When he was a kid, Bryan Getz’s father told him he had two ears and one mouth for a reason.
“I should listen twice as much as I talk,” he recalled.
Now, as VP of Corporate Sales at Druva, Getz is still finding value in that advice: a good salesperson is a good listener.
Listening skills are all the more important when a rep encounters objections from prospective clients. The ability to hear concerns and address their root cause — or, at the very least, maintain a good relationship for the long-term — are all extremely helpful skills that set a rep up for success in their career.
In fact, Kayla Lane — who sells oil and gas software for ENGAGE — actually sees objections as key to a successful sales cycle.
“I believe getting to the objections really brings the client closer to the ‘buy-in,’” she said.
So what does it look like in practice to overcome an objection? Getz, Lane, and 12 other sales leaders and teams took us through their approaches, as well as potential traps that can sink a sale.
Strategies For Overcoming Objections
- Practice active listening
- Acknowledge the objection, do not pass over it
- Ask questions, understand the customer's needs
- Be empathetic, always
- Be extremely knowledgeable of your service and how you can help them
Machinio
Danny Patrick
SENIOR REVENUE MANAGER
Danny Patrick — who has five years of sales leadership experience – said he pairs highly personalized outreach with tenacity to turn a lost cause into a renewal at Machinio.
What strategies are most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
For us, it’s about getting to the root of why people are hesitant in the first place. Then we build our relationship around how we can make their business stronger. We practice active listening and response to ensure that the conversations are always relevant to a customer’s needs. We also show the added benefit that comes from adding us to their online advertising strategy. Persistence is what then seals the deal for people to jump on board.
If we go in with blanket responses, it can come off disingenuous.”
What strategies are counterproductive when dealing with objections?
In our industry, it’s important that we take a tailored approach to every individual we talk with. If we go in with blanket responses, it can come off disingenuous. It won’t establish the trust a prospective client is looking for in an advertising partner. Flexibility is the name of the game. If you go in too stiff, the client can respond with every version of “no” you can think of, which makes it very difficult to earn that person’s business.
When was a time you successfully overcame an objection, and what were the keys to your success?
There was one client who was a perfect fit on our platform, but told me, “No, not interested, do not call again,” before I could introduce myself. But I stayed hopeful. Although the next couple of conversations weren’t much easier, I built rapport and established trust. Eventually, they saw the value in what we could do.
My efforts succeed through persistence, but more importantly, through connecting with people on a human level. The human connection means a lot in our industry. That was my first big deal at Machinio and the client has renewed year after year.
HomeAdvisor
Samantha Wais
SALES REPRESENTATIVE
What strategies are most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
The most important thing for me is to not lose my personality in a call. The most common objections are because people are either uninformed or they don’t understand something. I use my personality to calm people down and assure them that my job is to make sure they see success with our service. It’s important to show the prospect that their concerns are heard, but you have to show them why those worries are not applicable in this situation.
Be confident when responding to objections, otherwise the conversation won’t move forward.”
Lucie Kasserman
SALES REPRESENTATIVE
What strategies are counterproductive when dealing with objections?
Skimming over their objections if they are legitimate concerns is a sure way to get hung up on. If they ask a question, I always say, “That’s a great question!” before answering it. If you try to ignore them or tiptoe around what they’re addressing, they aren’t going to trust you. Be knowledgeable so that you can answer questions. Be confident when responding to objections, otherwise the conversation won’t move forward.
Alex Humay
SALES REPRESENTATIVE
When was a time you successfully overcame an objection, and what were the keys to your success?
Most objections happen at the beginning of the call. The most common one is, “I’m busy,” or, “I’m all booked up.”
My response is always, “That’s awesome you’re staying busy. You sound like the exact person our company and homeowners want to be working with. I’m not saying you need to drop what you’re doing, I’m only hoping you call a few homeowners back and put them on your schedule for a date and time that works best for the both of you. That seems fair, right?”
The key to overcoming objections is often responding to the person’s busy schedule, then moving back into the script while sounding confident in my tone.
TripAction
Elliot Osgood
MID-MARKET ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
With so much uncertainty in the world, two strategies have emerged as the strongest.
The first, as always, is deep, empathetic, active listening. Nothing counts if you haven’t earned the respect and trust of your prospect.
