A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

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  United Systems09/08/08 Report as spam
  1

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  My opinion is that both are correct. An experienced sales professional would know when to use them. But my vote goes to Susiepoohbie because these can work at any stage of someones career.

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  Splashmonkey09/08/08 Report as spam
  2

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Although I can see the merits in Susiepoobie's input, I find that it doesn't keep in mind the need to manage the relationship first. Let the prospect know that you hear what they are saying, not try to "counter" with product/service stats. I found some of the banter in her suggestions to be a little too "pushy"...I agree we need to probe and ask questions but the best sales people listen first, talk less. Sales is about relationship building not explicit one upmanship.
  
  Again, both options have their merits and a seasoned sales person will know when to use them but I would go the Tom Hopkins route first.

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  rushmore09/08/08 Report as spam
  3

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  I doubt any specific response works better for every prospect. Sales people have to solve the problems that sometimes the prospect doesn't know they have. Personalities also play a role.
  
  Probing for more information won't work for impatient controlling types unless they are shown it may be in their interest to give you an answer. For the social types having a friend in the business is more important than being able to complain. They value friendship more and will put up with a certain amount of aggravation.

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  EASTeam09/08/08 Report as spam
  4

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Absolutely no question this is a case of apples & oranges. Even the usernames are a decent microcosm of the level of disparity, i.e., Tom & Susiespoohbearpoopinwoods aren???t in same league??? Hence, my guess is that that said customer for each wouldn???t be nearly as sophisticated of ???sale??? or approach. Also apples & oranges.
  
  EX #1
  Unfortunately, Susiespoohbearpoopinwoods falls into a familiar category of sales presentation: present, defend & hope for a positive outcome. Repeat. Whereby Tom demonstrates empathy and then asks relevant qualifying questions to better understand the root cause of the real issue (which is usually not price).
  
  EX #2
  Excellent rebuttal by Tom. Cuts through the smoke screen, ehh? On the contrary, Susiespoohbearpoopinwoods actually decides this is a perfect time to sell based on Price, quickly followed by Features & Benefits. Great! Now all you have to do is give said prospect MORE for LESS than their ???friend??? ~ good luck with that??? Not the optimal relationship we look for, i.e., competitive. Wouldn???t cooperative or even collaborative be better?
  
  EX #3
  Near flawless response by Tom. Even flips or spins the conversation ??? the customer now has to put themselves in that situation & retort (ultimately answering their OWN question) ~ that???s flat out brilliant??? On the other hand, Susiespoohbearpoopinwoods suggests PROBING the topic further. BTW, for the record, I have no desire to be probed. What say you? Only 2 words come to my mind: ???alien abduction??? ??? Who cares about right and wrong ??? that was then & this is now??? Let???s assess the real core of issue and move on???that???s the need at hand ??? which apparently has (still) not been met.
  
  Here???s my rebuttal to #3: ???I see, that???s really unfortunate though it does happen from time to time. In fact, some of my very best clients have said the same thing in OUR first conversation. However, right wrong or otherwise, that still wont fix your (problem). That???s where we may be able to help. Please tell me, would it not make sense to have further dialogue about (problem)? I will then be better able to assess, and if applicable, provide a potential solution. If we are unable to collectively agree on this, that???s ok too??? At least we???ll make our decision based on all the information available. Make sense to you? Great???
  
  Kirk
  http://easteam.wordpress.com/testimonials/

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/08/08 Report as spam
  5

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Kirkabraham:
  
  
  
  I appreciate the advice and the fact that you bothered to think the issues through and provide such thoughtful and intelligent comment. However, I'd prefer it if you didn't make fun of handles, even those that seem to be an open invitation for ridicule. The ad hominem nature of such attacks actually weakens your argument a bit. Please don't take offense, because I really do respect your contribution to this discourse.

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  rmcgonni09/09/08 Report as spam
  6

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Perhaps many in the 77% voting for Susie might agree: it was a tie going into #3 but the offhand mention of firing someone says something about the speaker and concedes the point that the Company was at fault. I think TH response #2 was also a bit trite and left open the issue as unresolved.
  
  Secondly, I don't think you were guilty of a misuse of the "handle" of your correspondent: you simply identified her as you've done in the past. Someone else in the blog may have done so but not you.
  
