The 5 Basic Sales Objections and How You Can Overcome Them

According to Zig Ziglar, every sale has 5 basic obstacles: No NEED, no MONEY, no HURRY, no DESIRE, no TRUST.

You may have encountered many, if not all, of these objections at any stage of your enterprise, whether you are a start-up or seasoned business owner.

Now it may be easy for some to answer or overcome these obstacles during a face-to-face conversation or sales call with a potential client but it’s a different scenario if it is to happen online.

Most of the time, they will not respond to your emails.

You will not hear their objections as they browse your website.

You cannot read their minds as they read through your landing page or ads.

This would translate to wasted ad spend.

They will leave your website.

Offer is ignored. Thus, no sale is made.

Now, let’s tackle each and how we may be able to overcome them.

1st - NO NEED

If a prospect say they don’t need what you are offering, it simply means that they are on top of your funnel or is in the UNAWARE stage.

Prospects may be UNAWARE of a problem because they have more pressing concerns to deal with.

He may be an #interiordesign professional or any service-based business owner who is juggling with client work and looking for more referrals. Most of them would have presence online and even spend huge money for a website that doesn’t get any client.

Another is a homeowner who doesn’t take preventive maintenance on their HVAC unit or simply an individual who thinks that dealing with their diet or personal finance can wait.

What you can do: Educate them. Use great content to help them understand their current situation and prolonging it may even cost them huge amount of money.

This is why health coaches, marketers, and even big brands & E-commerce businesses put out great contents on blogs, podcasts, vlogs, and various social media.

At times, prospects may be aware of the problem but is UNAWARE of the solution you are offering.

You see, by simply understanding where they are in your funnel aka customer journey will allow you to craft that perfect message.

Here’s a simplified formula that I would recommend to meet them on this level of awareness:

GIVE VALUE

ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIP

PROVIDE A SOLUTION

2nd - NO MONEY

So, what does it mean when they say they can’t afford it?

While some may really not have the budget to purchase your offer, many are simply afraid that they can’t afford it.

More often than not, they actually could.

One way is to speak to them about the ROI.

The “now” investment may seem huge but I bet they won’t hesitate if you can assure them of bigger returns.

Here are some examples:

- Cost of Facebook ads are negligible if it can easily multiply their leads and revenue.

- Having that preventive maintenance will save you of any headache and future repair related costs.

- Starting a healthy diet can save you on maintenance medicines in the future + all the benefits of having a healthy body.

Think of ways how your offer is meant to solve your prospects problems, and I’m pretty sure it will be easy to deliver a message where money is really not the issue.

Here’s another that some car dealers use or maybe real estate agents.

“It only costs a cup of Starbucks coffee per day.”

Personally, it’s a good point. If you can save from a cup of coffee or a pack of cigarettes to buy essentials, why not?

3rd and 4th – NO HURRY & NO DESIRE

When shopping around, it’s common for people to say, “let me think about it.”

It may mean that he understands what you are offering and need a deadline to make a decision before he totally forgets about it.

What you can do: Create a sense of urgency by having time or inventory-restricted offers.

You’d see this often during online course launches where sometimes they give as much as 25% discount during the first 48hrs of the launch.

It’s no different when you are in the final hours of a mall weekend sale when both TIME and INVENTORY are running out.

Make no mistake.  Your limited special offer should be genuine. Else, you risk losing your credibility.

5th – NO TRUST

There’s no argument that this is the most powerful & most important sales objection your business needs to overcome.

Because if you are able to prove that your offer can improve your prospects current state and deliver to that promise, there’s a good chance they will come back and rave about their experience with other people.

Here’s what you can do or add to your Facebook ads, website, or landing pages:

-         Provide value upfront such as blog posts, webinars, free trainings, or checklists that will help you establish your brand as an authority, for top of funnel prospects.

-         Social proofs work well so gather testimonials and reviews from happy customers.

-         Products like courses can leverage of an active and supportive community.

-         No-risk money back guarantee can help them focus on the product value instead of the price

-         Include logos of affiliations or organizations you are associated with.

How about you? Can you think of other ways to overcome these objections? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.