The second is getting to your objections as early as possible. Each objection is an opportunity to demonstrate that you care, you’re listening and that you understand.
BEFORE YOU RESPOND, ALWAYS DO THE FOLLOWING:
- Acknowledge you’ve heard the objection: “What I’m hearing you say is...” For example, I would ask something like, “With all that’s going on in the world, is it absolutely nuts for us to be discussing travel right now?”
- Explore and widen: “Tell me more about...” An example of this would be asking, “We’re one of the more expensive solutions on the market. How does your team think about cost versus value?”
- Respond with social proof: “In working with your peer, XYZ company, we discovered the same concern. However, when we looked deeper we found...”
Draw all the objections out of your prospect early in the conversation. This gives you three advantages: earning their trust, an opportunity to overcome the objection, and a chance to pressure test your deal.
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
Challenging without earning respect and trust: I’m a huge fan of the “Challenger Sale” concept, in which the seller teaches the prospect new insights. However, if I haven’t earned their trust and respect first, I won’t be successful.
Too fast/too slow: A prospect recently said they would take me to their decision-maker when the time was right. I didn’t listen, went around the prospect, and the whole thing blew up. On the other hand, sometimes I burn months waiting for a prospect to bring me up the ladder, only to find out they have little influence or authority. This can be solved by finding creative reasons to cultivate multiple contacts within an account early in every deal.
Solving with price: If you haven’t established measurable pain or positive business outcomes in a deal, you should never be discussing specific numbers. Instead, speak to the business model. Don’t risk being “shopped,” commoditized, de-valuing your offering, or getting caught in a “race to the bottom.”
What’s an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection? What were the keys to your success?
A recent objection we heard was, “I’ll be the decision-maker on this project.”
We set expectations early: We let our prospect know early that most successful outcomes always include executive alignment. Because we sold the value on this early, they were not surprised when we held firm and insisted later in the deal.
We ‘went wide’ alongside ‘going up’: Sometimes the fastest way to the decision-maker is a straight line. However, every prospect in the deal holds a unique perspective to the inner-workings of their internal organization. We actually uncovered that one of the junior members of the finance team commanded more respect from the CFO than other senior members of the team. This person was willing to send an email on our behalf requesting the time we ultimately needed to earn the business.
We traded for executive time: Not everyone on the finance team agreed we needed to hold this final executive ‘go/no go’ meeting. But when they asked for references, we saw our chance and proposed a trade: “If we ask our customers for their time, may we ask you for the same investment from your CFO?”
Redgate Software (Los Angeles Office)
Jake Sigrist
SALES MANAGER
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
I think the first thing any salesperson should do before “handling” an objection is to change their mindset about what this actually means. Traditional objection-handling techniques center around a salesperson’s immediate response to an objection. Typically, that response is a set of “if this, then that” reactions.
We need to change our perspective to objection “understanding.” Rather than combatting an objection with an immediate, defensive response, ask your customer questions around the root cause of the objection. We generally receive objections at the surface level. If you better understand the context surrounding an objection, you’ll be more effective at working through it with your customer.
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
Salespeople should be wary of most strategies that prescribe specific scripted responses to common objections. Keep your focus on your customer, what they’re trying to achieve and the parameters they’re trying to manage.
Occasionally, I work with salespeople who prefer to skirt around objections by either navigating the conversation away from them or ignoring them completely. That will inevitably cause blowback. Most buyers today can’t be fooled. They’ll bring it up again and you’ll damage rapport.
Make sure to ask follow-up questions after receiving an objection, but don’t use that as an opportunity to avoid having a potentially difficult conversation.
Salespeople should be wary of most strategies that prescribe specific scripted responses.’’
Share an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection.
While working at a major healthcare organization, a procurement manager threw me every pricing objection you can think of. I was unprepared for that conversation. I didn’t handle it well and was ultimately given two options: add further discounting or walk away.
With some help from my colleagues, I was encouraged to circle back to the business team, who I had initially spoken to, and equip myself with a stronger proposal for completing the purchase as structured. I was able to gather justification for the return on investment and learned more about how this company structured its budgets. I also received sponsorship from a senior stakeholder about why the solution was important to his team.
