Sales Training Tips For Handling Cold Calling Objections, Part III
Here is part III of my short sales training article on handling cold calling objections…
“I’ve had a bad experience with your company in the past!”
As objections go this one is slightly different as it may not be an objection at all, it could potentially be a complaint. For this reason it needs to be dealt with as a complaint to avoid stirring it up into something more.
Most salespeople are confrontational when put into this kind of scenario. That’s a shame as it really is the complete opposite of how you need to behave to deal successfully with this kind of situation.
Here’s a simple 6 step process for dealing with complaints…
- Apologize e.g. “I’m sorry that you’ve had a bad experience with our company in the past.”
- Make a powerful lead statement e.g. “We pride ourselves on ensuring that all of our customers are nothing less than delighted with our services.”
- Ask a question e.g. “Tell me Mr. Client, what happened?”
- Listen, listen and listen some more. Do not interrupt. Do not argue points. Do not put up a defence. The only two things you do are listen and empathize verbally. You do nothing else until the client has no more to say.
- Apologize and make another powerful statement e.g. “I’m sorry that you had that experience Mr Client. As I said, we pride ourselves on our happy customers.”
- Move to the next stage. This could be done in several ways, the most common of which would be to ask them what they want to happen next or to organize a face to face meeting with them.
Simple though this process is, many salespeople struggle with it as they take the client’s comments personally and do not listen and empathize with them effectively. This will derail the whole process and can destroy rapport.
“I don’t like you!”
This purely emotional complaint is designed to make you feel bad. What’s more, for many salespeople, it usually works!
Most salespeople like people. Most salespeople are people oriented. Most salespeople work hard to get their clients and prospects to like them. Being liked is important to them. It’s not surprising then that this little line hits them where it hurts.
Objections are not personal! Selling is not personal. Business is not personal. Selling and business are professional activities so don’t take them personally.
Try, “Then it’s a good job I don’t take myself too seriously, tell me John…” and move to a question. Taking this route shows the client that you cannot be rattled that easily.
“I’m not interested!”
In the highly competitive and sophisticated markets of today, salespeople face a lot of objections and rejection. Salespeople know that a lot of their prospects will not have any interest, need or desire for their products, services or solutions.
For this reason, the “I’m not interested” objection is quite effective from the client’s point of view because many salespeople expect this response even before they pick up the phone and believe it totally when they hear it.
Firstly, it is highly likely that this objection is quite simply untrue. Most clients have found that this objection works so they use it even when they don’t mean it and even when it is not true.
Secondly, even if they do mean it, it doesn’t mean that you can’t build rapport, find out more about them and their business and uncover some areas of mutual interest.
Try, “I wouldn’t expect you to have any at this stage. The reason for my call is to…”.
So there we are, over the last 3 blog posts we have looked at 10 sales superstar strategies for dealing with 10 very common objections. Invest some time now in writing down some of the most common objections that you get. Think about what effect they have on you, decide how you want to feel and behave in the future instead and then plan some responses that you can use to get more productive results and make more sales.
If you want to catapult yourself towards sales superstar status and become a master of objection handling strategies and techniques then make sure that you get hold of a copy of my sales training book Objections! Objections! Objections!. Many of my clients find it useful to have it on their desks when they are selling on the phone. Maybe you will too…
Sales Training Tip For Handling Cold Calling Objections, Part II
Here is part II of my short article on sales training tips for handling cold calling objections…
“I use someone else!”
This is a very common objection and one which salespeople and business owners can get very upset about. What they often hear in their heads is, “So I have no need for you!”
Try replacing that self-talk with, “Yes, and?” Obviously, you’re not going to say that out loud but that’s what you need to think to yourself!
Clients change suppliers all of the time. Clients moan about their suppliers all of the time. Clients have problems and challenges with their suppliers all of the time. Most clients are not totally happy with their existing suppliers. So this “objection” is actually an invite…
Try, “That’s great John and I am not asking you to change now, merely have a look at what we do. Problem is, I’m really busy at the moment and I won’t be able to come and see you for at least…”
“I’m happy with my existing supplier!”
Yeah, righto! That old chestnut. They might be happy, but they more than likely aren’t. Either way, it makes no odds to a sales superstar. You do not want to displace the existing supplier anyway. Not yet and not at this stage.
