Handling objections: 6 essential steps to laying the foundations

Handling objections: 6 essential steps to laying the foundations

After about a decade through all levels of the sales industry – from junior to managing director – I’ve crafted my own system of handling objections

In fact, I’ve even narrowed it down to the 6 essential steps to laying the foundations for overcoming objections. That’s the key here, overcoming a buyer’s concern isn’t going to happen with one magic word, statement, or enchantment cast over the phone (or however you conduct your sales)... it’s going to happen through conversation. 

So stick with me and let’s see exactly how that conversation should flow in order to handle objections as effectively and consistently as possible.

What is objection handling in sales?

An objection in the sales process is any time a prospect voices concern – the handling part is what ensues next on the part of the salesperson. 

Let’s start by pointing out what objection handling isn’t: it’s not immediately offering a discount, it’s not monotonously reading off your rebuttal to the buyer, and it’s certainly not getting into a heated argument with your prospect.

So then what is it? 

It’s facilitating a conversation around that objection – finding the real, specific reason behind it, coming to conclusions on where to find agreement, and then coming to a solution. 

But that’s pretty theoretical – so let’s get into the details of the tried-and-true system I’ve been polishing in my sales process over the past decade. 

What kinds of objections are most common to encounter?

There are a few far-reaching, global excuses that every single salesperson has or will encounter throughout their career. Regardless of sector, product or service, you are guaranteed to hear these objections regularly (to say the least):

• Budget restrictions, too expensive
• No outright need, satisfied with the current solution
• Too busy to deal with this now, no time to implement
• Not talking to the right person, no authority in the matter
• Lack of trust, value, or credibility seen in your product/service

All right, but we can list excuses and variations all day. In fact, there’s not much use dwelling on them. The real question is: how to handle them? 

I’ll let you in on a secret – there’s no all-knowing, magic answer in this article ;) 

However, no matter the objection, the system I developed lays the foundation to handling objections effectively. The key is it’s all about maintaining conversation, building trust, and establishing a relationship. And that isn’t going to happen without some patience, practice, and skill invested.  

First things first: Take a breathe

The most important step to responding to an objection: pause for 1 to 4 seconds.

This allows you to provide a composed and calm response. 

Oftentimes, when salespeople get anxious, annoyed, or exasperated with a potential client, they tend to answer curtly and abruptly. Sometimes, they don’t even let the buyer finish their sentence and cut in just to counter the objection.

Obviously, interrupting or speaking over a buyer is not going to turn them into a satisfied customer. So, remember to make this “pause” a habit, a standard practice you implement every time you hear an objection.

It also shows the buyer that you are genuinely considering what they have said and you aren’t just listing rebuttals from a prepared script. Make sure they feel you’ve noted their concern through this pause. This leads us to our next point.

Soften & respond

After taking your pause to reflect, put value to their words by interacting with their objection. Again, instead of just rambling off a response, say something along the lines of “that’s a good question!” or “it’s great you brought that up.”

You can even implement the practice of “mirroring” or, repeating the objection back to the customer. This is another way to build trust and actively recognize what your buyer has just said.

This way, you make your buyer feel heard and understood. There’s no better way to build a relationship. Moreover, you allow the conversation to continue while avoiding it turning into some sort of debate or persuasive ad. 

Clarify through questions

No, it’s still not the time to start up your monologue on why your buyer’s objection is wrong, baseless or that they’re just too cheap ;) After recognizing their objection, clarify exactly what your potential client has a problem with.

By clarify, I mean ask questions – preferably open-ended ones. The only way you’re going to handle that objection and find a solution around it is through conversation. And the best way to facilitate conversation naturally is through questions. 

What’s more, even though you probably have a poignant and solid counter to the objection, you have to be 100% clear on what the actual objection is. If you start listing off irrelevant advantages your product or service has, that buyer isn’t going to feel heard and you’re not going to get anywhere.

Isolate: is that really the problem?

Now that you’ve begun a conversation surrounding your buyer’s hesitation, it’s time to subtly drill down into those concerns. What is the exact reason he or she is objecting? If you find a solution to this issue, will there be more?

Be sure to isolate exactly what the issue is – and whether there is one issue, a few, or several. Only by knowing their exact needs will you be able to effectively counter. Continue to ask and probe until you have a full grasp on what the issue at hand is. 

Asking permission 

The final step before proposing your solution: ask for permission. 

Believe it or not, this small gesture goes a long way in building trust and really making it clear that you take their concern seriously. It also inherently further facilitates the conversation…

If you’ve asked for permission, then that prospect has actively agreed to hearing you out. There is no reason for your buyer to get offended or annoyed if they’ve clearly stated that the conversation should continue. 

Addressing the objection

And after all these steps – now’s the time to finally directly address the objection!

Again, I haven’t come up with a script that will get every client to exclaim ‘yes, absolutely!’ but at this point in the conversation, you should be fully ready to address all the exact, specific concerns of the customer with equally poignant and beneficial answers. 

I mentioned some of the most typical objections before, and I will soon be publishing just how I have learned to deal with them and how to respond. If you’re interested in finding out soon, follow my page to stay up-to-date!