Tag: Overcoming Objections

How to Question for Budget

by mike

Qualifying for budget, or handling objections around budget and money, are areas most sales reps feel uncomfortable in. To start with, I’ve heard many sales reps tell me that bringing up budget or money on a qualifying call is not only uncomfortable, but that it’s inappropriate as well. They say, “I haven’t given any value yet, so it’s too early to talk about budget!”

My response is that if your product or service is out of a prospect’s budget, or if they feel it’s too expensive, then it doesn’t matter how much value you give it – they aren’t going to buy from you. That’s why it’s crucial to qualify for budget up front – just as you would with decision maker, timeframe, etc.

And when objections about money or price come up, again, sales reps often struggle with how to handle it. In fact, most sales reps’ default response is to try to lower the price rather than either build value or help the prospect find other areas to get budget from.

Below you’ll find a variety of ways of both qualifying for budget and asking questions to help assist you in helping the prospect find the budget. Getting comfortable with regularly asking these questions – both during the qualifying stage and during the close – will allow you to both identify qualified prospects and help you close them.

As always, adapt them to fit your product, service or personality and practice, drill and rehearse them until they become automatic for you:

Budget Questions during qualifying:

“How much budget do you have set aside for new advertising?” (This week, quarter, or year)

“How much are you currently spending to attract new consumers?”

“How much budget do you currently spend on keeping or retaining your existing customers?”

“How much have you set aside this?” (Your product or service)

“What do you know about management’s budget when it comes to adding….” (Your product or service)

“Besides yourself, who else would weigh in on making a budget decision on this?”

LAYER:

“And what is their role (or your role) in that process?”

LAYER:

“And what do you know about their budget for adding a new…. (Your product or service)

“How much of a priority is this (your product or service area) for you this month?” (Or quarter)

“How much does your department (or company) spend on new client acquisition?”

“Our solution runs a ballpark of $10,000 up to $50,000.” If you liked what you saw, could you work within that range?”

“What’s your budget for this?”

“What are your plans for (your product or service area) for the upcoming season/quarter for this?”

Budget Questions during the close:

“What is a new customer worth, roughly, to you?”

LAYER:

“And how much budget, per week/month/year, have you set aside to attract those new customers?”

LAYER:

“And how much of that budget is still not used that you could apply to this?”

“When something like this comes up that you believe will work for you (your department or company), how do you normally go about getting the budget for it?”

“How do you draw from next month’s/quarter’s budget to get something like this that you really know will help you?”

“What is your yearly budget for this area (of your product or service)?”

LAYER:

“And how much of that do you have left over?”

“Let me ask you: around this time of year, how do you handle these kinds of purchases?”

“Who else could you get approval from to afford this extra expense?”

“How do you normally get something above budget approved?”

“How can you borrow against next year’s budget to get the profits and results this year?”

“What do you have to do now to make sure this is properly budgeted for next quarter?”

“What other areas/departments can you borrow from to start this service today?”

“If money weren’t an issue here, would you move forward?”

[If Yes]

“GREAT! What are three ways you can think of now to get the budget for this?”

“What did you do last time you really wanted something?”

“How did you get the money last time you really wanted something?”

“We all have ways of getting the money when we really want something, what way do you have of getting the money now?”

“Who (which department) could you borrow from?”

“How about I put you on our low cost down payment program, and you can then set up easy monthly payments so you can get started today?”

As you can see, there are a variety ways of not only bringing up or getting clarity around the budget issue, but of also leading your prospect to revealing how and when they can get or find the budget. Have some fun with this and hit MUTE while you get all the answers and solutions around budget that you need!

Ten New Ways to Handle the “I Need to Think About It” Objection

by mike

How do you currently handle it when your prospect gives you the stall, “I need to think about it”? If you’re like most sales people, you might give a wimpy, half-hearted response and then ask when you can call them back. That doesn’t feel too good, does it?

Let’s face it, whenever you get this objection – or any other stall that is similar to it like, “I need to wait until next week/month,” or “I’ll get back to you it,” – you know as well as I do that it means your prospect isn’t sold and will probably not move forward with you. If you don’t believe me, just look at your won/loss rate when you get this objection.

