Sales Chump

For those of us that aren’t rolling in the dough (that means you if you’re looking for sales tips) we are probably still cold calling and trying to build our prospects.  In this process we run into the knee-jerk objections:

• Not Interested
• We are satisfied with whom we have now
• Already have someone

Sometimes these can be a pain to get through but there are some steps to get around them.  My first question to you is are you talking with the correct person?  Often times you’ll get the gatekeeper or a receptionist that is trained to hang up on telemarketers or sales people regardless of the service.  These contacts at the company aren’t going to know if their interested, if their really satisfied, etc.  So before giving up let’s first make sure we’re talking with the right person.

Once we have confirmed we are talking with the correct person and we are still getting these objections there are steps to get the customer to open up and tell you why.

We’re Not Interested Objection

If this is the first time that the potential customer is talking with you and this is the first thing that comes out of their mouth… well how can they be?  You haven’t said anything interesting yet.  Dig a little bit into the objection:

• Are you not interested because you’ve already handled this?
• Are you not interested because you’re too busy to talk at the moment?
• Is this not the right time of year to talk with you about this?  When do you look at this?
• Are you not interested because you don’t use this service currently?

These questions can get to find out if they’re not interested or if they don’t want to talk to you.  It could be a busy time of the day or month and you’re timing is off.  Use common sense in timing… don’t call restaurants during lunch and dinner, don’t call hotels during check out times, etc.

We Are Satisified With Our Current Supplier Objection

Of course they’re satisfied or they would have called you.  They don’t realize they’re unsatisfied because they don’t know something better exists for them.  This is a good objection though.  It shows they do have interest in services you provide as they already have them, just with someone else.  So how do you show them things that they want that they aren’t currently getting?  Open ended questions.

• What about your current supplier do you like?
• What is one thing you wish you could change about your current supplier? (build on this answer if your service provides this change)
• Have you always been with this provider?  What made you choose them?

You can build on those core questions.  Listen to their answers.  They will lead you into how to build value in your company and service.

We Already Have Someone Objection

This one is better than the one above.  As they stated they have the service but they didn’t state they were happy with that provider.  You can use the same line of questions to get answers that will lead you into the next step of the sales process.

As in my other blog, don’t fear objections, welcome them.  Objections are good.  These are just a couple common objections or FO’s as I like to call them. Don’t give up on the first objection but use judgment.  There’s a difference between no and NO!.  Prospects have it in their gut reaction to reject you.  You have to fight through these false objections and work through them.

Open ended questions can be the most important tool sales reps have to determine customer needs.  Too many times will sales reps just talk and talk and never find out a prospects true needs.  When this happens, the sale is usually not made or money is left on the table.

You wouldn’t expect a car salesman to show you every car on the lot, with every option, in every price and in ever color.  How inefficient is that?  The sale is likely to be lost unless the car they want is the first one shown.

All sales should be viewed this way.  The product you’re selling much likely has multiple options, terms and pricing.  How do you know what best fits the customer’s need without asking open ended questions?

When you ask open ended questions, questions that require a response that is more than yes or no, it allows the customer to open up.  You should be able to determine their wants, their concerns, their needs and other things that are on their mind from these questions.  Make sure you take good notes and even repeat certain things to make sure you fully understand.

Below are several open ended questions.  Use them and watch your customers do all the talking and you do all the listening.

• How has the economy affected your business?
• What is your competition like?
• When you go over your monthly expenses, are there any that remain constant?
• Where do you see your business in five years?
• What got you into this type of business?
• If you could freeze any of your expenses, would you do it and why if so?
• When you got into business, what were your expectations?
• When analyzing your expenses, do you look for ways to improve your bottom line?
• Have you entered into fixed contracts before? How did that work out for you?
• What do you think about having the ability to protect your upside while taking advantage of the downside?
• What type of protection are you looking for?
• What are some of the things your current supplier does that you like?
• What are some of the things you would like your current supplier to provide that they don’t now?
• Who else is involved in the final decision?
• What risks do you want to avoid?
• What other factors come into your decision making process?
• Other than price, what other things are you concerned with?
• What time frame are you looking at?
• What steps do we need to take to move forward?