1 THOUGHT:

Whether your business card says you’re in sales or not; you are in sales. The traditional understanding of being in sales or simply the need to express and have your point of view fully understood means you are or you need to become a salesperson.

I’ve asked those I’ve trained over the years what a salesperson’s start line looks like. The road to the sale has several required steps but we really earn our money when we hear that first objection. No objection, no sale.

Let me explain. We all have been trained to overcome objections, which is effective to a point, except one major aspect…your mindset is not in line with your real goal. Mindset and the psychology behind how we position our minds as well as our attitudes when we see or hear something, including objections, matters massively. What if you were excited and hoping for an objection from a client, rather than dreading them? Do you believe that would change the outcome in your favor more often?

We can’t do our jobs until an objection surfaces. Objections show interest…”I’d buy now except for this objection”. So we now have interest and clarity from the other party on what it will take to make a sale…that’s an awesome beginning point.

Now we need to address the objection itself. The good news is there are only 2 kinds, the bad news is no matter how good you are you can only manage or speak to 1 kind.

Objections are either fact based and analytical, or they are opinion based and emotional; you cannot address the second type head on.

Most of us that are invested in our craft and our field are fully armed and ready to overcome all logical and analytical objections. It usually takes a mix of the old and proven feel, felt, found approach mixed with the intrinsic product/ service knowledge we have been trained to address. *Side bar – amazing to me all the snake oil salesmen that make a solid living with tips and tricks to make the sale when the psychology supporting feel, felt, found has never been beaten.

Feel – I empathize and understand (you’ve been heard and your point of view has been taken in)

Felt – Several people/ customers have felt the same way (part of a large group)

Found – After understanding the actual situation (logic) they found , came to the same conclusion, as that of the larger group. (comfort in agreement with the masses)

The other type of objection/ buyer…

Emotional buyer. “I don’t like the color of your shorts”

Well, that’s a tough objection to overcome. It’s an opinion, a preference, so what can you do? What you need to do is turn the emotional objection into an analytical objection, but how?

Act surprised – “That’s interesting. That’s not an objection I’ve ever heard before.” (no longer part of a large group…customers are now part of the minority, not the majority where most people are most comfortable)

Interested – “I’d be interested in learning more about how you arrived at that decision” (let the customer do the talking, explaining is not possible if logic is absent)

9/10 times the above answer lands your customer on something logical again, which you are prepared to address.

These aren’t tricks. Sales is a noble career. Your role is to facilitate a purchase but only when the customer wants to buy. People hate to be sold but they love to buy.

Summation…

Analytical: Feel, felt, found…the comfort of knowing the buyer is part of the larger group and not making a decision that is opposite that of the masses. This creates comfort.

Emotional: This is a new objection you’ve never heard before. Your surprise creates an environment where it’s just you and the buyer, there is no mass group that feels the same. You’re interested to understand the point of view because you care and it’s the opinion of so few. People/ Buyers don’t feel comfortable when it’s only them. We all question our decisions when they are only ours.

The only way a true sales person or anyone can make the person opposite them feel great about their decision is to make it logical. Take the time and do it the right way…trick free. Understanding the pychology of a sale or interaction is of critical importance if you want to be heard and drive direction.

1 QUOTE:

” Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her to solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service”

-Brian Tracy

1 QUESTION?:

Are there one or two interactions you would redo over the last few weeks? Is there any reason you couldn’t make a quick call and say you’d like to better understand their point of view? How many people competing for their attention/ their business are willing to make this call and ask for a reset? Make the call.

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