex sales, they just stop calling you back or they may blame procurement. Research shows customers give this objection much more often than it is warranted. It’s always best to isolate this objection before giving up on a sale.
What about the hundreds of other roadblocks you get from customers when you ask them to buy? If it’s not one of the six objections, it’s likely an excuse.
Excuses come in different forms, depending on the product you’re selling. This may seem a bit harsh, but you should think of an excuse as a type of lie. Don’t be surprised. According to Pamela Meyer, who gave the famous TED Talk “How to Spot a Liar,” we all lie.1 The average person tells 10 to 100 lies per day. It starts when we’re infants. Babies fake a cry to get attention and 5-year-olds lie outright (“The dog broke the vase!”; “She hit me first!”) to avoid punishment. Adults tell lies to avoid confrontation (“No, that dress doesn’t make you look fat!”) and to put off decisions (“I’ll give you a ring back in a couple of weeks”).
Perhaps the pervasiveness of technology has escalated the rate and frequency of our game of Pinocchio. We say things like, “Your e-mail must have gone to my spam folder,” or, “I have a GoToMeeting . . . gotta run.” The truth is we’re either overloaded or bored, so we lie to buffer and preserve the relationship.
So why won’t your customers fess up? Wouldn’t it be easier for them to say, “You and your product stink,” “You’re boring me to death,” or “I wouldn’t trust you to switch the radio station?” Before studying the reasons, think of yourself as a consumer. Have you ever snapped off an excuse rather than sharing your real issue? Have you ever not known why you were doing the avoidance dance and yet you did it anyway? I have.
Several years back, I made an appointment with Charlie at the Land Rover dealership. After I test-drove the car, Charlie asked me to buy it—and rightly so. But something felt strange. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I did have some concerns. One was that I’d heard Land Rovers had a poor service record. When I raised this issue, Charlie dismissed my question. Not one baby negative or “Geez, let me check that out for you.” All I heard were superlatives like “This is the best . . . the greatest . . . the most.”
Think about it: Would you have told Charlie you thought he was an inflator and a hyperbolist? (Yes, I just made that word up.) Maybe not; but would you have trusted his intentions?
I didn’t. Instead, I took the cowardly path and gave Charlie a lame excuse. I told him that my brother had the same model, and I had to speak to him before buying. “The problem is,” I said, “he’s in Belgium.” So I asked for Charlie’s card and never called him back.
Typically, customers won’t make a decision because they’re stuck. They are experiencing one of three of what I call “negative buyer emotional states.” In other words, they are stuck in one of three places:
The capital of each of those states is “indecision.”
Look out. Your prospect has no confidence in you or your company. You failed to earn his trust. Remember to use baby negatives to let prospects know you’re not hiding anything. You know the brother-in-law, CFO, or parent who tells the customer what’s wrong with your offer? Beat him to it. I used to love responding to the question “Can you tell me about your maintenance fees?” with “I guarantee they’ll go up,” or answering “Is there good resale value?” with “No, you’ll try to pawn it off on your spouse in the event of a divorce.” Seriously. This made prospects laugh. Then, I’d answer the question honestly and specifically.
Too many salespeople resort to puffery instead of gauging how a prospect feels about your offer, so when they fail to buy, the salesperson is blind-sided. There you have it. Sorry!
People would rather make no decision than make the wrong decision. “Analysis paralysis” stops companies, governments, and consumers from moving forward—often at the expense of what is best and most profitable. Customers fear the shame of making a bad decision, so they often make none at all.
Products and services are more complicated today than ever. But customers who don’t understand your product are usually too embarrassed to tell you. I once worked with a salesperson named Marco. His presentation was three times as long as anyone else’s. He assured his customer in his statement of intent that even a 5-year-old could understand his product. Guess what? His customer, not wanting to be mistaken for an exceptionally stupid 5-year-old, kept his mouth shut. No questions, no objections—and no sale!
Neural research shows that we are better able to concentrate, focus, and make decisions when we aren’t experiencing negative emotions. As long as your prospects are stuck in one of the three negative emotional states, they’re not thinking clearly. Not only will they not make a decision, but they’re probably not going to give you their real objections. Suspicion, fear, and embarrassment all spring from the amygdala. This part of the brain is focused on fight or flight—so you should expect your customers to argue with you or make an excuse and split. This response is wired into their DNA!
The question is: What can you do about it?