Equipped with this new ammunition and more context for how this company viewed software purchases, I went back to the procurement manager with a more effective proposal. After taking a few more objections on the chin, they eventually completed the purchase.
Medallia
Caitlin Lott
SALES DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVE
A cold call comes out of the blue, and can be awkward. As Caitlin Lott — who works as a SDR for customer experience platform builder Medallia — has learned, sometimes acknowledging that fact can help reps move conversations beyond that initial point of hesitation. Lott also finds it’s helpful to acknowledge more significant points of friction or resistance, too. This, she says, often reveals new opportunities to move forward.
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
I’ve found that the most effective approach for handling an objection always begins with acknowledging the objection. If you try to skip over the objection or dismiss it, you will quickly be shut down. Once you acknowledge the resistance in a genuine manner, you create an opportunity to find a step forward that is mutually beneficial. However, you must ensure you provide value for continuing the conversation rather than simply making an ask of them. Another successful strategy I use during calls is to acknowledge the fact that I am calling them out of the blue. By acknowledging this fact and quickly showing value in why I am calling, they are more receptive and appreciate the candor.
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
In my experience, minimizing the objection in a dismissive manner can result in a quick end to the conversation. Rather than shutting it down, acknowledge it as a good question or state that you want to understand and ask them to elaborate. If you can keep the conversation flowing in an organic way, you open yourself to opportunities of alignment. However, if a prospect is completely uninterested and quickly backing out, know when to thank them for their time and end the conversation in a positive manner. A negative interaction with you or your company builds a bigger wall.
Share an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection. What were the keys to your success?
One of my successful cold calls came when I invited a vice president to our annual conference, which was being held virtually. This was a key account and I truly felt this prospect could benefit from learning about our solutions. When I reached her over the phone, I could tell she was busy and she told me as much. I quickly pivoted and said that I wanted to be respectful of her time and provide the most value, so I offered to make her a tailored itinerary with the sessions that were directly applicable to her role. She agreed that sounded very helpful and signed up for the conference the next morning. I believe that my understanding of her tight schedule and willingness to accommodate and provide value helped break down the initial apprehension and find alignment.
Kompyte
Gabrielle Hartman
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
While many sales teams have scripts ready to help reps handle routine questions, Kompyte Director of Business Development Gabrielle Hartman said an objection should not be confused with a question. In other words: don’t offer a scripted response to a genuine objection. She shared an example of how the competitor monitoring platform was able to win a key account using a formula designed to understand and address a prospect’s unique issues or objections.
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
Every objection has the potential to be complex. It’s our job to actively listen to peel back the layers and understand the true intention and need of the prospect. SPIN questioning methodology is a powerful tool sellers can use to map the evaluation process and help guide a prospect to make a decision on your offering. An essential part of Kompyte onboarding is learning how to prepare and execute SPIN: situation, problem, issue/implication and need/payoff questions.
The basic premise is to ask questions, let a prospect tell you their issues and then show how you can meet those needs. Your role will transform from seller to problem-solver, and your No.1 job is to listen. We found senior sellers who master this investigative method are less likely to face objections, and when they do arise, they’re able to address the objection in the best way from the perspective of a problem-solver.
Transform the counters into valuable conversational points.”
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
Reading from a script to address an objection has proven to be terribly ineffective, not to mention cringeworthy. The good news is that we’ve all been there, and improving is a training plan away. Objection shouldn’t be confused with questions, and therefore shouldn’t be addressed with a script. Scripts are valuable training resources that have a time and place. When a prospect shares an objection, they are giving us a peak behind the curtain to their greatest buying concern. Addressing it properly can be your greatest opportunity to win a client over.
If you’re countering objections with something closer to a script, here’s what I recommend: transform the counters into valuable conversational points. A great way to get ready for these conversations is role-playing with your team. When faced with an objection, set a rule not to answer until you’ve asked at least two questions. Prepare these questions, but they should remain dynamic and conversationally driven.
Share an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection. What were the keys to your success?
During final conversations, a high MMR account opened up and let us know that the decision had come down to us and our top competitor.
She didn’t need to tell me this; I had identified this moment would come during the sales process questioning, and it allowed me to proactively gather the information I would need for this discussion.
