Because of your lead qualification process, your prospects are ready, willing, and able in an ideal world. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world, so objections will arise. While you can't avoid them, you can learn how to deal with them effectively and turn a "no" or "maybe" into a "yes." Here's how to go about it.
How to Overcome an Objection
We'll go over specific objections in a moment, but there is a general process for dealing with objections. Practice it so that, even if you're caught off guard, you'll be more likely to overcome the objection – whatever it is.
There are four basic steps to the method in general: 1. LISTEN
Don't just listen to your prospect's objections; actually listen to them. You should be able to anticipate potential objections before they arise. Later in this article, I'll go over the most common concerns – and how to deal with them. Rather than jumping in with an answer – or even worse, cutting your prospect off before they’ve even had time to share their concerns in full – be sure to give your prospect time to speak. It’ll help them feel like you’re genuinely looking to help and have their best interests at heart, which increases your chances of closing the deal once you’ve handed the objection. 2. Understand People are complicated. We don't always say exactly what we mean – and even when we do, our words can be misconstrued. As a result, it's critical to paraphrase your prospect's concerns in order to demonstrate that you understand their objection (or that you didn't fully understand, allowing your prospect to correct you). For example, you could say, "Just to be clear, you're concerned that the onboarding costs are too high, so it'll take too long – and cost too much – for you to see the benefit of our product." Is that right?” There could be additional underlying objections that the prospect hasn't expressed or has only alluded to. You'll need to ask open-ended questions to help you uncover all of the objections before you can respond effectively. 3. Respond Recognize that your prospect's concerns are valid, regardless of whether they appear to be a serious issue to you. If they believe you aren't taking their concerns seriously or are simply trying to bully them into agreeing, it's unlikely you'll be able to close the deal. If the objection is something you have the authority to handle yourself, don’t be afraid to do it. Otherwise, explain that you need to run it up the flagpole and arrange a time to get back to them. 4. Confirm
Reiterate the objection and confirm that if you can overcome it, the prospect will be happy to proceed with the transaction. This second point is critical: it's pointless to spend time overcoming an objection if it doesn't get you any closer to securing their business. Remember that some prospects will never buy – in that case, it's not an objection, but a dismissal. If they don't have a sufficient budget, aren't a fully qualified prospect, or lack the decision-making authority – and show no signs of discussing your pitch with anyone higher up the chain of command – you're probably wasting your time. When these four steps are combined, they may look something like this:
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