The biggest single difference between good and outstanding sales people is this secret universal principle.

Outstanding sales people take the game by the scruff off the neck without fear.

They understand that it is a logical human psychological response to have questions, fears and doubts. They know this and don’t fear it.

They know this and design their sales process to ‘pre-handle’ objections. They don’t wait for the objection to be raised by the prospect because they know that once it has been vocalised, it is going to be a hard job to get the prospect to change their mind – especially if they are male!!

Your biggest asset in professional sales is your practiced ability to bring up and pre-empt sales objections throughout your sales presentation in a conversational manner. It might go like this:

“William, I know it looks like our price is about 20% above the market rate and there is a good reason for this. That’s the price for the box cost of the product alone. When we look at the overall delivered price to your depots for the coming year then the total investment is actually 40% lower than your existing supplier. We manage this by our revolutionary distribution network. Does that make sense?”

OR

“John, on first glance it might seem we are the most expensive provider in the marketplace per case of product. When you take into account your average order values, and order schedule,  and the fact that we don’t charge a premium for next day international shipping, we are actually one of the most cost effective. I have drawn up a total pricing plan for your planned purchases next year which shows this.  Are you OK with that?”

What this professional salesperson has now done is identified a potential weakness in their proposition and brought it up with a completely believable, rational and value driven proof statement.

By working this way, the prospect sees this as a credible and it eliminates their ability to bring it up themselves as a deal point or a stalling tactic.

The sale person has effectively pre-handled the objection. This stops it ever becoming an issue and stops the sales person ever having to defend their price. No matter how real their justification is, once you get into a defensive posture it weakens your credibility.

Some linking phrases to help you introduce this pre-handling are:

“Steve, about this point in my presentation, some clients begin to think that [OBJECTION] and that’s natural and you may be thinking that too. The reason why that is not going to happen is…[ANSWER] …….”

“On first glance it might appear that [OBJECTION] and the reality is …[ANSWER]”

“You may well be asking how we can make such a claim. Here’s the evidence.”

This process works fantastically well and is a technique that is used in sales letters, marketing and advertising. It works because it:

• Gets in line with the conversation that your prospect is having in their own mind. They are likely to be saying “Ah, I was just thinking that!”
• Stop the objection ever happening because it is professionally dismissed before it ever becomes and issue.
• Demonstrates your belief in your value, price and overall solution because you have the confidence to bring it up first. Studies have shown that 70 -80% of salespeople do not have the confidence to bring up their price (read value) first. The same studies show that when the prospect has to bring it up the chances  of making the sales are reduced by up to 50%
• Follows a psychological principle developed By Robert Cialdini in his book ‘The Psychology of Influence’. It follows that when a perceived negative is brought up by the seller and dealt with in a professional and confident manner then the trust level between the seller and the prospect  are increased exponentially.