Working in sales means you’re bound to hear objections. Your prospects may raise concerns about your pricing, or they may think they don’t really need your products or services. Some prospects aren’t a good fit, but well-qualified prospects may also have objections. Knowing how to handle these objections can help you successfully overcome them and move your prospects through the pipeline.

One of the best ways to overcome sales objections? According to Patrick Morin, president and COO of BrightHammer, LLC, is to anticipate what your prospects are going to ask and address these questions immediately. For example, Morin says prospects often want to know:

  • Will your offering do what you say it will do?
  • Is it worth the price you’re asking?
  • Do I really need to buy this right now?
  • Who else says positive things about your products and services?

Even if you preemptively answer these questions, you might still face pushback. If this happens, Morin says you can try something unexpected—reverse the objection. This strategy helps you pivot from the prospect’s objection and drive home your solution.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we discuss Morin’s guidance on how to reverse course on three typical objections.

Objection: “You’re charging more than your competitors.”
What the prospect really means: Is it worth the price you’re asking me to pay?
Flip the script: Morin says you can reverse this objection by saying, “This is exactly why this solution makes sense for you. We include a customized plan with the products so you don’t have to guess how to use them. This means …”

Objection: “Your company really dropped the ball the last time we worked with you.”
What the prospect really means: Why should I give you another chance?
Flip the script: If you hear this objection, Morin says you can try responding with, “This is exactly why you should use us. When we realized how terribly we handled the situation and how upset you were, it forced us to deeply examine our process and improve it. So now …”

Objection: “We have been working with the same vendor for several years now.”
What the prospect really means: Everything is going fine. Why should I change and buy from you instead?
Flip the script: According to Morin, you can reverse this objection by saying, “That is exactly the reason you will want to test us. Your current vendor may not be able to provide the same excellent service and delivery—probably through no fault of their own. At that point, you’ll need a proven back-up vendor and you won’t want to start on the fly.”

Prospective buyers may object in all kinds of ways, whether they’re concerned about pricing or terms, or they’re content staying with their current vendor. The next time you hear an objection, try reversing it with the ideas above. Just be sure that what you say is true—if you haven’t really made any changes to your process or you can’t really deliver on what you’re saying, then don’t include it in your conversation. Sales objections can be tricky to navigate, but by flipping the script, you can counter them like a true sales pro.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Patrick Morin is the president and COO of BrightHammer, LLC.