Ojections

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From: Mark S. Chatterton [mark@chattertonworld.com]
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 8:40 AM
To: ;
Subject: Ojections

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest challenges facing many salespeople in the competitive markets of today is cold calling for new business meetings and winning new business on the telephone.

In many industries cold calling is the most cost effective way of uncovering new business opportunities yet it is also an
activity which strikes fear into the hearts of even some of the most proactive and confident of salespeople.

One of the reasons for this is the amount of rejection that a cold calling session can attract. Even the best cold callers can
expect a wide variety of client objections and client evasion tactics during even the shortest bout of activity on the phone.

For this reason, many salespeople spend far too much time avoiding cold calling and far too little time actually doing any
cold calling. When consulting with businesses I am always impressed by the imagination and flair that salespeople display
when dreaming up their excuses or SATs (Sales Avoidance Tactics)and reasons for not cold calling.

It's amazing how interesting an admin tray can look when the alternative is cold calling, isn't it?

One sales skill which can significantly alleviate the pain of prospecting and dramatically improve your cold calling skills is
learning how to handle objections effectively.

One of my clients directly attributes £1 million pounds in extra revenues to practicing and using the objection handling
techniques outlined in my first book Objections! Objections! Objections! So working on this area of your tool kit is well
worth the effort.

Handling objections professionally requires a combination of the right mindset and the right linguistic skills. Here are the first
3 of 10 proven strategies for smashing some of the most stubborn objections.

Objection 1: "It's too expensive!"

Most salespeople think that their product, service or solution is expensive. I have asked thousands of salespeople where they
think their product ranks against their competition and roughly 80% think that their product is priced above averagely. If you
think about this statistic, it cannot be right.

So why do salespeople think this?

The answer is simple, because clients and prospects are forever telling us that we are too expensive, that's why. The more we hear
it, the more we believe it. The more we believe it, the more we tend to hear it. This plays right into the hands of prospects
because if salespeople think that their products and solutions are too expensive, then they are going to be much more open to
client negotiation tactics.

Prospects are not going to stop using this objection any time soon but you can change your attitude to it today, right now.
Start by focusing on your beliefs - you need to believe that your product adds more value than you charge for it. The more
you believe in the value that your product adds for your clients,the less this objection will affect you.

Try asking, "When you say that it's too expensive are you looking at the cost on a piece of paper or the total cost of
ownership?"

Objection 2: "I've not got enough time!"

As salespeople we spend a lot of time trying to catch up with prospects and clients. Secretaries, personal assistants and
prospects tell us daily how busy they all are. That gives this objection a ring of truth.

What's more, this objection not only has a ring of truth to it, it may well actually be true and that can make it even more
difficult to deal with. Because many salespeople believe this objection to just be the truth, they do not handle it particularly
well.

So remember this, you're busy too!

And if you're not, you soon will be once you start applying these techniques and strategies. If you've had a good conversation,
built some rapport and uncovered some value that you may be able to add for your prospect and their business, then try something
like this,

"John, I'm busy too so I won't waste a moment of your time. I wasn't thinking of meeting for at least 2-3 weeks. How's your
diary looking…?"

Objection 3: "I don't need it!"

For many, this objection sets off feelings of despair, "I knew no-one was going to buy anything today. No-one's got any money
being so close to… Christmas, summer, Easter, Thanks Giving…"

You can substitute your own moan or a tide of angry frustration instead of my examples if you want…

"Why is our product so over-priced?! Why does no-one want what I am selling? Why does nobody ever buy?"

Stop! Here comes the truth. How do they know? How do they know if they need it or not? How do they know if it will add value or not?
You've not met this person yet, you know little or nothing about them or their business and they know even less about you, your
products or your solutions. This objection is totally meaningless
so try,

"When I first spoke to them many of my other clients said that they did not need it either, however they found it really useful
to have a look at what we do and see how it complements what they're already doing…"

"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail
off to develop them into skills and uses these skills to accomplish his goals."

How true.