Handling Buyer Objections
None of us like to hear “no”. We are raised with this word from our parents and we didn’t like getting it then and we don’t like getting it now. We have something in our mind about how things should go and this little word means we are going to be denied. The irony is that in sales this is a very common answer to our offer. For something so prevalent, you would think that salespeople would be real experts in dealing and overcoming this comment. Not true.
Instead, often the first reaction to hearing no on the part of the salesperson is to go harder. They somehow imagine they can force the buyer to buy. They imagine that if they have some tricky technique they can reverse that declaration. The immediate impulse is to go straight to the answer to counterpoint the objection. This is exactly the opposite of what we should do but that doesn’t stop salespeople from trying it. This is mainly an emotional reaction based on the adrenalin flooding the brain with the fight response. We need to stop that process.
How do we do that? We need a circuit breaker. We need an interruption between our hearing the word “no” and going in for the rebuttal. That is where the cushion comes in. A cushion is a short sentence which is quite neutral and won’t inflame the situation with the negative buyer. We are told no because it is too expensive. Instead of plumbing the thousand good reasons why it is in fact not too expensive, we go to a cushion such as: “It is important to get the budgeting process working well in any company”.
The 5 or 6 seconds which it takes us to say that sentence gives us time to mentally regroup before we try to respond to the client. We have to override the chemicals pushing us to fight, to engage the brain before we speak. The only thing we should have running through our mind while using the cushion is “ask why it is too expensive?”.
Answering straight away exposes us to a big danger. That occurs because we are possibly not answering the right question. We hear “it is too expensive” but this is a headline. We need to read the full article the get the background before we are in any position to respond. The headline may be a fake news headline as well. Perhaps they say that initial response to us, just to hide the real reason. We do this when retail shopping, don’t we. We can’t afford the item we are looking at when we see the price tag. Do we tell the clerk we are paupers who can’t afford such an expensive good. No, we say something else, such as the colour isn’t to our taste, or we are not sure about the size.
When we hear that headline from the buyer we need to ask why that is a problem. We also cannot just go down one layer. We have to dig right in for the deeper reasons. We also need to get these out and even when we think we have exposed them all we should ask, “are there any other reasons why you wouldn’t go ahead?”. We need to uncover the hidden objections. Once the list is completed we now need to have the buyer prioritise which one is the main deal breaker for them. Funnily enough, if we can answer this one to their satisfaction the other objections fade away.
Once we hear the main reason holding them back we have to check if this is a legitimate objection or not? It might be constructed on false information. When I was selling Australian products into the market here, I found that Japanese competitor salespeople would have no hesitation in spreading false rumours about the rival Australian supplier. They would say the supplier was in financial trouble and would be going out of business shortly. None of this was true but that didn’t seem to matter. In such cases where there is a misunderstanding or some incorrect information floating around we have to go in hard and show why that is absolutely not the case. A statement to that fact is not enough – we have to come armed with proof to have any real credibility.
If the objection is true, then we should admit it. It may be that our delivery time is slow because it takes longer to create that level of quality. We explain the background and try to find a way around the timing of supply issue. It may be that we reverse the objection. If they say they cannot afford to buy because business is bad, we can point out that we are the solution to turning the business around. They are where they are today because they didn’t have us as a partner helping them improve their business.
We can answer the objection but we need to know we have our ladder up against the right wall before we embark on a reply. We need to have the breaker in there to get us to a series of why questions to dig down to the highest priority item worrying them. If we can solve their objection then fine, if we can’t fine. We just move on a find another client we can serve.
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About The Author
Dr. Greg Story: President, Dale Carnegie Training Japan
In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and become a 30 year veteran of Japan.
A committed lifelong learner, through his published articles in the American, British and European Chamber journals, his videos and podcasts “THE Leadership Japan Series”, "THE Sales Japan series", THE Presentations Japan Series", he is a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. Dr. Story is a popular keynote speaker, executive coach and trainer.
Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.