It should be obvious by now that how you sell is even more important than what you sell. Remember Suzy and Tony and their extreme approaches to sales? Suzy was our people-pleaser and Tony the hard-charging, boiler room guy.
Amiable salespeople like Suzy never ask the tough discovery questions or challenge the customers during their presentations, so they never build true urgency. They end up making concessions at the end because the customer was never really “in” the deal.
Overly aggressive salespeople like Tony turn on the push at the end of their presentations, when they should be gaining commitment and creating tension all the way through.
Contrast those two approaches with the approach of respectfully assertive salespeople who manage the emotional state of the customer throughout the entire sales process—not just at the end. They do a terrific job of building rapport, but they also know when to roll up their sleeves and ask for the order. Moreover, they can handle customer resistance at the end because they have been doing it all along.
Be assertive, but never aggressive. The following behaviors not only lose you the deal, they lose your company long-term credibility.
• Don’t challenge the excuse. When you argue with customers, you’re just moving them from one negative state to another. For example, if Charlie the Land Rover dealer had either told me to get my brother on the phone or applied pressure based on false scarcity (“The price is going up tomorrow” or “This is the last one on the lot”), I would simply have moved from the state of suspicion to a new state: anger. I might even have left him with a snarky remark. So will your customers if you try to confront them.
• Don’t drop the price. You lower your price, thinking, “If it’s just cheap enough, they’ll buy it.” I’ve got news for you: If you make anything cheap enough (except for those air-conditioned shoes, maybe), someone will buy it. But not if they are in the state of suspicion. Unless you uncover and address the real objection, they’ll simply stay in buying position NINE: “Not Interested Now—or Ever.”
Why are we so quick to drop the price? Many salespeople underestimate what their product can do for their customer or, as my colleague, Adam Robertson, says, they don’t see the value and they’re selling from their own pocket. You will always be better off demonstrating value than debating price. And if you compete solely on price, someone out there will beat you on price. Find out if price really is the customer’s only and final objection. When you try to overcome the excuse, as my former colleague Joe McGriff puts it, “it’s like trying to hit a hologram.” You keep smacking at it. You can whack it from every direction, but you’ll never make contact.
• Don’t just get movin’ (take the next step before you’ve gotten the go-ahead). Katie sells a sophisticated technology in the supply chain space. Deals can take six months to three years to close and involve multiple decision-makers. The moment Katie hears “We don’t know our budget” she gets to work writing a lengthy proposal. Guess what? Three months later she hears, “This is too expensive.” Katie obviously doesn’t dig deep enough; if they say it’s too expensive, they had a budget!
• Don’t be a doormat. Like Suzy, you wait around for customers to call you back, tell all your friends about your big deal that’s coming in any day now, and spend the commission check you haven’t yet earned. Salespeople who lack confidence say things like “Let me know when you’ll be able to decide,” or “I’ll give you my home number, feel free to call me with any questions or concerns.” This isn’t customer service; it’s servility. Know when to say next.
• Don’t be desperate. Consider the following scenario: A salesperson has just asked the customer if she’s ready to make a purchase.
Customer: “I’ll have to run the numbers. We’ll look at the budget for the year and get back to you.”
Salesperson: “But if you don’t buy now, the prices are going up. We are closing out on this model and you’ll have to pay more.”
Customer (irritated): “We’ll just have to take that risk.” [Sound of door slamming.]
Can you guess which state the customer is in?
If you were the customer, how would you feel? How long would it take before you’d get up and leave? The salesperson is obviously insincere, desperate, and uncompassionate. Whatever trust the salesperson created, he just sabotaged it. The salesperson needs to apply wholehearted listening. He needs to validate the customer’s feelings before responding. He might also need an extended vacation.
• Don’t sell a hat that doesn’t fit. Last fall, I traveled to Eastern Europe with a group of executives. While visiting Heroes’ Square in Budapest, a street vendor approached me and asked if I’d buy a fur hat. The conversation went like this:
Street vendor: You can buy my hat for 40 euros.
Shari: Can I try it on? [She hands it to me.] It doesn’t fit. It’s too small. Do you have another hat?
Street vendor: No. It’s a nice hat. It’s made from beaver. Okay, 30 euros?
Shari: It still doesn’t fit. I won’t wear it.
Street vendor: Okay . . . 20 euros, plus another of the same hat.
