How can you help a sales representative overcome objections during a sales call?

The best way to treat objection is doing everything you can pro-actively not to generate them. Establishing credibility, listening and being relevant to the customer. Try and understand what. they are looking to fix, avoid and accomplish and provide information that is relevant to their situation. Be authentic...

As a sales leader, you should have a session with your team to write down the top 10 objections and then develop talking points for each. Role-playing those talking points will help the reps get more comfortable how to handle them.

It is important to understand that sales objections are a part of many sales conversation. You cannot overcome an objection with a canned response. In any objection, it is important to first acknowledge the client's objection. You will then have to ask deeper discovery questions to quantify the objection. There are objections you cannot overcome. But if the discovery questions are done well after the objection, you might be able to have the customer overcome their objections themselves. I believe that only a customer can overcome their objections, not a sales rep.

Honestly the way to best move through objections is to not have any, and the way to make that happen is to have a great discovery. When you ask the right questions, you uncover pain points that will help you demonstrate how your product/service will solve their problem. A great discovery will also allow you to demonstrate ROI. Overcoming objections really starts with how you prepare for the first meeting, not closing.

Overcoming objections in a sales call is an art rooted in empathy and adaptability. Start by actively listening to the prospect's concerns, acknowledging them, and then reframing objections as opportunities to provide value. Share success stories or case studies that align with their specific concerns, emphasizing how your product or service addresses their needs. Additionally, master the art of asking insightful questions to uncover underlying objections and tailor your responses accordingly. Remember, objections are often a sign of engagement, so view them as stepping stones to building a stronger connection and ultimately closing the deal.

When you hear an objection you always have to understand the WHY and what is behind. Here your communication skills come into play and with active listening (asking open questions and closely listen) to truely understand, if the customer is repeating someone's opinion and simply wants to know more or what the objection relates to. After you got your understanding confirmed by the customer, you are also in a better understanding on how to address the respective concerns. E.g. "...this is too expensive!", you could simple ask:" Compared to what exactly?"

Actively listen and pause for AT LEAST 15 seconds before responding. This may be uncomfortable but it gives the prospect time to reflect on what they have said and they can then provide even more information.

When you encounter an objection, it is critical that you know how to move through the discussion. It should not be an argument or a time for getting defensive. First, you need to listen thoroughly to the objection. In your head count to three. This will give you a chance to gather your thoughts and not just react to the objection. You’ll want to ask a question or two to make sure you understand the objection, then state it back to the prospect to make sure you’ve got it. “So if I understand correctly you feel that our technology can’t …..” Don’t move forward until your prospect agrees that you understand the objection. You have to fully understand what they are saying before you can address their concern.

When the prospect begins sharing objections, mentally tell yourself.... "what if they're right?" This simple act will force your brain to process their words differently AND help defer the knee jerk reaction to respond. Instead, you'll create space... and in that space you can actually hear a prospect's spoken but more importantly the unspoken words. Probe the unspoken. Create more space and then, you're prepared to have a conversation vs just "overcoming" the objection like it's a checkbox to be ticked so you can close a deal.

The greatest skill to master here is labelling what you are hearing from the prospect and mirroring it back to them. By repeating key info back you are getting the prospect to confirm what you are hearing while giving yourself the time to overcome.

I disagree with many that objections are a good thing, they are not. Objections are not clarifications or questions, they are protests and pushback probably rooted in lack of trust. Avoid objections by only offering after you understand and they have a need, have asked, and are open to collaborating. Don't pitch and get objections. Collaborate on solutions and get buy?in.

Objections actually signals the prospect is really considering your offer. It is a good thing! Listen to what they say and ask probing questions to uncover the motivations for each objection. What is the driving force behind their concern? Once you understand the motivation behind the objection, talk with them about their concerns and how you can help them. Think less about overcoming and objection and more about helping them alleviate a valid concern.

Depending on where in the decision making process the objection is coming up, you may need more targeted open ended questions. If the question is too general, you may not uncover the true cause of the objection. If it is early in the process, offer an insight that related to their objection. If it is price "Yes, this is not a small investment. The clients that we work with who make the investment typically see a 4x return within 12 months. What type of results are you looking to achieve in 12 months?

Asking questions is critical. The #Kristieism for objection handling is: "We handle objections by asking questions to seek to better understand". Trying to talk your way out of an objection always puts people on the defensive; while asking questions makes the person feel heard and like you want to make sure you fully understand the issue they've raised. Try to center your questions around "How" and "What" and try to avoid "Why" which can also put people on the defensive. A lot of times the original objection raised isn't really the root cause objection so digging deeper might uncover a different objection than was originally stated.

This is why discovery is so important! When demoing your product or service, you don’t want to walk through every single solution your company offers. You’ll lose the prospect’s interest. It’s crucial to tailor your approach and demo based on what you learned in earlier conversations. Feature overload is real, so you want to make sure the demo is as relevant and impactful as possible.

Your solutions must help the buyer to reframe the way they think- otherwise they will stay in the negative frame of mind which will make it difficult to make a decision. Cognitive reframing is a psychological technique that helps people to gain new perspectives by identifying and disputing irrational or negative thoughts, and changing how they view things to a positive alternative. 3 common types of reframing are: 1- Compare and contextualize options. What could they do and how will that impact the future? (remember- doing nothing is always an option!) 2- Cost of consequences. What is their desired gain and fear of loss? 3- Content alignment. What do they believe about their goals and how can you align to it?

At the end of every call or meeting everybody should be clear what the next step is. The next step could be an email, and a date of next meeting etc.

Make your intentions or outcomes clear from the start. Allow the prospect to understand that you will be requiring some action after the call or interaction. Set precedence early.

The simplest way to address any objection is to simply acknowledge their current status and ask them a question in response to their objection. It allows you time to think as you dive deeper into truly understanding what the root cause of their hesitation is. Once you have understood it, it is time to put them at ease. Most often it is a misunderstanding on their part.

A genuine objection is actually a buying signal, and it's easy to turn it into an opportunity to close. Imagine, for example, if your prospect has said, "I like your product but the delivery times are way too long". A good response might be, "OK, I appreciate your position, could I ask, if I could improve the delivery time by holding stock just for you and guaranting a minimum stock level, would you be able to place an order?"

Objections are inevitable in sales. What you can do to avoid or overcome them is preparation; it's like doing homework before a call. Ask effective questions in the discovery call to understand your prospect, especially their pain points. Understanding these pain points can determine if your product is a fit. If not, build relationships, be honest, and stay in touch for future opportunities. Learn from the journey. Every deal, whether won or lost, provides valuable lessons in sales. Ask for feedback and explore areas for improvement. Finally, accept that despite giving your best, rejection is possible. Quick recovery and learning from each experience are crucial in the dynamic field of sales and that's what I love about it ??