You haven’t even decided if you want to work with this client yet so how can they make an informed decision about you and your services?
All good companies stay abreast of what’s going on in the marketplace. Just because they are in an existing supplier relationship does not mean that they don’t keep their eyes open for alternatives and back-ups. Doing otherwise would be foolish.
Try,
“Many of my clients were happy with their existing suppliers when I first spoke to them and they found it really useful to assess our approach, using it as a benchmark to ensure that they were getting the best possible solutions from their existing suppliers.”
“I’ve got no budget!”
This is probably a lie. How can a client know if they have a budget before they speak to you? In any case, budget for what? You haven’t even had a conversation yet.
Try,
“At this point most of my competitors would ask you when you will have a budget and arrange to call you back then, however, I believe that business is built on relationships and I’d still like to come and see you now. How’s your diary looking…?”
“Is this a sales call?”
This objection is just an attempt to make you feel bad. For many salespeople this is tantamount to the client asking, “Are you the shit on my shoe?”
Don’t fan small flames. Take a moment and calm yourself. Dealing with this is so simple, “No, the reason for my call is to introduce myself…”
Watch out for the final part of this article on handling objections next soon…
Sales Training Tips For Handling Cold Calling Objections, Part I
One of the biggest challenges facing many salespeople is cold calling for new business meetings and winning new sales on the telephone. In many industries cold calling is the most cost effective way of uncovering new business opportunities. It is also an activity which strikes fear into the hearts of even some of the most proactive and confident of salespeople. Not surprisingly, therefore, it is one of the most commonly sought skills for sales training and sales development sessions.
One of the reasons for this is the amount of rejection that a cold calling session can attract. Even the best cold callers can expect a wide variety of client objections and client evasion tactics during even the shortest bout of activity on the phone.
For this reason, many salespeople spend far too much time avoiding cold calling and far too little time actually doing any cold calling. When consulting and sales training with businesses I am always impressed by the imagination that salespeople display when dreaming up their excuses (or SATs – Sales Avoidance Tactics) and reasons for not cold calling.
It’s amazing how interesting an admin tray can look when the alternative is cold calling!
One sales skill which can significantly alleviate the pain of prospecting and dramatically improve your cold calling skills is learning how to handle sales objections effectively. One of my clients directly attributes £1 million pounds in extra revenues to practising and using the sales techniques outlined in my first sales training book on objection handling. What! You haven’t bought it yet? You can get your copy any time you’re ready here, objection handling book. If you make cold calls, it really is a must have sales boosting resource.
Handling objections professionally requires a combination of the right mindset and the right linguistic skills. Here are 10 proven strategies for smashing some of the most stubborn objections.
“It’s too expensive!”
Most salespeople think that their product, service or solution is expensive. In sales training sessions, I have asked thousands of salespeople where they think their product ranks against their competitors and roughly 80% think that their product is priced above averagely. If you think about this statistic, it cannot be right. So why do salespeople think this?
The answer is simple, because clients and prospects are forever telling us that we are too expensive, that’s why. The more we hear it, the more we believe it. The more we believe it, the more we tend to hear it. This plays right into the hands of clients because if salespeople think that their products and solutions are too expensive, then they are going to be much more open to client negotiation tactics.
Prospects are not going to stop using this objection any time soon but you can change your attitude to it today, right now. In my sales training sessions, we start by focusing on your beliefs – you need to believe that your product adds more value than you charge for it. The more you believe in the value that your product adds for your clients, the less this objection will affect you.
Why not try asking, “When you say that it’s too expensive are you looking at the cost on a piece of paper or the total cost of ownership?”
“I’ve not got enough time!”
As salespeople we spend a lot of time trying to catch up with prospects and clients. Secretaries, personal assistants and prospects tell us daily how busy they all are. That gives this objection a ring of truth.
What’s more, this objection not only has a ring of truth to it, it may well actually be true and that can make it difficult to deal with. Because many salespeople believe this objection to just be the truth, they do not handle it particularly well.
So remember this, you’re busy too!
And if you’re not, you soon will be once you start applying my sales training techniques and strategies. If you’ve had a good conversation, built some rapport and uncovered some value that you may be able to add for your prospect and their business, then try something like this,
“John, I’m busy too so I won’t waste a moment of your time. I wasn’t thinking of meeting for at least 2-3 weeks. How’s your diary looking…?”
