How to respond to objections “Objections are the hardest part of selling”.

It’s common to hear that responding to the customer’s contradictions is the most difficult step, but this is not true: if the sale is well executed by the salesperson, they are limited and generally easy to resolve.
It’s the needs-discovery and argumentation stages that are the hardest, and it’s precisely because they’re not done properly that inexperienced salespeople are afraid to respond to the contradictions put forward by customers.
When a company calls me for training on sales objections, I inform them that before training them on this point, they must first learn the previous steps, i.e. the discovery of needs and the structure of their arguments thanks to a good sales technique.

“You have to rebut an objection”

I don’t like the word “refute” – it implies proving the customer wrong, whereas there are many other scenarios, such as using the objection to one’s advantage, as an additional selling point, asking questions to find out more, or not answering at all.

“Objections are a bad sign for the salesperson”.

Many sales reps think they represent a stumbling block and bad news. In fact, many customers are simply looking for reassurance and express their concerns by formulating drawbacks, which in fact represent a real desire to buy.
Some sales reps give up at the first criticism, become nervous and can’t hide it, creating even more insecurity for the customer. A good salesperson, on the other hand, has mastered not only the techniques of responding to criticism, but also the answers related to his or her field of activity. He or she can then listen to the contradiction with a smile and confidence, since he or she will more often than not be able to turn the criticism into an advantage for himself or herself.

“All objections are true”

Yet another myth: some objections are true and are a real barrier to purchase, while others hide the real reason, they are false and you’ll have to find the barrier behind them. There’s no point in trying to answer a false objection, since it’s not the real reason for refusing to buy. You need to ask questions to try and find the real reason, so that you can respond and increase your sales.

“You must always answer a contradiction with a question”.

Knowing that some objections are false, some sales methods recommend always answering them by asking questions in order to find the real reason behind the blockage. Here again, this is a mistake: even if the technique applies, sometimes not all objections are false. It’s quicker and more effective to respond directly with the appropriate answer, lightening communication and making it more reactive and pleasant.
Sometimes customers also voice unimportant criticisms, in which case it’s just better to let it go and not respond. For example, if a customer criticizes the color of a product, but is going to buy anyway, it’s irrelevant to ask him why, to focus him on the problem and risk giving him the opportunity to give himself rational reasons for not buying when he’s ready to do so; it’s better to divert the conversation to something else, such as the benefits of the product that he’ll be able to enjoy.

The response process

So what do you do when you receive an objection? Some methods recommend going through a nine-step process to deal with objections, but this is far too long and therefore impractical. Here’s the ideal process:

• Listen to the objection all the way through, otherwise you won’t be able to answer it and you’ll offend the customer.
• Accueillez la remarque avec une phrase d’accueil comme :
  1. I agree with you
  2. I know what you mean
  3. I understand your situation
  4. I hear you

As you can see, you can have different levels of empathy

• Deal with the obstacle

You then have three options:

• You can answer, and you want to answer, because it’s to your advantage.
• You can’t answer, because the objection is too general or vague, or hides another objection.
• You don’t want to answer because you don’t think it’s relevant, you don’t think it’s the right time, or you simply don’t have an answer and don’t want to answer it and risk giving importance to a point that’s unfavorable to you.

You need to know how to respond to objections so that you’re strong and solid in front of the customer, and the rest of the sale will go smoothly.

Jean-Pierre Mercier

Our online sales training courses