  Finally, it's Susie who could afford a lesson in humility and conduct...her "red meat" comment was TWO steps too far for criticism and reveals immaturity, arrogance and a lack of respect for the context of your efforts to assist all of us with good ideas. Also your previously demonstrated willingness to share OTHERS ideas as as good or better....see "Elevator Pitch".

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  rmcgonni09/09/08 Report as spam
  7

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Minor correction to my prior post...didn't see the "handle" on the critic of the misuse of the handle....YOU were the critic and rightly so!

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  Graeme Davidson09/09/08 Report as spam
  8

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Yet another wonderful post, that makes me question my objection handling - and not just with these 3 situations. It is wonderful that you take the time for these processes, so that I get the opportunity to think through all that I do in my day job.
  Furthermore, I will be using these techniques to train the others around when I can drag myself away from the phone and trying to cause objections so that I can use my new techniques.
  
  On a slight tangent, what does everyone think of the use of the word "because"?
  
  I use it all the time after asking for the sale, and no matter what I say after the "because" (I have even completely strayed off the topic at times to see if it works) the percentage of closes are a lot higher than normal.

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  mauipatricia09/09/08 Report as spam
  9

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Except for Susie's last example, I like Tom's better. People don't buy on facts and figures. People buy on emotion and justify with logic. Not that either were wrong. With a customer in sight you'd obviously tailor the approach.
  
  Yes-please have a discussion on the use of the "because". Love to read that!

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  ndlicht109/09/08 Report as spam
  10

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Sorry Tom but you need to retire.
  
  I am in my 60's and have been a successful sales person and trainer for many years. Please do not dismiss this as an age or generation gap issue
  
  His answers are no longer relevant in an age of "smart buyers". In an era of on line searching, Prospects are often now very smart, pre-buy educated and have researched a lot before you get to them and this means we start by respecting their intellect and research.
  
  They often know about or can compare anything on line and already have. That makes standing out and establishing your own value added in the selling process much harder than in Tom's day.
  
  
  1. Maybe its the wording that matters. For instance Tom's use of the term "smart people"- so the prospect is a dunce? "My customers seem to have found that..." is better.
  
  2. Suzie engages in conversation that shows she has heard the prospect and then directly addresses the prospect's issue or concern with great decision making criterion that she can use to make a difference in usability, reliability, fit for the application and safety of the buy re long term support. This pre-empts and controls the conversation that comes from Tom's objections doesn't it.
  
  She points out the differences between a cheaper source v hers. She establishes the criterion for comparison v intended results, gets that point across and never insults her prospect.
  
  Frankly, Suziepoh has it right and again,please let Tom retire since its way overdue.
  
  Neil Licht

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  scohil09/09/08 Report as spam
  11

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Generally, Susie's central point is valid: customers are too smart and savvy when it comes to technique. Most will smell the rat in the woodpile and make a stiffer resistance. Further, research by Neil Rackham's team (see "SPIN Selling") pretty conclusively shows that most objections are CAUSED by the sales person's behaviour. So maybe instead of talking about responding to objections, we could look at how top performers prevent them... Just a thought.

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  cimartinez2109/09/08 Report as spam
  12

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  I'm new the world of sales. After reading Tom's responses, my immediate thought is that they're cliche and cheesy and I would not only feel silly saying them but I wouldn't expect the objection to be resolved. Especially with #2, it just sounds like an invitation into an argument with the customer cause many people really value friends that they can do business with and actually end up getting discounts or special offers with them.
  
  Susie's answers were real. She responded on a case by case basis with material that supports her argument, rather than with long philophical answers.
  
  Her answer for #3 really does work and has worked with me in the past with an Amazon representative who interestingly tried Tom's response with me at first (oh that sucks, that person was wrong, but here I am now) and when that only made me angrier and made me question the competency of the whole department, she started to ask me questions until I felt like she was really there to help me.

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  null09/09/08 Report as spam
  13

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Susiepoobies comments sound more real and direct. I really can't stand salespeak and get irritated when salespeople start with it. Susiepoobie's responses seem genuine, not like generic arguments that one picks up in sales seminars.

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  monger@...09/09/08 Report as spam
  14

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Suzie is right. TH responses (and therefore yours suggestions) are now quite outmoded, trite and probably ineffective as a result. Don't treat buyers like they are fools. Work with them in an honest way.
  