Next, I needed to subdue the knee-jerk instinct to address the objection head on. My response started by acknowledging my prospect’s need to make a well-informed decision. After all, this person was overworked and feared not meeting her goals. My main objective was now to help her address these concerns on her own using SPIN, and the best field for this competitive encounter would be by phone. We had a productive call, running through each problem she was facing and positioning our partnership to solve those needs. Without needing to counter, she decided we were a better fit. Competitive wins are the sweetest.
Invicti Security
Cooper Herrera
SENIOR INSIDE SALES MANAGER
At web app security company Invicti Security, Senior Inside Sales Manager Cooper Herrera stressed that overcoming objections is not a one-size-fits-all proposition: reflexively offering price cuts and technical assistance won’t necessarily solve every objection, and might actually do more harm than good. The company has recently landed a couple of deals which Herrera said would not have happened without his reps going the extra mile to truly understand and address the root of an objection.
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
The main concepts I instruct my teams to use for overcoming objections are simple: listening, understanding and addressing. Listening to your customer’s objection and understanding the “why” behind the objection are key first steps in formulating a plan to overcome any objections. Once you understand why the customer has this objection, the next key step is to clearly address it. If you attempt to vaguely address the objection through general closing tools available to you — like general pricing incentive or technical assistance — you are more likely to miss the mark for your customer and jeopardize full buy-in. When my team truly understands the reason for an objection, we are able to save time by concentrating our efforts on a creative solution that addresses the customer’s concern and increases our chances of closing the sale.
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
Immediately responding with a pricing incentive or offering general technical assistance have proven to be very ineffective. Every time a price reduction is offered off the bat to address an objection, we always end up still having to truly address the objection — and honor the reduced pricing. In some cases, additional pricing incentives are sought by the customer after this simply because we have devalued our solution. In the end, we still have to go back, listen and address the objection. The result is less revenue for our organization and more time and effort spent on that one project that is less likely to close.
Share an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection. What were the keys to your success?
Two most recent examples include one situation where we had to get creative with the contract terms and some customization from our support and engineering teams. In the first example, we had a customer that was fully bought in on our solution but was constrained by strict requirements for funding. After uncovering the “why” behind this objection, we were actually able to get creative with the contract to not only close the sale but also increase the revenue as well.
In the second example, our technology was having a difficult time in the customer’s environment due to some architectural specifics within their application. We had multiple calls with our support and engineering team but it seemed we weren’t getting anywhere. Finally, we ran a call with all parties involved to better understand the architecture and specific data they were looking for out of our platform. Once we had that information, we were able to put our heads together internally and focus on a common, customized goal that we were able to achieve and earn the customer’s business. Both of these projects had major risk of not happening, but did — and both had very different solutions to earning the business.
Redgate Software (Austin Office)
James King
SALES MANAGER
With nearly two decades in the business, James King has learned that successful salesmanship comes from a partnership mindset, rather than simply trying to sell something — anything — right now. As a sales manager for Redgate Software, which builds products that encourage DevOps best practices, King cited building good relationships over the long-term as the most valuable thing reps can do for their business — and their commissions.
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
In 17 years in sales, I’ve always avoided seeing sales as selling to people and instead looked at it as helping them. Once you have that mindset, you can talk more openly about the problem they’re trying to solve. The more open you can be, the more you understand the bigger picture, the more likely you are to know whether you can help them. Years ago, Miller Heiman taught me that it’s not about winning every opportunity, but qualifying well and quickly disqualifying early on if you don’t have a solid fit so you can focus your efforts more productively. That said, if you come across an objection late in the sales process, you probably haven’t asked the right questions, spoken to the right person or understood the situation correctly.
The companies actively doing the right thing will be remembered as people to do business with for years to come...”
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
I think the most counterproductive thing you can do with an objection is to try and fight it. If, for example, the customer says the timing isn’t right because other projects are taking priority, or the budget is required elsewhere, trying to talk them out of it isn’t going to make you look good. If you know you’re a great fit, then keep in contact for when the timing is right or the budget is available. They’ll remember you positively for it and you’ll find you have a much more open relationship and better communication.
The current situation with COVID-19 is a good example of this. At best, most businesses have had to freeze projects or hold onto their cash. Having empathy and understanding for the incredibly difficult decisions they’re having to make — and doing everything you can to support them — will continue to build your relationship and trust. The companies actively doing the right thing will be remembered as people to do business with for years to come, and the companies just trying to make as much money as possible will be seen as toxic.
