“I’m too busy to talk about this right now.”
“We don’t have the budget for this.”
“We already work with Competitor to do that.”
You’ve likely heard them all before. For many sales professionals, handling objections has just become part of the territory. But have you ever stopped to think about why these objections are occurring?
- Some objections are the result of talking to the wrong person at the wrong time. Have you ever greeted a prospect on the phone, only to have him or her immediately say, “Is this a cold call? I hate cold calls.” You may want to retort, “Ever tried making them?” However, the problem with calling someone who has absolutely no idea who you are or what you do is that you’re expecting them to give you–a complete stranger–precious minutes of valuable time. Spend the time identifying the right people to call and make sure you are calling the right person in the organization before you start dialing.If you’re still met with an “I’m too busy to talk,” make sure to quickly identify yourself and ask for 2 minutes of their time to see whether you should have a conversation–stick to whatever time estimate you reference to show prospects you value their time.
- Most objections result from you trying to solve the prospect’s problem without knowing the big picture. If a prospect starts to give you the brush off–saying they don’t need your services, they already work with another company who does that, or they don’t have the budget for your service–you’ve likely told them too much. You tried to solve their problem without taking the time to get to the root of it–the pain. Don’t give the prospect the opportunity to quickly object to what you’re offering–instead, keep them talking by asking questions that help get to the root of their pain. Make sure you understand the full picture, including the financial impact of working with you and how important their problems are to fix.
The best way to handle objections on the phone with a prospect is to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