  The TH method was based on manipulating a situation and the buyer.
  
  Its not what marketing focuses on

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  MikeDennehy09/09/08 Report as spam
  15

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  I've greatly enjoyed the thrust and counter-thrust over the last two days as this issue seems to bring out strong opinions from both camps. I doubt that anyone would use the exact language Tom uses in today's business world - the wording is cheesy and glib, and I agree that most buyers these days would spot the scripted response and probably react negatively - I'm sure I would.
  
  However in #1 I don't believe it's right to name a competitor and their price - prospects often say things to see what your response is and to me it's a sign of panic and weakness to respond that way. You might just drive them to your competitor - better to acknowledge that you can always find someone prepared to sell you something cheaper, but you might go on paying for it for a long time. I prefer Tom's response but worded slightly differently - and definitely not using the "smart people" part.
  
  With #2 again I prefer Tom's approach if not the wording. Susie's response turns it into a price-and-features competition, whereas Tom's neatly turns it into a "you'd hate to ruin a good friendship over a business transaction" argument which I think will connect with the buyer on an emotional level.
  
  Susie's the clear winner with #3 and her approach is spot on. Even at the risk of revisiting an unpleasant experience for the buyer, she demonstrates a clear commitment to owning the problem, discovering the cause and fixing it. She isn't ducking it with a glib response containing two "probably"s and no facts.
  
  Geoffrey, a gentle admonition. Good on you for criticising the poster who directly made fun of Susie's handle, but I think in a small way you invited it. You mentioned her handle in the first sentence of your post in a way that I felt was designed to make readers not take her so seriously. Sure it's a kooky handle but her views weren't.
  
  Keep up the great posts and thank you for having the courage and self-awareness to highlight other people's views and recognise the value of opinions other than your own!

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  joe.kurtzke@...09/09/08 Report as spam
  16

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  From Joe Kurtzke - Director of Sales and Consulting at People, Process & Technology.
  
  I have sold and trained as well as mentored many salespeople. Nobody can doubt the success that Tom has had over the years, (especially in selling his books), but both Tom and Susie miss the point here. In each case they are actually putting themself at odds with the prospect. Susie is correct in probing, but if it comes to a close on price and you did not know whether or not price was a critical determining factor, then you did not do your job right.
  
  Most prospects want to buy. They have more often than not done their homework, know what their buying parameters are and know what they are willing to spend. It is up to the salesperson to not only know their product or service but also that of their competition. It is also mandatory that a salesperson understand their prospect. A solid understanding of the prospect, their business, their competition and previous buying habits are all critical factors at that stage.
  
  Suzie showed some of this in reply to the getting it cheaper situation, but then made the assumption that the lifetime guarantee was the next most important factor. Tom simply assumed that based on his past knowledge that price was one of three most important factors. It appears that neither understood the prospect and the drivers that would impact the eventual sale. Neither put the prospect first to ask him/her what were the most important factors when considering a purchase or even how this purchase would impact business down the line. Neither determined whether the purchase was merely a commodity purchase or a purchase that would impact business today and tomorrow.
  
  In the situation with a friend in the business, again neither actually handled it correctly. Consider that if the prospect had a friend in the business and wanted to buy from his/her friend then the sale would have already been consummated. The prospect is likely to be put on the defensive more in this case with the reply from Susie than from Tom, and Susie opens the door to a repeat of the price question with her reply. This would call for the "tell me more approach" whereby friendship is an important factor in and out of business, so tell me more about how your friend has helped in the past with other purchases.
  
  In the third example you would have to give the edge to Susie, but again this situation begs the question of importance and impact of the previous dealings - and again both should have known that the prospect had previously done business with their company and had some sort of adverse situation - unless of course this is just a case of the prospect trying to get additional concessions by exerting pressure. In some cases the prospect feels that he/she has lost control of the sales process and then resorts to whatever position necessary to regain that control. Most frequently this is achieved by putting the salesperson on the defensive. If there had been a reported problem in the past both Tom and Suzie should have known that and contrary to the opinion of many, should have been proactive in mentioning it. By being proactive the prospect would feel that the salesperson actually did some homework and would likely provide better service than had been previously given in order to avoid a repeat performance. The danger in Suzie's reply is that had the problem occurred recently she looks unprofessional in that she obviously did not do her homework. This case would call for a softened approach if there is no record of the past issues, whereby the salesperson would mention that in the review of the history, which might be incomplete, the specifics of the issue were not appropriately detailed and then ask the prospect to go into a little bit of detail relative to the issue, the impact and the resolution. Assuredly, had there been a previous problem that was not resolved satisfactorily the salesperson would not be sitting in front of the prospect today.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/09/08 Report as spam
  17

