Objections Mastery: The Closing Cycle

Newsflash… You don’t get paid when you ask. You get paid when they buy.

Let’s talk about objections, mastery, and how we understand the closing cycle.

In a tough market, there exists this natural tension. The buyer has a choice, and the natural byproduct of choice is that buyers want to take their time. The buying cycle gets longer. Where’s the tension? The more time they spend, the harder it is for them to decide. Long decision cycles are mentally grueling on our customers, and we don’t want that, do we?

This comes down to a common presupposition. A belief that buyers tend to hold in a tough market, and namely, it’s the presupposed idea that they don’t buy on visit one. 

I get that many buyers might feel that way. But for the salesperson to believe that, well, that’s criminal. Great salespeople absolutely believe that a buyer will purchase on visit one.

And in fact, they structure the entire presentation to accommodate that thinking. Now, if you don’t believe they’re going to buy on the first visit, that becomes a self-fulfilling concept, and the buyer won’t let you down. 

Let me put it this way. If you don’t ask on visit one, you are already saying no for them.

This all starts with your belief, but it continues with your action. Are you committed to asking for the sale on visit one? Great salespeople find a way. But what if I told you that even that was not enough? It’s not.

Too many salespeople consider it a victory when they simply ask for the sale.

I agree that it’s a behavioral victory, and in fact, you should be tracking that. But it’s not a results victory, and that’s what we’re after. You don’t get paid to ask. You get paid when they say yes. So you can’t stop when you hear the no; let’s get into that. 

Why do customers say no?

Think about where you are in the process. The sales discussion was going well enough for you to ask, right? They say no because there still exists some underlying objection, something that’s not been dealt with yet, something is holding them back, and that’s where you come into play.

So how do you deal with an objection at the time of the close? Here are five steps for dealing with objections at close.

Discover the Objection:

There should be an auto response to every objection you ever hear. Don’t assume that you understand what’s holding that person back. Go to your auto-response, which is some version of Tell Me More.

The objection might not have anything to do with the home, the community, or the price. It could be tactical, or it could be emotional. But you need to expand. You need to know. Tell me more.

Isolate the Objection

You need to verify that this is the only thing standing in the way. So you can say to a customer‚ ”So, other than that one issue, you’re ready to move forward?” Get used to asking that question.

Overcome the Objection

I’m making that sound simple, but there’s a whole art form here. I could talk about it all day, but I’m just going to give you one technique here to help you, and it’s an advanced technique, let the customer discover the solution. Ask them to solve their own problem.

It would sound something like this. “Let me just give you some perspective to help. If you had to move and this was the only home available, how might you make this work?” When customers solve their own problems, they tend to be more secure in that resolution.

Close on the Resolution

Confirm that the objection has been neutralized. It’s straightforward. “Are we good on that particular issue?”

Ask Again for the Sale

Remember, you don’t get paid when you ask the first time. You get paid when they say yes.

So there you have it, a logical process to help you through those sticking points. But you’ve got to practice that over and over again. Learn more about the closing cycle in my recently updated release of Tougher Market New Home Sales.

Until next time, learn more to earn more!