Maybe there was a language barrier and the saleswoman didn’t understand what I said. Or maybe these were her last two hats, and she just wanted to unload them and go home. The point is: To successfully sell, you must uncover the true objection and answer it. Why would I buy a hat that doesn’t fit, even if it is cheaper? My ears were cold. I needed a hat that would cover them. Could I have torn the two hats apart and made one hat that actually fit? That’s not how I wanted to spend my vacation.
Closing isn’t about finding clever rebuttals to customer concerns or using sharp-angled boxing techniques. Closing is about having the compassion, patience, and heart to uncover the customer’s real concern, address it, and then close the deal.
Now you know the six core objections:
Take the following customer statements and place them into one of the six categories. Remember, although some of these are valid objections, others might just be excuses to conceal the real objection. Determining the real objection is not an exact science, so try your best. Every time you come up against resistance, use the six real objections as a template to figure out whether your customer is giving you an excuse or a legitimate objection. Simple awareness of the six core objections will dramatically increase your performance. Factor that in as you go through this list:
Can you think of more? Every time a customer shows resistance, see if you can connect it to one of the six real objections. Then, be prepared. Create rebuttals for each of the six ahead of time that make sense for your product, company, and industry.
Study the following three approaches for handling objections and practice them repeatedly. Make them your own. I’ve watched dozens of salespeople memorize the words and then fail to deliver them with compassion and empathy.
You may be prepared to isolate objections and answer pertinent concerns, but if you become impatient or agitated, you’ll never get there. Much as being conscious of emotions helps in sales, allowing yourself to be hijacked by your own emotions is quite costly.
There is a natural human tendency—one that you have to overcome—to answer customer objections before isolating them. When closing, you must slow down. Listen. Make sure you understand the customer’s point of view before you try to convince them of yours. Delivering your words with a sharp, condescending tone will never work. Your goal isn’t to be right; it’s to make the sale. This is not a Gotcha! moment.
If delivered effectively, each of these techniques will shift the customer from a negative state to a more receptive state. He will reveal his true concern and open up to your offer:
This approach stands in stark contrast to high-pressure, “This offer is only good for one day,” closes. However, make no mistake, the goal is still to close the sale now or as soon as possible. Build your own variation on the following script:
Customer: We need to think about it.
Salesperson: No problem. I know this is a big decision, you may feel better taking your time. [Pause. Take out your electronic calendar or paper notebook.] How long do you feel you will need to decide?
Customer: At least a month.
Salesperson: [Pick a date about a month out. It’s important to pick an exact time to follow up. It mustn’t be nebulous.] How about I give you a ring then on October 24th—let’s say 9 a.m.?
Customer: That could work.
Salesperson: Okay, I’ll jot that down.
At this point, your customer will visibly relax. In his mind, he won’t have to make a decision today, ask questions, or try to understand anything complicated. He’s off the hook! More importantly, he’s moved from his amygdala to his more resourceful brain (iguana to party hat). He can think more clearly. He may access concerns that he didn’t even realize he had.
Salesperson: Just out of curiosity, let’s suppose it is a month from now and I call you at 9 a.m. on that morning. Are there any questions or concerns you think you might have at that time?
Customer: Well, I think we just need to do more research on your company and make certain this is the best choice for us.
Aha! You’ve moved from the excuse to the real objection.
This approach is powerful. It’s the total opposite of what customers expect. They relax, which opens up the creative part of their brains. Now, they can pinpoint the source of their discomfort. This is a great technique to use when you hear, “I need to think about it,” or, “We’re not ready to decide now.” It all boils down to uncovering which of the six real objections is holding your customer up so you can effectively address it. If you perform this close successfully, your customer will open up to you, and you’ll be able to overcome the source of his real concerns.
Again, what’s important is that you make this technique your own—as presented, this may sound a little manipulative. Your tone and delivery will be critical to your success. Don’t let your hunger for a closed deal cloud your thinking or your customer’s.
Many salespeople freeze when the customer says “I need to think about it,” “We need to talk to legal,” or “We don’t have a budget.” The problem is that these excuses mask the real objection. By restating customer concerns using specific wording, you can uncover which of the six real objections the customer has.
Follow these five steps:
1. Listen intently to your customer’s concern.
2. Use a “bridging statement” such as “I understand how you feel—of course this is a big decision,” and then restate the concern back to your customer. Ask for validation.
3. Isolate the objection in order to make certain it’s the only one.
4. Answer the objection(s).
5. Close.
Here’s the five-step approach in action:
Customer: We’ll need to think this over and get back to you. We’re simply not prepared to make a decision.
Salesperson: I can appreciate that. This is a big decision. It sounds like you have a few concerns before moving forward. Is that about right?
