Handling Objections In Sales

One of the first major distinctions that we have to get clear about is the differences between handling objections in sales when you are face to face and handling objections in sales when you are over the telephone. Understanding this can make or break your sales career.

Handling objections in sales over the telephone:

Many of the sales objections we face over the telephone are not real so don’t even try  handling  these objections in sales interactions.

They are what we call ‘knee jerk reactions’. They are the first instinctive response from people who have been conditioned to say No due to past experiences, training, and even sometimes just to test you out.

These are the sales objections and so called ‘rebuttals’  you are likely to get in the first 2 minutes of a telesales or cold call. After that it is likely you have engaged the other person in a sensible dialogue and are addressing real and valid reasons that they are giving you.

Typically these first knee jerk sales objections  are not grounded in any rational reason why the other person does not want to see you, or engage with you. Let’s face it, if you are calling someone you are an interruption.

No matter how well you plan out the call and the value statements, you are still interrupting their day. No one is sat waiting by the phone waiting for you to call! Thats what you need to remember in handling objections in sales.

Recently I needed to buy a present for my wife. I knew exactly the item she wanted and the large ladies clothing store she wanted it from. My problem was I was in a rush. I parked outside the shop on double yellow lines which could have resulted in a fine for me, and rushed into the shop. As I ran into the shop an assistant at the front door asked:

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

Without thinking I rushed past saying:

“No thanks. I’m just looking!”

It wasn’t until I was about 20ft further into the store that I realised that actually I did need help and it was only my momentum and conditioning that led me to say NO. Once I realised this I walked right back to the assistant, explained what I wanted and she helped me get what I wanted quicker than I could have done on my own.

Don’t worry. Most of the time it is their first reflex and knee jerk reaction. What really matters here is that you have the confidence and poise to give an answer back. You might be surprised but up to 90% of telephone prospecting fails at the first response simply because people don’t have an answer to that first knee jerk negative response or the initial sales objection.

There is more information available in our Sales Objections Study Course available here

What do you need to prepare for in  handling objections in sales?

• I’m too busy
• I have a supplier
• We don’t need it/you
• I’m not interested
• I have never heard of you
• I get 20 calls a day from reps wasting my time like you
• We used you before and we had a bad experience

Can I let you into one of the major secrets of handling these objections in sales or these these initial knee jerk reactions?

With these type of knee jerk responses and objections,  it does not necessarily matter what you say rather than that you say something.

At this point nearly all of the unprofessional, untrained and unskilled salespeople out there will crumble. You won’t if you have taken the time to fine tune your approach to handling sales objections.

Remember, when in doubt with these first knee jerk reactions it is more important  that you hold your ground with confidence rather than the answer you give!

If you remember this then you will be  handling objections in sales  like a sales superstar within no ti

For more information on handling objections in sales why not try out our sales objections home study course by clicking here

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