Objection-Handling Tips

Following are a few strategies and tips to help you turn objections into opportunities:

• Prepare yourself by building trust and doing a thorough needs assessment during Discovery.
  • The more information you gather at the front end, the better equipped you’ll be to decode and break down objections at the back end!
• Don’t take “I need to think about it” personally or immediately at face value.
  • Your primary role is to advise and guide customers by unearthing their priorities, answering questions and addressing pain points.
  • Try to determine if an objection is a smokescreen or if there are underlying concerns by asking a question like, “Is it this particular [model] you’re unsure about, or something else?”
• When responding to objections, be patient and focus on conveying your:
  • Knowledge and expertise.
  • Trustworthiness.
  • Genuine desire to help customer make right decision.
• Use the CRIO approach:
  
  • Clarify – ask questions to find out more.
  • Restate – repeat or rephrase to confirm understanding.
  • Isolate – find out if there are other reasons behind the objection.
  • Overcome – address the root cause.
• Tell a story that relates to your customer’s objection and shows empathy:
  • If you don’t have a relevant personal story to share, relate the experience of another customer, colleague, friend or neighbour. Don’t make up a story … savvy customers can sniff out tall tales!