Your Honor, I Object…Go Ahead and Make My Day

This article is part 3 of a 5 part series on marketing lessons I discovered during my monthly long visit to Mexico City.   Click here to go back to Part 2.

Lesson #3 - Address People’s Objections Head On

When we were planning our trip to Ciudad de Mexico, we heard it all.  Family members warned us about the crime.  “Be careful.  There’s a lot that can happen to you there.”  We had people warn us about the altitude, "At the pyramids, be careful of the altitude.  You could get  sick while on vacation."  I get it.  The city is 7000+ feet above sea level.  Then there were people telling us about Montezuma’s Revenge.  NOTE:  My wife and I both dealt with this one.  No fun at all.

You are going to have objections no matter what you do.  We got it before our time abroad.  We all will get it as we sell our services.

Whether you are going to Mexico City or selling membership sites and online course services like I do, people are going to have questions that need to get answered.  If not, the sale won't happen.

A lot of people selling their wares avoid or side-step objections.   Worse yet, they dismiss them and don't allow their prospect to explore their concerns.

Why might a sales person do that?  It's usually because they lack confidence, fear that the deal is lost or haven't prepared an answer to respond to the objection.

When you're selling anything, you MUST become the top expert on potential objections.  A prospects going to bring it up or, worse yet, not bring them up and think them.  Your job in sales is to understand the objection and give an answer that addresses it.  You have to expect that whether you answer them or not, your prospect is going to look for an answer.  The answer they get on their own or from someone else may not be the answer you want to them to hear.

Supposed I want to sell you on visiting Mexico City.  After I tell you all about your great visit, I should also add, "A lot of people will let something like Montezuma's Revenge keep them from a great trip.   Fortunately, modern science has come a long way.  Some people even take something before hand to reduce the chances of getting anything.just in case."   The point is you engage the customer with answers to questions they haven't yet asked you.  These are informed answers that keep the buying process moving.

The additional benefit of taking this approach is that you are then seen as someone who's trustworthy.  If you were truthful in bringing up an objection you didn't have to bring up and you address it, you are are seen as being honest.  That will imply you would be honest about both the good and bad.

What happens is you become believable.

There are issues to deal with when doing business for everyone.  Don’t avoid them.  Getting to those objections before people ask them is a great approach.  You don't have to cherry coat it.  You just explain it.  Make sure those things that are going to stand in the way get aired out as fast as possible.

You aren’t going to be the perfect match for everyone so don't expect everyone to like your answers.  If what you have to say doesn't work, then the sale wasn't yours anyway and this approach gets bogus prospects that aren't the right match out of your sales funnel as quickly as possible.

Click here for Part 4 of this article.