In my last post I detailed the four types of comments that prospects make to sellers during the closing portion of the sales cycle.  Thanks to alert reader, Ladonna Gaines (who shares her name with an icon of 70's music), I must admit that there is a fifth comment and that is an Agreement.  Obviously, the most desirable of all comments!

Barring an agreement, the best comment we can hope for from a prospect is an objection.  An objection is a reason the prospect will not buy from you or a condition that must be met in order for the prospect to buy from you.  The great thing about an objection is that it opens a door for you to present information that might change the prospect's mind.

While it's fashionable for sellers to think that objections are something to be "overcome", I prefer to think of objections as clay that needs to be softened and kneaded.  Over time and with a deft touch, objections can be worked into agreements.  Here's how:

1) Make sure you are dealing with an actual objection (see the previous post for ways to identify the other types of comments)
2) Ask a clarifying question to:
    I) Completely understand the precise reason the prospect is not buying or the condition that must be met and
    II) Determine if the prospect will buy if you can nullify their reason for not doing so and
    III) To figure out if there are additional objections lurking behind the first one.
3) Move ahead cautiously

Here's an example (used with the permission of Amanda Mickler):

Amanda:  I can't get you on the buy because your cost per point is too high.

We need to understand exactly what is being said to us and what it means.

Radio Advertising Seller:  I have a couple of questions.  What do you mean by too high?
Amanda:  I mean that unless you lower it you don't have any chance of getting on this buy.

Obviously, this answer is too vague.

Seller:  How much would I have to lower it?
Amanda:  By about $40 per point.

This is a common place where sellers stop asking questions.  They assume that if they come back with a price that is lower by about $40 per point, they will get on the buy.  What we need to do is -  given a condition that we have to meet, be sure that if we do meet the condition we'll be rewarded with an agreement.

Seller:  Let me ask you this:  If I lower my cpp by $40, what kind of share could I expect to receive on this buy?
Amanda:  I don't know.

Seller:  Can you say for certain that if I lower my cpp by $40 that I'll get on the buy?
Amanda:  No.  You'll also need to do something about the promotion you submitted.

Bingo!  This is the information that we were looking for - a lurking objection hidden behind the initial objection.  Under many circumstances a seller would have gone back to the drawing board and worked on the rates without knowing that rate alone wasn't going to get the job done.

This is what I mean by moving ahead cautiously.  When a door is opened in front of us - in this case we are told that we must lower our cpp by $40 - we tend to barrel through.  But, it might be a trap door!

Have you ever gone through a trap door while negotiating a deal?  Let's start a discussion about the best ways to avoid trap doors.

 

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