[Don’t ever repeat vague phrases like, “We need to think this over.” Instead, find a way to restate “think this over” more tangibly. Why? You can deal with a few concerns; what you can’t deal with is I need to think about it.]
Customer: Yeah, that’s about right.
[Once you have restated the customer’s concerns, you can go deeper and isolate the customer’s concern using the precise restating language from earlier.]
Salesperson: Other than those couple of concerns, is there any other reason why you wouldn’t feel comfortable moving forward on this?
Customer: No, that’s it. We just need some time.
Salesperson: [Pause. This is important!] [At this point, one of two things will happen: Either the customer will stay with a no decision or, hopefully, they will divulge the real issue.]
Customer: I’m just not certain that this will integrate with our new system. I will need to discuss it with our IT department.
Now you have an objection you can work with.
This is a terrific technique to use when your customer uses a third party as an excuse. You know what I’m talking about. It happens all the time: you’re lucky enough to land a qualified prospect, you create strong rapport, your customer loves your product, and the price is right.
There’s just one problem. They need to speak with their brother (or mother, or doctor, or lawyer, or board members) about it. This brother, of course, is vacationing in Italy, and can’t be reached. I call this third party “the ghost in the room.” (Remember: I gave this excuse to Charlie, the Land Rover dealer.)
When your customer claims they need to speak with someone else, it can be an excuse, not a real objection.
Too many salespeople challenge the customer’s excuse by blurting out “Let’s get the ‘ghost’ on the phone,” or “I’m sure he’ll love it—let’s draw up the paperwork.” What’s the problem? Unless you’re dealing with a product with a long sales cycle, this approach addresses the customer’s excuse—not their real concern.
Next time your customer says, “I need to run this by my brother, mother, dentist, or board members,” consider the following technique. The first time I saw it, I was enthralled.
Ira was selling a slot in a very upscale senior living community to an older couple in Scottsdale. The prospects, Mr. and Mrs. Bayfield, liked the idea of resort-style living: The activities, education, and entertainment went beyond anything they could have imagined.
After completing the tour, Ira asked for the order. The Bayfields assured him they were interested, but just needed to confer with their grown children.
The conversation went like this:
Mrs. Bayfield: We’ll have to get back to you after we talk to our kids.
Ira: No problem. I completely understand. Just out of curiosity, if your kids don’t approve this, I assume you will say no to this community?
Mr. Bayfield: Probably. We would really like to get their opinion, as they’ll be the ones visiting us here.
Ira: That makes sense. Now if they say yes, will you go ahead with this?
Mrs. Bayfield: Absolutely.
Ira: Why would you want to move here? [Pause. This is the hard part, especially for salespeople. Be quiet and let them give you an answer!]
Mr. Bayfield: Well, we love the community aspect. We have friends here, and we’d rather move to a place like this now, before one of us is ill.
Do you see what happened? The Bayfields confirmed their own dominant buying motive. Ira let them realize on their own that talking to their children was unnecessary. This technique incorporates a scientific principle called cognitive dissonance: the disconnect that sets in if we feel that our actions aren’t aligning with our beliefs. The Bayfields’ true concern was to establish a secure environment for their old age. They saw that the act of speaking to their children first had nothing to do with their real goal. Once they recognized their cognitive dissonance, they were able to make their own decision. By asking why they’d say yes, you’re forcing them to articulate all of the reasons in favor of your product. And no one wants to make a liar or of himself or herself.
People have resisted salespeople since the beginning of time. Just as salespeople have a default mode, prospects do, too. Their automatic response is to say, “No way, José.”
Face it. People don’t want to be sold. This sentiment is increasing as we live more of our lives online. According to Terry Jones, founder of Kayak.com, 98 percent of all college students would rather purchase online. They avoid salespeople at all costs. As Mike Weinberg says in New Sales Simplified, the fact that customers have sales resistance isn’t your fault, but it is your problem.2
Fortunately, it is a problem that the right training can solve. Here’s how:
What concessions are you willing to make? You had better know before heading into the close, before your adrenaline kicks in. In the heat of the moment, you might throw in your dog and the kitchen sink before you’ve thought through the financial ramifications of your new offer.
Clearly define discounts, upgrades, and incentives in advance of any negotiation. How far can you go? How far should you go? Plan what the customer will give you in return. Don’t offer discounts and ask for nothing in return.
