Much has been written about handling objections in sales. Most of what has been written on the subject has remained unchanged for decades and most of that did not conform to what thorough research proved to be the most effective approach. Let’s explore what the modern effective approach requires.
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There is no clever trick to dealing with objections. The root of sales objections lies in one of two sources.
In either case, the point is to prevent sales objections before they arise.
In the case where the buyer fails to see sufficient value in some aspect of the solution, an objection arises when the seller is spending too much time describing why their solution is superior before they have done enough questioning to uncover and validate what the buyer is looking to fix, accomplish or avoid. Further, the seller who has not established why the buyer is currently exploring an alternative solution, and how the buyer defines a successful outcome of implementing a new approach is opening the door for sales objections.
Anyone who has gone through the misery of buying a new car has likely experienced this issue. The salesperson begins listing off a series of features the new car has, without having explored why the buyer is seeking a new vehicle. In these situations, the buyer’s natural tendency is to focus on how these unwarranted features contribute to the cost of the vehicle even before the price has been discussed. Naturally, price objections begin to accumulate in the buyer’s mind even if the buyer doesn’t express them.
The correct approach to preventing objections in sales is therefore to use questions to uncover what the buyer is seeking to accomplish and using clarifying questions to encourage the buyer to explore the subject more deeply. Once a buyer can describe in detail the outcome they are seeking from a new solution, the buyer then has the appropriate opening to offer to describe how their solution can fulfill the buyer’s expectation. Giving too little attention to this process will ultimately give rise to objections in the sales process. In B2B sales this effort often takes multiple meetings/discussions with multiple decision makers.
Very few sellers would say that establishing trust, an atmosphere of candor and a sense of working with the buyer to help coach a great decision is of little use. Every seller knows these are important components of establishing a good working relationship. Unfortunately, few sellers realize that achieving this admirable relationship is a learnable skill.
Those skills involve two capabilities:
Empathy is different from sympathy in that it is an acknowledgement that any particular concern the buyer may have is understandable and legitimate. Think of a buyer who expresses a concern about the complications and stress of implementing a new solution. Most sellers would react by reassuring the buyer that they will "make it easy" on the buying organization. That does nothing but make the sales objection worse.
The correct use of Empathy involves assuring the objector that their reaction/opinion is legitimate even if it is incorrect! The key is to establish a sense of trust and of being on the same page. Doing so sounds something like, "if I were in your position, I would have the same concern" or "when I hear that concern and I put myself in your shoes, I see how understandable that concern can be". See what is happening here? Essentially, the seller is not pushing back or declaring the objection to be immaterial but rather is indicating to the buyer that their concern is relatable.
Funnel Clarity teaches sellers an easy acronym that lays out a process of handling sales objections:
A-E-I-O-U
Note the third step above: Inquire. So often sellers do not employ the tactic of using qualifying questions to encourage the buyer to further explore the basis of an objection. Asking clarifying questions not only helps the seller better understand where the sales objection is coming from but creates a conversation where the seller will often share critical information that the seller would never uncover in any other manner. Something as simple as, "would you say more about that" can have a powerful impact.
Once the Inquiry has revealed sufficient detail about the basis for the sales objection, the stage is set to offering to describe how the seller’s solution obviates or addresses the buyer’s concern. The key here is to return to the buyer’s definition of success where the seller’s description draws a line-of-sight to value and not to features.
In Funnel Clarity's Co-Founder/Managing Partner Tom Snyder's book "Escaping the Price Driven Sale" (a McGraw Hill business best seller published some time ago and reconfirmed over the past decade) he addressed this issue at length. Perceived commoditization can be the enemy of establishing value when sellers who lack several important skills. However, the research on which the book is based found three areas where sellers can create value during the sales process and not just rely on communicating value (the book describes how the research was conducted). Specifically, sellers who can accomplish one or more of the following during the sales process (i.e. before the buyer purchases anything) will avoid most price driven objections:
An exploration of the skills to utilize these "value drivers" is beyond the scope of this blog. Nonetheless, it is useful to consider how each of these value drives can be employed. If further information or training would be of interest, let’s have a conversation.
Today’s B2B decision makers are more focused than ever on expecting sellers to serve as "decision coaches". Sales leaders and salespeople can talk all they want about being consultative. But it is important to remember that B2B sellers, sell far more often than decision makers buy the kinds of solutions the seller represents. What this means is that experienced sellers who are not practicing and identifying how they can employ value drivers and best practice sales skills will face an uphill, objection-filled sales process. There has never been a more vivid opportunity for sellers to beat the competition. The question to ask is how prepared is your sales team to be the hero to your potential customers?
We have written extensively and provided video exploration of how the exploding tools of LLM’s and AI are changing the sale profession. Consider, for example how AI has enabled buyers to quickly become far more knowledgeable about the details of the challenges they see, far quicker to recognize the challenges coming "over the horizon" and better equipped to evaluate different solutions. The same is true of sellers. Salespeople who deftly employ AI to explore the implications of what they are hearing from buyers about issues they want to fix, accomplish or avoid will give sellers far better insight and preparation for sales objections. Every seller should be interested in AI as a research tool not as a crutch for emails, proposals, etc.
For the prepared, skillful seller, objections in sales can be generally avoided. When objections do arise, they offer the prepared, skillful seller a golden opportunity to be the decision coach that wins most deals. What’s the message? Be careful about which sales training company you engage. Don’t be fooled by brand names or past experiences. However, there has never been a more important fast-changing time to improve your sellers’ ability to form winning strategies and employ best practice sales tactics. Talk to us today!
Tyler Vance works closely with the participants and managers of Funnel Clarity’s training programs to ensure they achieve their expected results. Throughout Tyler’s career, he has experienced both a seller’s and buyer’s point of view bringing a unique perspective when working closely with Funnel Clarity clients. Whether Tyler is answering questions from participants, running a coaching session, webinar series, or working with managers to develop a reinforcement plan, he brings a unique and fun element into every part of his role.