The way to handle this, then, is to deal with it when it comes up and get your prospect to reveal what is REALLY holding them back. The truth is, this objection (like so many) is usually just a smokescreen hiding the real objection…

Use any of these rebuttals to get your prospect talking to you, to get them to reveal what is really holding them back, and then maybe, just maybe, you’ll have a chance to close the sale.

“I need to think about it”

Response One:

“_________, obviously there is something that either doesn’t make sense to you, or you need to check on something, I’m not sure. But procrastinating on this won’t help make this decision easier for you. Let me ask you this: What proof do I need to give you right now that this will work for you, to help you make that decision?”

Response Two:

“You know ________, whenever someone tells me they have to think about it, it’s usually because the price isn’t exactly where they would like it to be – is that part of what you need to think about?

[If Yes]

Thanks for sharing that with me. Let me tell you why we price this the way we do, and what you get for that pricing…

[Break down each part of your product/service and justify/build value in your price. When done]:

You see _________, you get what you pay for with this and then some. Let’s go ahead and put this to work for you so you can start enjoying the benefits today…”

Response Three:

“__________ I understand that thinking about it might make sense right now, but help me to understand something – what exactly is holding you back from this today?”

Response Four:

“_________ let me ask you: if I could email you right now testimonials from other clients that describe how much success they’ve had with this program, how much of a difference would that make for you right now?”

[Listen carefully here. If this won’t get them to move forward, then]:

“Then, please, I love to learn, what specifically is holding you back from deciding on this today?”

Response Five:

“_________, as you think about the reasons for either moving forward with this or not, I also want you to think about this:

“How much has this been costing you each month by not getting it fixed?”

AND

“And tell me, how much time do you and your team spend on this each week?”

AND

“And how much more money could you (and your company/sales team/family) make if you finally found a solution that worked?”

AND

“And when you think about all the time and energy you’ve already spent thinking about this, how much has THAT cost you so far?”

AND

“And if you continue to procrastinate, how much more do you think THAT will cost you?”

AND

“If you went with our solution and it worked for you, how much would you save/make?”

THEN

“As you can see, continuing to “think about this” has done nothing to fix it and it has only cost you time, money and energy! So why don’t you finally DO something about this today and starting reaping the rewards right now. Here’s what we need to do….”

Response Six:

“I understand that you’re not quite ready to decide on this. Out of curiosity, what factors do you still need to consider?”

AND

“And what kind of proof would you need to decide to go with us?”

AND

“And what else might hold you back from doing this with us?”

Response Seven:

“If there was one thing that would get you to say yes on this today, what would it be?”

Response Eight:

“__________, generally whenever I tell someone I need to think about it, one of three things is going on: One: I’m either weighing other options and want to make sure I’m getting the best deal, or Two: What I’m looking at just doesn’t fit exactly what I need so I want to keep looking, or Three: It’s too much money….

“Which of those three things is happening for you right now?”

Response Nine:

“_________, how much is a new customer worth to you?”

[Listen carefully]

“And do you think what we’re talking about here will bring you enough customers to at least pay for this?”

[If No, then they aren’t sold on your solution, and you’ll need to build more value]

[If Yes]:

“Then there is no downside here for you and each additional client will simply make you money. So let’s do this: let’s sign you up for our introductory offer, and once you see how this WILL make you money, we’ll adjust your subscription to make you even more…”

Response Ten:

“________ tell me two things: Why would you NOT do this, and why would you DO this with me?”

[Hit MUTE and let them talk…]

These rebuttals will work in a variety of situations if you take the time to customize them to your product or service, and then use them consistently. Ultimately, what you’ll find is that if you can get past this smokescreen to the real reason they’re not moving forward with you, then you’ll have the chance to either build value or clarify something they either don’t understand or misunderstand. And once you do that, you’ll finally have a shot at winning their business.

Six New Ways to Handle: “I need to talk to my boss/partner/corporate” etc

by mike

The stall, “I need to speak with someone” is as old as “The price is too high” objection. Despite it being around before all sales reps working today were born, most still have trouble overcoming it. You’d think that with all the good rebuttals and techniques that have been written for it they might have figured it out, but, alas, most reps still struggle with it.

