Sales Motivation No, NO, NO!
No. Negative. Not today. Us sales types should never accept that as an answer. After all, we’re taught that no really means “I still have some questions”. No means that you’ve yet to answer all of your Customers concerns and you may need to dig a little deeper to see what’s holding them back. Don’t be afraid to ask the questions needed to determine what is stopping your Customer from buying today. Examples of what might be holding up the process You may not like the answer, but at least you’ll be able to answer the objection.
I spend a lot of time during my day introducing potential customers to our company. The people I speak with are already buying what we’re selling so it’s important to me to learn what they like, and dislike about their supplier. I ask them! Most often, they actually tell me. Obviously that’s not the first thing I ask but once I’ve developed a rapport with them I ask, and then I stay quiet and allow them the time that they need to answer me. Very often, I’ll agree with their reasons for purchasing the products as they do today. Then I’ll remind them that it’s always important to have a second source just in case something that they need isn’t on hand at supplier #1 when they need it. I ask them to allow me the opportunity to earn their business. Few people can say NO to that question. I restate the value of working with my organization and then set out to prove why it’s a wise choice for them. I bring in additional resources to prove our value. It’s important to remember that you have to prove your value to your customer at every opportunity. This reminder should always be subtle but nonetheless, our Customers need to be reminded. They’re busy people. A little reminding often goes a long way.
A list of the reasons people say no and ways people say no and some ideas to keep things moving forward. Notice I didn’t say make them say yes, the days or trickery and manipulative sales are and should be long gone. Think about it for your self to you like to agree begrudgingly or would you rather say yes feeling positive and confident of you own free will. Of course the second option is better, much better. When some one says no they mane a lot of different thing it’s your job to figure out what and go from there. This is not about closing a sale it is however all about creating an ongoing relationship
1) I don’t have a need- First off did you identify a need for your product or are you trying to force a fit? If there is truly something that it solves how well have you assessed the importance to the business? It is you job to believe in what you sell but did you effectively communicate those benefits in words that mattered to the prospect.
I don’t see the value- It might be a price concern but more than likely it is a fear of change. Things that cause change make most people hesitant especially if they are the one who is going to be looked at by others as disrupting the status quo. Look at the value or impact on the entire situation and how if effects others that’s where having support from people that the decision will benefit will come into play and help ease the transition. Keep in mind no one like to be out on the ledge alone, they like to have company and feel that their choices are supported and even appreciated.
2) The Price is too HIGH- Did you start by selling on price? If you go into a conversation and open the door with I can help you save money run, don’t walk to the chapter the truth about price then come back and read this section.
3) It’s not in the budget- I may not well be the budget but it isn’t the end of the line for the opportunity. First is there a real and tangible cost savings with your product? Not fuzzy math but the kind of numbers that show up at the bank? Is there a verifiable increase in revenue or more importantly margin for the customer using your product? These are just the first places to look then consider different financial tools especially if this is a large expenditure or the company is cash strapped. Leasing is often an option and depending on the type of lease it might even move the payment from a capital expenditure to an operating expense, and entirely different bucket of money. Leasing is a financial vehicle to get to the end goal of having them get and benefit from the product. What if leases aren’t an option…is there incentive financing or commercial loans available? Is the business minority owned woman owned if so grant money for a purchase might be an option? If you’re selling a commodity that you know they are using as part of ongoing business then budget isn’t the issue and something else is, retrace your steps and ask some more questions.
4) I’m happy with my current supplier- this is a delicate one. Once upon a time there was a company, most likely there are a lot of companies like this where a supplier just couldn’t break through. They had shown that the delivery issues that had been shared by upper management could be solved by sourcing through them. They showed they had better web based access to product information, they knew their on line tools were being used by the prospect but the orders just never came in. they did their home work and credit worthiness was all in place and fine. They continued to call waiting for an opportunity and then the truth came out. The other supplier had been providing incentives for the purchasing manager to drive business their way. Nothing illegal or even unethical but there was a purchasing manager who felt that if he changed suppliers his free baseball tickets to four games a year would go away. He did what he thought was in his best interest. Now not every situation comes to giveaways but what he didn’t appreciate was how much time he could save by not tracking down missing shipment and shortages, but then again he didn’t want to because he got to be the hero every so often when he worked a miracle and made the gear appear almost out of thin air to save the day. This is a lessen that not all things are what they seem and not all is right and fair in the world and unfortunately sometimes customers do things for their own reasons that we really might never understand.