Remember, knowing what you’ll concede and when you will concede are two different things. You are always better off starting with smaller concessions, and offering bigger ones as your negotiations progress. Never say, “Take it or leave it,” unless you really are willing to walk away. By pre-planning, you will close more deals and appear stronger and more confident to your customer.
After I demonstrate my product to customers, I like to ask them to articulate how they feel about it. “What do you like about what I’ve shown you so far?” Ask this question aside from the obvious impediment of price: “Assuming the numbers work, what do you like about what I’ve shown you so far?” Make sure to ask everyone who is present. They may tell you what they like, or they may give you an objection. Either way, they’ll arm you with valuable information.
When you lead with incentives, you lose credibility—particularly if your customer isn’t already sold. You just sound desperate, which makes the customer wonder what’s wrong with your product or with you. The other day, I walked into a boating store to kill time while my son was next door at a karate class. The salesmen offered to throw in water skis and a wetsuit if I purchased his boat by the weekend. The problem is that although the water skis sounded cool and the wetsuit would be good for diving, I wasn’t sold on the $55,000 boat, so the bonus meant nothing to me.
I bet you’ve heard this before: “Send me a proposal,” or “Put it in writing.” These statements can be an excuse. Solidify all the terms of your deal with all relevant decision-makers before committing anything to writing. If you don’t, your client may change his mind or change the deal, leaving you with little wiggle room.
Also, sometimes when people ask for a proposal in writing, it’s because they really want to just get you off the phone without hurting your feelings. If you sense that’s what’s happening, ask. If you think about selling as a quest for the truth, finding out how your prospect really feels is essential. Otherwise, you’ll be writing a whole lot of proposals that no one will ever read.
I often hear customers tell salespeople that they need to check their budget, mull it over for a while, or otherwise think about the money. So here’s a test. Which one of the six real objections is that?
Answer: You don’t know yet.
Too many salespeople assume that these responses mean the customer can’t afford your offer. But you can’t know what his true objection is until you isolate it. Is it a question of financial sense or money?
Try this reframing technique:
Salesperson: “That makes sense. Let me ask you this: When you say you’re going to mull over the numbers, will you be checking to see if our product/program saves you money or gives you more value for the money you’re already spending?”
This kind of interjection lets you know the real issue, while also making the customer reconsider your product. You’ve highlighted the fact that your product may not in fact be less money, but it may represent a better value. It opens the door to a value discussion instead of letting that same door close on a money objection.
Your customer must be attentive and engaged before you ask for the sale. If you find them fussing with their cell phone or seeming otherwise distracted, stop.
A friend of mine was negotiating a strategic partnership with a successful entrepreneur.
“I made a critical mistake,” he told me. “He was driving on the autobahn in Europe with his wife, and here I am on the other end of the line trying to negotiate the terms, titles, and salaries of our partnership.”
The truth is, first, big deals are best made in person. I know we’ve got GoToMeeting, Skype, Zoom Band, and Boom, but let’s get real. Nothing beats face-to-face communication. How can you pass the “smell test” if they can’t smell you? Fortunately, the Internet hasn’t approached the point where we can small each other online. Be grateful.
Depending on your product, you may not want to show your customers everything! You’ve heard of saving the best for last? When you save a valuable piece of information—for example, a unique service add-on—you’re holding onto a negotiation tool you may very well need.
Remember, customers are taught to say “no” before they say “yes.” Unfortunately, most sales reps respond by dropping price. When you refrain from showing something valuable, you have the upper hand in the negotiation.
Ask yourself, what adds value besides price?
When your customer asks for a discount, you can respond by asking which incentive he’s willing to give up.
Buyers won’t tolerate high pressure or false urgency. Know why your prospect is objecting. I don’t mean the made-up reason they give you, or the made-up reasons you tell yourself. I mean the honest-to-goodness real reason they put up initial resistance. Armed with this information, you can address their true concern and close the deal.
Keep your presentation simple and engaging so he will put the buffalo meat in his own cart. If he gives you an excuse, find out the real problem. What state is he in? Gently lead him out of the state of indecision and into the state of contentment. Today’s customers don’t want to be closed, they want to be led. When you ask for the order, you’re not presenting them with hard work. You’re giving them just the right amount of patience, compassion, and heart work.
Now that you know how to change the emotional state of the buyer, our last universal truth shifts our gaze inward once again. When we’re in conversations with customers, are we looking for what’s right or what’s wrong? It’s a vital distinction for salespeople, and you’ll learn all about it in the next chapter.