NO, NOT REALLY
There are no “objections”. There are only business concerns, and it’s our job to figure out if they’re legitimate or not.
Think about it: when a client or prospective client is “objecting to” something, either that objection has merit, or it doesn’t. If I call up Comcast and ask for 100 Gbps internet for $20 per month, my objection doesn’t have merit. If I call and say that they mis-charged me for the plan that I am supposed to be paying for, then my objection DOES have merit.
It’s our job as salespeople and great SDR leaders to help clients understand the reasons behind their objection: the underlying concern.
Unpack Sales Objections to Identify the Underlying Concerns
Are they asking for a discount? What part, the up-front fee, the monthly rate, the billing frequency, the payment terms, the usage pricing mechanism…?
Are they concerned about switching costs? Do they mean the time they’ll have to spend themselves, the time their team will spend, the monetary cost, or the risk of giving up their current solution?
If you think that every objection needs a ‘rebuttal’, you’re probably irritating your clients and coming across as a high-pressure, grating salesperson.
Instead, solve issues by first looking to understand their perspective and the underlying reason for their concern. If after you unpack it the concern is indeed a legitimate one – meaning, you would have the same concern if you were in their position, and it’s fair – offer whatever solution you can, while still being fair to yourself, to address it.
“Yikes, This Means You Might Lose Deals!”
Yep, it does. If you properly address your clients’ concerns by first diving into the underlying motivations and concerns, then you might find an objection that you can’t resolve while still being fair to both of you.
That means it’s not a good fit. That’s okay! And it’s MUCH better to help someone realize your solution is not a good fit, than to sell them anyway.
Life is too short to sell off bits of your integrity for cash 😉
On the bright side, if you look beyond the superficial “objection”, you’ll usually find that concerns are either fair, in which case you can address them with cooperation and mutual collaboration. If the concern is unfair (where they are basically flailing, trying to get the best price possible in a way that isn’t fair to you), then a combination of humility and firmness works wonders!
Above all – you’ll win more good deals by treating “objections” as concerns that can be legitimate or not, rather than as jabs or straights in a verbal boxing match.
Close deals, not doors.
