Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

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  dave.stein@...09/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  In my experience a lot of people who are in sales for a relatively short period of time haven't yet availed themselves of advice by some of the previous generation's sales experts. Tom Hopkins is certainly at the top of the list along with Zig Zigler, Brian Tracy and others. These guys originated many of the "silver bullets" that are used every day in professional selling.
  
  The new generation of sales gurus apply those original silver bullets to selling to today's buyers, and that's critically important, but unless you've gone through a Hopkins, Zigler, Tracy audio tape series, you could be missing something significant.
  
  Thanks for featuring Tom.

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  dave.stein@...09/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  Oops. Make that Zig Ziglar!

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  QUOTE: The new generation of sales gurus apply those original silver bullets to selling to today's buyers
  
  Yeah, they're standing on the shoulders of giants, and those three Tom, Brian and Zig are definitely three of the biggest.
  
  
  
  By the way, I also got an hour of one-on-one personal coaching from Brian Tracy. Another incredible experience as you can imagine!

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  Hurricane Ranger09/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  Geoffrey,the best part of a silver bullet is the shooter, nice story line, do we need help, most assurably...the boats sinking and guess who was the first to jump?
  Enjoy your stories, thanks.
  Jim@hurricaneharness.com

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  pmason@...09/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  There are really only three sales 'factors' a sales organization can put on the table: Service, Quality, Price. Unfortunately, a company can only give two of the foregoing factors and still stay in business!
  
  Their strategy then has to be, to select the two factors that they can live with, and have their salesman search out the customers who will buy on the basis ot those two factors.

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  Rambo_pang4320009/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  If I have a business with a SIDE that say this to me:
  
  1) The other place sale more cheaper than your price.
  
  My respond: Then why are you here? Wondering the place you said may be an early spot for your satisfaction?
  
  2) I know someone in this career.
  
  My respond: Well, you knew our position and you should understand our condition in these career.
  
  3) I know you, you are the 1 who are selling this for a period.
  
  My respond: Are you intested on my product?
  ===============================================
  If the customer using the insult such as comment my attitude or my appearance, I may accept it as a lesson and will react to them on the spot by fixing the negative condition to positive.
  
  I am still young here. I learn more at here. Need more guide and special leading from your all.
  
  Nice to meet you. n_n

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  ennyman09/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  I do not believe in the silver bullet theory. BUT the advice here is invaluable as an addition to the "arsenal" of weapons we should have on hand.
  
  What's interesting is that the Objection becomes a trigger instead of something depressing. It is an attitude shifter... as when wolves smell blood.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  A reader just emailed me with this:
  
  
  
  I know you've studied Tony Robbins' material. I feel you'd do better to reference his Mastering Influence program material than that of Tom Hopkins. Tony's program is the most detailed I've ever seen. His answer to "it costs too much" is to feature the price up front, not as a negative, but as a positive, ex: "Our product/service may cost a bit more than others, but that's because the quality is the best..." He even states that some customers only want to buy the best, and for them, a higher price really is a positive. But it all comes back to knowing your customer. He's got a multi-step process for handling objectives. Just thought I'd mention it.

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  Aimee33309/05/08 Report as spam
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  I was a Zig kid!

  I grew up hearing some of the greatest Zig lines as a kid from my dad. And to this day I try and utilize most of them.
  
  Here's an objection: "We're just not ready to do that right now."
  
  My response: If I told you utilizing our service RIGHT NOW could save you tens of thousands of dollars and increase your personal wealth by double, why would you NOT use us now?
  
  (I learned to shut down the reason for the objection. Thanks for the great article!)

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  gurunandan09/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  thanks for the best articles

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  gurunandan09/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  thanks for the articles

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  may0809/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  The one I see get a lot is "We already work with a vendor and we don't want to take the risk of switching..."
  
  To me that sounds like Status Quo - but not as though the prospect is truly happy. My response...
  
  "When was the last time your vendor did an xxx audit to determine where you could be saving money (or increasing revenue, improving profits, etc.)?"
  
