Are You Leaving Money on the Table When It Comes to Handling Objections?

You’ve spent weeks pouring your heart and soul into developing a new product or program.  You’re thrilled to finally be talking about it with a potential client.  (And in your heart of hearts, you’re already spending the money you’re going to make from the sale.)

So it comes as a terrible shock when you hear coming out of the client’s mouth, not a resounding “Yes!” but instead “Uh, I’m not sure I can afford it right now.  Let me think about it.”

Objections are a fact of life. 

In fact, many business owners are so wary of hearing no that they avoid asking for the sale in the first place.  Not a profitable strategy.  By the same token, if you wait until an objection rears its unwanted head before you think about how to handle it, you won’t get good results either.

Knowing how to deal with objections means you can approach any potential client conversation with ease and confidence.  You may not always get a “yes” at the end but you won’t have missed the opportunity.

To support your success with making more sales, I suggest 5 ways to turn an objection into a sale.

1) Ask questions
Ask questions to clarify the objection.  It’s important to hone your ability to really listen to what the client is saying so you can make sure you truly understand what the real objection is.  (The first objection is often a smoke screen for something else the client is unable or unwilling to articulate.)

2) Agree and counterbalance
Instead of feeling like you have to convince the client of the error in their thinking, look at it from their perspective.  “Yes, I can see how this might sound like it requires a lot of time to learn.  Have you considered how much time it will save you when you no longer have to [whatever problem your product solves]?”

3) See it as a potential “yes” rather than a solid “no”
Interpret the objection as a request for more information.  Bringing up an objection is a sign that your potential client is most likely weighing out the decision in her mind.  Someone voicing an objection is actually closer to making the purchase than someone who says she’ll think about it without asking any questions.

4) Negotiate a Win-Win Solution
Rather than attempting to “overcome” the objection (which puts you and the client on opposite sides), come from a place of cooperation.  You’re working with the client to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution.  This way you can serve as a partner, rather than a vendor.
 
5) Anticipate
The best way to handle an objection is to avoid it altogether.  And the best way to do that is to anticipate what questions or concerns the potential client will have so you can address them before they’re even voiced.  Very powerful.

The wise (and by that I mean money-making) entrepreneur knows that an objection doesn’t signal the end of the sale.  It just means the client needs a bit more information before they’ll feel comfortable saying ‘yes.”