This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, but rather to get your brain warmed up and thinking of the best solutions to sell more of your product and service!
1. Feel, Felt, Found (A classic technique, though my least favorite.)
“I can understand you feel like the timing isn’t just right at this moment. In fact, you remind me of William Smith one of our customers. William was just like you when we talked to him….he had so much going on and felt like his plate was so full that he ended up delaying coming on board with us for about 6 months. And you want to know what William told me about that decision to delay? It’s a shocker…he told me that his delay of 6 months literally cost him $72,000 in lost sales!”
This technique is used a lot and is very effective but it’s really not my favorite way to close a sale.
2. Restate and Shift the Objective
Prospect: “It would just cost us too much to change.”
“I understand Mr. Prospect….it’s important to keep an accurate eye on the true cost of any solution you use and there is a real cost to change that you have to factor in to make sure that you are making the right decision for your business. May I ask you a few questions to get a clear understanding of all the cost factors, both of switching over in the long and short term as well as the costs associated with staying with your past provider?”
This tactic is a great way to help a prospect understand the true cost of making a decision. If they are unhappy with their current provider, it is likely costing them much more than they think and you can use that to your advantage during a sale.
3. Probe With An Objection.
“Tell me more about that Mr. Prospect….you mentioned that you feel like you’re tied in with your current vendor, may I ask you a few questions to better understand your dilemma?”
Perhaps your prospect needs help severing ties with their current vendor or they need further probing to get down to the heart of the issues that they are having and why they really should switch in the first place. So ask the right questions and then guide them through the process of making a different choice.
4. Pre-empt the Objections
My last tip for overcoming any objection has to do with pre-emptively overcoming an objective before it is even raised. This can be done through your online presence and sales copy and could include things like:
- Real client testimonials
- White paper reports
- Professional website, attire and office space
- Pricing breakdown
- Compelling visuals
- Etc.
These four tips will go a long way to helping you close more sales and grow your company, and over time you will find the ones that fit best with your product or service and further fine tune your approach to new prospects.