  Where the xxx audit (or review) is something like an efficiency audit, or optimization review, or something where you get a foot in the door, learn more about the client, provide feedback and in turn are suggesting their current vendor is also allowing a "status quo" - which isn't helping them!

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  QUOTE: "When was the last time your vendor did an xxx audit to determine where you could be saving money (or increasing revenue, improving profits, etc.)?"
  
  Pure brilliance.

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  JHoultham09/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  One of the best books on handling objections, etc. is "How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling" by Frank Bettcher. First published in 1951, still in print and still going strong. Frank was in insurance, but his techniques are valid anywhere.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  A reader just emailed me:
  
  
  
  I'm doing telemarketing and cold calling. I'm marketing Personal Revolving Credit Line, a Standby Cash type of facility. One of the objection that's too hard for me to handle is when a prospect said to me: "I might be tempted." What they mean is if they avail of a Standby Cash they are afraid they might be tempted and use it. Would you be willing to tell me how to handle this objection?
  
  
  
  So how about it, folks. Any ideas?

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  Suziepoohbie09/06/08 Reported as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  I think your answers to these objections are not only glib but trite and ineffective. I would be turned off if a sales person gave me these type of responses. A salesperson's response to any objection should be informative and engage the customer while demonstrating a sincere interest in addressing his/her need in order to give him/her a reason to continue discourse with you, much less a reason to buy from you.
  
  *Objection: "I can get it cheaper elsewhere"
  Response: "I'm sure you probably can. For example,(XYZ competitor) sells this product for $_. However, they do not offer the lifetime guarantee that we give absolutely free. In the long run you save by buying our Product...Wouldn't you agree that this would better serve you needs"...or something like that. Build value into the purchase. If the customer does not aappreciate the value, any price is too high. Therefore,often time price is not the real objection, you just haven't sold him yet.
  
  *Objection: "I have a friend in the business".
  Response: "Oh, that's great. Who does he/she work for? Has he/she quoted you a price? What benefits has he offered in your package?" ETC. You would need to ask probing questions to verify if this relationship has benefited the client regarding this purchase. If not, qualify the client, do a needs assessment and proceed to the close.
  
  *Objection: "I did businesss with your company in the past and they were unprofessional"
  Response: " I'm so sorry to hear that you had an unpleasant experience with us. Can you tell me about it? When did this take place? etc."....calmy, and impathetically probe, probe, probe. I've done this in the past and come to find out our company was partially at fault and so was the client's. It was only after calmly walking the client through the situation that he came to recognize that there was a misunderstanding on his part as well. I was able to assuage his ill feelings and retrieve the account.
  
  It is in bad taste and unecessary to have any discussion with the client about firing a previous company employee; especially when you don't know the details. for all you know,the problem could be the client's fault entirely and if so, you may well look forward to having the same problem with the client. Address the problem, dismantle it, nuetralize it and move on. Mr. James, if you're going to give advice in a blog, give us some red meat to work with. Done waste time with trite ineffective filler.

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  bahabri09/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  @Rambo
  i wish you all the best. If a seals rep respond to me they way suggested, I'd defiantly give my business to someone else. as a procurement professional it's not easy to sell anything to me unless I'm 100% satisfied.
  
  Attitude, credibility and reliability are the most important factors.

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  jpfindy09/08/08 Report as spam
  18

  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  I went to a Hopkins seminar once. I found the entire thing low rent. Great for the house siding high pressure phone sales types. I saw no application whatsoever for anyone in high cost professional services selling.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/08/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Your Best Response to Three Common Objections

  QUOTE: I found the entire thing low rent. Great for the house siding high pressure phone sales types.
  
  I'm not sure whether everyone will get this cultural reference, but this complaint reminds me of a guy I knew who wanted to play the guitar like Eric Clapton. The guy went to a concert where BB King was playing and thought that BB King was a lousy guitarist. He didn't understand enough about guitar playing to understand that Eric Clapton -- and indeed every other "guitar god" -- was standing on BB King's shoulders.