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Another reader just emailed me:
  
  
  
  
  Tom is great and so is Suzie. the trick is a combination. That is the Dale Carnegie approach at work.
  

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  ndlicht109/09/08 Report as spam
  18

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Tom is great for today's world why? Exactly what are his credentials to be a role model for today's selling world? Thats where I get lost on the Tom references.
  
  He chose to become the guru of sales and make a fortune teaching us how to sell. He succeded. I respect that enormously and honor his success in doing so but are those his credentials for guiding us today?
  
  Is he still in an active selling mode for something other than his stuff? Has he lead a team with bottom line responsibility to deliver the goods recently? Has he done this at all in the last 5 years or so?
  
  I'm going to throw out a challange of sorts that seems to need an answer. -- If you ask the younger generation of sales people who their gurus are, I wonder if us older folks would recognize the names?
  
  Geoffrey, how about doing exactly that in your column.
  
  There is a time when the clock turns up a new day. Its here and Tom's stuff just may not be a revered part of it. I think we need to know who is.
  
  
  Neil Licht, Managing Director of ANSWERS, hire and promoye right tools and over 60 in age.

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  Barbara Beggs09/09/08 Report as spam
  19

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  I think we may well have a generation gap at work here. Younger buyers I think would be put off by Tom responses. They will think he's double talking and dodging. Younger buyers will repsond more to Susie's desire to problem solve. Younger buyers see little conflict with doing business with their friends. In fact expect to and expect that they can handle a problem if one comes up. They see few distinctions between their social and business lives. Susie is right to just treat the friend as just another competitor and one that may get a last look where she won't.

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  cbscott7409/09/08 Report as spam
  20

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  I can appreciate both sides, but I voted with Tom. Susiepoobie's answers were too textbook, too 'Question Based Selling', easily spotted as sales-y talk.
  
  The third answer was puzzling, though. While I can see the merits of walking the client through the issue to find the details, and hearing him out is key, getting to that discussion would require the spirit of Tom's answer. In other words, before the prospect will give you permission to probe, you have to start with 'That will never happen again.'
  
  Tough call, but I still have to go with Tom. His answers were relationship focused, friendly, and real.
  
  Honesty, when backed with a commitment to quality, works every time.

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  simon_berglund@...09/09/08 Report as spam
  21

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  I have a feeling the differences are cultural - Tom' answers are very American, and I have a sneaking suspicion Susie is either English or Australian. Susiepoobie - are you willing to divulge your nationality? PS I voted Susiepoobie and I am Aussie...

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  caddit09/09/08 Report as spam
  22

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Susiepoobie must be Australian. Her first response about building value is OK but IMO just Tom's advice put to different words. Her suggestion to the second isn't good - never probe any customer unless you are both ranchers selling a cow and ain't got no edukation. No one likes being probed so you need to find another way. And what ever happened to "the customer is always right"? Sorry, her #2 flies directly into the face of all that. -5

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  rbtaipei09/09/08 Report as spam
  23

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Hey Geoffrey,
  
  I am a big fan of yours for many reasons. Among them, you guided me to a great sales "Wunderkind" by the name of Barry Rhein.
  I think Barry would be on the side of susiepoobie. Her style of questioning, probing, layering to find out the "real" issues is classic Barry.
  
  Tom is a great sales person and trainer however, I found the answers he provided to be outdated, old school (Pre-90's) Can it still be used? Of course but the issue here is: which style is better? Hands down, Susiepoobie outsold Tom by a mile.
  
  No harm done, they are both excellent sales professionals and I wouldn't mind being sold by either one of them.
  
  Keep up the great work!

