Defusing Objections : Mindset

Mindset

Resist the urge to overcome the objection. Instead seek to understand the truth.  

Rather than “overcoming objections” - or meeting them head on - lean back. Overcoming objections often feels defensive to your prospect, which will in turn prompt them to defend their original objection. In other words, it creates unnecessary pressure for them and for you. So rather than defending, lean back with a question to learn more about why they’re objecting in the first place. For example, instead of overcoming an objection like “send me some information,” try instead asking a question like “what kind of information would be most helpful?”

Seek to understand the objection by putting yourself in your prospect’s shoes.

Empathy is a powerful sales tool. The only way to empathize is to really understand your prospects and what’s going on with them. Ask questions and listen so you can begin to comprehend their situation, and how it feels to them. Listening more than you talk is the best way to empathize. Try shooting for listening 70-80% of the time. 

Use humor to diffuse pressure (but only if it feels comfortable and natural for you). 

Sales is a high pressure endeavor for everyone involved, but it doesn’t have to be that way. One way to reduce the pressure is to get people to laugh. Try adding some humor like this:

• Prospect: “We don’t have a budget.”
• You: “Why not just put this on on your personal credit card?  We take Visa, American Express, Bitcoin…”
• Prospect: “Your price is too high.
• You: “Do you have a Groupon?

Your goal is to open the conversation and get to the truth behind the objections, not to “overcome” objections. 

People have their guards up around salespeople because of the bad experiences they’ve had with telemarketers, mall kiosk people, and car salespeople.  It’s an automatic reflex reaction to salespeople. 

So whenever you hear an objection,  you need a way to determine if it’s true or false.

For example: “The timing is bad” - True or false?  False. Why? Because there’s no reason or “oomph” behind it.

How about this one, True or False?

“The timing is bad because I have to run into a meeting with my boss in literally 3 minutes who will kill me if I’m late”.  

That’s true because the prospects backed it up with a reason.  There’s “oomph” behind the response.  

Here’s a 5 step approach that will help you get to more truth when hearing an objection. 

• Let’s take this objection- “We don’t have a budget.”

Step 1: Listen

Definitely the most important step of this approach.

Step 2: Defuse

You: “That’s OK.  Most of the folks don’t have a budget when I call.  Do you have a Groupon?”

When you say this in a calm and relaxed voice, it disarms people because it validates what they said while making them smile. Few things reduce pressure more than humor. 

Step 3: Encourage

“Just curious, is it that (1) budgets are frozen right now, (2) this just isn’t a priority for you folks or (3) that you’re not sure how to get a budget for this?”

Step 4: Isolate: 

Assuming for a moment you had the budget, is this something you’d want to move forward with this week?

Step 5: Respond

“Hey Bob, would you be open to working together to see if we can build a business case for this?”

This approach opens up the dialogue and creates an environment of trust because it puts your prospect in control, not you. 

You’re simply asking if they’re open to continuing the conversation and exploring an idea to address their concern. Open the dialogue will allow you to get to more truth so you waste less time chasing.  

With this framework, you can create answers to objections you hear that are unique to your prospects and your business. Each of the objection defusers below follow this framework - feel free to use it yourself!

What do you think?

By: Sales DNA