Is this how your conversation goes? The prospect says, ?It costs too much.? You respond, ?Mr. Prospect I know how you feel many of my clients felt that way too but they've found my service provides far more value than the investment they were asked to make plus my services are far superior to the competition and better meets their needs.? Isn't that exactly how you've been told to handle their objections?



So what's wrong with that response? Here's just a partial list:

* You're defending yourself

* You're using the feel, felt, found technique and they know it's a technique because it has been used on them many times before

* You're forcing them to take an adversarial position to protect themselves against you

And here you thought you were doing what you're supposed to do. In reality you just positioned yourself as the dreaded sales person aka the enemy. The prospect now becomes more committed and more intense about their objection.

Ooftah, just what you didn't want. Let's think about what you do want. You want the prospect to trust you and like you and view you as an expert who can help them. You want them to see you as someone who wants to help them even if you're not the person to give them the help they need.

When the prospect feels this way about you, you become a trusted and respected advisor. You're in a separate category from the dreaded sales person. They can share things with you they can't or wouldn't dare share with a sales person because they don't have to protect themselves from you.

Okay, this all sounds good but what do I do or say when they object? Relax. Throughout the sales conversation both you and the prospect should have been working to disqualify them as a prospect for what you have to offer. Both you and the prospect should have at least some level of belief your offer might be a good fit for them.

At this point the prospect simply has to make certain it really is a good fit before they can make a buying decision. You would if you were them too. They don't want to make a mistake thus they have to put their concerns on the table in the form of objections. This should give you cause to rejoice because it demonstrates their interest in your offer and their desire to qualify or disqualify what you have to offer.

Rather than trying to defend yourself and get in a tug-of-war battle going back and forth countering their objection simply stop. Acknowledge their objection. Respect it. You might even say, ?that's a good point I can see how that's a concern.?

What did you just do when you acknowledged and respected their objection? Didn't you actually disarm them and respect them? No matter what their objection, if they have an objection IT IS a valid concern.

The big mistake you make is you think you know why they have the objection, and you want to jump in and tell them how stupid they are for having that objection. Who's stupid? You are when you approach an objection that way.

After you've acknowledged and respected their objection doesn't it make sense to understand why they have that objection? I think so. And how do you gain understanding? Isn't the best way to understand to ask questions getting the prospect to tell you more?

Your attitude when you ask, ?can you tell me more about that?? should be one of genuine open curiosity. They don't need you to judge them or try to manipulate them with your questioning. In fact, the second you manipulate them in your questioning you may as well show yourself the door.

When you approach objections from the position of genuine caring and curiosity you'll often find what you thought the objection was and what it really is are two different things. When the prospect said, ?it costs too much? you find with further questioning what they really meant was ?I can't make the entire investment now are there other payment options?? When you jumped on the feel, felt, found counter-objection band wagon you turned the prospect against you.

They felt disrespected and they wanted to get away from you. And the more you pushed for the sale the harder they pushed against the sale. You quickly moved them from wanting to buy to someone determined not to buy.

However, when you approach objections from the position of genuine curiosity and understanding you increase sales because you can frequently rapidly escalate the prospects interest in buying. Because they don't have to protect themselves from you they open up. As they open up you both come to a better understanding of how your offer benefits them. It's easier for you to help them envision a better future, and the more clearly they envision that future the more determined they are to buy.