Category: Overcoming Objections

Five New Ways to Handle, “I’m too busy”

by mike

Of all the brush offs you get while prospecting, the good old standby: “I’m too busy to talk now,” is right up there with, “I’m not interested,” and “Just email me something.” The reason this is such a popular response with prospects is that most sales people don’t know how to handle it, and so are easily put off and happy to “call back later.” Of course, this is just what the prospect wants them to do, and, since they now have your caller ID#, they’ll know to let the call go to voicemail the next time they see it!

The key to handling this stall – as with all others – is to sidestep it first and earn the right to ask a few, quick qualifying questions to see if you’re really dealing with a qualified buyer or not. And that’s what the following rebuttals allow you to do.

As with any brush off, objection or stall, though, this one is easy to handle if you just take the time to learn some proven responses to it, and then use them with confidence when you get it. To help you deal with this brush off more effectively, I urge you to pick any of the responses below that best suits your style, product and service. Feel free to change them slightly so they are most comfortable for you to use, and then practice them each and every time you get this objection. Here they are:

“I’m too busy to talk right now”

Response One:

“I completely understand, and I know what it’s like to be interrupted. Tell you what: Before I schedule a call back with you – let’s take just a moment now to make sure this is something that’s even worth it for me to call you back on.

Quick question: How open are you to considering a new vendor to handle your (product or service), if you found you could realistically save your already limited time and money?”

OR

“Quick question: We supply/have a solution for/provide (your product or service), and the clients who schedule a 10 minute call with us are really happy they learned about it. I’m willing to call you back later today or even tomorrow morning, but first – what would you say your level of interest would be in making a move to a more efficient way of (doing what your product or service does)?”

Response Two:

“I’m with you, and let’s face it – we’re all too busy until we hear about something that can really benefit us. Let me tell you in a nutshell how this can help you, and then if you’d like to know more, we can schedule a time that’s better later – fair enough?”

[If yes, then briefly give a description and use a qualifying tie-down question.]

Response Three:

“Got it and I won’t keep you. Quick question: Are you the right person to speak with in regards to (your product or service)?”

[If yes]

“Great, then before I schedule a time to get back with you, let me just ask you two quick things:

Number one, if you found that you could increase (list a benefit or two), and reduce your (again, list a benefit or two), how open would you be to viewing a demo on it?”

And two, if you decided this was worthy enough to seriously consider, who, besides yourself, would weigh in on making that decision?”

“Great, then let’s go ahead and schedule that. I’ve got two times tomorrow…”

Response Four:

“Wow, you do sound busy! No worries – I can either call you back in 20 minutes, or we can spend just two minutes now to see if this is a fit for you – if not, then I won’t have to bother you again. How does that sound?”

OR

“Yes, you do sound busy. O.K., would you like me to call you back in an hour or later this afternoon?”

OR

“O.K., no problem. Let me see….Well, I could call you back this afternoon or we could set up a brief 5 minute call tomorrow morning – which works best for you?”

Response Five:

“Hey, I know what it’s like to be busy – but the last thing I want to do is schedule a call back if you’re really not interested in what I’ve got. Let’s do this: I’ll ask you just a quick question or two and if there’s some interest on your end, then we’ll schedule some time later – fair enough?

[If yes]

“Great. _________, are you open to purchasing/investing/learning about a new way to handle your (your product) if you were convinced it would save you time/make your job easier/be better at…?”
OR

“Quickly, what would your timeline be for (changing/investing/trying) a new service for your (what your product or service does) if you found you could dramatically increase/save, etc.?”

Once again, remember that your job is to earn the right to ask a few qualifying questions to see if your prospect is even worth putting on your call back list. And by using the scripts above, you’ll be able to do just that.

How to Handle: “I haven’t looked at the information yet.”

by mike

Of all the objections sales reps get when they call a prospect back to close them, this is perhaps one of the most frustrating – and the reason is because it’s usually caused by the sales rep! Here’s what happens: Sales reps send an email or brochure or link about their information out to a prospect, and when they call back, they invariably open the conversation with:

“Hi, I’m just calling to see if you received the information I sent out to you?”

