Good things happen when people Object

Objections in a sales or business conversation are a good thing.

You read that correctly.

Too often I have seen business owners, business developers and trades people of various sorts bow out in the face of objection. And yet when your prospects are raising objections they are not saying “No, thank you”. They are actually saying “But how?”.

What is an Objection

When a prospective client or business partner presents you with an objection, they are telling you something important about themselves. If you value your customer relationships, this is when you should be listening carefully.

The product does not match my resources or needs

You have done your proper customer due diligence before hand, and you know this is a good prospect for you. In this example you have not gathered enough information about this prospect’s particular situation.

The value of your product has not been properly aligned with its cost, and with the ultimate outcome for the client. Have you fully understood this client’s context, needs and priorities? This is an opportunity to ask more questions and get the information you need to fix this alignment.

I am uncertain about… 

… who you are, how you work, whether you will deliver, how you will deliver, etc. The prospect is insecure, either because of past experiences or because you have not convinced them of your own strength or commitment.

Bring out the proof and address the individual concerns one by one.

This won’t work so we might go with “other provider”

Think of your objections as questions. Turn these statements around to address specific concerns, and add a question mark at the end.

The prospect either lacks information or has a mis-placed expectation of delivery and outcome. Why do they think that way, or how do they expect the experience will be different with somebody else?

These are just a few examples of objection types, all of which can easily be utilized to continue a conversation, not end it.

Stay tuned for the next part in this series, in which I discuss the value of the objections you receive. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive these directly in your inbox.