Why do People Object?

In all walks of life, people are going to throw up an objection to whatever you are talking to them about. And at Xcel Health it's no different! ?The human brain is pre-programmed to say ‘no’.?By saying ‘no’, you don’t upset the status quo.?If you consider what a young child hears in the first years of its life, then it is no wonder that they say ‘no’ a lot!

In a personal setting there might be a conversation where you cannot immediately get what you want/ need or even an interaction with a teenage child (good luck with that one, all rules go out of the window when dealing with teenagers!)?Or, it could be at work where you are trying to convince somebody that actually the thing that you are talking to them about really is the best thing since sliced bread.

Whatever the situation may be, people will invariably object to something that you are telling them and you will have to use all of your skills and power of persuasion to convince them round to your way of thinking.?

In a professional setting this is particularly challenging when your whole job revolves around them agreeing with you!

There are many different theories that you can find on the internet or in management books, but, for me, there are 2 different strategies that you need to employ almost simultaneously to overcome the objection.?It’s difficult to do at first, but as you practice, it does get easier!

They are both equally important, but to start with you need to understand the category of objection that you are confronted with.

There are 5 main reasons that a person will say ‘no’ to you ;

1)?????I don’t understand it – you haven’t done a good enough job of explaining your product/ service/ point of view in a language that they can understand.?You always need to be aware of your audience.?If you are selling technology, the odds are that a person who is retired will not always understand all the technical details (but there are exceptions, of course).?Rethink your strategy and imagine you are explaining it to a family member, that often works!

2)?????I don’t need it – you haven’t shown them why they need it and how it will make a positive impact in their life.?You’ve probably talked mostly about the features and not the benefits to them.?You haven’t found out enough information about them to understand them and then project your product/ service into their life.

3)?????I can’t afford it – you haven’t explained to them why they can’t afford not to have it.?If this is going to benefit them, then surely they need it and is that not a good price to pay for ease/ comfort/ good health??You haven’t shown them how they didn’t even realise that they needed it, but it can change their life.?However, sometimes people cannot generally afford it.?But, if they are talking to you, then they think they need it…

4)?????I need to ask a 3rd party – usually a partner.?This one is really tricky as they are never going to be able to explain your point of view as well as you can.?You have to trust that you have done a good enough job of it, as you now need the person who was not convinced to then convince another person who is probably even less convinced!

5)?????I don’t trust you or your organisation – and why would they??If they have never heard of you or your organisation, then trust will always be difficult at the beginning, even if you are the nicest, most ethical company in the world.?You have to show that you can be trusted to do the right thing by them.

Then, employ the LAPACT technique :

Listen – you need to really listen to what the person opposite you is saying.?During this phase you should be listening to why they are objecting and you can then work out which category of objection they fit into – listening also gives you time to think without coming out with the first thing that comes into your head.

Acknowledge – you need to understand what you are being told and acknowledge that this is the perception of the person that you are talking to.?It may not be your opinion and you may have the killer argument to overcome this objection, but if you answer now and don’t get it right, you’ll have probably lost your chance to overcome the objection.

Probe – ask directed questions to understand exactly what their objection stems from – if you have successfully identified the objection category, then it means you can ask questions to properly understand the objection.?Understanding this then goes a long way to giving you the tools to properly overcome it.

Answer – this is the critical part of the operation!?Failure in this part will mean that you have more work to do to achieve the outcome that you are looking for.

Confirm – this is your opportunity to check that your partner in the conversation has correctly understood what you were saying to them.?If they haven’t, you can then help them to understand your point of view, probably by explaining it in a different way.

Thank – there are some management ideas that say that you shouldn’t thank somebody for their time or for talking to you.?Aside from being polite, it keeps the door open as people sometimes need time to reflect on what they have heard and will come back to you with a positive response.?If the conversation has not ended well, then they won’t be back!

Most objections boil down to one thing : you just haven’t done a good enough job of explaining why your product/ service is perfect for them and how their life can be improved with your product/ service in it!?Think about that and work on your sales pitch!

Good Luck!

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