Savor the Success - The Premium Business Network for Women Entrepreneurs.

Wouldn’t it be great if whenever your customer voiced an objection about your product or service, you could pound a gavel and announce, “objection overruled!”

Unfortunately, you’re going to have to take another tact to winning a potential customer’s business.

You never know what mental or emotional hurdles will surface for your customer.  And, as a seller, it’s your job to use the skill of intuitive listening to reveal the hidden conflict. Intuitive listening is tuning into what your customer is saying and what she is not saying to find the deeper meaning.

So far, we’ve talked about why objections are really buy signals and why objections are never about the money. I want to give you three more tools you can use when a customer voices a concern.

Take Objections One at a Time

If the customer is hesitant, ask what they’re thinking or what is causing them to be uncertain. You might say, “I notice you don’t seem as excited as you did earlier.  Is there something stopping you from making a final decision?”  Or, “Something has shifted around your energy, is something not making sense?”

Once you know what the issue is you can address it. If you are able to resolve their issue, you should be able to win the business.  Sometimes resolving one issue brings another one up.  Handle each objection as it comes up.

Agree to Disagree

If you have made an honorable attempt to handle any or all objections multiple times and the customer is stuck on one point and won’t let it go, try using the “other perspective ask” where you reach a natural point in the conversation and can agree to disagree.  This strategy can help them to be more open-minded and consider another point of view. (It works with spouses, too!) 

You might say:  “Betty, I’m hearing that you don’t believe what I’m saying is possible.  I have to disagree with you.  What I have seen happen with my customers who use my services/products to their fullest potential is that they produce amazing results (give a real example).  There isn’t much more I can say.  I guess we have to agree to disagree.” 

Be quiet and see what she says.  If this doesn’t work, move on to the next step.

Walk Away

If you’ve tried to handle any or all objections multiple times and are getting frustrated and would rather end this conversation, you can make one last effort to win the business and use the “walk away ask.”  The beauty of this ask is you get to bow out of the relationship gracefully if they don’t buy.  Most of the time, though, this ask gets someone off the fence and on to the playing field.

You might say something like this. “Betty, I think we are starting to get frustrated with each other.  I have done the best I can to explain the value and benefits to you.  Maybe this isn’t the right time or the right fit for you.  It’s not a problem and I hope we can leave on good terms.” If she really wants what you are selling, she will run back and let you know it. If not, she wasn’t meant to be your customer and now you are both free!

Once you know what is causing your customer to hesitate, you can aid the customer’s decision-making process.  My hope for you is that by becoming aware of the many ways you can overcome objections, you will never be stumped again.

Was this helpful?