Share an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection. What were the keys to your success?
In many cases it usually boils down to something that wasn’t the right fit, either financially or technically. However, I have lost count of how many times getting the customer to open up has clarified that we were going to cost them less than they anticipated. When it comes to the technical side, I’ve also had a lot of success with listening, learning and seeing if we can fix their problems. In one case, a significant deal with a large global tax consultancy had some deal-breaking features missing. Fortunately for me, we have a world class development team and we figured out we could build the features we lacked quite quickly.
The customer made it clear the decision had been made, and I said I respected their decision but if they would spare 10 minutes to check we were on the right track, it would help other people going forward. We spent an hour on the phone and 24 hours later, the customer sent me a purchase order. They told me we impressed them by acting on their feedback, and never pushing them or making them feel uncomfortable. The key is be honest, genuinely curious, open and an active listener.
OutboundEngine
Guy Koussa
RETENTION MANAGER
Retention Manager Guy Koussa sells marketing services on behalf of OutboundEngine, a deal that requires a year-long contract that can sound long to prospective clients. Koussa has a step-by-step formula he follows when encountering these kinds of objections, punctuated by questions and paraphrasing the prospect’s concerns in a way that helps him better understand them.
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
The No. 1 thing I do is treat any objection — whether it’s clear or not — as a question. Maintaining composure when hearing something that might go against your end goal will ensure a neutral sentiment toward the objection from both parties involved. Most of the time, our job is to uncover hidden objections. Typically, consumers have been conditioned not to voice their true objections and to mask them with false objections in fear that the salesperson will always have an answer, therefore disarming them from their ability to say “no” and dropping their walls. Consumers are far more educated on the sales process nowadays, which is where question-based selling excels when it comes to uncovering true objections.
To further understand how to handle an objection, it helps to break it down into four components. First, empathize with the source of their question and agree that you see their point of view. Then, identify the issue by clearly paraphrasing and restating it to the client (and end with a confirmation question). Isolate the objection from any other objection or value statements of the product, and confirm with another question. Close up by restating the value of the product and how it addresses their objections. Also, use storytelling.
Treat the objection as brand new every time you hear it.”
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
Pivoting, arguing, deflecting or avoiding the objection tends to be detrimental to a sale. Typically, inexperienced sales professionals tend to pivot and deflect in fear of losing their deal. Remember that even though you handle a specific objection a thousand times per month, your client doesn’t. You should treat the objection as brand new every time you hear it.
Share an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection. What were the keys to your success?
The most frequent objection we receive is about the initial 12-month contract. This usually stems from past experiences gone bad. First, we must isolate the problem and dissociate the past experience from the present conversation. Then, we build value in why a contract is required. We are able to isolate the objection and build value using storytelling on how successful clients are heavily invested in their marketing on a daily basis, and it’s not something they can simply pawn off on someone else to do with zero involvement on their part.
LeanIX, Inc.
Benjamin Damm
ENTERPRISE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
Strip everything away, and objections are simply tests. The prospect is testing your trustworthiness. The trap is trying to overcome it by selling. In doing so, you’re now an adversary to the prospect.
Instead, use an objection to prove that your No. 1 priority is looking out for the prospect’s best interest. Just like in boxing — where rolling with the punches softens the blow — in sales, rolling with the objection solidifies your relationship with the prospect.
Consider this common objection: “The price is too high.” Don’t fight about the value you provide or how successful the prospect will be. Instead, respond with something like: “You’re probably right, what should we do now?” Switch from arguing about price versus value to working with your prospect to find a solution. You don’t know what the prospect’s answer is going to be, and making assumptions only hurts you. By getting the prospect to expand their thoughts, you can then react to the real challenge.
Hold your ground, don’t react immediately, give concessions or sell. View the other person as a partner, not a prospect. How can we work together to overcome this?
Use an objection to prove that your No. 1 priority is looking out for the prospect’s best interest.”
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
One ineffective strategy is not having a strategy, which adds risk. Most objections can be grouped into financial, feature, customer support or contract challenges. Therefore, you can prepare.
