• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Submissions
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jan 16, 2021
  • Startup
    • Creating a Plan
    • Funding a Startup
    • Franchise Center
    • Getting Your Office Ready
    • Making Your Business Official
    • Marketing Your New Business
    • Personal Readiness
  • Run & Grow
    • Customer Service
    • Human Resources
    • Innovation
    • Legal
    • Operations
    • Risk Management
  • Leadership
    • Best Practices
    • Communication
    • Green Initiatives
    • Open Culture
    • Strategic Planning
    • People Skills
  • Sales & Marketing
    • Advertising and Lead Generation
    • Marketing Innovations
    • Marketing Plans
    • Online Marketing
    • Relationships
    • Sales Activities
  • Finance
    • Budgeting and Personal Finance
    • Payments and Collections
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Pricing Strategy
    • Working with Investors
    • Working with Lenders
  • Tech
    • eCommerce
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Security
    • Tech Reviews
    • Telecom
  • Shop

SmallBizClub

Helping You Succeed

efile4biz banner
Home / Sales and Marketing / Sales Activities / Don’t Answer That Objection!
Don’t Answer That Objection!

Don’t Answer That Objection!

816 Views

Apr 3, 2014 By Dave Brock

A few days ago, I was tagging along with a sales person on a call. It started well, then the customer expressed an objection. That’s when things started to go wrong.

 
The problem was, like too many other sales people, the sales person had an immediate response to the objection. Watching the situation, when the customer expressed the objection, I could see the hair going up on the back of the neck of the sales person. He felt defensive about what the customer was saying. He thought the customer was wrong and wanted felt obligated to respond.
 
Well, it wasn’t the response the customer wanted, so he teed up another objection, the sales person responded again, and the call went into a death spiral.
 
None of this had to happen. The original objection was actually relatively benign. But the sales person didn’t take the time to understand the customer’s objection. Rather than pausing, then probing with questions to better understand the objection—before responding—the sales person responded, never answering the customer’s original objection and opening a Pandora’s box for more.
 
We all make that mistake. We’re trained to “handle,” or worse, “overcome” objections. We feel compelled to respond immediately. Sometimes we feel a little defensive, sometimes we feel a little angry, sometimes we’re just handling the objection.
 
The very worst thing we can do is immediately answer or respond to an objection, but that’s what we almost always do.
 
Instead of responding or answering, we have to understand the objection. What’s the customer really asking? Why are they asking it? Is there something underlying what they are saying—perhaps we haven’t discovered that yet?
 
When the customer objects, resist the urge to respond. First ask questions, probe to make sure you really understand. Play back your understanding of the customer’s concern.
 
Now that you understand what the customer is really asking, you can make sure you respond to it in the correct manner. You can be assured you are addressing the customer’s real concern, not what you thought it might have been.
 
Yes, it’s a little counter-intuitive. Our instincts tell us to respond, possibly even to defend ourselves. But that’s absolutely the wrong approach. Yes, you have to fight the urge. Better to question, listen, probe.
 
If the customer’s objection comes from anger (Your products suck, your service sucks, your company suck, and you suck!!!!!!!!), it’s even more important to defuse the emotions. Understand what the customer is saying, let her have her say, listen, probe, probe even further, let her vent, until you’ve gotten to the real issues.
 
So don’t answer that objection—until you understand what it really is and where it’s coming from.
 
This article was originally published by Partners in Excellence

Filed Under: Sales Activities Tagged With: Dave Brock, Mistakes, Overcoming Obstacles, Sales Activities, Sales Strategies

Dave Brock

Dave Brock

Dave Brock is the founder of Partners in EXCELLENCE, a consulting and services company helping to improve the effectiveness of business professionals with strategy development, organizational planning, and implementation. Dave has spent his career working for and with high performance organizations, ranging from the Fortune 25 to startups, including companies such as IBM, HP, Nokia, AT&T, Microsoft, General Electric, and many, many more. The work Dave does with business strategies is closely tied to personal effectiveness of the people in the organization. As a result, Dave is deeply involved in the development of a number of training and coaching programs.

Related Posts

  • 3 Sure Ways to Improve Your Sales Figures
  • Should You Focus on Repeat Business or New Customers?
  • 4 Steps to Game the Sales Cycle During & After COVID-19

Primary Sidebar

Random

6 Things Every Startup Should Know in 2021

Jan 16, 2021 By Jeremy Bowler

Have These 6 Qualifications to Apply for a Small Business Loan

Jan 16, 2021 By Jamshed Chaudhary

6 Tips for Package and Labeling Management

Jan 15, 2021 By Jamshed Chaudhary

7 Characteristics Of Startup Founders Who Enjoy Life

Jan 15, 2021 By Marty Zwilling

How Working Remotely Could Affect Your Taxes

Jan 15, 2021 By TaxConnections

Footer

About Us

Small Biz Club is the premier destination for small business owners and entrepreneurs. To succeed in business, you have to constantly learn about new things, evaluate what you’re doing, and look for ways to improve—that’s what we’re here to help you do.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 by Tarkenton Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Terms | Privacy