“I don’t need it!”
For many, this objection sets off feelings of despair,
“I knew no-one was going to buy anything today. No-one’s got any money being so close to… Christmas, summer, Easter, Thanks Giving…”
You can substitute your own moan or a tide of angry frustration instead…
“Why is our product so over-priced?! Why does no-one want what I am selling? Why does nobody ever buy?”
Stop! Here comes the truth. How do they know? How do they know if they need it or not? How do they know if it will add value or not?
You’ve not met this person yet, you know little or nothing about them or their business and they know even less about you, your products or your solutions. This objection is totally meaningless so try,
“When I first spoke to them many of my other clients said that they did not need it either, however they found it really useful to have a look at what we do and see how it complements what they’re already doing…”
For part II of this article and more sales training techniques for improved cold calling and objection handling check back soon. Got your own objections that are giving you grief? Use the comments form below and let me know what they are…
How To Sell More In Competitive Markets
I received your newsletter. Thanks again. I wanted to ask you a question. I work for a (market given) magazine that is distributed for free to (consumers) throughout the local area. I sell advertising space in the magazine. Our magazine has been around the longest. It started in (our area) and has branched out to include (surrounding areas).
However, there are 2 other magazines that are distributed in the same area. One of the magazines has been in our county since 2000. The other magazine has been around in maybe the same time frame. I have two questions:-
1. How do I convince the advertisers that our magazine is a good place to advertise? I receive a lot of objections that include things like:
"We already advertise in ABC magazine and it is distributed in the same way as yours.”
2. I go to all of the advertisers that advertise in the other magazines to try and get them to advertise in ours. I also go to companies that don’t advertise in the magazines and sometimes even have better results because I don’t get that objection. However, with the companies that don’t advertise in the other magazines I have to convince them that advertising in our magazine is good because it is a very targeted audience and everyone who reads this is a potential client.
Name & company supplied.
Firstly, thanks for your ongoing readership of my newsletter – remind your friends that they can subscribe free at www.gaviningham.com but don’t tell your enemies!
The situation that you are facing is very common and not distinct to your marketplace…
I’d like to tell you a little story…
Once upon a time, in a far off land there lived a happy salesperson who had products and services that were new and fresh. He had no competition and he could easily stay ahead of the marketplace. The clients loved his visits because he could educate and entertain them and they were always enthralled by his amazing new solutions to their problems and challenges…
Did this mythical, unicorn of a salesperson ever exist? I doubt it! I agree that the marketplace is maybe quicker and faster than it ever was but at the end of the day, sales is all about competition. If you have a good idea, someone will nick it! If you’re onto a winner, someone will copy you. If you’re in a market by yourself, get ready for some competition!
If you had some time in that mythical, fantasy land of being the only magazine in the marketplace then great but it was never going to last…
The aim of the game now is to help your clients to understand that you are the one for them and that you are better and more relevant for their needs than your competitors.
Here are some tips…
1. Stop trying to convince them and start “knowing” that you’re the best!
Sit down and think about all of the services that you have and offer that are better than those of your competitors. Get a piece of paper and write them down.
Seriously. Just doing this exercise will make you feel better about what you are selling.
You need to come across as confident and congruent with what you are selling. Salespeople don’t sell well when they are desperate and clients don’t like desperate salespeople! You need to “act as if” you are the only company worth dealing with in the marketplace.
Remember – your client’s perception of the value of your offerings will be determined to a large part by how you are viewed by your clients.
2. Remember that your clients probably don’t really think that you and your competitors are all the same!
But they know by telling you this that they put you on the back foot. Most clients think that they have the upper hand and that we are all desperate to do business with them at any cost. Don’t be so eager, take your time and plan your responses to start to redress this balance.
Your clients more than likely don’t see you as the same as your competition. It just suits them to tell you that! You need to ask more questions and find out more about how you are uniquely positioned to help them.
3. Plan and learn objection handles for common objections.
Preparation is one of the main keys to successful selling. The only way you will get better at selling is by thinking through situations and asking yourself the question, “How can I deal with that better next time?”
With your specific objection…
"We already advertise in ABC magazine and it is distributed in the same way as yours.”