Another ineffective strategy is trying to handle the objection. The only person who can truly handle an objection is the prospect. As a sales rep, it’s natural to feel like an objection is your time to shine. In reality, it’s nearly impossible to change someone’s opinion. Look at politics: It’s tough and exhausting to convince someone to change their opinion and usually hurts the relationship.
No matter the objection, if you “handle it” by pushing back without intending to, you create an argument. For example, “Your price is too high.” If your first reaction is anything about value, ROI or the spend being similar to other customers, you’re now disagreeing. At best, you’ll get a deal done at a lower price, but more likely, you’ve lost that deal and any reason that the prospect will come back.
View the other person as a partner, not a prospect.”
Share an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection. What were the keys to your success?
Recently, I was talking with a Fortune 100 telecommunications company, which had a small immediate use case to address. They liked our approach but didn’t believe they could justify the price, as the ROI wasn’t there. Rather than talk discounts, I said: “You’re probably right, do we end it here?”
Rather than him agreeing to end the evaluation, he said he’d need to involve another group who is looking for the type of insights we can provide. By coming prepared to the call knowing about the company, the prospect and how we work with similar companies, I was effective in my response. This allowed me to focus on his use case, as well as sprinkle in additional use cases for his industry so that he could see the bigger picture around how we help.
Just as importantly, there was a chance the prospect would agree that this was a showstopper. To be fair, that’s OK. Then, we would know price is the real objection and work toward an agreeable price range and solution. Or, we would walk away as early as possible from a deal that we’d never win and refocus on someone who can truly benefit from our solution.
ENGAGE
Kayla Lane takes objections as a good sign: it means she’s getting closer to gaining a customer’s “buy-in.” Working as a sales executive for oil and gas field management platform ENGAGE, Lane says objections allow her to take a problem-solving approach, which makes the prospect feel more at ease. It’s all about building a trusting relationship, which can be fruitful for both parties in the long term.
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
When handling objections from a customer, the most important thing you can do is listen and gather as much information as possible during the objection. This will help you build rapport and gain trust from the client to build a plan around their business needs. I believe getting to the objections really brings the client closer to the “buy-in.” In this current environment, I have found clients being able to find an easy “no” by objecting to the current state of the market, which is fair. This has been an easy way to ask more questions and learn about their business by taking more of a consultant approach rather than our client feeling as if they are being “sold.”
Rather than pitching them on the spot, I take the opportunity to learn about their business.”
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
Not listening to their objections closely and being overly pushy trying to close a sale. Objections are key to a successful sales cycle.
Share an example of a time when you successfully overcame an objection. What were the keys to your success?
During this current environment, I have spent a lot of time prospecting and hunting new business on LinkedIn. An objection I routinely get is, “I think we are too small to utilize your software and see an ROI.” This is the perfect time to get them on a Zoom call and ask more questions about their business. Rather than pitching them on the spot, I take the opportunity to learn about their business, ask questions and extract the information I needed to build a trusting relationship.
Druva
When pitching prospective clients on the benefits of Druva’s cloud-based data protection and management technology, VP of Corporate Sales Bryan Getz makes sure to come at any objections from a place of empathy. Understanding concerns puts a rep in a position to show how their technology can help, he says, while a defensive posture is a recipe for failure. The bottom line: good salespeople are good listeners.
What strategies have you found to be most effective when handling objections from prospective customers?
The most effective strategies to handle objections always begin with listening. It’s really important to be a good listener. My dad taught me from an early age that I have two ears and one mouth for a reason: I should listen twice as much as I talk. It’s also imperative to understand why the customer voiced the objection and why it is important to them. One of the specific methods I’ve used over the years to handle objections is “feel, felt, found.”
Tell them you understand how they feel. You’ve heard them and you can empathize. Then tell them about someone else who felt the same initially. You let them know they are not alone, and other clients have experienced something similar. Finally, tell them how that person found that when they did X,Y and Z (and bought Druva), they were able to overcome their challenges.
A lot of reps don’t listen; they just wait until it is their time to talk.”
What strategies have you found to be ineffective or counterproductive when dealing with objections?
For starters, the antithesis of the above. A lot of reps don’t listen; they just wait until it is their time to talk. Not being receptive combined with an emotional or defensive tone when responding to objections is a recipe for disaster.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
