There is no feeling quite like the one a sales professional experiences when they introduce themselves to a new prospect.
It’s exciting and it is also a constant struggle within our guts, because we know that a sincere, confident opening statement will work best, but even your best line is going to be met with a negative response one out of three times at best. As a result, you are hedging emotionally, bracing yourself for the one liner that could make you feel one inch tall on the way out as you leave in defeat.
One thing that helps, is to understand what the merchant is thinking, but not saying.
A prospect who has never met you, has no idea who you are, or what type of person you are, or what value you can offer.
You cannot take it personally, because rejection in sales is not personal. It feels very personal, but it is not.
When a prospect gives you an objection, you must respond as if they said something else. That’s right, you need to ignore what they said and respond to what they are thinking.
The good news for you is that there are only three things a merchant is ever thinking when they respond to a sales professional, so there are only three objections that matter. Get ready, because these may seem a little harsh!
– I am too busy, and this is not worth my time.
– I don’t trust you, so nothing you say can convince me.
– I don’t like you, and I don’t think I want to talk to you.
One of these three things is what every prospect is thinking when they give you an objection.
Very few of them would ever say it like this, because they are trying to get rid of you in a nice way.
The problem is that because they are trying to be nice, they are not telling you the real reason for their lack of interest. Let’s see if you can match up an objection to the correct thought.
Let’s set the scene. You just finished going over the proposal showing a $200+ in monthly savings and they say, “Let me think about this and get back to you; I don’t want to rush into anything.” (Which thought are they having?)
Imagine if you get interrupted during the opening pitch and the prospect says, “I’m not interested, we are happy with who we have.”
A prospect is alone in their shop, slowly working on paperwork and you introduce yourself while handing them your business card. They respond, “Thanks for stopping by, but today is just not a good day for me.”
Did you figure out which objection goes with which thought process?
It is easy to figure out. The first prospect sees the savings and if they trusted you, they would obviously sign up as fast as possible.
The second prospect shuts you down before you even have time to get a full sentence out because they just don’t want to be bothered with anything.
The last prospect is clearly not that busy, but they are using that as an excuse because they can’t imagine talking to you for another five minutes.
Armed with this new knowledge about what a merchant is thinking, let’s come up with the best rebuttal for the real objection for the three prospects above.
Prospect # 1 – “Let me think about this and get back to you; I don’t want to rush into anything.” (They don’t trust you.)
Rebuttal - “I can certainly understand that. The last thing I want to do is see you make a decision and then second guess yourself. If I was in your shoes, I think I would want to see some letters of reference from other local clients that took advantage of our proposed savings and then saw those savings materialize the next month on their statement. If I was able to provide you with 2 or 3 references that did end up saving significantly with my service, would that make you more comfortable?” (You should always carry three or four letters of recommendation with you, if possible.)
Prospect #2 - “I’m not interested, we are happy with who we have.” (They are too busy to talk.)
Rebuttal - “I can see that you are really busy right now. I know you believe in keeping your vendors honest. Can I ask you one question and email you a savings proposal so you can double check your current statement and make sure you are getting a good deal?
I promise I will be walking out that door in less than two minutes, fair enough?” (Ask them their total volume, and that’s all you need to create a proposal using James Shepherd’s Instant Quote Tool. Click Here.
Prospect #3 - “Thanks for stopping by; today is just not a good day for me.” (They don’t like you.)
Rebuttal - “I’m sorry, I think we got off on the wrong foot, do you mind if I ask you a question? How long has your business been located here?”
(Start a conversation and ask them other questions about their business, to show them that you are a real person and someone they would enjoy getting to know.)
Take the knowledge gained in this article today and leverage it in the field. You will be blown away by the results. Don’t take rejection personally. Listen carefully to the way rejection is provided and then use their words and body language to understand the thought process behind it, so you can overcome the real objection.
Happy Selling,
David
Payment Lynx Daily 