Dealing with Objections
John Niland
Supporting professionals to build a powerful professional identity in the Age of A.I., rooted in self-worth and self-belief
What do the following statements have in common?
“We have lower cost alternatives.”
“Now is not the right time.”
“The management have postponed a decision due to x”.
“We need to cut costs.”
In one form or another, these are objections. Whether the language is about timing or priority or cost, the effect is the same: it’s a block to hiring you.
So how do you deal with these?
The key to success is to reframe the objection in terms of risk management. Illustrations:
“I understand the cost factor: many companies are grappling with cost issues these days. For that reason, it's important to consider the future costs that arise if these issues are not dealt with. In our discussion so far, you mentioned three risks: the risk of people leaving, the domino effect as others follow them out the door and the disruption to client relationships. Have these costs been evaluated and factored into your discussion?”
“With so much uncertainty, it’s understandable that many people are reluctant to invest in career-development right now. At times, there are valid reasons for postponement; for example, when starting a new job. But what we find in practice is there are four risks that need to be considered whenever development is postponed: the erosion of one's network, loss of opportunity, diminishing remuneration in crowded markets and depletion of energy from long term uncertainty. Can we explore each of these?”
Developing your Insights for objection handling
You will notice that the above illustrations all involve insights, whether developed earlier in the conversation with the prospect (first illustration), or prepared by the professional from their wider marketplace experience (second illustration). The good news is you get to develop these in advance. It’s just as important to be fluent in the language of risk as in the language of benefit. Indeed, in today’s economy where there is so much risk aversion, it’s possibly even more important.
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A lot of decisions are driven by the risks that people want to avoid.
I know from experience that some professionals struggle with this. Somehow it feels wrong. Perhaps it’s smacks of “fear selling” or other disreputable practices. So, let’s address this in a bit more detail.
As in all sound professional practice, your guiding intention needs to be assisting people to make the best decision. Even if they choose not to work with you. This is one of those moments in which self-worth is relevant. One of the practical fruits of self-worth is that you are free from client validation.
Unlike self-esteem, self-worth is not dependent on client rating or approval.
So, if you are genuinely guiding your client towards making the best decision, what’s the problem with factoring in the risks? Indeed, if someone is not willing to do so, does this mean that they are placing client approval above good decision-making?
With your experience, you have a lot to contribute to your clients decisions. Week after week, you see the risks that result when development/security/morale/ design gets ignored.
If you are genuinely seeking to be of maximum use in the marketplace, it’s just as important to be fluent in the language of risk as in the language of benefit.
Playing the long game
If you are genuinely helping clients with their decision-making, they will come back to you time and time again. Sometimes the risks you referred to have materialised. Or they choose somebody cheaper who didn’t work out. They may even refer you to others because they trust your judgement.
Further Resources
Amplify?your Impact by enhancing your Professional Identity for greater success, visibility and motivation: course details here
? John Niland, August 2023. For enquiries about John as coach or speaker, on topics of self-worth and professional identity, see www.selfworthacademy.com
I don't think I'm disagreeing with you, John, but what I've learned from you and people whose books you've recommended to me, such as Alan Weiss, is that when you make 'suggestions' rather than 'demands', nobody can 'object' to them! People can have 'concerns' over them, but you can't 'object' to a 'suggestion'. Thus, when your 'suggestion' does not meet with full approval, you can ask "What alternative would you suggest?" You can then accept or reject that alternative, trading concessions towards an agreement if you reject it, but what you're essentially doing is getting the prospect to 'handle their own objections', so you don't have to! It seems to me that things such as 'considering lower cost alternatives', whether 'the timing is right', 'spanners' that management could throw in the works, and 'cost cutting' pressures should all have been investigated in the course of the sales conversation before any 'suggestions' were made. Maybe this is just another way of looking at being equipped to deal with risk.
Director @ Talent4Performance | Organisation and People Development using Analytics, Brain Science and Change Strategies
1 年Great Post John, It's a good reminder to do the preparation for dealing with Objections in advance so you are not surprised by them and are ready with a calm answer.
C-Suite Transformation Leader | Fractional COO / CTrO | ERP & Operating Model Fixer | $128M+ Cost Savings | PE Advisory | Scaling SaaS
1 年This phrase “we have lower cost alternatives.” fills me with dread as pretty much everytime I have heard it used it has either drove up cost or created a major execution challenge that frequently impacts the customer negatively.