Could your telemarketers be better at handling customer resistance?

Dealing with difficult customers is an integral part of the telemarketer’s role and, done well, can result in significantly higher lead and appointment generation rates.

Yet, handling customer resistance, particularly over the telephone, can fill even the best people with trepidation and awe. Indeed, without a successful resistance handling strategy, a telemarketer will be ineffective at creating sales opportunities over the phone and, they may even be turned away from making outbound sales calls altogether.

Resistance can be encountered at any point in a sales call. Wherever it is encountered, successfully handling it will depend on a strategy that follows some simple rules, maintains an assertive mental attitude and utilises a tried and tested structure. This strategy, about to be described, really works and resulted in a 19% increase in lead generation rates in my own business.

When customer resistance is encountered stick to 7 Golden Rules:

1.?????? Stay calm – slow down

2.?????? Always listen and empathise (clarify understanding of empathy)

3.?????? Use probing questions to clarify whenever in doubt

4.?????? Never minimise or discount a customer’s concerns

5.?????? Don’t get defensive or aggressive, but be assertive!

6.?????? Don’t take resistance or objections personally

7.?????? Stick to a tried and tested structure to deal with it.

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A word on ‘Assertiveness’

Handling difficult customers effectively is all about being assertive (not aggressive), remaining calm, collected and in control of yourself and the situation.

Typically, ‘assertiveness’ is defined as:

‘Expressing opinions and desires strongly and with confidences so that people take notice’

Being assertive in a sales environment is a bit more than this “one-way” definition.

Assertiveness in selling is about harnessing both “push” and “pull” forces.

So it’s about:

PUSH - Letting the customer know what you ‘Think’, ‘Feel’, ‘Need’ and ‘Want’

-Finding out what your customer Thinks’, ‘Feels’, ‘Needs’ and ‘Wants’

PULL - ‘Telling’, ‘Talking’, ‘Stating your own Ideas and Opinions’

-‘Asking’, ‘Listening’, ‘Suggesting and adding to their ideas’

Too much ‘PUSH’ can be aggressive, too much ‘PULL’ can be passive, but getting the balance right is being assertive and can move an aggressive or passive customer to a collaborative / assertive one.

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A structure for handling customer resistance and objections

The APAC Framework helps manage and deal with difficult and challenging customer objections, whenever they occur in the sales process.

A – Acknowledge: First of all, you acknowledge the objection. This is done to rebuild rapport (which suffered a blow due to the objection). You agree that their objection is important and valid. Use the agreement frame. Avoid the use of the word BUT, use AND instead.

P – Probe: Ask them questions. Assume that the reason for their objection is valid. It is for them. Your aim is to find out what the reason is for their objection. What are they thinking? How come they don’t see it the way that you see it? Avoid any questions beginning with the word WHY. Use WHAT, HOW, WHICH instead. WHY has accusatory connotations, it sends the message "Justify yourself”. It builds resistance rather than melting it.

Don’t forget that rapport is only present when you are matching and mirroring the other person. At this stage in the process, you need to understand their thought processes so that you can match them and lead them forward in the direction that you want to go.

We have acknowledged their objection, we then ask them questions so that we can understand their thinking and fully understand the objection.

Once you can see exactly how they are thinking the way that they are thinking, once you can fully understand the objection then you have asked sufficient questions. If you ask questions and still don’t have a valid reason or can’t see what the problem is then you need to ask more questions.

You are back in rapport and you know how they are thinking. You have the reasons for the objection. You will also have been listening intently to their answers. You will have been looking out for stated "beliefs” in the language that they are using. Getting the belief or beliefs that are causing the objection is the key to overcoming it.

A belief is stated as a fact. The truth. The way that it is. The thing is that different people can have different beliefs about the same thing. Each of them thinks that their belief is true. Beliefs can and do change. Presented with the right facts and evidence someone can easily change a belief.

"I believe that it is going to rain tomorrow.” This may stop someone from planning an outdoor sporting activity. Presented with different facts about the weather, different weather forecast that person may change their belief. They may end up having a great day enjoying themselves in the fresh air.

The key is to identify the exact belief. "I don’t like the colour of your product.” There could be several beliefs here that we would need to investigate further. The assumed belief could be that there isn’t the same product in a colour that they do like. Alternatively, the belief could be that the value that the product offers them is not greater than the price, considering the colour. Therefore, the purchase is not justified.

Get all the beliefs that are holding them back from accepting your suggestion, proposal and you are now in a position to answer and address them.

A – Answer: This section is like a mini-presentation. We are now going to address their beliefs and concerns. We are going to provide evidence that shows them that their concern is not actually a problem (assuming that it isn’t). We are going to explain why it isn’t true, why it doesn’t have to be the case. We are going to explain how the value outweighs the cost to them. We are going to explain all the benefits to them.

C – Confirm: We confirm with one question. "Does that answer your concerns with regard to (objection/belief)?”

If the answer is "yes” then we can move on to the next section.

If the answer is "no” or "sort of” or "maybe” or "partly” then we need to go back to the beginning of APAC. Ask the question "What is the reason for that?” and go back to Acknowledging.

Do this for each possible objection and belief.

This stage may only take a minute or less to complete or it may take longer if you have had an outright rejection. Once rapport is rebuilt and you can feel it move on to the next stage.

This simple strategy will help any telemarketer handle customer resistance more effectively – give it a go, it really works!

If you would like training support to help you to implement this strategy with your people or are considering outsourcing your telemarketing altogether, contact us here: https://www.pdtmarketing.co.uk/contact, and a member of our team will be in touch.

Phil Gower

Managing Director – Performance Development and Training Limited

01249 758425

www.pdtmarketing.co.uk