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  Deeps0709/09/08 Report as spam
  24

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  The three points put forward by S are in line with the personlaity and style of certain salespeople.I believe a salesperson has a personality and has to use an approach which connects his personality to the need of the customer, finally helping in closing the sale. Tom's points of view are effective so are S's but we need to consider three factors in detrming which approach to choose - :
  1. Situation Dynamics of the Sale
  2. Charecter and Buying Approach of the Customer and
  3.Personality of the Salesperson.. hope this makes sense
  
  Deeps

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  anastonia109/09/08 Report as spam
  25

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  From someone from the buyer's side:
  I would run from Susie. I don't need any explanations or probing. Who do you think you are for me to engage in a conversation with you in the first place? How about catching my interest, showing that you are MORE than a regular sales person who just sells, pushes, and closes? How about earning my respect by NOT being as probing as everyone else asking me all the questions, so they can very predictably turn into their sales pitch?
  I think she would be great working in a surveying part of customer satisfaction, and in painfully dragging cold clients into warm waters. Also, for me it takes a lot to establish a relationship with a specialist (not psychologist, who asks, and how do you feel about that?) But to sell to a smart buyer, you have to be EXTRA-ordinary.

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  lsallen209/09/08 Report as spam
  26

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  From someone ELSE from the buyer's side:
  
  If I had heard any of Tom's glib answers I would have thrown him out of my office. And I am not soeaking (writing) idly, I have done this.
  
  That said, I believe Susie's answers could be delivered sincerely or glibly also, this probably maps to Deeps' comment above about matching the salesperson's personality. If the salesperson is asking out of a sincere concern, I will have my calls held and talk as long as necessary. If the salesperson is just skeet-shooting my objections, they will get the boot just like the ones using Tom's answers.

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  vidamaya09/10/08 Report as spam
  27

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Instead of addressing the client's concerns, TH's
  responses sound like he's giving a sales pitch.
  
  I'm Asian and in my early 20s and those certainly won't
  work with me. I'm not sure if it's a generation gap or a
  racial gap, but I feel Susie's answers would most
  definitely work better.
  
  EX#1 TH engages in a series of statements regarding
  his observations on the market and poses the question
  "Which two of the three are most important to you in
  the long term????.
  
  However, ending the response at that leaves me (the
  customer) wondering "Uh, okay, I agree with the things
  you just said and I already know what's important to
  me, but you haven't told me anything yet to convince
  me that you have what I'm looking for."
  
  Susie's value proposition (i.e. the lifetime guarantee)
  tells me why I should get her product even when I can
  get it elsewhere cheaper.
  
  EX#2 TH's response is based solely on the premise that
  it is better to deal with someone who isn't your friend.
  But to base your sell solely on that premise? And what
  if I don't believe in that premise?
  
  Susie's probing approach allows her to find out exactly
  what the points of comparison are so that she may
  better position herself vis-a-vis the competitor (in this
  case, the friend), and perhaps come up with a better
  value proposition--rather than if she were shooting
  arrows at an unknown/unseen opponent.
  
  EX#3 When a client complains, more often than not,
  he/she wants his/her complaints to be heard.
  
  TH's reply shoots down any chance for the client to
  vent out his/her feelings and go into detail as to how
  he/she had been slighted in the past. It focuses more
  on how TH (the salesman) feels about such instances
  rather than on how the client feels. (Bottomline: it is
  not customer-oriented).
  
  Susie's response:
  (1) allows the client to vent out, and
  (2) allows her to find out what issues the client is
  highly sensitive to, --allowing her to give the
  necessary assurances that such an incident won't
  happen again.
  
  How can you assure a client that an "incident" won't
  happen again, that he will be "treated right", if you do
  not even have curiosity/concern enough to know what
  happened?
  
  Talking a client through a situation allows him to vent
  out negative emotions--after which he/she would
  most likely be in a better, more rational frame of mind,
  and, thus, more receptive to your apologies and
  assurances.

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  pvnarayanan09/10/08 Report as spam
  28

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Susie appears to be spontaneous and natural. Not only that, her language is very action oriented eager to help and progress towards a better relationship. Also, she is not trying to impress the client in any way appearing pretty much in the here and now. I have grown up as a sales professional reading Tom's books and benefitted greatly from them. But sales, like sports, is a profession where each player develops skills like second skin and follows through with their strengths. In the process, while the coach may have helped you with knowledge, how you play depends on applying what you know with the needs of the situation and execution.

