The Real Reason
by Andrew Shedden
If you are one of the enlightened salespeople practicing low-pressure consultative selling techniques, you rarely, if ever, will run into much of a problem in terms of objections from prospects. Because there are so many salespeople out there was still are using "old school" selling techniques the following method will help them, overcome objections.
Good salespeople keep very accurate records of all of their sales activities. One very interesting exercise is to keep track of the number of times, over a month or so, that the first objection isn't the real objection. In fact, over 60 percent of the time that you hear your prospect object, the first reason isn't the real reason.
The famous US businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie was one of the first people who noticed this truth in dealing with others. If you start really listening to what people say, and the reasons they give, you'll begin to notice that this truth spills over to almost every area of interaction in your personal life.
When you talk to your prospects and they give you the reason that sounds good first they aren't consciously trying to lie to you. Giving the reason that sounds good first is very deeply ingrained in our subconscious mind, and the response is virtually automatic. The simple fact is they don't really know you, and perhaps for this reason they are unwilling or unable to tell you the truth your first question.
The second reason they may not give you the right answer or reason to the first time is that they don't want to take you into their confidence. This is different from a lack of trust. When it comes to money matters many business people would rather die than tell you that sales aren't good. I'm sure you've been on sales calls were after doing a little bit of digging you find out the reason the prospect won't buy from you is that they don't have money.
Another very good reason for a prospect not by your products or services is that they don't have the authority to buy. We refer to these as our professional visiting sales calls. Try as you may, you will always run into these from time to time. It's because the prospect either is "running interference" for the real buyer, or feels that there is nothing to lose by seeing you. You get an appointment and make the presentation of your life only to be told, "I like what you're saying but I'll have to talk to Mr. Smith. He's sleeping in his office right now." This is more likely a qualification problem.
If you suspect your prospect is not giving the real reason when raising objections, the question is how do you adequately handle this? Those of you are parents certainly can recall how profoundly irritating it is when the question you repeatedly hear from your growing child is, "Why?" If you really want to raise the defenses of a potential customer as quickly as possible when they raise an objection simply say, "Why? This question will immediately raise their defenses and you're always risking the very real possibility that they will give you the same answer your parents gave you. "Because."
It's vital to the success of your career to have a method of "smoking out" the real reason for the objection you're facing. This method must enable you to handle the objection in the most diplomatic way possible.
Once you hear the prospect's objection and you feel may not be the real reason the best way to deal with this is to simply make this statement "in addition to that…" This is a very powerful way of uncovering the truth without making a prospect want to skin you alive.
Let's take a look at an example, let's say you're talking to Mr. Smith and it's getting year the time to close the deal. Because you're an old-style salesperson you pull out the hoary old fatal alternative close, "Would you like delivery of this on Thursday or would next Monday be better."
Mr. Smith responds by saying, "I don't think I'd like delivery at all."
"Why Mr. Smith?"
"Why? It's because I don't believe in recycling."
"You don't believe in recycling. Why?"
"Because I'm certifiable and I'm going to throw you out of my office."
Let's look at another method.
Mr. Smith responds by saying, "I don't think I'd like delivery at all."
"Mr. Smith, is there a particular reason you don't want to buy from Andrew's Widgets?"
"Why? It's because I don't believe in recycling."
"In addition to that… is there something else perhaps in the back of your mind?"
"Well actually there is. Things are a little bit tight this quarter."
"Would it be better if we split the payments in three?"
"If you can do that I think we've got ourselves a deal."
"Consider it done."
Once you skillfully, and tactfully, are able to discover the real reason then dealing with it is a simple matter. Try this method for the next thirty days in all of your personal and professional relationships.