OR worse:

“Hi, just following up on the information I sent to you – ah, did you have a chance to go through it yet?”

What do you think the prospect will say? Nine times out of ten the prospect will give you the stall: “I haven’t looked at it yet…” And then the sales rep is stuck and usually ends the call trying to schedule a time to get back with them…and you can imagine how this goes.

So, the first tip is to STOP asking IF the prospect has received/read/gone through the information, and instead open your calls with this assumptive opening:

“Hi this is _______ _________ with __________ calling about the information on our lead production process you wanted me to send to you. Now I’m sure you’ve gone through it a bit and probably have some questions for me. What stood out to you the most?”

And then hit your mute button and begin listening to what they say, and how they say it.

If at that time you get the stall that they haven’t gone through it yet, no problem! Just use any of the responses below to counter and move past this objection:

“I haven’t looked at the information yet.”

Response One:

“That’s fine, in fact we can go over it together, and this way I’ll be able to answer any questions that come up for you. Can you open that email up for me? I’ll be glad to hold while you do….

Response Two:

“That’s O.K., I know you’re busy, and it’s actually a good thing you haven’t looked at it yet. This way, while I’m on the phone with you, we can go through it together, and I can answer any questions that come up. Do you happen to have it in front of you?
Then use any of the following open ended questions to engage the prospect:

“By the way, how are you currently handling your lead flow right now?”

OR

“You mentioned that you have compared these kinds of services before – what have you particularly been looking for in a new provider?”

Response Three:

“I understand and that’s O.K. Let’s do this: let’s spend just a few minutes together right now and I can direct you to a few points that might have particular interest to you. Go ahead and open that email/brochure up…”

Response Four:

“It sounds like you’re as busy as me! No problem, though, here’s what we can do: while I have you on the phone, let me point a couple of things out to you so that later when you have more time to go through it, you’ll know what to look for. Can you open that email briefly for me?”

Response Five:

“That’s O.K.; I know how busy you are. If you have just a minute now, I’ll be happy to quickly point out some of the points that would appeal to you most. That will save you time later when you go through it. Do you have that handy?”

Response Six:

“I’m sorry you didn’t get it; it probably got stuck in your spam filter. Tell you what, I’ll just go ahead and resend that right now…..O.K., it’s on the way to you. Tell me when you see it pop up….”

Response Seven:

“I’ll go ahead and send the brochure again, and while it’s on the way to you, let me just ask you:

“How motivated are you and your department to make a change in the way you handle…?”

OR

“And if you do like the program, besides yourself, who else would have to weigh in on this decision?”

And any other re-qualification questions.

Response Eight:

“I completely understand and how about this: Go ahead and open that email up, and I’ll just briefly point out two things that will give you a framework for when you have time to go through it. Do you still have it in your inbox?”

Response Nine:

“Hey I get that all the time, so no worries. If you have just a few minutes now, I’d be happy to point a few things out – can you open that email briefly for me?”

Response Ten:

“I completely understand and let’s schedule a time when we can go over that together – how does later today or tomorrow morning look for you?”

As you can see, the best way to deal with the “I haven’t had time to look at the information yet” objection is by not causing it to begin with! After that, if you do get this annoying stall, it’s easy to sidestep it – if you know how. And now you do!

Five New Ways of Handling the “Just Email Me Something”

by mike

While the method of this stall has changed throughout the years: it went from, “Just put a brochure in the mail, and I’ll look at it,” to “Why don’t you fax something to me, and I’ll look it over,” to now it’s, “Just email me your information, and I’ll look it over,” unfortunately, it all still means the same thing: your prospect either doesn’t want to take the time to be pitched, or they don’t need what you’re selling.

