"Words" Are the Tools of the Professional Salesperson

Customers and prospects rarely give salespeople a new reason for not wanting to do business with them, so it just makes sense for salespeople to become experts at overcoming objections, especially the objections they hear time and time again.

How long has it been since you heard a new objection, a new reason for not doing business with you?

When salespeople are on the buying end of a transaction, I believe they are in a position to better understand how resistant someone can be to a sales presentation. Here are a few of the reasons I believe buyers don't say YES when a salesperson asks for an order:

1. Sometimes buyers resist salespeople because they have not been given any viable reason to leave one company and begin doing business with another.

2. More times than not, the reason is because they are already doing business with a salesperson they like and respect so much that their mind is closed to changing sources.

3. Maybe the salesperson works for a company the buyer had a bad experience with several years in the past and the buyer is a grudge holder, vowing to never do business with this company ever again.

4. Brand loyalty is another common reason for a buyer to resist placing an order with a new salesperson selling a new brand the buyer has had no experience with.

Actually, the reasons buyers resist giving salespeople an order are almost endless, but the most common reasons (like the four I listed above) are the ones salespeople must learn how to overcome.

Perhaps the biggest mistake salespeople make -- regardless of the industry they work in -- is when they convince themselves that they must "open the prospect's door" by buying their way in; that is, inducing a buyer to give them a try because of a low ball price they are offering.

I hear this sales strategy so often from not only salespeople, but managers, as well, that I am convinced that it's human nature to resort to price cutting anytime the going gets tough and orders are difficult to come by.

Price is Rarely the Real Reason.

Price is almost always an excuse buyers use to avoid doing business with a salesperson they don't want to do business with. Or, perhaps more often, telling salespeople that their prices are too high is a negotiating tactic buyers use in an attempt to get a something concrete they can use to beat down the price of the salespeople they do want to do business with.

Salespeople who fall for this negotiating tactic are na?ve.

Here are a few of the "words" that have been most helpful to me when I have had to deal with sales resistance:

"That is the very reason I believe you should do business with us…" Whatever the "reason" or "excuse" the buyer offers, this statement often works wonders.

Let's say that a buyer is blindly loyal to a competitor and tells you that he doesn't want to change horses in midstream.

"Mr. Buyer, I believe that's the very reason you should give us a at least a piece of your business. You'll never really be able to evaluate your current supplier's service levels unless you have something to compare them to. One of the products we receive the most compliments on not just for price, but for quality and service, as well, is ________________: would you be willing to allow us to service your next project so you can get an idea of the value we have to offer?"

When as a salesperson you begin to get a hint that the person you're talking to is not the sole decision maker, there is a time-tested question that you should ask:

"Mr. Buyer, in addition to you, who else in your organization will be involved in this decision?"

Failing to learn early on the names of the each of the decision makers is a mistake many salespeople make, so never fail to ask the above question.

If as a salesperson you are unable to make a presentation to the other person who is involved in a buying decision, it's a terrific idea to ask the person you are talking to this question:

"Based on what you have learned so far about our company, our quality and service, will you support doing business with us when your decision making team gets together?"

If he says that, yes, he will support doing business with you and your company, terrific, but what if he says, no, I won't support doing business with your company?

In that case, ask: "What is preventing you from being able to support doing business with us? What is holding you back?"

Oftentimes salespeople resist asking direct questions that will get to the heart of the matter. This is a mistake. Dancing around a problem will not make the problem go away; it merely brings the selling process to a halt.

Try this:

Make a list of each of the objections you most commonly hear and begin thinking of the best possible responses. Then put your responses on paper and perfect them in writing before you begin memorizing them. When you are successful at overcoming your customers' and prospects' objections, always remember that it will be because of the words you use.

Make It A Champion Day!

"SALES TRAINING MATTERS"