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  Paul C Barnwell09/10/08 Report as spam
  29

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Yeh, I'd absolutely agree with Suziepoohbie???s approach i.e. get under the skin of the real issues first; then leverage what you find to position your product more effectively to close. Unfortunately, Tom's stuff sounds like real slick salesman's waffle and I for one would be insulted if someone tried that on with me. Definitely NOT a seller!!

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/10/08 Report as spam
  30

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  I give my own opinion of this issue in:
  
  
  
  http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=482

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/10/08 Report as spam
  31

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  QUOTE: Tom's stuff sounds like real slick salesman's waffle and I for one would be insulted if someone tried that on with me.
  
  It depends upon the delivery. For example, if "I have a friend in the business" surfaces, you could ask, with real curiosity, what experiences the prospect has had in the past doing business with friends. Then respond with a personal story about where a business deal screwed up one of your own friendships. The same concept would emerge out of a natural conversation, gradually leading the prospect to see doing business with a friend as a bad idea. The trick is to take the gists of Tom's responses and meld them into your own natural selling approach.

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  fpotter@...09/10/08 Report as spam
  32

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  In my opinion, both approaches can work depending on the relationship the salesperson has developed with the prospect. Sales systems are sometimes too rigid to allow an amateur salesperson to distinguish a right from wrong answer. However, the seasoned salesperson can think quickly on their feet and adapt to the objections being offered. It is true that by keeping things simple and asking questions is the only true method of getting to the bottom of the "REAL" issues, which usually aren't based on price alone.

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  Jerome Simon09/10/08 Report as spam
  33

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Suzie got my vote becuase she would have been less trite and annoying.
  
  Objection 1 goes to Suzie.
  
  Though it's flattering that Tom assumes i'm smart enough to use the 3 issues as my criteria for this decision, his assumption that i'm too stupid to see that he's trying to paint me in a corner with sales speak would have him out of my office or listening to the dial tone.
  
  Suzie won by a hair. Her going to the lifetime guarantee begs the assumption that that is the diferrentiating feature that most customers put the greatest value on. If that is not my concern, or does not speak to me as it speaks to her average customer, she would have lost the sale there. In fact any feature she mentions there would do the same thing.
  
  I find that by properly relating the differentiators to bussiness issues (probe) and differentiating yourself from the competitor as it relates to handling those business issues means that price would be a lot less of a concern.
  
  Objection 2: Both handle it equally well to me, though neither would have been the route I'd choose.
  
  I'd be probing to understand why he/she has not yet purchased from his/her friend. Or, has he/she purchased from his/her friend but the product/service is not giving the desired results. Does the fact that they have not moved on a product/service that was so readily accessible to them mean that it is more a nice to have than business critical? If so, how nice would it be to have it?
  
  Objection 3: Goes to Suzie only because she at least seems to be interested in handling the issue.
  
  In truth if either of them was unaware of the previous events they would lose all credibility with me.
  
  The fact that the conversation has been allowed to get to this point means 2 things though.
  
  1 - The unprofessional behaviour was such that it made them memorable to me
  
  2 - Even though number 1 is the case the business issues are so painful i'm willing to try again.
  
  The answer that, in my opinion, is best is to directly address the issues and then to let the customer know what the rep does/is willing to do to esure that such behaviour is not repeated. Basically what is different now.
  
  If, there is no knowledge of the incident, then I would try an approach along the lines of the "issue being documented but the details of the issue not being documented. Since I'm not willing to repeat the problem I hope he/she is able to fill the details in for me" Then hope the prior issue had nothing to do with lack of documentation.

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  j.lucas09/10/08 Report as spam
  34

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  As the Director of Operations of a mid-sized company, I get sales calls, pitches and the like on a daily basis. I am not an emotional decision maker-quite the opposite actually.
  
  If someone comes at me with emotional reasons to choose their service, company or product, I shut them down immediately. I simply don't care how good I'll "feel" by switching to the new company/product/service. If I currently receive a great product in a timely manner at a price that's acceptable to me-candidly explain where the benefit is in making the change. I've only experienced two salespeople who understand this concept. One gained a large account and the second came too late (he wanted the same business).
  