Either way, this stall sets up one of the most frustrating parts of sales – the chase. Think about it: how many times have you sent off your information and, when you’ve been fortunate enough to “catch” the prospect again, you’ve heard: “I haven’t looked at it” or “We’re not interested at this time”? Probably a lot, right?

The way to avoid this is to earn the right to ask a few key qualifying (or disqualifying, as I like to call them) questions so you can save both of you a lot of time and effort later on (to say nothing of saving yourself a lot of disappointment as well).

The solution, as always, is to be prepared for this brush off with a good script that fits your personality and product or service. Take the time now to adapt and customize one or more of the responses below so you are prepared the next time your prospect uses this stall.

Response One:

“I’ll be happy to do that, but once you see the material, you’ll probably have more questions than answers…so let’s do this first: I’ll ask you just a couple of quick questions to see if this is even a fit for you at this time, and then, if it is, I’ll send you some targeted information – sound fair?

[If Yes – ask any appropriate of the questions below]

“First, would you be the right contact for handling (XYZ)?”

OR

“I know I called you out of the blue, but if you found that you could (give a benefit of your product or service), what might your timeframe be for considering making a decision on it?”

OR

“How are you currently handling (XYZ), and what might motivate you to consider making a change?”

OR

“How open are you to seriously considering making a change (or making a move on) XYZ in the next one or two months?”
Now note about this rebuttal I put in the question: “sound fair?” at the beginning. You can leave that out if your prospect is in a rush or if you can tell you’ve caught him/her at a bad time – you’ll need to decide on a case by case basis.

Response Two:

“You bet I can – what’s your email address?”

[Take it down and then email them your information!]

“O.K., I just sent it. Now while you open that up, let me ask you a quick question:

“How do you get involved in ordering/handling/working with the XYZ?”

OR

“From a needs standpoint, how motivated is (your company/department/are you) to change/fix/replace/buy XYZ right now?”

OR

“What would you need to see in the information I just sent you for you to become interested in learning more about what we do?”

Response Three:

“I’d be more than happy to do that – where would you like me to email that?”

[Take it down and then email them your brochure.]

“O.K., it’s on the way to you. What I’d like to do right now is take just two minutes to get an idea of what’s important to you, and then I can direct you to that part of the information when you get around to it. Let me ask you:

“How do you get involved in ordering/handling/working with the XYZ?”

OR

“From a needs standpoint, how motivated is (your company/department/are you) to change/fix/replace/buy XYZ right now?”

OR

“What would you need to see in the information I just sent you for you to become seriously interested in making a change in how you’re handling XYZ now?”

Response Four:

“I have a better idea: rather than send you something you may not be really interested in, I’ll save you the time of going through it – or deleting it! – by asking you just a couple of quick questions now to see if there’s really a need. If there is, then I’ll have my assistant email you something:

“Are you the best person to talk to about changing/replacing/ordering the (XYZ)?”

OR

“I know I called you out of the blue, but if you found that you could (give a benefit of your product or service), what might your timeframe be for considering making a decision on it?”

OR

“How are you currently handling (XYZ), and what might motivate you to consider making a change?”

OR

“How open are you to seriously considering making a change (or making a move on) XYZ in the next one to two months?”

Response Five:

“Be happy to do that – where do you want me to email that to?”

[Then]

“And while you have me on the phone, let me briefly ask you just a couple of quick questions which will determine whether or not it makes sense for me to follow up on information I’ll send you. For example:

“How likely are you (or your company/department) to be in the market to make a change in (the way you handle XYZ) if you found a better alternative?”

OR

“If you like what you see in the information, what would the next step for us be?”

OR

“What would realistically stand in the way of us doing business together in the next few weeks if you saw some value in the information?”
There you have it – five new ways to handle the age old brush off – “Just mail/fax/email me some information.” As will all new scripts, take some time to adapt them to fit your product or service, and to fit your personality and style. Once you do develop an effective way of delivering this information, then commit to practicing, drilling and rehearsing it until it becomes automatic for you.

