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Is your road to success paved with objections?
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Last week a beverage
professional asked me for some of the reasons I typically objected to a
salesperson’s presentation back when I was a retailer.
Well, the reasons
were numerous, but in no way did it mean that all was lost; that the sale was
doomed to Death Valley. Sometimes,
I was unsure of the value proposition or I wasn’t in the mood to buy. Other times, I simply needed more
information or didn’t want to seem impulsive. Once in a while, I just wanted to have a little fun with the
salesperson! (Don’t ask)
Often, I was masking
the real reason and saying something phony just to buy time.
In many cases, just
one simple question (on my part) would result in a salesperson making a mistake
that would hurt his or her chances to ultimately make the sale.
As it’s early in
2010 and there is ample time to start the year off well, here’s a list of mistakes
beverage salespeople make when facing objections or answering questions from
their customers.
o Not
having the answers to obvious and frequently repeated questions –
What to do? PREPARE! There is simply no reason not to have
prepared, thought-out answers to the most common of all questions.
o Asking
questions for which one could readily find the answer
What to do? PREPARE! There is simply no reason to ask
questions for which you could easily garner the answer yourself
o Minimizing
objections (or questions)
What to do? Validate the
question. If the customer says he “has no space”, validate by saying, “I
appreciate that. I know that you
want your customers to be able to shop comfortably!” Don’t say, “Come on! You could
roll a bowling ball through here and hit nothing.”
o Negativity
– Don’t ask negative questions like, “Are you concerned about making the wrong
choice?”
What to do? Ask, instead, may I
help you make the right choice?
o Asking
yes/no questions that stifle the chances of a conversation going any further
What to do? Keep the
conversation going by saying…
·
Tell
me more
·
What
are the benefits that are most important to you?
·
What
price range are you most interested in?
·
In
what price range would you most like to improve your selection?
·
Please
continue
·
Before
I proceed, do you have any questions
o Generalizing
and making assumptions because you haven’t taken the time to do research
What to do? PREPARE! Make allies in the
account to get the information you need to approach decision makers. Also, take
a breath and pause before you answer in an off the cuff manner. You don’t lose
credibility by not answering a question but by answering a question when you
clearly don’t know the answer.
o Interrupting,
looking disinterested, being defensive if it’s pointed out that you’re wrong
about a topic or idea
o Not
asking for the sale again after answering questions
What to do? Ask for the sale again. Sometimes the customer needs a bit of
prompting.
o Shying
away from the elephant in the room – in other words, not addressing the
stumbling block that is obvious to everyone.
What to do? Initiate the
discussion of the obvious objection.
By doing so you will project 3 important characteristics: Experience,
confidence and concern.
o Over-explaining – answering
more questions than were asked
What to do? Listen, pause and
answer the question I remember many times when I’d ask a simple question that
required a yes or no. Unfortunately, for the salesperson, he’d talk and talk
and in the process, raise several other questions in my mind. Not a dynamic that ended well for the
salesperson!
Remember to be
prepared for the most common objections.
Remember to listen and pause.
Contemplate your customer’s answers. Most importantly, think of questions or objections as a
positive situation, instead of a negative and you will be able to handle
wise-guy retailers (like I was) in your sleep!
