How to Deal with Objections
Winnie Anderson - Buyer Enablement Maven
Positioning & Content Strategist | Buyer Enablement Specialist | Content Designer | Copywriter | Content Writer | Ghost Writer
There’s a small (or not so small) cottage industry around training and coaching you to overcome objections.
Google the phrase “how to deal with objections” and you’ll get more than 5 million results.
Go to Amazon and ?search for that phrase and its companion “how to overcome objections" and you’ll find a host of books on prospecting and sales training all promising to reveal “secret techniques,” “surefire techniques,” and scripts to follow.
Let me save you some money and time with just two words:
Stop it.
That’s right. Stop talking to people who have objections.
Stop attracting them in the first place and stop feeling like you’ve got to learn how to deal with them.
You shouldn’t be having conversations with people who have objections.
Let’s start with getting clear about what an objection is and why I think you should stop trying to overcome them.
Friends and clients call me a wordsmith because I obsess over choosing the right word when I’m working on website copy, or content elements like white papers, blog posts, and other marketing tools.
So let’s start by examining the word objection, which is a noun. It’s a thing.
According to Merriam-Webster.com, an objection is “a reason or argument presented in opposition, or a feeling or expression of disapproval."
Ugh. Do you really want to have conversations with people who have "a reason or argument they present in opposition" to you and your offerings?
When you look up a definition on Merriam-Webster’s site, they give you synonyms for the word you looked up.
The synonyms listed for objection include
Do you really want to talk to people about your offerings and how you can solve their problems when they’re going to challenge, complain, fuss, protest, or -- heaven forbid -- raise a stink?
Of course you don’t.
This is why you create content.
The whole point of sharing useful, educationally focused content is to attract the right prospects – who I’m guessing don’t include people who are going to challenge, complain, or protest about your solution.
The root of objection is object. Object is a verb and Merriam-Webster says it means “to put forth in opposition” or “to oppose something firmly and usually with words or arguments” or “to feel a distaste for something.”
Again, do you really want to even have conversations with people who are going to oppose you or who “feel a distaste for” you or your offerings?
I hope not.
The whole idea of “overcoming objections” comes from old school sales strategies that are built on pressure and persuasion.
Today’s buyers are not having it.
You don’t want to be treated that way do you? Of course not. But you do want useful information from someone who is helping you make a decision.
And that’s what today’s buyer wants.
They know how to do their own research. They want to do it on their own time and they don’t want to talk to someone -- who they see as being just out to make a sale -- until they reach a point where they have to.
And when they have a conversation they want to talk to someone who is going to treat them like an intelligent adult.
The whole point of sharing great content is to help the prospect make a decision. And to make the decision that’s best for them.
By embracing this client-focused philosophy, you…
Do your buyers have questions and concerns? Of course. Do they have fears? In all likelihood.
That's because they’ve been misled by others in sales positions. They’ve bought something that didn’t work the way they hoped.
They also may not fully understand the differences between your offering and your competitor's offering. And your potential buyers don't want to risk feeling stupid by admitting that to you.
They may not understand how to prioritize their ?own values and how those values should influence their choice of a ?solution and their choice of a provider in alignment with those values.
They may not know what they need to consider when evaluating or choosing between their options or the solution providers.
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You can share all of that information with them through the content you create and share online. And you can package the most important content elements into a buyer's guide or decision guide.
More than 90% of buyers – whether they be B2B or B2C – start their journey online.
They trust information like articles, white papers, buying guides, and even videos more than they do the information that comes across as traditional marketing or sales materials like brochures or one-sheets.
They trust reviews from complete strangers more than they trust you or your team.
This is where great content comes in.
As the late, great management consultant and author Peter Drucker said,
“Marketing’s job is to make selling superfluous.”
Marketing actually does the heavy lifting for you.
The heart of a client-focused process is content that Pre-Sells you and your offerings.
Pre-selling is what happens when a person who has the problem you solve, consumes your content, and that content resonates with them in such a way that they naturally want to know more about your approach. A pre-selling approach helps them recognize you have the solution they want and you provide it in the way they want it.
When you pre-sell effectively, you…
Educate the potential buyer on the problem, the impact of the problem, why other solutions aren’t right for them or haven’t worked, and how to make the best choice for them. Help them see how to make the right choice and how to have success with it.
Elevate yourself as a trusted authority and solution provider. We respect people who communicate effectively and who can help us learn something we need to. When you position you, your team, and your company as educators or guides first, you build credibility as solution providers and not as slick sales people.
Inspire the buyer to see the future they long for. They can see themselves overcoming the problem they have and experiencing success with your solution. This is critical because the buyer is always taking a risk in making a purchase. And if you’re not the IBM of your industry, it's crucial to build trust and help the buyer feel there's little to no risk involved in working with you.
Invite them to take the next reasonable step that helps them move forward. If you sell through conversations -- especially true if there's customization of the solution or some sort of demo involved -- you want to make sure the lead is read and qualified before the conversation or the demo.
You feel pushy because you sense you're trying to get them to a yes before they're ready.
They feel pushed because they can sense you're trying to get them to say yes before they're ready.
To solve that problem, build in a self-qualification mechanism into your content. Include some type of self-assessment or at least include questions they can ask themselves to judge their readiness for a conversation. And if they're not, then recommend next steps for them. Maybe consume a deeper piece of content...or buy an introductory (and lead-qualifying) product.
No one wants to feel pressured and life is too short to waste in some distasteful conversation with someone who is only out to make the sale. Always phase the call to action (CTA) as an invitation to take the next step.
Today’s buyers want to do as much of their own research as possible. They need and want you to share useful information that helps them to screen you in as a potential solution source or screen you out because your solution isn’t what they want.
You don’t want to be in a conversation with someone who doesn’t want what you offer or doesn’t want how you offer it.
You do want to answer questions that help the person make a decision.
Great content that pre-sells you is part of a commitment to a client-focused approach and brand.
While you don’t want to overcome objections, you do want to answer the concerns a buyer has.
Your prospects have made bad purchases in the past. They’ve been let down by solution providers.
Your buyer is taking a risk in even talking to you.
They risk wasting their time. They risk being pressured. They risk making a bad decision.
They don't want to do those things.
And depending on the size of the organization you sell to, the person may even risk losing their job if their decision to go with you is seen as a bad one.
No one wants to risk that.
Keep in mind, the origin of the word sell is sellan. That word’s definition is "to give."
That’s right.
So give your prospective buyers -- especially your website visitors -- the content they want and need to educate themselves about making the purchase. You’ll elevate yourself in their eyes and will attract better qualified prospects who say yes faster and easier.
All because you pre-sold them on working with you and your company.
Need help creating a pre-selling strategy that works to attract more of your best clients and helps them decide to buy? If you run a small to mid-sized service firm, drop me a note. I'm happy to discuss your situation and see if I can help.