5) It’s not worth the time-they don’t see the value of what you’re offering time to regroup and look at what you can do for them and the best way to position it.
6) Let me talk to…either they can’t make the decision because they don’t have the authority, They might want other people’s buy off so they are not out on a ledge alone.
7) We tried this once and- this one sounds like a scorn lover. The best thing to do is understand what exactly they had tried and why the experience wasn’t a positive one. It may in fact be a real reason, perhaps one that you could have addressed better before there was a voiced objection but more than likely it is one that festered and stayed hidden. It could be a change related fear.
Why list seven objections when there is a world of possibilities? Well for starters there is the age old theory that it takes seven No’s to get to a yes. So keep in mind that no isn’t the end of the line but in professional selling there is a lot of soft no’s and concerns that get addressed along the way. On any given day it’s better to have a prospect talking to me about concerns and issues openly then hiding behind them and at the of what you thought to be a brilliant presentation say “thanks that was great we’ll get back to you.” Or “I need some time to think about it.” No dialog equals bad selling proposition, the more questions you ask the more interactive the selling process can become because you can then tailor it to what they want and need. The deeper the understanding of what a client can benefit from the better able you are to find that answer and position it.
No’s come in a lot of forms so lets look at dealing with objections in general
Why do people object? They want more information, they need clarity, they want to feel good and positive about the decision you are asking them to make. The world moves to fast today to have people playing games with the reason they are or are not interested, if you’ve done your best and feel you are being played it’s time to make the tough choice…do you walk from the deal? While they make the buying decision you determine if you want to do business with them.
The keeper of All No’s. The Gate Keeper- they are a corporate reality they typically are the administrative staff who feel that it is their sole mission in life to protect their bosses from people just like you. Often it gives them a sense of power and control deciding who is worthy and who is not. So how do you get around them. Persistence, sounds funny right but if you follow up on a regular schedule and they get to know you a little you chances of getting through them are much, much better. Always be polite and even at times address mail to them, send them a note to pass along or something of interest to them that you had learned in your conversations. Make sure they are in your CRM data base with meticulous notes about birthdays, anniversaries, interest’s, kids and grand kids. But most important always be genuine and professional. They can’t always make sure you win the deal but many times their influence is far beyond what their title suggests especially in smaller privately held companies.
Getting even more to the heart of the No’s is what is influencing them. At times it is a simple know and stated as such but so often especially when dealing with complex projects or abstract idea’s the no’s are largely influenced by your competition or if you’ve done your home work and prepared well buy you. Can you create a unique vale? A more complete solution that is unique to your products or services? Something that the competition can’t match? If not you merely run the risk of the customer handing it over to your competition as unethical as it is it happens every day and is done by and to some of America’s largest companies. A real world, after a 20 year relationship where millions of dollars had changed hands on an annual basis a company that as the old saying “no one ever got fired for buying” was in a dog fight with the incumbent vendor who was another billion dollar organization but not nearly the same size of scope. They had plodded along diligently through the good times and the bad serving the customer’s needs but so had the competitor just it was in other areas of the client’s business.
At stake was a 1.5 million dollar one shot deal. The competitor’s design was flawed and quite frankly simply wouldn’t work as proposed if purchased. The incumbent vendor did the work and 31 design revisions later had crafter the perfect solution to meet the client’s needs. They were told they would get the order and a week later when following up on the paperwork were told that it had been awarded to big blue. This caught everyone’s attention and it turned out the client handed over the design to the competition and said “match it”, al the sweat and work was given away. They didn’t add value by charging for it and they didn’t ensure that they had created something of unique value that the competition was able to replicated or offer. Instead they did a great job on good faith and got screwed, It happens but the important part of losing any sale big or small is getting to the heart of the matter as to why. Most times it is not price but the perception of something of value. If it was really price and yours was competitive let you competition suffer with their new client that will demand more and more for free and suck the life out of them with out a hint of a reward.
TIP: You’ll quite likely hear the same “objections” over and over….Take a closed look at the questions that you’re asking to ensure that you’re getting to the heart of the Customers concern. Are you answering them? Are you skirting around them and sounding like a fast talking salesperson? Be sincere when responding a Customers objection. But respond! Don’t let his concern go unanswered. Get together with your Sales Manager and talk about ways to overcome the objections that you continually hear.