Eighteen New Ways to Handle “I’m Not Interested”

by mike

Regardless of what kind of prospecting you’re doing – whether you’re calling back in-bound leads who have contacted you, or old accounts who haven’t purchased in a while, or just straight cold calls – you’re still going to get a good dose of the blow off objection: “I’m not interested.” While I’ve provided many different ways of handling this in the past, here are eighteen new, customized responses for each of the lead categories from above. Here they are:

For “warm” leads who have filled out an online form or reached out to you in some other way:

“I’m not interested”

Response one:

“That’s perfectly O.K., _________, you’ve probably forgotten that you (filled in a form, requested info, etc.) so I don’t expect you to be interested in what you must think is a cold call. But just to remind you – on (date/time) you (visited our website/dropped by our booth/filled out a form, etc.) do you remember that?”

[If Yes]

“What did you need at that time?”

Response two:

“No problem _________, I also forget half the things I request info on. Just to remind you, we (what you do), and on (date/time) you (visited our website/dropped by our booth/filled out a form, etc.) do you remember that?”

[If Yes]

“Do you remember what prompted you to reach out to us at that time?”

Response three:

“That’s fine, quick question though: When you filled out (our online form, etc.) has anyone else from our office contacted you about it yet?”

[If No]

“I see. Well I do apologize for that. Just out of curiosity, did you get that handled yet or are you still looking?”

For inactive accounts or people you’ve not spoken to in a while:

“I’m not interested”

Response one:

“That’s fine _________, and I’m simply calling to update your account information for our records. Quick question: Are you still the right contact person who handles ordering the ________ for your company?”

Response two:

“Oh that’s O.K., I’m not calling to sell you anything today. Just want to make sure you still know we’re here in case you do need something down the road. By the way, do you guys still carry/use/order ________?”

Response three:

“I get that all the time, and just know that the only reason I’m calling is to introduce myself as your contact should you ever need to check pricing or availability on an item. Quick question: are you the right contact for _________?”

Response four:

“No problem _________. I’ll simply email you my contact information in case you ever do need anything, and then I’ll get out of your hair. By the way, would you be the best person to email this to, or is there someone else who is handling ________ now?”

Response five:

“That’s no problem at all – quick question: is it that you don’t need anything just now, or do you even order/carry/use ________ anymore at all?”

[“We do order, we just don’t need any now.”]

“Great. When you are in the market again, could I be one of the vendors/suppliers/sources you go to for a quote?”

For cold calling or prospecting calls:

“I’m not interested”

Response one:

“Quick question: Does that mean you’re not interested at this moment, but in a few months things could change, and I should keep in touch?”

Response two:

“Who else at your company do you think might have a need for something like this?”

Response three:

“I’m with you – quick question though: are you the right contact for this, or is there another department (or person) I should check with?”

Response four:

“When should I check back with you?”

[If given a date]

“Great. So I can be more prepared for that, quick question: are you the right contact for this?” (Then add other qualifying questions)

Response five:

“If you were to be interested, what is the typical (volume, amount, frequency, etc.) that you normally order/use/need?”

[If they tell you]

“And who do you normally get that from?”

Response six:

“When was the last time you were interested in something like this?”

Response seven:

“And what would have to change for you to be more open to something like this in the future?”

Response eight:

“Should I lose your number or put you on a 6-month follow up call?” (Say with a BIG smile!)

[If call back in 6 months]

“Great. What should I keep an eye out for in between then?”

Response nine:

“The next time you are interested in (your product), could I get back with you and see if we can help?”

[If yes]

“When should I follow back up with you?”

Response ten:

“Thanks for letting me know up front. If I were to get back with you in the future, what would I have to have to get you to be more open to something like this?

So there you have it. Eighteen more ways of handling the “I’m not interested” objection. Make sure to customize these to fit your product or service and to fit your personality. Once you find one that feels right, and that gets your prospects to open up, then stick with it and practice it over and over again. Remember: practice of the right responses will always make perfect.

