Listen to and Counter Your Prospect’s Objections
The best politicians know their opponent's positions as well as their own. The best athletes know their opponent's weaknesses down to the slightest flinch. It's the same in sales; sales people need to be aware of every potential objection that a customer has to a pitch, and be prepared with a response.
Here are some tips for how to counter any objections that you encounter during a sales pitch:
· Listen closely to what your customer is saying. When your customer is talking, you should listen closely and let them explain exactly what's bothering him or her. People can tell if you're waiting to speak rather than actively listening, so be polite, make eye contact and do not interrupt.
· Repeat what your customer is concerned about. This repetition will show your prospective customer that you understand their concern and that you were listening as they told you about it. It helps to build a sense of trust right off the bat, and also gives the customer a chance to clear up their concern in case you misunderstood what they were saying.
· Determine the root of these concerns. Ask questions to help determine why the customer has their specific concern. By figuring out the cause of these concerns, you can give them a better response to their objection and offer a more appropriate solution to their worries.
· Make your counter. After you have a full understanding of the customer's objection, now is when you can give your response. Use relevant statistics or stories from previous customers to back up your position and to alleviate any fears that they have.
· Follow up. Give the customer a moment to think about the counter so that you don't come off as being too pushy. Then ask if you have properly answered the question by saying “did I explain that well?” or something similar. If there are any additional concerns that the prospect has, then repeat the process.
· Get back to your pitch. Once you have cleared up any objections that the prospect has, seamlessly transition back into your sales pitch and get back on track.
Remember: the key here is to be personal, understanding and empathetic. Customers hate to feel like they're being pressured into a purchase, so listening closely and determining the cause of the objection are extremely important steps to take.
For more tips about countering objections, contact us today at Viral Solutions!
Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer | Viral solutions LLC
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100’s of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.