It’s an evolutionary process

If you hear an objection within 60-seconds of your first contact with a prospect, whether on the phone or face-to-face, it’s never, never, never, never, NEVER real.

It’s not an objection.  It’s a trap. 

When I began in sales, my early conversations with prospects usually started like this:

Me:  Hi!

Prospect:  No.

I think that about sums it up.   Sure sometimes the `No’ took different forms, like “I don’t care what you’re selling, I can’t afford it.”  It doesn’t matter.  The words would change, but it was all the same.  They were TRAPS.  They weren’t REAL objections. 

Lead generation is different today in most B2B – and even B2C - sales; but the obstacles haven’t changed much.

Write this on your bathroom mirror:  A REAL objection occurs ONLY when a prospect IS interested in what you have to say AND actually DOES want to change his/her present situation!  At that point a REAL objection can reveal itself in two forms:

• Honestly raised as a statement of concern – it can be phased as a negative or a positive, it doesn’t matter - which tells you how to address your buyer’s needs.
• Raised as a specific question – the more detailed the better – which also tells you how to address your buyer’s needs.

Now, go back to your list.  Label them. 

• Which ones are simply traps?
• Which ones are statements or questions regarding legitimate concerns in search of answers?
• Which ones are questions about specific details?

Here’s what you should be seeing:

1. Early objections are not objections.  They’re just ‘traps’.  Don’t take the bait.
2. When you hear a question or statement about legitimate concerns in search of answers, it MAY be a sign you have their attention.   Note:  Don’t believe this first sign.  Test it.  Ask a few more questions.  Make the prospect sell YOU that s/he’s for real.
3. When objections or statements change to questions about specific details, it MAY be a sign they actually DO want to change their present situation.  Note:  Don’t believe it.  Ask a few more questions.  Make the prospect sell YOU that s/he really does have a problem and wants to solve it.  Good questioning skills are valuable throughout the sales process.

So, objections are not a stage – they evolve!

Traps > general objections > statements or questions of concerns > questions about specific details.

Each time the prospect opens his or her mouth, you are being told where the prospect is in the buying process!  

Note:  NEVER believe the first symptom you see or hear.  Always, always, always test your hypothesis.  Make the prospect SELL YOU on their ‘location’ in the buying process so you know you’re both on the same page.

Now, back to your list of objections

Take all the objections that are really about money - I’ll bet ‘can’t afford it’ and ‘no budget’ are on the list – and count all of the as ONE objection.  

Now, get rid of all other duplications; you’ll be able to see them.

How many did you get?  I’ll bet you didn’t come up with ten different objections that weren’t traps, which means you couldn’t name nine others besides ‘money’.  Many people don’t even get to FIVE!

How do I know?   I’ve never been in front of a convention of 300 professionals – brainstorming together – who could get the list to ten without duplication.

Virtually every objection revolves around

1. Money
2. A product feature/application, or
3. a trap.

Find seven more.  You can likely get it to five or six if you try hard (seasonal business, etc), but there really aren’t that many!

So, if there aren’t that many, why can’t we see them or handle them?

It’s like a hitter at the plate (here comes another sports analogy).  How many pitches are there?  Fast ball, curve ball, slider, knuckle-ball, change-up.   Okay, there’s five.  There may be a couple others.  But, if major leaguers know all the pitches they will face, why do they have trouble?

Answer:  They don’t know WHEN they will appear, or exactly WHERE around the plate they will be. 

Aha!  So, it’s WHERE in the count the pitch comes that makes it hard to spot.  Does this apply to selling?  You bet your cell phone it does! 

In Selling, it’s When, Not What

In selling, it’s WHEN you hear an objection that’s far more telling than WHAT the prospect says. 

Example:  If you’re doing one of your fancy, glitzy, media-drenched ‘presentations’ in front of a prospect that still doesn’t want to change his/her present situation, you’re not even in the same conversation, let alone the same sale.  You have to match what you’re doing to where the buyer ‘is’ mentally.  You need to think strategically.  Glitzy tactics won’t matter if you’re on the wrong page.

1. Make the suspect actively demonstrate to you that you have his/her full attention (glazed expressions don’t qualify).  Do something to get the prospect to exhibit active physical involvement in the process.  Get your prospect engaged!

2. It’s all about questioning.  If you have a strategic process for questioning, you can listen for – and even create - the clues that the prospect is interested – and this is key:  They must be interested in what YOU have to say!   My strategic process – the one that worked best for me – was what I called my Three Golden Questions.  They virtually always generated the clues I needed.  The clues?   You’ll hear questions or statements that don’t sound like traps.  They’ll actually start addressing what are legitimate concerns.

• Note:  No prospect will be interested in what you have to say until YOU uncover their wants, needs, desires, dissatisfactions…. And you can get them to put a VALUE on the solution.  You can download an article about my Three Golden Questions here.  

Remember, your prospects DO need help.  Costs are high, business is slow, they DO want to get answers.  They don’t know YOU can help!  So, they talk to their wives, husbands, hairdressers, neighbors… they’ll even talk to their dog!  Get them to talk to YOU!

But, they won’t talk to you if you’re too busy selling!  They’ll only talk to you if you’re NOT selling.  So, DON’T SELL!  Listen.  They like that.

Post this on your refrigerator:  Listen, good.  Talk, bad.

3. Listen for clues the prospect wants to change his/her present situation. 

   • Remember this:  No one will ever buy “in” or “up” as long as they’re satisfy with their present situation. 

   How will you know when that happens?  Listen for symptoms!

   One symptom:  Objections change to questions

   Or/And:  Objections or questions are about specific concerns the prospect has.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re hearing objections or questions at this point.  The issue is specific concerns.  If they’re questions, all the better.

Okay, Jim, can I present my solution now? Can I, huh?

Not so fast.  And, quit drooling! 

Unlike the manipulative days, you don’t have to force the buyer through the process.  If you’re good at helping them, they’ll lead you!

They key is not what they say, it’s WHEN they say it!

Give your prospect a ‘lie-detector’ test about every two minutes.  Remember, “How much does it cost?” can be a trap for ‘I can’t afford it’ … or a legitimate sign the prospect wants to buy!

Ask yourself, ‘How long have I been here?”  Ten seconds? It’s a trap.  Ten hours?  You’re probably married. 

Let’s go back to your list of objections.  How many of those usually appear in the first 60-seconds?  How many actually appear late in the process?

Getting clear?

Remember, you need to know where they are mentally.  If you listen hard enough – and long enough – they will tell you everything you need to know… and exactly what to do.

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