How to Eliminate Objections

by mike

I was coaching a client this week and he was complaining about the biggest objection he almost always gets at the end of his presentation – that prospect stall the sale by saying they have to run it by another person first to get approval.

Now I’ve written about this before and provided ways of overcoming this, such as by isolating it with: (“If the decision were up to you, what would YOU do?”), etc., but he tells me that it still comes up and is the number one objection/stall that keeps him from closing sales. Here was my advice:

First, realize that when an objection keeps coming up at the end of your close, you need to find a way to deal with it – actually eliminate it – during your first qualifying call. I’ve always found that if I didn’t uncover and deal with an objection on the first call, then it’s my fault if it continually comes up at the end of the closing call (which it usually does). So the point here is that you need to handle it before it comes up.

Second, I recommended that we role play the solution. Here’s how it went:

Me: So tell me who you consult with when making the decision on something like this?

Prospect (P): Well, if I like it, then I send it to my regional manager.

Me: O.K., and how open is your regional manager to adding another vendor in this area?

P: Actually, I don’t know. I just send things on to them and sometimes they do it, and sometimes they don’t.

Me: I understand. And what is the name of your regional manager?

P: Dave.

Me: O.K., well how about we do this. Rather than you and me taking time to go through a whole presentation together and then you liking it and sending it on hoping that Dave approves it, how about if you send Dave an email and see if he is even open to adding vendors at this time. If he is, then I’ll set up the presentation with you and then, if you like it, you can then forward this on to Dave, how does that sound?

P: That’s sounds O.K.

Me: In fact, I’ll go one further for you. How about if I send Dave the email, I’ll copy you, and then we’ll both know if we should continue or not. After I hear back from him, yes or no, then I’ll reach back out to you and either set something up or schedule to follow up in a few months – how does that sound?

P: O.K.

Me: Great. What’s Dave’s email address?

What we’ve done here is qualify before we invest all our time and effort in a prospect who may or may not even be in the market to move on something. This is crucial when we’re dealing with an influencer who, and as we know, are often not in the position to make a decision. We absolutely have to get buy in from a decision maker (if we can) before we go down the very frustrating road of pitching the wrong person.

Now, will this technique work all the time? Of course not; none will. But what it WILL do is give you a fighting chance of finding out if there is even a real opportunity here to begin with. And that’s a whole lot more than you probably have right now.

Also note: the influencer’s willingness to go down this road will also tell you something as well. If they aren’t willing to email the decision maker, then he/she probably already knows what the answer is. If they are willing to do it, then you’ll either get a qualified lead, or you’ll save a lot of time. Either way, you’ll be way ahead of the game.

So take back control of the sales process by learning to eliminate objections and stalls on the front end of the sales cycle. If you don’t, then you have no one to blame but yourself…

How to Overcome the "Just Email Me Something" Objection

by mike

If you prospect for a living, then I know you get the brush off, “Just email me your information.”

And if you then take the time to email something thinking that you’ll have something to discuss on the next call, then I know how deflated and frustrated you are when you attempt to get back to someone. Does, “Oh, it’s not for us” ring a bell? Or worse?

Here is what to say the next time you get the “Just email me something blow off:

“(First Name), I’ll be happy to do that. I’ve got over 600 pages of information I could email you, so let me just ask you a couple of quick questions to make sure I’m sending you something that fits your situation…”

Now ask them your qualifying questions!

This technique will save you hundreds of hours of calling and chasing unqualified and disinterested prospects because, finally, you’ll have a chance to disqualify out the non-buyers right away.

And, of course, you’ll also be able to actually uncover who the real, interested buyers are as well. How great will that be?

The profession of sales isn’t hard if you just take the time to prepare proven and effective responses to the selling situations you run into day after day. Unfortunately, 80% of sales reps will never do that and this is why they struggle.

Today, you have the chance to prepare YOUR response so you can move a little bit closer to Top 20% sales performance.

