Picture this: you have a potential customer that’s an excellent fit for your product.
You know your product can solve their pain points and deliver an incredible return on their investment… but they end up saying “no.”
You’ve just run into a sales objection.
They suck. But they’re part of the sales process and most conversations with real decision makers will have at least a few types of sales objection to overcome.
Swallowing the “no “pill can be challenging. After all, quota to meet, a bonus to earn, and a sales career to further. That’s why you need to learn how to overcome objections and secure that bag.
First off, don’t take the bait. There’s so much you can do to turn that lead into a customer.
Wondering how? Read on to learn how to deal with common sales objections and keep the cell moving forward.
Sales objections are the reasons why a buyer isn’t ready to buy your product or service. And while this may sound like you’re doomed, you aren’t.
Every sales objection falls into one of four buckets. It doesn’t matter what service you sell, who your customers are, or what industry you’re selling into. Below, we’ll discuss the different types of objections, complete with common sales objections examples.
Sales Objection Bucket #1: Lack of Budget
- “It’s too expensive.”
- “I don’t have the cash right now. “
A lack of budget is the most common sales objection you’ll face, which makes sense since all purchases come with some level of financial risk.
As a sales professional, you need to ask questions to uncover what kind of financial pain your buyer is in that you can relieve. For this, you’ll have to align price and pain and you can do this by asking questions like:
“I understand you might not have the budget right now, but how much is this problem costing you each month? “
Once you know this, follow it up with:
“You said {problem} is costing you $X a month, yet our service costs just $20,000 a month. Does it make sense to say your budget will be created by cost savings?
You have to frame the pricing against the cost of the pain the buyer is currently experiencing. This way, your prospect will continue the conversation.
Alternatively, you can deal with budget objections by preventing them from happening in the first place. How? Discuss your service price in ranges rather than giving the prospect a specific number. Something like:
“Our price is within the $5,000-$20,000 a month price range for what you’re looking at.”
When you give them an exact price, say $15,000 a month, it may not be within the prospect’s initial budget for the project. But when you give them a price range, you can continue the sales conversions by following up on the last question with this:
“Where in that range could you see yourself investing to solve {the problem}? “
Get it?
Sales Objections Bucket #2: Lack of Need
Buyers will often say:
- “I don’t see how your product can help me.”
- “I don’t think you can help me. “
The lack of need objection is a blessing in disguise.
You see, the prospect isn’t saying they don’t want to buy from you, but that they don’t know how you can help them. This means the prospect isn’t educated enough on your product and doesn’t know what problems it can solve.
This allows you to give the buyer more information, as well as get more information from the prospect.
Let us explain this in more detail.
If I’m selling our Salesman.org sales success product to sales leaders and they give me a lack of need objection like:
“We already have a long-standing internal sales training program.”
We tackle this with something like:
“We’re helping a number of your competitors right now to skill up their sales reps to sell in the digital marketplace. In the digital world, having a platform to sell from is more important than what traditional sales training teaches them. Does it make sense for me to share how we’re helping your competitors grow in your market?”
Now, who’s going to turn down the opportunity to learn more about their competitor’s secrets?
Exactly.
Sales Objections Bucket #3: Lack of Trust
If a prospect has a lack of trust of working with you they might say:
- “I’ve never heard of your company. “
- “I don’t know whether your product or service is worth my money. “
The next objection bucket you’ll face is a lack of trust between you and your customer. This can be embarrassing for sales professionals, which is why most reps end up abandoning such prospects.
However, this shouldn’t be something to be concerned about.
Remember, when the prospect doesn’t know you personally, they’re not rejecting you personally. So how can they if the prospect doesn’t know who you are, and how can your product help them?
At this point, you have to show them how you can be valuable with an elevator pitch, preferably one that highlights your organization’s authority on the market.
The best way to deal with a lack of trust objection is to say:
“No problem! Lots of our loyal customers hadn’t heard of us before they signed up. Does it make sense for me to explain the value that we can bring to your business? “
Notice how we’ve used social proof and also ask a question, keeping the sale moving forward.
Sales Objections Bucket #4:Lack of Urgency
And if the prospect is in no hurry, you’re going to hear:
- “This {problem} isn’t important for me right now.”
- “Sounds fantastic! However, solving {problem} isn’t our priority right now. “
The goal with lack of urgency objections isn’t to determine if timing really is an issue or whether the buyer is simply trying to brush you off. Instead, to understand this, ask them why it’s not essential or what competing priorities currently have their attention.
Based on the response, you can determine whether the prospect has a genuine reason or is just giving an excuse.
Here are a few tried-and-test responses for this objection:
- “If money and resources were no object, would this be a problem you want to sort immediately?”
- “If I call you back next quarter, what would have changed? “
These questions will reframe the prospect’s thinking, allowing them to see for themselves that buying right now can be a better bet than buying in a few months.
Overcoming Sales Objections
Here are a few strategies that can help you control impulsive answers, respond appropriately and overcome common sales objections.
Practice Active Listening
As your prospect is sharing their concerns with you, be sure to use active listening skills to take in what they’re saying. This is the first step in the objection handling process.
When you hear their objections, listen to understand and not respond. Don’t interrupt them when they’re speaking, and give them time to voice their concerns and sales objections freely.
Validate Your Prospects’ Concerns
Emphasizing your prospect allows you to build trust and validate their point of view. Of course, this doesn’t mean talking down on your product or recommending a competitor. Instead, you’ll use another approach.
For example, if you’re selling a CRM and your prospect is worried about how to implement your software into their complex system, you could say: “I understand that implementing new software can feel daunting. Keeping this in mind, we’ve built an incredible tech team that has tons of experience working with organizations similar to yours and can assure you of a seamless transition.”
With this response, you’re acknowledging their concern is indeed valid, and at the same time, offering a solution to mitigate their fears.
Always Follow-up
In sales, you want the conversation to go forward naturally. If you hear your prospect objecting, ask them follow-up questions to keep them talking. But be tactful while you’re at it.
The goal is to overcome sales objections, not to make them become a bigger deal than they actually are.
Avoid asking questions your decision maker can answer with a simple “yes “or “no”. Instead, ask open-ended questions that allow your prospect to express their thoughts on your product. The more information you get, the more you have to work with to turn the deal around.
Anticipate Sales Objections
Anticipating sales objections means you’re prepared to handle them whenever they come up, making it less likely for you to be thrown off your game. In addition, you’ll already have neutral recommendations up your sleeve to offer to prospects when objections arise to keep sales moving.
Keeping track of all the sales objections you receive throughout your sales career is another excellent strategy. This will tell you what to expect, permitting you to devote extra time to practicing and refining your responses.
Remember, handling prospects with rationale rather than giving them a knee-jerk response will make them more willing to hear you out if you have a solution to offer.
See sales objections as an opportunity to teach and educate your prospect rather than a personal rejection. Sign up for our free sales training to become better at handling sales objections and close more deals.
