Successfully Applying Coaching Skills to Diffuse Sales Objections and Win Over Customers

Here's one objection that many salespeople would have heard before, "We are special.?What you provide will not work for us."??

Many times, the salesperson would want to explain and justify to the customer by:

• Sharing the vast experiences (and hence expertise), the seller has in dealing with similar cases or requests;;
• Promising to customize accordingly to whatever the customer feels is a unique requirement;
• Showing or demonstrating how those requirements can be achieved

These are great strategies to prove to customers that you can deliver as required.?However, these are only some steps you want to take when diffusing a customer's objection.

In a LinkedIn poll stating, "We are different from others.?What you provide does not apply to our industry/ company.?How would you respond?" Here are the results:

More than two-thirds of the respondents said they would politely ask the customer, "I'm curious.?What makes you say so?" or "Oh wow, tell me more!".?The wisdom of the crowd worked this time.?One of the critical objectives of handling an objection is to make sure that you don't escalate the objection into a full-blown argument; based on my numerous observations of sales encounters, one of the easiest ways to escalate the sales objection is to jump into an explanation immediately.?From the salesperson's perspective, the answer is exactly what the customer asked.?From the customer's perspective, the explanation rebuttals to the customer's objections and makes them feel more defensive.

In addition, when customers raised objections, they might have viewed their opinion as the truth.?Hence, salespeople need to take a more indirect approach than directly challenging the customer's belief.

How Coaching Skills Works in Diffusing Sales Objections

One of salespeople's most common objections is, "Your price is too high." The first 2 things to remember when faced with such objections are::

1. Don’t escalate the conversation into a heated argument, or else the customer will say “you win, but I’m just not going to buy from you); and
2. Don't jump in to explain yourself; this will escalate the conversation into an argument.

The recommended steps to deal with this objection are usually:

• Affirm - "Thank you for your feedback; I can see why this concerns you."
• Clarify - "May I find out with whom you compared that you found our price higher??What will be a reasonable amount for you?"
• Suggest - "Would it help if we bundle in some of our services for the same price?"
• Agree - “If all is OK, can be proceed on with the paperwork?”

While generally effective, price is not the critical reason whether the customer chooses to or not to buy.?The first objection that the customer raises might not be the critical one that makes or breaks the sale.?Hence, by applying some coaching skills with curiosity may uncover deeper concerns and perspectives that will give you higher chances of sales success.

Customer: Your price is too high!

Seller: Thank you for letting me know.???Can you tell me more?

Customer: It's 30% higher than what we got from our existing supplier.

Seller: I see...?...can I ask what you were looking for when looking for a new supplier?

Customer: I need to have faster response times and better technical support.

Seller: What happens when you get quicker response times and better technical support?

Customer: We will then be able to provide better products faster to our customers.

Seller: Based on our earlier conversations, this is exactly what we deliver for you.???What are your concerns now?

Customer: I'm unsure if I can convince my boss to pay 30% more for something we have not tried before, especially when this is our first buying from your company.???Can you give a discount since we will order much more if this goes well?

Seller: I hear you saying that your boss may be concerned since this is the first time you are buying from us.???What else must be done to assure her that we will deliver to your expectations?

Customer: I'm not sure.???She prefers to avoid meeting salespeople and does not like to be sold to.

Seller: Thank you for letting me know.???What if we set up the meeting so that she can raise her concerns with us and explore how to address those concerns together?

Customer: I've not arranged such meetings before; I don't think it's a good idea.

Seller: I hear you.???Who else in your company will be keen to achieve better response times and technical support?

Customer: That will be our Operations Director and Technical Director.

Seller: Yes, I believe we have met them before.???Let's meet up again and find out more about their perspectives.

Customer: I can arrange that, although I need to see how your meeting with them will help convince our boss.

Seller: Oh, no worries; I'd want to find out if what we provide benefits you in your operations and technical abilities. Let's meet up next Tuesday or Wednesday.

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In the above conversation, instead of trying to close the sale, the salesperson is focused on discovering the deeper underlying issues the customer could face.???Some of the key points are:

• The customer was asking for a 30% discount, which the seller probably would not be able to concede.???In any case, the seller did not want to give discounts.
• Since the customer's underlying issue was the assurance that the seller's products and solutions could help the customer achieve better outcomes, the customer may not buy even if the seller gives the 30% discount.???The price was not the critical issue here.
• If, for some reason, the seller cannot meet up with the customer's key decision-maker, then perhaps meeting up with the other key stakeholders could help persuade the key decision-maker.

In any case, by applying some coaching techniques, the salesperson creates the space for the customer to share more of their deeper issues and concerns behind the facade of their price objections.???When the salesperson gains clarity in what the customer thinks or feels, the chances of diffusing the sales objection and winning the sale become higher.

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c.j.?is a bilingual facilitator and coach in English and Mandarin and has rolled out coaching projects throughout the Asia Pacific region.?He is the IAC Singapore Chapter Leader and an ICF Professional Certified Coach.?c.j.?is accredited in various assessment tools such as the Cultural Navigator, TTI DISC, OD-Tools Trait Map and Motivation Questionnaire, Belbin Team Roles, etc..??He is the co-creator of Sales Map sales proficiency assessment and author of the book "Winning the B2B Sale in China"