Metrics-Driven Sales Objection Handling – Feel, Felt, Found

by mike

(This article is by Guest Author: Gareth Goh, InsightSquared.com)

When faced with a bevy of objections – particularly from top-of-the-funnel prospects – sales reps might see their slim chances of closing this customer fading away. Sometimes, sales objection handling can feel like throwing up a Hail Mary, especially when the sales rep is unprepared, with no data at hand to counteract objections.

That’s where the “Feel, Felt, Found” methodology can help rescue some of these slipping-away prospects, especially with coupled with metrics and data during the last stage. Here’s how you should execute “Feel, Felt, Found,” with some metrics-driven sales objection handling during the “Found” phase to really pack a powerful punch.

Feel

Prospective Customer: I’m just not convinced that your product can solve my pain points.

Sales rep: I understand how you feel.

Saying this demonstrates empathy and shows that you heard what the prospective customer is saying and that you can relate. People want to be understood, especially when they are describing their pain points and skepticism. Saying this is a great way of disarming them, setting you up for the next step.

Felt

Sales rep: In fact, this customer I just worked with, Steve, felt the exact same way as you do.

Again, this not only demonstrates empathy, but also makes the prospective customer feel more comfortable in the knowledge that he or she is not the only one who has felt this way before. Their objection is, in fact, a common one. Your confidence in acknowledging so also suggests that you are comfortable dealing with this objection, and that the situation is fluid – in past instances where other customers have felt this way too, they soon changed their tone. Which takes us to the next step.

Found

Sales rep: I demonstrated X, Y and Z capabilities of our product to Steve and he soon found that the we could not only solve all the issues he was facing, but even made his life easier in these other areas.

The “found” part of this methodology is critical. For starters, referring to a specific customer provides social proof – if other people are finding success with it, this skeptic will be more convinced. Additionally, this alleviates the burden of selling from you – old customer Steve is now essentially doing most of the selling.

Where “found” really has potential to succeed, however, is when quantitative data is cited, with demonstrable proof in the proverbial pudding. Take us, for example. Let’s say we were talking to a hypothetical prospect looking to significantly increase their average deal size. They are highly skeptical that a sales analytics product like ours can help in that regard. But what if the sales rep follows up the “found” section by saying something like this:

Sales rep: I understand your need to increase your average deal size. A lot of people we talked to expressed this concern and weren’t sure that we could handle it. In fact, Steve Richard of Vorsight found that after starting with InsightSquared, their average deal size increased from $16k to $25k – a 56% increase!

And therein lies the power of data. Look at the difference that metrics-driven sales objection handling can deliver. Instead of making some vague general references to past customers who have found success with your product – “Trust me, lots of customers have increased their deal size tremendously after they started with us!” – talking about a specific customer, with quantifiable solutions to common pain points, will resonate much more loudly.

Of course, getting to metrics-driven sales objection handling during the “found” phase means having those metrics and data available to you in the first place. This requires a data-driven culture that is invested and interested in quantifying the success of their past customers. Metrics-driven sales objection handling is made even more feasible if you have a library of case studies to access. The quantifiable data of success, coupled with the social proof of other customers, makes metrics-driven sales objection handling as part of the ‘Feel, Felt, Found’ methodology an effective strategy.

How do your sales reps handle sales objections? Are metrics typically involved? Share your thoughts with me by emailing me – mike@mrinsidesales.com.

InsightSquared <http://www.insightsquared.com/> is the #1 Salesforce Analytics product for small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Unlike legacy Business Intelligence platforms, InsightSquared can be deployed affordably in less than a day without any integration costs and comes preloaded with reports that real business people can use.

Learn more about Sales and Marketing Management Analytics on the InsightSquared blog <http://www.insightsquared.com/blog/>.