What about something like…
“That’s fine I’m not asking you to change now, merely have a look at our services to see how they might complement your existing services.”
Or…
“That’s fine, business is built on relationships. At this stage, all I want to do is find out a little more about you and your business and see how we might be able to benefit you in the future.”
Or even, if you feel the need to say more…
“That’s great. I’m pleased you realise the importance to your business of advertising in this medium however our distribution is not the same as theirs. I’m not asking you to change now, merely have a look at our services and see how they might complement your business objectives in the future. Tell me, how often do you advertise with…?”
Remember – the objective is to get them talking, to find out why they are using the service, to discover their objectives, to understand how successfully they are meeting those objectives and then to offer something better and more relevant to them.
For more on objection handling have a look at my book Objections! Objections! Objections! available on www.amazon.co.uk.
4. Perception is everything.
Even if your services are exactly the same as your clients (or indeed are not as good!) it is whether the client thinks they are or aren’t that matters most. This means that it is your job to find ways that your services are more relevant to them than those of your competitors.
On your second point, you are right in your strategy. There is no-one more destined for failure than a one-trick-salesman. You need to be approaching both new customers to your service and customers who are using your competitors. As you have rightly pointed out, these two groups of customers will often require different sales strategies.
For the potential clients who don’t advertise at present make sure that you are ready to deal with likely objections. They will more than likely have been “sold” to before so when they object with “I have looked before and it’s not for me" objection handle with a gentle reframe…
“That’s fine. I’m not asking you to buy now merely have a look at how our services might complement your existing advertising strategies. Tell me, how do you currently…?”
Then get interested in their current situation, how they advertise, what their objectives are and how you might be able to help them now or in the future.
Let’s face it , until you ask and listen you’re not going to know whether you can help them or not. Best of luck and remember to sell with passion.
Should I Only Be Cold Calling Prospects I Convert Most Easily?
Hi Gavin,
I am wondering if you could help me with a problem I currently have. I work for a web development company. We supply our services to designers and web design agencies. In recent weeks I have been calling a list of graphic designers and a list of web designers. For the graphic designers I normally seem to get an appointment from 1 call in 10 (ish), however for the web developers/agencies it seems to be 1 in 25.
I have two questions, firstly, do you think it is worthwhile to contact web agencies where their objections are that they do the website prgramming themselves?
Secondly, if it is, in your opinion; how do you get around the fact that the majority tell you upfront they do it themselves and it is a core business? What would you say to get them to engage further?
My opinion is my time would be better spent calling design agencies where they may need our services, but i am interested as to what your opinion on the matter is
Thanks for the question. Without more detail this is quite a difficult sales training question and the sort of scenario I will be discussing in my new No Fear Cold Calling teleseminars which will be launched soon.
First off, let’s deal with the question of which client type to ring. The answer to this is not simple as it might seem. Cold calling different clients at different times is going to get different results. You need to pay attention to this and is just one of the reaons why it is important to record your personal sales results so that you know what your success and conversion ratios are for every step of the sale.
I work with many companies where they work on generic figures as ratios. This is fine for beginners just starting out or when you have nothing else but it is important that you start to collate your own information as quickly as possible. Knowing your statistics allows you to ask questions like this one and also to monitor the market, find skills areas in which you can improve and calculate likely results ahead of time.
Anyway, on the face of it, it looks like an open and shut case. You should be ringing the clients where you are getting a 1 in 10 return first. This seems a good investment of your time and a fair result which, with skills training and "call warming", you will be able to improve over time.
That said, 1 in 25 is not bad either and there are plenty of successful cold calling industries where 1 in 25 would form the basis of a very successful business.
Here’s the snag however…
Your conversion ratios are not the only figures in play here. What I have just said ONLY APPLIES if the deal sizes in both clients are the same, if the lifetime value of the clients are the same and if your meeting to sale conversion ratio is the same. To really know that your 1 in 10 clients represent a better use of your time you would need to know the average deal size, the lifetime value of a client and your conversion ratios.
Consider this, if the average deal size in the web agencies was 3 times the size of that in the designers who would now represent the best use of your time? Has that changed your mind?
What if the deal size was the same but the frequency of purchase was 5 times as high thus making the lifetime value of the client higher? Unless you’re desperate for business now that may well change your plans too!
