An old saying…Object for them…

An old saying…with a new take

That old saying about selling iceboxes to Eskimos might be considered outdated as well as culturally insensitive, but it’s still relevant. Of course, at its heart is the notion that the last thing you need if you live in an igloo, is a refrigerator. But it’s not unlike what we face when we make that cold call.

The buyer already has a supplier and probably feels that his results, costs and employee training needs are being pretty well met. So, in a sense we’re selling that icebox. That is because we’re faced with accomplishing the task of creating in the buyer’s mind the realization of a need that he didn’t realize he had. That sounds simple enough, but it’s anything but easy to accomplish.

It’s why we really need to perfect the “learn” step (Earn, Learn, Match, Explain, Close) when we’re developing the sale. Without understanding the buyers’ needs – especially the ones he may not know he has is critical. And that’s accomplished by asking open ended questions, like, “If you could improve one thing in the wash isle today, what would it be?”. Or “How does your supplier train your staff now”?

There’s no silver bullet question that we can ask in every situation. Still asking questions that are designed to learn what we might exploit before we move to the step of matching our offering to them can be pretty powerful.

Object for them…Before they do

Sales objections are absolutely inevitable. Right? Well maybe so, or maybe not in every instance. In fact, there’s a way to pose them yourself as a part of your presentation. Say what? Well, think of it this way… If we can acknowledge some of those common concerns in our presentation, just maybe we can disarm them – or at least weaken them as a formidable roadblock later.

We can do that in two ways. First, we can ask questions that might eliminate some. As an example, if we ask the prospect if they’re the decision maker and we get a yes, then they probably can’t say they need to consult with that “second person” to make the change. On the flip side we can address some of the common ones – like how disruptive a change will be by explaining how seamlessly your start up program is.

In the final analysis sales objections are a fact of life for us. Addressing them intelligently when they’re voiced and maybe creatively fending them off before they are, is yet another important tool in our box of skills.