As a marketer, at one point or the other, you will encounter sales objections from prospects. That’s because every customer has one reason or the other why they feel a product is not for them at a time.
What are Sales objections?
They refer to any excuse or concern raised by prospects as a hindrance to their ability to make a buying decision. And most of these reasons are usually centered around the lack of purchasing ability or when the prospect has unanswered questions and doubts about your product.
Prospects will always have objections to your offer. So, you must know how to handle these objections. Else, you’ll keep losing sales and thereby lose money too.
The crux of this guide is to help you identify the types and examples of sales objections and how to handle them. Have a good read.
Types of sales objection
1. Lack of budget
The first type of sales objection experienced in every business is budget issues. However, sometimes, you see customers tell you “It’s too expensive.”
Not that they don’t have the money to buy, but they are not convinced of the reason for them to buy yet, and also every purchase always has a level of financial risk, so they want to know why they should risk their finances to pay for a product.
2. Lack of Trust
Three criteria must be met before any of your target audiences can buy and that is “Know, Like, and Trust”(called the KLT factor).
People only buy from who they know, like, and trust and that is why sometimes you see them say something like “Your company’s name is new to me.” It’s not their fault – they need you to prove why they should trust you.
3. Lack of need
Another common sales objection is when clients say “I do not need this product” This may sound like rejection, but it gives you the perfect opportunity to show them while they need it before the price increases.
4. Lack of a sense of urgency
When prospects don’t have a sense of urgency when making a buying decision, they tend to give excuses. As a marketer, you should be able to handle their objections and give reasons why they need it urgently.
All you need to do is to pay attention to their response and identify when they imply that they don’t need your product at the moment.
How to handle sales objections
There are many ways to handle sales objections, some of them include:
1. Listen patiently to your prospects
The first and most important way to handle sales objections is to listen patiently to your prospect and understand the reason for their excuses.
Avoid making assumptions and don’t respond without thinking twice about what to say to calm their nerves. Also, let them voice out all their concerns before saying anything.
2. Repeat what you hear
Repeating what you hear will make your prospect know that you understand their complaint. This might help build a little trust even before addressing the issue.
Ensure that you understand what the prospect is communicating to make them feel valued.
3. Confirm your prospect’s concerns and solve their worries
When a prospect tells you their reasonable concern, the first thing you should do is to confirm it. Tell them you know it’s true, however, you are not to recommend your competitor’s product. What you need to do is just to provide another way to ensure their worries are cleared.
Assuming you are selling a product and one of your prospects gives the excuse of not patronizing you because of location. You can just say “I understand that the distance barrier is what is holding you down, however, we have a dispatch service that is always ready to deliver customers’ goods to different locations.”
4. Ask follow-up questions
If you feel the prospect is pulling back despite answering their concern, another way is to ask follow-up questions to keep the conversation going. Never ask simple questions, ask open-ended questions that prospects will have to think about before they answer. The more information you can squeeze out of them, the higher your chance of closing them.
5. Use of testimonials/proof
Prospects tend to trust a brand that shows social proof of how fascinating their product is and how people are recommending their product.
Narrate a story of similar clients you have helped and give proof of their exciting state after using your product. It’s a great tool to win the heart of your prospect.
6. Choose a time and date for a follow-up
Sometimes handling prospects’ objections requires follow-up. When they ask to give them time to think about it, a good and timely follow-up is essential.
Choose a specific date and time to do that, but don’t sound too aggressive.
7. Be always prepared
Finally, another way to handle sales objections is to show your prospects that you know what you are doing by being ever ready to answer their questions rightly.
Don’t be caught unprepared! Always expect an objection from your prospect and be equipped with all information about the product or service. This may take some time, but as you encounter various prospects, you’ll get better.
Examples of common sales objections and necessary responses
- “It’s too expensive” – When a prospect says this, don’t focus on the price but rather emphasize the product’s value.
Response example: “I will love to explain the benefits this product offers that can help you solve your current issue. Would you love to hear?”
- “There’s no money” – measuring their growth level and seeing how your business can help them.
Response example: “I understand your plight, and we have another offering that will provide great results for you with lesser capital.”
- “I’m not convinced” or ” I have never heard of your brand name.”
Response example: “We are a team of expert builders that focuses on building responsive and functional websites for businesses, and we have helped xxx and yyy brands. If you give me a chance, I will like to explain how we can help grow your business too.”
Conclusion
A larger percentage of prospects always give objections to their inability to make buying decisions, therefore, it is the job of every marketer to learn the strategies to handle sales obligations. Handling sales objections helps the prospect to build trust in the brand.
As a business owner, don’t wait till you have no new customers again before learning how to handle sales objections. I hope this guide will help you.
