The LIES We All Believed About Making the Sale

The reality of sales is that sometimes you’ll experience objections. Handling objections when we're selling is something every salesperson must do and because I specialize in teaching women how to sell to other women, that will be the focus of this article.

Selling to women is different because we are different. We're just wired differently when it comes to how we receive and process information. For years and years, I always had the girls office, the girls sales team. But you know what? We always kicked ass. And the reason was because we were able to connect with our customers and our clients in a way that other people couldn't. We were able to retain those relationships. So it wasn't just about acquiring new customers, but about retaining those relationships and continuing them for years and years. Our clients never got a sour taste in their mouth from us and we still hit our numbers every single month.

But regardless of how well you’re hitting your numbers, you’ll still hear objections from clients. Have you ever heard one? It may sound like this: It's too expensive or I don't have enough time or I just don’t think now's the right time. It may even sound like: I have to think about it or I have to talk to my partner.

Those same objections go back in time as long as there were humans. They are everlasting. I am sharing how to handle these objections because you will inevitably encounter them in your sales work. And, when it comes to how to handle these objections, we have been fed lies so I want to get this out in the open. I don't want any of you to be held back by the lies that we've been told, such as: you need to stand there until they say YES. You've got to become so annoying that they feel compelled, guilty, and shamed into buying what you’re selling.

I’ve done that and it felt horrible. And the truth is that the result of this approach is customer attrition. Some want refunds or they don't want to work with you anymore. That's the first huge lie that we were told and what I say is: do not stand there or badger someone until they say YES. They're adults. They have a brain. And in order to respect that you need to give them some space.?

The second lie is that you have unlimited territory. You do not have unlimited territory or unlimited resources or unlimited time and if you're an entrepreneur and you are working on a commission basis, which means you only make money when you sell something. And once you sell something, you have to do the work. So, realistically, you can't be selling all the time.

So how do you balance it? You don't have unlimited time. You don't have unlimited resources. And you do not have unlimited territory. Keep your territory small. When I started out in the field back in the 90s we were given territory on a map. We were told to work that territory until we were best friends with everybody. That might be the best training that I ever got. You want to be seen as the helping hand and position yourself as a trusted advisor and you can’t do that if your clients don’t know you.

Many people think as we’re taking our business online that we should just keep connecting and eventually a connection will bear fruit. But this isn’t the right approach. You need to take a step back, relax and focus in. If you were working in your town, you would know that there is a finite number of potential clients. Well, when you go online, it can feel tricky because now you have access to everybody. Online you can reach eight million people across the planet but your ideal client is not everybody. In the broadest sense, your ideal client is anybody who wants the services or products you’re selling. But that’s just too broad so you need to zero in on who you’re trying to reach because if you talk to everybody, you can’t really talk to anyone in a meaningful way. You do not have unlimited time. You do not have unlimited energy. You do not have unlimited resources. And your territory is not unlimited, even with the Internet.?

The Internet is amazing. It makes it possible for entrepreneurs to do business without having to leave the house and it makes it possible to connect with people all over the world. However, I want you to be cognizant of the fact that it is not unlimited. You are going to come across the situation again and again when you’re talking to someone in a sales conversation and they give you an objection. In these situations, I want you to be cognizant of the fact that you are likely to see them again so don't be pushy.?

You may be wondering: how do you avoid being pushy and still get the sale while also not undercharging? Great question. The opposite of being pushy is to be kind, clear and direct.?

I’d like to use an example from parenting a 7 year old boy to illustrate how this works. All parents have probably experienced the difficulty of getting your kid dressed and out the door when you don’t want to be late. What you don’t want to do in this situation is ask the child: do you want to dress first or you want to brush your teeth first? Options in that case aren’t a good thing. He doesn't know what he wants. I know what I want. We need to get out the door to go to school. So instead, I’ll say: it's time to put your pants on. So what I'm saying is a clear, kind, direct question.?

In the same way you can move around the fact that a client is not sure. You have to find out why. So you ask direct questions. Is it the time? Is it the money? What haven't I explained? And then let them know you understand and that you agree with what they’re saying. Tell them it is a big time or money commitment and that it deserves some serious consideration. Before a conversation like this, I always make sure that I have put myself in the position to be their trusted adviser.

Keep in mind that it's not now or never but that one sales call can be the tipping point that helps a potential client decide to work with you. It can also inform how that person responds to you in the future, even if they don't buy from you that day. If you continue to nurture the relationship, if you continue to be that kind, direct, clear, trusted adviser you’ll be able to handle their objections.?

Some people say the same thing that they've been saying since the dawn of humanity. It's not about your product. It's not about your service. It's about the fact that they probably don't understand what they need yet. And it's up to you as the service provider, the seller to show them by asking them the right questions. And so what questions can you ask if they come at you with pushback? Start by asking questions to get the full picture and understand where they’re coming from. Maybe that happens in the form of another call or maybe you extend the call you’re on.?

These are the lies we’ve all been told. We were told you have to stand there and badger a client into buying from you. We were told you have to force people. We were told you have to tell them it's now or never. Do make it clear that you don't have unlimited time or energy. So you can tell them that what you’re offering is only available until the end of the day at the quoted price or with these exact parameters. You can also let them know that if that’s not possible for them right now, there will be other opportunities to work together in the future. You can put time limits on your offers, just be clear. When you're clear, confident and on point that’s very different from being forceful or pushy or demeaning.?

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