To help you finally and definitively deal with it, I present you five new, improved and proven ways of handling this stall. Now, let me make something clear: these techniques won’t always work at overcoming this stall (sometimes they will, though!), but they will let you know how much of a stall this put off is, whether or not it’s a smokescreen, and how much of a shot you have at overcoming it, side-stepping it, or setting yourself up for a successful next call (or if there should even be a next call with a prospect).

So let’s start at the beginning. The first thing you need to do is qualify for this stall during your opening call. Do you? If you don’t, then you’re likely to keep getting this at the end of your presentations and, oh, how frustrating that must be for you. If you get it once, then shame on them, but if you keep getting it over and over again, then shame on you. Here’s what you must be asking on your first call:

“And _________, besides yourself, who weighs in on the final decision on something like this?”

And if they tell you their boss or corporate, etc., then you must layer that with:

“And how much influence do you have in that?”

And,

“And what do they usually do when you bring them something like this?”

And

“Based on what you know about how they feel about something like this, what do you honestly think they would do?”

Etc. You must get as much clarity as you can upfront so you know what to expect when you go into your demo or presentation. And, of course, as you begin your close, you must also preface it with:

“And before we get started here, just so we’re on the same page, if you like what you see at the end of our presentation today, what are the next steps for putting to work for you on your end?”

OR,

“At the end of our presentation today, if you like what you see, can you put us to work for you today?”

Again, you must have clarity over the process before you begin your presentation. Once you have that, however, if you still get the “I’ll have to show this to my partner, boss, etc.,” then use one of the proven scripts below to handle it. As always, adjust it, customize it, and make it your own, and then practice, drill and rehearse it until you’ve got it down.

“I need to talk to my boss/partner/corporate” etc.

Response One:

“No problem, and are you going to recommend this to them?”

[If Yes]

“Great! Then I’ll hold on while you check with them…”

OR

“Great! And as you mentioned earlier, they do usually go with your recommendation, right?”

[If Yes]

“Wonderful. Then I’ll go ahead and get the paperwork started on my end – can you reach out and see if they’re available now to run this by them?”

[Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this technique! About 20% of the time, the decision maker is sitting in the next room and some people will go and get the approval right then and save you valuable time in delaying and following up…]

Response Two:

“I understand. Let me ask you two things: One: What do you think the biggest reason is they will put us to work for you today?”

[Listen for the buying motive]

“And two: What do you think is the biggest reason they won’t go with this solution?”

[Listen for what the real objection is and then layer and explore…]

Response Three:

“Of course and I understand – we talked before about your decision process. Let me ask you this, though: is getting their approval the ONLY thing holding us back from doing business together?”

[Listen carefully – if YES then]:

“Will you have time to talk to them before we next speak at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon? Great! Then because you’re onboard with this, I’ll go ahead and prepare the paperwork, I’ll email it to you, and I’ll even reserve a spot for you.”

[Give a brief pause here and wait for push back. If none]:

“I’ll look forward to us moving forward tomorrow!”

Response Four:

“I understand _________.” Tell you what I’d be happy to do: I know you’re behind this, right? Well, it’s not fair to ask you to do my job, so if it’s all right with you, I’ll be happy to reach out to (decision maker) directly and answer any questions they might have – would that be O.K.?”

[If NO]

“No problem. Just out of curiosity, do you think they will go with this?”

[If NO or Don’t Know]:

“What would it take for them to say yes?”

Response Five:

“Well, I know you’re behind this, and I know you need it – as we discussed during out first phone call. I know you’ve tried to sell or buy something in the past, and you’ve probably been told that someone had to “talk to someone else” before, right?

[Wait for a response]

“Well, based on your experience, what do you honestly think is going to happen here?”

Response Six:

“I understand. __________, I’ve been in sales a long time, and when someone tells me they have to speak with someone, it either means they really do, or it means they don’t really have to, and it’s just a way to get me off the phone. I don’t think that’s happening here, but if it is, can you level with me?”

[If they really do have to speak with someone, then]
“Thanks for that. Now, based on what you know about this, and based on the fact that you’d like to see us work together, what do you seriously think is going to stand in the way of this getting approved?”

