Friday, January 4, 2008

How To Handle Objections

"Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers." Anthony Robbins - Success - Questions


I'm assuming most of you have loads of leads or purchase leads, but what are you doing with them? Endless emails are a thing of the past. It's the age of human contact, videos through you tube, etc… reaching out and turning prospects into customers. I've sat and listened to numerous self designated expert Internet "salesmen" telling you how they are successful and you will never be as good as them. I say yes you can. It just takes practice. Now folks, I don’t profess to be any sage guru, any expert except that I've been doing this in the real world for many years. It is innate at this point, automatic, and I have many successful business owners outside of the Internet that can attest to the fact that I helped grow their sales and impact their company's bottom line and I still do. Sales and marketing is what I do for a living, I eat sleep and breathe it every day. I know you can learn it too. Folks, I know it can be uncomfortable coming out from behind the screen and reaching out to a stranger, up until now I bet you've enjoyed the anonymity. We all hate telemarketers, but that is not what I am speaking of, these are your prospects that opted to give you their telephone number. You have piqued their interest. Reaching out and asking the right questions and listening, I mean really listening to the answers, will guide you in what your prospect's needs are. Think of it as a courtesy call. No selling, just sharing information and ideas. Build your relationship. Never greet someone and then start selling your stuff. You will get no where. I don’t care what anyone tells you. I've heard people say, "Treat it like the movie boiler room", The, take it to "no", so what, next theory. That’s a topic for another time. It takes a unique person to sell that way and they are doing it by sheer numbers. Call a thousand people odds are you'll get 10, and of those 10, how many will stay your customer or just buy your one product because they were pressured? That is no way to build a customer base let alone get a dialogue going to even get the opportunity to receive an objection.

Handling objections is a very subtle topic; you may not realize they are objecting. Simple responses are, "I'm not ready at this time", "I'll think about it", "I don’t understand your product", "I need to do more research" are among many I hear for Internet sales. I don’t suppose you've run across these subtle responses. They sound reasonable and the untrained may think that is a reasonable response. You may have found yourself answering in that manner. But ask yourself what did you really mean by that? You know what the answer is, you were trying to put off the sale. Ask your customer that very question; always ask an open ended question that requires more than a yes or no. Information is knowledge, and you learn about your prospect and his needs. Have a pad and paper at hand and right down the why's and why not answers. Don’t ever be afraid of getting a flat out no.Personally, I love no's. That’s when the selling starts. Now don’t get me wrong,when I say selling, it's really in the context of being an advisor, an ally, a consultant, and most importantly a mentor. See folks, I believe in the products I represent. I believe they help other people in one capacity or another. So if you truly believe in what you are offering, and know that product well, you will succeed more than not, because in the end that belief will get passed on. When I do receive a "no" I simply ask one question..."now that we've agreed that we don’t have a fit, would you mind telling me why you are not interested". Now you can put that in any words you want that you are comfortable saying but it is the one thing a prospect doesn’t expect. The perception that you have accepted and respected their answer. You have, but you've created, in one simple sentence an environment and an atmosphere that allows them to put their guard down and tell you what they really think. Folks, that is the key to sales,communication and the exchange of information. Now you can understand his reasoning, and maybe you won’t sell him this product but guess what, at the very least, you've built a relationship with this person. Always ask if you can call him again, 9 out of 10 times they will say yes because you spoke with them. When you send an email, the prospect will regard it as a personal note because they know you are a person, not spam. You have set yourself apart from the masses my friends in one simple conversation. Odds are in the end, you will have one heck of a loyal customer.

As always, feel free to contact me with your questions. I enjoy passing along information that helps you grow your business. Keep those questions coming!

Wishing you success this week.

Corie Wallace
cwallace.1000@gmail.com
Skype: corie.wallace
508-660-8640


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