Marco Longley
Marco Longley
Author of “The Ultimate Hot Tub
and Pool $ales Book”

As a sales professional, dealing with objections is a part of our business that will never go away. Overcoming objections is a very necessary and valuable component of the sales process. You have two choices when it comes to addressing objections: either fully understand what they are, what they really mean and learn to overcome them or get out of sales because you won’t be selling for long if you can’t overcome objections. Every sales professional knows virtually all sales are won or lost at the objections stage.

How well you overcome objections is directly related to how successful you were in building a strong rapport with your prospect and the effort you have put in to learning how to understand and overcome them.

In the absence of a strong rapport, overcoming objections will be difficult, if not impossible. Having built a strong rapport, you will be far more successful in overcoming objections as you have already had a mutual exchange of thoughts and ideas with your prospect. In the absence of strong rapport, you will be seen as a pushy salesperson only interested in selling a product.

Objections often result when your prospect has these thoughts:

  • No perceived value in spa ownership
  • No trust in you, your store or your products
  • No perceived urgency in purchasing the spa
  • Perception of the superiority of a competitor’s offering
  • A lack of funds to purchase your offering
  • “It's safer to do nothing” perception or a fear of making any commitment

Always keep these concerns in the back of your mind when you hear your prospects’ objections. These concerns are often expressed as "We need to think about it."

Opp
ortunity is Knocking – Are You Listening?

Think of your prospects’ objections as questions and not really objections. They are a way for them to justify their investment in you and your products. Rarely does anyone make a purchase of a “high-ticket” item without asking questions first, especially internal questions such as, “Am I making the right choice?” or “Am I getting good value for my money?” Recall a time you were considering making a “high-ticket” investment or purchase. Did you just listen to the sales presentation and purchase outright or did you ask questions and express areas of concern that needed to be addressed before you made the purchase?

How you handle yourself in addressing objections crucial. What practice exercises do you go through to improve your objection handling skills? Do you make a conscious effort to learn how to overcome objections or do you just hope and pray they will magically go away and never come up again? Since your prospects are interested in buying, you need to make sure that your tone and your demeanor reflect the positive attributes of their objections when they bring them up. Do not become discouraged or defensive about your presentation, product or your company. Your prospects are interested in buying from you; they are standing in front of you. They simply need more clarification or understanding to move forward with their purchase.

The Ultimate Hot Tub and  Pool $ales book by Marco LongleyThe secret in overcoming objections lies in understanding exactly what they want to know more about and why. Objections come in many forms - you must decipher exactly what it is that they are really asking or saying and what it i s they are truly concerned about and why. You need to understand the objection to overcome it. You must understand whether or not their objection is just a question or is it really an objection which could be a serious road block preventing you from moving forward with the sale.

More often than not, the real objection is usually price-related and your prospects’ ability to justify the investment in their minds. How do I know that? If your spas were half price, you would likely be sold out and there would be a line-up of people around the block wanting your products. Does that make sense? If we eliminate the price objection, you will almost always have a sale. It is up you, the sales professional, to clear all the fluff and smoke away and get to the real objection. If you are unsuccessful in finding and overcoming the true objection, you will be left wondering what happened and why you lost the sale. Overcome the true objection, and you should have a sale.


Rules for Overcoming Objections

"Overcoming objections" is a simple four-step process.

1. Acknowledge the Objection
2. Isolate, Indentify and Rephrase the Objection
3. Overcome the Objection
4. Ask for the sale again



1. Acknowledge the Objection


To have any chance of overcoming your prospects objections, you must first have put the effort into building a strong rapport through out your presentation. In responding to any objection, always acknowledge your prospects concerns with an affirmation so they feel acknowledged for their objections.

"Top 10" Objection Acknowledgments Statements


1. “Mr. Customer, I am really glad you brought that up”

2. “Mr. Customer, that is a great question”

3. “Mr. Customer, you have obviously been listening very closely and I appreciate that”

4. “Mr. Customer, I often hear the same intelligent concerns that you are voicing right now.

5. “Mr. Customer, good point. You mean that's the only reason you're not buying?”


2. Isolate, Indentify and Rephrase the Objection

When you take the time to listen and rephrase the objection, your prospect knows that you are paying attention to them. Rephrasing clarifies the objection to avoid any misunderstandings. It also gives you a moment to gather your thoughts. By rephrasing to better identify their real issues, you can lighten their concerns, or probe for more information.

"Top 10" Objection Isolation, Identification and Rephrase Statements

1. “Mr. Customer, would you mind explaining why you feel that way?”

2. “Mr. Customer, don't you really mean...”

3. “Mr. Customer, so you're telling me...”

4. “Mr. Customer, do I understand you to mean that...”

5. “Mr. Customer that is a very interesting point. Do you mind helping me understand why you feel that way?”


3. Overcome the Objection

You should now have a much better understanding of their objection and why it is important to them. In order to address and overcome their objection, you may have to backtrack or repeat parts of your presentation to more fully explain a feature or a policy to their satisfaction or understanding. In addressing ANY objection, you need to confirm your reply to their objection has been not only received, but understood. Don’t overcome an objection and leave it hanging out there; confirm it hit the mark.

"Top 10" Confirmations you have successfully addressed their objection:
1. “Now that solves the problem, doesn’t it?”

2. "When you think of it that way, how do you feel about this spa now?”

3. “I guess we’ve made that clear now, haven’t we?”

4. “Does that make sense now?”

5. “Are you comfortable that we have addressed that to your satisfaction?”

4. Ask for the sale again

After overcoming the objection and receiving their confirmation that you have successfully addressed it to their satisfaction, ask for the sale again. If more objections arise, continue to address them using the steps outlined above. You must have their agreement that all their questions and concerns have been addressed or they will not move forward to their purchase.

After you read each of the following objections or comments, take a moment and practice how you would address them; write down your reply and then read it aloud. How does it sound to you? How would that sound if you were the prospect hearing it? The combination of reading, writing and speaking your reply will set it in your memory far more effectively than just thinking about your reply. Practice the 4 step process and use the objection acknowledgement statements you have learned to start your rebuttal. If you can’t come up with at least one if not several responses to each of these standard industry objections, you are losing sales and in return you and your company are losing MONEY.

How will you feel if you get one of these standard objections on your next presentation and didn’t practice addressing it?

"Top 10" Common Sales Objections

1. We need to think about it.
2. I want to shop around.
3. I have to bring my wife back before I can make a decision.
4. I like the competitor’s model better.
5. Is that your best price?
6. Your price is too high.
7. That’s more than I wanted to spend.
8. If you take off $2000 I’ll buy it.
9. They have hot tubs at the box store for $5,000.
10. I want 100 jets in the spa.