Six Steps to Handling Sales Objections

Here are six steps for handling objections or addressing concerns that almost always work in your favor. They also work pretty well in diffusing unusually tense situations, so heed them well.

Step #1: Hear them out

When someone trusts you enough to tell you what's bothering him, do him the courtesy of listening. Don't be quick to address every phrase he utters. Give him time; encourage him to tell you the whole story behind his concern. If you don't get the whole story, you won't know what to do or say to change his feelings. Don't interrupt either, because you may jump in and answer the wrong concern.

Step #2: Feed it back

By rephrasing what his concerns are, you're in effect asking for even more information. You want to be certain that he's aired it all so that no other concerns crop up after you've handled this one. You're saying to him, Go ahead. Lay it all on me. Get it off your chest. In doing this, you're asking him to trust you.

Step #3: Question it

This step is where subtlety and tact come into play. If a guy objects to the fact that you are asking Block Watchers to wear a reflective vest while out walking the neighborhood, don't say, What's wrong with it? Instead, gently ask, Wearing the vest makes you uncomfortable? If it does, he'll tell you why. Maybe he's shy. If so, you have to build his confidence in the respect the uniform generates and in the authority it lends to him as a participant.

Step #4: Answer it

After you're confident that you have the whole story behind his concern, you can answer that concern with confidence.

Step #5: Confirm your answer

After you've answered the objection, it's important that you confirm that he heard and accepted your answer. If you don't complete this step, the other person very likely will raise that objection again.

You can confirm your answers simply by completing your answer with a statement such as, That answers that concern, doesn't it, Bob? If he agrees with you that, your comment answered his concern, then you're one step closer to persuading him. If he isn't satisfied with your answer, now is the time to know — not later when you try to get his final decision to go ahead.

Step #6: By the way . . .

Know those three words. They're three of the most useful words in any attempt to persuade or convince another person.

You use the phrase to change gears — to move on to the next topic. Don't just keep talking. Take a conscious, purposeful step back into your presentation. If it's appropriate, turn the page in your presentation binder or booklet. Point to something other than whatever generated the objection. Take some sort of action that signals to the other person that you're forging ahead.

These six steps, if you learn them and apply them properly, will take you a long way toward achieving your goal of selling others even when they raise objections or concerns.

Sometimes you'll hear more than one objection or concern. If you start running through all six steps with each objection you hear, you can spend a lifetime trying to persuade these people. Experience helps you tell which concerns you need to address and which you may be able to bypass.