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Prepare for objections to make the sale

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As part of training your sales team, prepare them to meet objections. Start by writing down every objection you’ve ever heard from a prospect – it costs too much, there isn’t time to discuss it now, not the right color, need to get approval, no budget available …. Then practice what your response might be by writing down several options for answering each objection. Have a fact, benefit and a customer story to back up your claim that you can overcome the objection.

You also need to prepare yourself by asking the customer plenty of questions early in the sales conversation about his or her needs. Then you can tie your response to something the customer said was important to him or her.

Frequently when dealing with an objection, the best thing to do is to start by agreeing with the prospect and then move to how you can solve that problem. For instance, “I can understand that keeping the cost down is important in making a buying decision. That’s exactly why many of our clients select our product. Although the initial cost may be a bigger investment, its durability and quality extend its life, making it a longer lasting and more convenient solution for less cost per use. In addition, the no interest payment plan helps with your cash flow and the replacement guarantee, that only our company offers, enable you to rest assured that this investment will pay off.”

Plan the flow of your sales conversation and have plenty of responses to objections ready to use to move the customer to buy your product or service.

Success story is a best seller

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When you’ve solved a customer’s problem or helped a customer make money or save money, turn it into a story that you can tell to other prospects. Often sales people are on to the next sale and forget the value of capturing a success story. That’s where marketing comes in. The description of how your company helped a client overcome a challenge can go on your web site, be used in a newsletter or be part of the presentation packet for a new customer.

Although it is like pulling teeth to get a sales person to relay some of their good stories it is worth the effort. The sales process is about overcoming fears that the service or product won’t work as expected. What better way to persuade than to tell a story of how your company solved a similar problem for another client?

To see some examples, check out how the Sierra College Training & Development and Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT) tell successful employee training stories and the beneficial impact on the companies served.