Last week (Part One), I began sharing a new approach to a natural part of the sales process and promised you a formula for success. Well, here it is.
How many times have you heard the objection “I'm working with someone else” or “I'm happy where I'm at”? It happens all the time doesn't it?
If you want to engage the prospect, you must begin by asking questions. Stay focused on the purpose of the call and be persistent. However, you always want to leave them better than you found them. When you state the purpose of your call, be sure to listen. If the prospect reveals something to you, capture it. Don’t be so focused on your script and saying what you want to say that you miss an opportunity to engage the customer.
Formula for Success:
- Listen and don’t get defensive
- Begin to ask a series of questions
- Get off of the objections and focus back on the purpose of the call.
Examples of questions begin with:
Who
- Who are you currently working with?
What
- What type of strategies have you implement that will ____?
When
- When was the last time you sat down with your advisor and reviewed your plan?
Where
- Where are you in the process?
How
- How long until you ____?
After you have asked a series of questions, ask for the appointment again. Such as:
- I am not asking you to change anything, and I don’t want to duplicate anything you are doing, the purpose of the meeting would be to give you an opportunity to compare our unique approach with what you have done and see if it makes sense. Okay?
One of the keys when working with objections is to ask questions and focus back on the purpose of the call.
Refrain from getting defensive. Focus on asking questions and listening to responses. Re-engage the prospect then restate the purpose, be persistent, and ask for the meeting or sale.
Remember, you must offer suggestions to help prospects solve problems based on your products or services. Work through objections without trying to overcome them, seek to leave the prospect better than you found him, and focus on win-win results. This is the way to work with objections as a professional.
Your Instant Sales Nugget: Listen without being defensive, ask the series of questions, and get yourself back to the purpose of the call.