  Show me savings, show me results, show me how the service will be better than what I am currently receiving...but don't cram it down my throat in doing so. I've spent a lot of time creating the efficiencies I have. The last thing I'm receptive to is being treated as if I have no concept of what I'm doing as Tom suggests his first response.
  
  If Tom approached me with a product or service I would have shut him down about half way through the first reply. Price is not always the objection. I'm willing to pay more for a product/service that will serve my needs more effectively.

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  JacquesWerth09/10/08 Report as spam
  35

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  This may have been a useful discussion twenty-five years ago. Based on our research into how hundreds of the top 1% of salespeople actually sell, it is obsolete. We now know that most objections are a manifestation of a poor sales process.
  
  Prospects who are prone towards objections should have been disqualified during the prospecting call. If your objective is to try to sell every prospect, you will get plenty of objections, but not many sales.
  
  Top salespeople know how to spend their time and resources with prospects and customers that are most likely to do business with them. They get those issues handled during their prospecting phone calls or they disqualify the prospect.
  
  Preventing Objections
  Top salespeople know how to prevent most objections during their visits. Handling and/or overcoming objections with logic and Rhetoric quickly turns relationships adversarial.
  
  Price
  If the salesperson???s company is not the low cost supplier, it is counter-productive to take meetings with price buyers. No amount of logical arguments will change the mind of most price buyers. If the prospect is not a price buyer, but is just testing to see whether your price is firm, a simple statement such as: ???Sorry, our price is firm. What do you want to do???? is all that is required.
  
  A Friend in the Business
  Top salespeople head this one off by asking ???Is there anyone you would rather do business with than me???? before they take the appointment.
  
  Previous Negative Experience
  ???If I can show you that we can prevent any recurrence of what happened then, and that we will meet your conditions of satisfaction in the future, what will you do???? If the prospect does not respond in a positive manner, the salesperson should not take the appointment.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/11/08 Report as spam
  36

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  QUOTE: This may have been a useful discussion twenty-five years ago.
  
  Jacquesw:
  
  Please email me.
  
  I like what I read in your post.
  
  I want to know more.

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  tudor.montescu09/15/08 Report as spam
  37

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Suzie is off the line... even for a school child. Now I really have doubts about people reading this.

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  vrsarti09/15/08 Report as spam
  38

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  If you have done your qualifying properly these objections rarely come up. Part of that qualifying is discussing why the decision maker is even interested in talking about the problem. It is critical to define the problem and the impact. Otherwise, there is no sale.
  
  Dealing with price up front and bringing up that "we are almost never the cheapest and if price is the only criteria, it may make sense to stop talking." is an effective strategy for heading off the price objection.
  
  The same is true for the other two objections, although the friend in the business objection can be smoked out once it is brought up. The key there is using the take away.

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  wbryant10/03/08 Report as spam
  39

  I've tried Susie's and Tom's way of closing...

  And Tom's way wins most of the time. You have to feel out your customer, but Tom's methods get to the close better and truly gets rid of the objection.
  
  Susie's way of handling the objection is to make it a problem, fester it up, when really you need to find the real objection.
  
  You gotta acknowledge their objection, but get rid of it at the same time. The real one will pop up after getting them to say no a few times, and going through the process. The whole negotiation is more of a process of eliminating those objections to get to the real one rather than concentrating on one and trying to solve it.
  
  Just my 2 cents.
  
  William Bryant
  http://williambryant.info

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  TrishBarnes10/11/08 Report as spam
  40

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  The original sounds like a script, written to read by
  people in a boring movie of the week about
  telemarketing.
  
  The suggested responses are much warmer and
  still convey professionalism.
  
  You've been schooled.

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  Brendonovic07/12/09 Report as spam
  41

  RE: A Reader Dings My Advice... You Vote.

  Mmmm! Mmmm! Mmmmm!
  
  There are merits in both responses. Susie's I have to admit are slightly stacked towards addressing the situation that the client is in rather than having a good come-back, which I feel T.H is concentrating on. If that is the focus of the article then so be it.
  
  Saying that, Suzie's answers aren't really answers, they are guidelines on what we should aim for which is why I think Suzie wins this round. We shouldn't take a script to the sales process - unless we're selling phone packages to the masses. Instead we should view it as a way to get in to dialogue with clients, understand their business and know the points where we can assist them.