Mopping up the Concerns

So ask the question.

Your final act in the objection-resolutions process is to learn if there are other objections. This may sound like opening Pandora's Box, but it's critical. If other objections do exist, you need to learn about them because if you fail to uncover them now, they will certainly spoil the deal later. So ask the question.

Keep your inquiry neutral and use expressions like: "Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Try to stay away from negative language and terms such as "objections" or "issues" or "concerns." If you use words like these, you can give the customer the impression that you know something that they don't. Keep it simple. If objections remain, go back and repeat the process until you have removed all the obstacles in the way of closing.

ACTION POINT: Keep it simple and neutral when addressing all of your customers concerns.

Responding to Objections

Before you can move to the final state of the selling process--closing--you need to deal definitively with the customers objections

Once you have reformulated your customer's objections into needs, it's time to respond.

Usually, this is straightforward--the answers lie in what you have already proposed and in knowledge you already have--but sometimes you will need to be creative to lead your client to a solution.

Before you can move to the final state of the selling process--closing--you need to deal definitively with the customers objections (or unfulfilled needs, as we know them) by using all means at your disposal. If you still cannot resolve the objections, you need to revert to problem-solving mode. If you still draw a blank, call a time out and ask to come back in a day or two with fresh ideals to move forward. Your customer will respect you for it in the long run.

ACTION POINT: Be relaxed and remember that customers ask some questions that are not objections--simply plain questions. Just because someone asks you about inventory issues doesn't mean they are worried about them.

Lowering Your Price

If you do have to lower the price (which happens), let the customer know what you have to remove or reduce from the original proposal.

The last thing you should do is lower your price without taking something off the table. If you provide a quote and a customer objects and you then subsequently drop the price, the message is clear--you were charging too much originally. This sentiment can have serious negative impact on further business and your customer's perceptions of you.

If you do have to lower the price (which happens), let the customer know what you have to remove or reduce from the original proposal. As a last resort let them know you are lowering the price to earn your way in, but that the original price was fair and this is a short-term offer that you will not repeat.

ACTION POINT: Price fair up front and take something off the table if you lower it.

6.3.2 Stand Firm on Due Process

Good counsel recommends careful questioning and wise cross examination before bringing a verdict.

There are three sides to every story, my side, your side, and the right side. Wisdom confirms this saying. When a group of people work together there are going to be problems in this area. Good counsel recommends careful questioning and wise cross examination before bringing a verdict.

• The first to bring his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him. (Proverbs 18:17)
• Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight. (Proverbs 18:17)

ACTION POINT: Gather the facts before making decisions.

Resolving Price Objections

Do everything you can to turn your customer's objection into a need

The objection-resolution process is your best tool dealing with price objections. Firstly, acknowledge the objections as you would any other, for example: "I know you are trying to keep costs down." Next, get the customer talking. Ask questions, and find out about any other offers they have had from your competitors--how do they compare to yours? the deals comparable with yours in terms of the value delivered? Learn as much as you can regarding how far off you are in price from other offers.

When resolving price objections, re framing the objections is critical. Do everything you can to turn your customer's objection into a need, using phrases such as: "So if I understand you correctly, you need to know what you will get for the additional 10 per cent," "My understanding is that you need to know why we charge a bit more than Company X and why it's still in your interest to buy from us...," or "It appears to me that you need to feel comfortable with with your decision to pay us more than some of our competitors..."

If the customer agrees with your re frame, go ahead and address the need. give it your best shot, and see if they will accept your point of view. You will be surprised at how an objection often turns out to be less significant than it originally appeared to be.

ACTION POINT: Re frame price objections to turn them into needs.

ACTION POINT: