Weekly Sales Tips: Why You Should Welcome Sales Objections

You don’t have to be an attorney to raise objections. Chances are, your buyers will have their fair share of objections also. Yes, you read the title of this article correctly. We are going to welcome sales objections!

The Objection Gap

It all begins by understanding the normalcy of objections. Why do I say normal? Because of what I refer to as the objection gap. Every customer comes in with their ideal scenario. The expectations are usually very high. “This is what I really, really want. This is my ideal, be it with product specifications, price, or timing,” or whatever it happens to be. Then they go out shopping and they see their actual, and those expectations are lowered. “This is what I can actually get. This is my ideal, this is the actual.” In between is the objection gap. That’s the way it works. The fact of the matter is that it’s the buyer’s job to have high expectations.

Every episode of HGTV is like, “Craig and Stasia are looking for a two-story A-frame that’s near Craig’s job in the downtown but also satisfies Stasia’s need to be near the beach, which is nowhere near Craig’s job.” But it’s also their job as a buyer to compromise, to deal with the actual. Cue the Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” So you have the ideal,  the actual, and in between is the gap.

If you want an example, think about buying your last car. There was what you wanted, there was what you had. Think about the limitations and what guided you. What caused there to be an objection gap? If you wanna hear something interesting, many of the objections you had, the salesperson never heard you share them. You might have thought, “I’d love a foot-activated trunk release, but there’s no way that I want to spend $1,500 for that option.” That’s an objection that goes unheard by the salesperson. Why? Because what’s the point? It’s just too much money, not even worth it bringing up.

So what about the things that do come up? Think of it this way. Suppose you’re selling new homes, and while your buyer is out looking at the model homes, they come back into your sales office and say, “Oh boy, you got power lines back there. Didn’t like seeing those power lines.”

What’s the most obvious observation I can make about this person? Don’t overthink this one. That person is still here. If the power lines were a deal killer, they’d be gone. But they’re going to bring up these objections because the issue is still in play. Like, “I might buy, I might at least consider it but I don’t know how to deal with this objection.”

Objections, Yes Please

You have to understand something about objections: it’s not personal. Buyers reject concepts. It’s not about you. But buyers who share objections are still there. Your mindset is everything, because if you get concerned or a little bit skittish when you hear an objection, your customer is gonna buy off on that lack of confidence.

The mindset is foundational, but the technique also counts. I want to tell you there is one technique that is universal to every objection you will ever get, ever. There is an auto-response, a go-to, something you should say every single time. Drumroll, please!

Tell Me More

I don’t care what the objection is, I don’t care what the objection is about. Begin your response with, “Tell me more. Talk to me.” Why is this so important? Because I want to learn two things. I want to learn the specifics of the objection and I want to learn the intensity of the objection. When I ask, “Tell me more,” I’m asking my customer to expand upon it to get to the specific nature. But also when I ask, “Tell me more,” I want to know how big a deal is this. That’s the opportunity we have.

Adopt that as your auto-response, no matter what the objection is. This is the way we keep people out of the objection gap and close more sales. Speaking of closing, during the month of March, Closing 2.0 is the featured item over in the Shore Store. You can get both the book and the course at a lower price this month only.

Until next time, learn more, to earn more.