OR

“Thanks for that. Now, based on what you know about this, and based on the fact that you’d like to see us work together, what do you seriously think it’s going to take to get this approved?”

There you have it! Six new ways to handle the “I need to speak with someone” objection. Remember, some of these will work some of the time, but all of them will help you smoke out the real objection. And once you get a handle on what’s really likely to happen, then you can deal with it and overcome it – or move this prospect to the backburner and move on.

Ten New Ways to Handle the Objection: “The Price is Too High”

by mike

The price is too high is an objection that is as old has humanity itself. If you think hard enough, I’m sure you can see the ancient Egyptians walking around an outdoor marketplace haggling with sellers using this very objection. And if you think even harder, you can probably envision weak sellers dropping their prices to make a sale. Things haven’t changed much in four thousand years, have they?

The good news is that today there are a variety of proven ways to handle this age old objection. The most obvious way is to see it for it often is: a smokescreen hiding either a real objection or an attempt to haggle and have you to cave in and give a better price. In either of these situations the technique is to isolate the objection first and see what other stalls they come up with are before you negotiate price. You’ll see examples of these below.

The following rebuttals are broken down into two groups: One set of rebuttals are for business to consumer sales – things like investments, insurance, home remodel, etc., and the other are for business to business. In B to B, the objection often manifests more as a “budget” problem, but many times companies are looking for the best deal as well and so will still try to haggle on price with you.

Below are ten new ways to handle both types of price/budget objections. Pick the ones you’re most comfortable with, then make them your own and practice them until they become automatic. Given the frequency of this objection, you’ll be much more confident once you know how to handle it:

Business to consumer rebuttals:

“The price is too high – I can’t afford that”

Response One:
“I completely understand, and let’s face it – we all have to work within a budget. But there is always a difference between a purchase and an investment. With a purchase, the value usually goes down, so regardless of what you spend – whether you can afford it or not – it’s never going to appreciate or justify its value.

But with an investment – like this is – what you spend always justifies itself and ends up either saving you money in the long run or paying for itself month after month. And it always makes sense to invest in yourself, don’t you agree?”

[If Yes]

“Then here’s what I recommend we do…”

Response Two:
“I definitely hear what you’re saying, but let’s take the price out of this for a moment and let me ask you: besides price, what other reasons do you have for not moving forward with this today?

[Note: I know that’s a negative response, but given that you are trying to isolate the objection and uncover any others, in this case it’s recommended.]

OR

“I understand and let me ask you: if price weren’t an issue on this – in other words, if this were more in alignment with what you could pay, is this something you would move forward with today?”

[If Yes]

“Great! Then tell me, where could you get the money from for this?”

Response Three:
“__________, you’ve probably heard that expression ‘Other people’s money,’ right? Well the good news with this is that you can use other people’s money to purchase it and begin enjoying the benefits right now! We have two ways for you to do that:

You can either put this on a credit card and make whatever payments you can until it’s paid off, or you can take advantage of our introductory offer where you can put no money down and make interest free payments for as long as 18 months!

In the meantime, you get to (start enjoying/the benefit/the protection) of this (service or product) from day one! Which of those two options do you like better?”

Response Four:
“Now _________, for this investment – as with every other – you always have to ask yourself: what is working for me now and what could be working harder? Like all of us, I’m sure you’ve got some stocks or funds that haven’t performed quite as you’d have wished, don’t you?

Well this is your chance to move those under performing investments around and put your money to work for you in a vehicle that can not only help you make up for lost time, but exceed some of your better producing investments.

What comes to mind now that wouldn’t mind putting to better use for you?”

Response Five:
“You know, you said something very important – you said that the price is too high. I’d really like to work with you on this, so help me to understand – what exactly are you comparing this price to?”

Business to business rebuttals:

“The price is too high – We don’t have the budget for it”

Response One:
“You’re right, and I know we’re not the cheapest out there – and it’s important that you heard that right – we’re not the “cheapest” service on the market. And there’s a very important reason for that: The quality that you get with us goes far beyond the few extra dollars you’ll invest today, and let me tell you the top three reasons why….”