How to Use Bingo to Increase Sales

by mike

Last week I was in Las Vegas presenting to a team of about 150 directors of inside sales and the subject was how they could to help their inside sales teams set more appointments. The problem their teams were having (and they are not unique in this way as many of you know through experience) was learning how to handle/bypass initial resistance and persevere through to getting their prospects to agree to an in house meeting. More specifically, the team was getting discouraged after one or two initial objections and giving up too soon.

To help them gain perspective on the importance of being persistent, I shared the following sales statistics with them:

48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect
25% of sales people make a second contact and stop
12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop
ONLY 10% of sales people make more than three contacts
2% of sales are made on the first contact
3% of sales are made on the second contact
5% of sales are made on the third contact
10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

In terms of prospecting and asking for the appointment, these statistics are extremely useful. What the directors were finding was that their reps were giving up long before the prospect was ready to say yes to the appointment. What we needed to do was to A) teach the reps how to effectively handle the initial resistance they were getting, and then B) teach them how to persevere long enough to keep asking for the appointment until the prospect said yes.

To teach the reps how to handle initial resistance, we developed a playbook of scripted responses that equipped the reps with effective ways of dealing with the objections they get over and over again. Knowing how to confidently handle these objections is the first step to teaching the reps how to persevere in the face of rejection.

The second step in persevering long enough to finally get a yes to setting the appointment was to teach the reps that it was not only OK to repeatedly get several no’s or objections, but that it was actually necessary to get them. In other words, we needed to train the reps that more no’s they get, the nearer they were to actually getting the appointment. And this is where the Bingo idea came in.

There are many ways that front line supervisors and managers can mentor and coach sales reps through prospecting and closing calls, but a new way of teaching them to actually look forward to getting no’s is to make a game of it using Bingo as the model.

As many of you know, the game of bingo is played by matching numbers that are drawn to a game card that contains 24 numbered spaces in a 5 x 5 grid. Once a player completes a ‘Bingo’ pattern, such as a line with five numbers in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row on one of their cards, they win the game and or a prize. During the training, one of the directors had a great idea that would use the game of bingo to help their sales reps overcome their fear of getting rejected.

She said that she was going to put a bingo card together, but she was going to replace the numbers on the card with abbreviations of objections. For example, she would make one of the squares “NI” for “Not Interested” and “NM” for “No Money” and “SI” for “Just send some information.” Then she would pass out a card to each sales rep during their next scheduled call night, and she would instruct the rep to cross out one of the squares whenever they got the corresponding objection. The first one to complete a ‘Bingo’ pattern would win!

The brilliance of this idea is that by making getting objections or blow offs a game the reps will be trained to not only expect them, but also to look forward to getting them as well. In fact, because reps often get several objections per call, the practice of completing a bingo card will train the rep that the more times they ask for the appointment on the same call (and so get more objections) the more they will ‘win’ at the game. Oh, and the more times they win at bingo, the more times they will win by getting an appointment as well.

Teaching sales reps to persevere through the objections and stalls they get on calls will result in more confidence, less fear and call reluctance and, of course, more appointments and sales. And the great thing about using bingo to teach this is that reps suddenly get to ‘reframe’ what is usually a demoralizing experience into a game of chance. The more chances they take in using the rebuttal scripts and asking for the appointment, the more chances they have to win at the game of sales.

I thanked Jill for this great training idea, and each time I mentioned it to the next group of directors they liked it, too. If you are in charge of a group of inside sales reps – or if you are an inside sales rep and need some help in persevering through objections – then I encourage you to try this out as well. Remember, persistence overcomes resistance, so use the game of bingo to teach your reps how to persevere to get the appointment or the sale – or both!

Just Send Your Information Rebuttal

by mike

Best Way to Handle the “Email me your information” Blow off

How do you currently handle the brush off, “Just email me – or send – me your information”?  Believe it or not, about 80% of sales teams I speak with actually shoot off an email, schedule a follow up call, put the company in their pipeline and then begin the frustrating process of chasing unqualified leads.

