SALES Series: Handling the objection: “I’m Not Interested”

You are making cold calls. You’ve done your research. This company you’re calling is in your target market. Their web site confirms that they need your equipment to fulfill their mission. But, your company is currently not the supplier. An opportunity. You find a live person with whom to speak and, after they know who you are, they say, “I’m not interested!”

Now, if you have not even begun any probing questions, or even asked for an opportunity to meet with the “right people,” you might respond, “Oh, you’re not interested in, ah, what?” Asked with humility and a touch of inquisitiveness, you have asked a question that can start a conversation that will give you insight in how they currently are meeting the need your product/service fulfills.

Other tactics include asking:

“I understand. How are you handling ___(the need)__ today?”
When they tell you, ask, “What do you like most about ____(product/or company)?”
To that answer ask, “How did you select ____(present supplier)___?”

The key for conversation to continue is that you are mirroring and matching their communication style – people like people who are just like them. You must establish rapport with these questions: not create an enemy. Listen carefully to their speed cadence and mirror it. NOT the accent, the cadence. Is it fast and you could imagine their arms moving as they talk? Is it paced with clear enunciation of the vowel and consonant sounds? Is it slow, methodical – heavy – as if they “feel” their words? Mirror the cadence. You want rapport.

There are several more questions you might be able to ask:

• “What would you need to see or hear to allow me to visit with you further about ___________(the problem)_____?
• What would interest you enough to try us?
• How do we go about establishing a working relationship with ___(their company)____?"

Note: you have not even begun to tell them about the value your solution provides. You will do that when you better understand their need and how well it is currently being met.

Remember the goal of every call is an order, another call or a visit (if appropriate). Keep it conversational but direct. Your attitude must be that you have something of value that can better meet their needs and save them money or improve their processes, or you would not be wasting your time making this call.

If you don’t believe your product or service can best serve their needs…well, that’s a different problem for a different blog!

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Leveraging the Power of "So What!"

When a prospects responds with anything resembling "So What!" you know that the value of the feature or attribute you were explaining was not clearly understood.

When a prospects responds with anything resembling "So What!" you know that the value of the feature or attribute you were explaining was not clearly understood.

The "so what" exercise that can help you better understand the value - from the customer's perspective.

Click HERE to find the POWER that the "so what" exercise yields.

SALES Series: Handling the “We’re happy…” Objection

You are making the cold call and you actually connect with a real human. That human immediately tells you, when they discover why you have called, that “they are happy” with their current vendor/supplier/consultant.

You say, “Thank you, please call me if you ever become unhappy and, goodbye.” Right?

Wrong. There is another response. Several, in fact. At your next sales training meeting, try several of these to see what works best for you.

1. What makes you happy with your _____current solution or supplier­­­­_______?
Listen and learn. Think about what is being said and what is not being said. Consider if you are receiving trivial messages or real drivers of their buying behavior. Did they talk about a problem, or pain? Did they link the solution to the problem?

1.1 If not addressed in their statement, ask “What do you like about how they do business with you?

1.2 OR, “What made you choose them and their solution?

1.3 And/or, “How do you judge whether you are happy or not?


2. They say “We’re happy.” and you ask, “Compared to what?” (Use this sparingly – you must discern if you have a bottom line prospect, on who thrives on direct statements.)

3. What would you like to see improved or enhanced with _____solution or process_________?

4. Describe the ideal solution (or provider relationship). OR, what would make life easier in the way of ______your solution or provider­­­­_____?

You want to understand their pain points and the kind of solutions that would relieve the pain. You want to discover what drives their buying behavior.

5. How do we go about establishing a relationship with your company?

6. What would you need to understand, or see, or hear to give us a chance?

7. How will you judge your happiness with us or our solution?

The goal, as always, is to generate a conversation where you discover what their current state is, what in that state is not going well (a problem), what solutions they have explored beside their current one, and then end with a clarifying statement that shows you have listened to their need, to what drives them, and what they, in an ideal world, would like to achieve. Then, share why your solution better fits their need – and ask for the business.

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Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Sales Objection: “Send me some information…”

Ah, the deadly phrase. You know what it means: Good-bye!

Hey! It does not have to be that way: this phrase could be the start, not the end of a conversation. Consider a phone exchange that may go something like this:

Prospect:

“Send me some information…”

You [enthusiastic and sincere]:

"Great! What information would you like me to send you?”

Prospect:

“Ahh, well, you know, your stuff about xxxxx?”

You [quietly confident]:

“OK, what would you be looking for from a company like ours for {a product like _____}?"

Prospect:

“this and that …and sales reps who get off the phone ….”

{it really does not matter what the prospect says – you want to listen to content, ignore editorializing and agree with making this conversation come to an end quickly…}

You:

“Thanks for that insight (OR something like: "Boy, do I ever understand that"…) and tell me, how are you presently handling ______________[the problem that needs solved by your product]________?”

Prospect:

“We do this and that and use so and so…”

You:

“Yes, I see…describe the “ideal” ____________ for you (or the company)….”

Prospect:

“ideal stuff”

You:

“Thanks: If you like what I send you, how do I go about getting a meeting with you?”

OR “Thanks: describe the ideal working relationship that would interest you in working with my company?”

OR “Thanks: once you receive the information, where do we go from there?”

Finally:

“We really would like to develop a business relationship with your company: how do we go about doing that?”

Remember: always ask for the business, because nothing really happens until somebody sells something.

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