Response Two:
“And that’s exactly why we offer our introductory package. Here’s the thing: we’re so convinced that you’ll come to appreciate the added services and value we offer that as soon as you begin using our service, you’ll forget all about the small initial cost.

In fact, you’ll find that in the long run our (product or service) is not only affordable, but it saves you time AND makes you money. And that’s something you’re interested in doing, isn’t it?”

Response Three:
“_________, if you really think about this from a business perspective, you’ll soon see that this is actually something that you can’t afford NOT to do, and let me tell you why: If you don’t put this (product or service) to work for you, while you may save a bit of money today, you’ll be losing money tomorrow in terms of (lost revenues, cost overruns, lost sales and opportunities, etc.). As a business, you just can’t afford to keep doing that.

So here’s what I recommend: Do what all businesses do: Finance this. Put it on your business credit card and make payments, write off the interest, and all the while, begin profiting from the extra business and market share this will bring you. When you’re ahead, just pay off the card and keep the profits from this! Let’s go ahead and do this….”

Response Four:
“You know, a lot of business owners (V.P.’s, etc.) at first think this is an expense, but think again: if it helps to bring you more business, and/or helps you keep the clients and customers you already have, then it becomes an investment in your success, doesn’t it? And that’s how all successful companies grow – they invest in their business.

And that’s what you have the opportunity to do right now. So let’s get you started…”

Response Five:
“I hear you _________, and let’s just say that I could wave a magic wand and get you the money (or reduce the price to where it would fit within your budget). Level with me: what other reasons would you have for not at least considering putting this to work for you today?”

[Now listen for the real objection and deal with it appropriately]

So now you have ten new ways of handling the price objection. Make sure and listen for what the real objection is and then use the right script to overcome it.

Five New Ways to Handle the “We’re Currently Working With Someone.”

by mike

If you’re selling one of the more popular products or services on the market (and who isn’t?), then you probably run into this blow off all the time. Like most brush offs, prospects like to use this because it works – unprepared reps usually respond with a feeble: “Oh, O.K, well, could I call you back in 6 months?”

Being prepared with a few good scripts will allow you to get past this objection, and will allow you to qualify an opportunity where most other people will miss it. With the following scripts, I advise you to customize them to fit your personality, product or service, and then to practice them over and over again until they become automatic. Just like you should do with all scripts.

Pick your favorites from the list below:

“We’re currently working with someone else (and we’re happy)”

Response One:

“No problem at all. But while I have you on the phone, what I’d recommend you do is at least learn about a few features we offer that you may not be getting now, so if you ever need to reach out to another company, at least you’ll have an idea of what’s out there. In fact, let me ask you: Are you getting XYZ? (Mention something you offer that your competition doesn’t…)”

Response Two:

“That’s great and let me ask you: if in two minutes I can give you an idea of why more companies are switching to us, would you at least accept an email with my contact information for when you do need to consider using someone else?”

[If yes]

“Great – the number one reason companies switch to us is for XYZ – are you currently getting that now?”

Response Three:

“Who are you using?”

[Wait to hear, then]:

“That’s a good company, in fact, they are the reason that we created our (name your advantage) – it’s something that takes what they do, but makes it better – have you heard about it?”

[Listen for an opening]

“If you’re interested, I can show you two or three other things we do differently, and then you can judge for yourself if you’d like to learn more, fair enough?”

Response Four:

“That’s great – it means you’re in our sweet spot. For the future, though, you might want to know that in addition to the (product/service) you’re getting from them, we can also give you XYZ – would you find that useful?”

Response Five:

“That’s great – because things change so quickly in this market, it means that we can be a great resource for you for when you need to compare pricing or services down the line. Let me quickly ask you:

“Are you the right contact for this?”

OR

“How did you decide to use (the other company) for this?”

OR

“What do you wish they did better?”

OR

“How open would you be if we could show you how to do (XYZ)?

As you can see, these scripts are designed to start a dialogue with someone and get past their initial reflex response. If you can get someone talking to you, you have a much better chance to find an opening and create an opportunity to uncover a qualified lead.

Want more proven scripts like these to help you sell more with confidence?  Get over 200 proven, current, real world scripts PLUS over $500 in bonuses FREE by Clicking Here.

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…