If you’re doing this as well, then I don’t have to tell you what it’s like trying to get back to these leads.  Want a better way?

I was having a conversation with a director of sales the other day, Kevin Gaither, and he told me that his team has come up with a great response that helps them qualify past this blow off objection.  Here’s what they say:

“I’d be happy to email you our information.  (Prospect’s name) I have a 64 page PDF file that I can email you, but do you mind if I ask you just a couple of quick questions so I can only send you that part that you’d be most interested in?”

Brilliant response, huh?  Now I can already hear some of you – “But I don’t have a 64-page PDF….”  Well, how about adjusting this response to what you DO have?  How about:

““I’d be happy to email you our information.  (Prospect’s name) I have a variety of brochures/price lists/product catalogues/programs I can email you, but do you mind if I ask you just a couple of quick questions so I can only send you that part/the specific information/the right price list that you’d be most interested in?”

What I like about this response is it immediately calls their bluff.  If they are just trying to blow you off, then they will not cooperate here and will tell you again to just email your information – which you won’t do.  It’s better to set another time for the call (for when they do have 5 minutes to discuss this with you).

On the other hand, if they are even slightly real, then they will allow you to ask a couple of qualifying questions and you’ll be able to see if they would be a right fit for your product or service.  Either way, you win.

If you found this article helpful, then you’ll love my NEW book of phone scripts, “The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts.”  Get over 220 Brand New Scripts to help you easily get past the gatekeeper, set appointments, overcome objections and close more sales. Visit: https://mrinsidesales.com/booklaunch.htm to find out why Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins call this the best book on inside sales available today!

How to Overcome the Brush Off When Cold Calling

by mike

Almost everybody I know hates cold calling. And who can blame them? Everyone they call hates it, too. Receptionists hate getting sales call, prospects hate taking calls so it?s no wonder that sales reps hate it, too. In fact the sales industry as a whole hates it so much that it invented an entirely new way of making contacts called Sales 2.0. The problem with that though is that eventually you still have to pick up the phone and make a call.

So we’re back to the beginning, aren’t we? The only real solution is to learn how to make cold (or warm) calls effectively, and once you learn that, you’ll finally learn the secret of Top 20% performance. You see, the Top 20% don?t mind making cold calls. In fact, many of them (myself included) actually enjoy connecting with potential prospects and uncovering buying opportunities. And you can do this too if you learn to be prepared for the common brush offs and blow offs you get over and over again.

Here are three proven scripts you can use the next time you get any of the following initial brush off objections. Work with these and adjust them to fit your personality, your product or service. And once you do, begin using them on each and every call. I’ll tell you now, once you know how to handle these common brush offs, and once you begin actually connecting with potential buyers, you?ll not only make more sales, but you’ll actually enjoy making those calls.

How great will that be?

"Just send/fax/email the information (and I?ll keep it on file/have a look at it, etc.)"

"I’ll be happy to get this out to you in the next hour, but while I have you on the phone, let’s first see if this can actually help you and if there?s a real need on your end for this. How are you currently doing (Ask about a process related to your product or service). And if I could show you how to (Ask about how your benefit would help them), would you seriously be willing to consider using our solution to help you?"

"We’re already taken care of"

"I understand _________. And isn’t it true that if you could get the same or even better results for less than you’re spending right now, it’d be silly not to at least listen to how that might happen? You see, many of the clients I work with now told me the same thing but were happy they found out about our (introductory package, new client special, side by side comparison, etc.)"

We just don’t have the budget/money/etc.

"Where do you usually get budget from when you find something that you absolutely must have?"

While these rebuttals won’t help you handle all the selling situations you get when cold calling, they will help you overcome some of the most common ones. If you’d like over 100 effective scripts to handle the rest, and over a 100 closing scripts as well, then invest in my new book: The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts.

People like Jeffrey Gitomer, Tom Hopkins and others are recommending it and giving away a special gift if you get it now. See it here: http://www.mrinsidesales.com/booklaunch.htm