Or what if your conversion ratio was better in one than the other? You’d then need to look at "why" but again that could change your plans.
So, in brief, you’re on the right tracks but make sure that you have all of the figures to hand before making your decision and know that the web agencies will still make good prospects when you have finished!
With regards to the objection that you are getting. I am not surprised that they are saying that. It would seem the quickest way to get rid of cold callers like you! But you have the advantage here because you know that objection is likely and you can plan and prepare for it. What you need here is a good reframe objection handle which allows you to back off into questions.
Ask about what they design, when, where and with whom. You are looking for gaps, challenges and problems with the way they currently do things. You need to find a way that you can add value to their existing approach. Remove this objection and that alone might siginificantly change your ratios!
For more on objection handling check out my book "Objections! Objections! Objections!" and make sure that you join my newsletter as I often talk about objection handling.
Sales Training Book: Objections! Objections! Objections!
I know that many of you will have read my first sales training book "Objections! Objections! Objections!" but for those who haven’t, here is an excerpt from the end of the book where we start to pull all of our sales skills together. If you haven’t read my book then you really need to try and borrow a copy from someone! It’s super easy to use and incredibly powerful… or so my clients tell me… 
"Conversation 3: The Existing Supplier
Client: “I think that I had better stop you there. I am totally happy with my current suppliers.”
Sales: “That’s fine. The reason for the call was merely to set up a meeting to explore areas of mutual interest. How’s your diary looking towards the back end of January, say the 24th or the 25th? Which would be better for you?” (Bearing in mind that the objection was not even a question all the salesperson has to do is acknowledge it and move)
Client: “Well, I’m always busy but I just don’t see any point in getting together as I’m not looking to change suppliers?”
Sales: “That’s fine. I’m not asking you to change now merely have a look at what we’re involved with. We’ve worked with several of the major players in the market place to help them to increase revenues and maximise profitability. Like you, I’m very busy. I’m sure that there would be some mutual benefit in getting together. When you look at those days, which would be the more suitable, the 24th or the 25th?” (Acknowledges again but this time gives a bit more. Note the embedded commands and the controlled close “when you look at those days”)
Client: “The 24th but I don’t see any point. I’m happy with my suppliers. I really don’t want to change.”
Sales: “John, I’m not asking you to change, merely to agree to a meeting. Building the correct supplier relationships is essential to any business and I’m sure that you had great reasons for working with your current suppliers. Do you mind me asking what they were?” (Agrees again, uses a link statement and then moves to understanding the situation better. Note this is the start of using a Stepping Stone)
Client: “No, of course not. We used to use a lot of suppliers but we found that we were not getting the levels of service that we needed. We need to be able to control our suppliers and get maximum benefits from them.”
Sales: “Service is certainly an important aspect of any relationship – what are the critical elements that you look for?” (Questioning to understand)
Client: “Our operation down here is massive. We have 5 sites and 1000 employees. We’re shipping kit out at least twice a day. Some of our clients need to be able to phone up, order and receive delivery within 48 hours. We can’t hold enough stock to do this so we need a fast and reliable service from our suppliers.” (Stating needs now)
Sales: “Sounds like you’re pretty busy down there. How much stock are you ordering in a typical week then?” (Pacing and leading)
Client: “It all depends, several thousand pieces. It’s a handful for any supplier.” (A ha!)
Sales: “I suppose that it must be. What kind of challenges do you get?” (Not leaping in too fast!)
Client: “Not a lot but when they do occur it’s mostly just around the fact that it’s difficult for any one supplier to cover the changes in our stock usage.”
Sales: “John, that’s exactly why I’d like to come and see you because we’ve worked with several of your competitors in helping them to secure a fast and reliable service with total flexibility. I’m sure what we do could really complement your existing suppliers as regards to your changing stock usage. What time on the 24th would be the best for you?” (Uses the Stepping Stone and links the “because” to the client’s own needs and in his own words. Clever use of “complements” too and then a simple close)
Client: “Oh, I guess sometime in the morning.”
Closes out for the meeting."
Copyright Gavin Ingham 2004. Of course, if you want to invest in your own copy then you can at Amazon, buy Objections! Objections! Objections! sales training book.
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