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THE SCIENCE OF SELLING (P
ART II):
(PART
HANDLING SALES OBJECTIONS
Ilse Truter
Drug Utilization Research Unit, Department of Pharmacy
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
“The sale starts when the customer says no.”1
Jeffrey Gitomer
After you have just spent 10 minutes of your valuable time counselling a person about what will
be the most appropriate vitamin and mineral supplement for him, the person tells you that he will
think about it. He then tells you that they are selling the same supplement cheaper at the
pharmacy close to his work. He stands in front of you, his arms now folded and he is looking at
his watch as if you have just wasted 10 minutes of his time. His posture is more rigid and he does
not make frequent eye contact. He tells you that his wife is waiting in the car and he says good
bye to you.
You think: “I am furious! How can a person waste my time like this with total disrespect for my
professional knowledge and skills?”
He thinks: “What a poor business person! He or she gave me all the advice that I needed, but
did not even attempt to convince me to buy the product.”
S
ales objections are anything that stops a customer from
buying. It is a reason given by a potential customer why
they are not ready to buy your product or service, or a
hindrance voiced by a prospect which prevents you from
closing the sale. In an ideal world, you want your customers
to be happy and secure in their decision to buy from you.
This is the optimal scenario. This does not mean that you
must use devious tactics to manipulate potential customers to
buy from you – rather, you must use common sense to assist
customers to buy from you. Each objection (or perceived “risk”
to buy) has a way to overcome it built right in. It sometimes just
needs creativity and flexibility in the offer, or sometimes just
more explanation or information, but most of the time it is
about proof and credibility. Do not be afraid of objections.
Through potential customers’ objections, they are telling you
exactly what their needs and wants are, what they object to,
and where their fears lie. The only way to sell a person is by
uncovering these objections and to deal with them.
A good salesperson knows that he or she should not quit
selling when the prospect is giving objections. If the body
language becomes negative, it is not always a sign that the
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person will not buy. In fact, objections begin to appear when
you begin to sell or close the sale. They are manoeuvers
customers use to postpone the buying decision. It has been
said that people buy when the pain of the problem is greater
than the cost of the solution.
When a potential customer (or prospect) says “no”, you need
to find out whether it is a true objection, just a way to stall the
deal, or whether it is a lie. You need to find out what the real
reason is why the person does not want to buy now. Buyers
often hide the true reason why they have decided not to buy.
They do this for several reasons – maybe they do not want to
hurt your feelings, they are embarrassed or they are afraid to
tell the truth. The customer is not necessarily saying “No, I
do not want to buy”. He or she may be saying, “You have not
sold me yet. Give me more information or more reassurance
before I buy from you”. A master salesperson can get
through the stall to the real objection.
“If you can turn no into yes, you made the sale.
Simple.”1
Jeffrey Gitomer
SA Pharmaceutical Journal – April 2009
MANAGEMENT The top ten objections not to buy
The real objections
The most common sales objections can generally be
classified as follows2:
The real or true objection is seldom stated. Most of the time,
when the customer says, “I want to think about it”, or stalls the
sale, he or she is really saying something else. According to
Gitomer, the real objections are usually one or a combination
of the following1:
• Does not have the money.
• Has the money, but it is too cheap to spend it.
• Cannot get the credit needed.
• Cannot decide on his or her own.
• Does not have authority to spend over budget, or without
someone else’s financial approval.
• Thinks (or knows) he or she can get a better deal elsewhere.
• Has something else in mind, but will not tell you.
• Has a friend, connection or satisfactory relationship in the
business.
• Does not want to change vendors (suppliers).
• Wants to shop around.
• Too busy with other more important things at this time.
• Does not need (or think he or she does not need) your
product now.
• Thinks (or knows) that your price is too high.
• Does not like or have confidence in your product.
• Does not like, trust or have confidence in your business.
• Does not like, or have confidence in you.
Price, value or cost: The price is too high against the
perceived value. What happens if I spend all the money and
do not get value for my money? I can buy something else
with the money. Why should the money be spent on this
specific product?
Time or logistics: How is the product/service delivered?
When will it be delivered? Does it fit in with our planning?
We need it sooner. It will take too long. This purchase is
actually not a priority.
Credibility or trust: The product/service seems right, but I
just do not trust you to deliver. The product is unproven.
Politics: What will my boss think? I do not have authority to
approve this purchase. My boss will not authorise the sale.
What happens to me if I buy the wrong product, what will
people think?
Knowledge: I do not have enough knowledge about the
product. Just send me your literature anyway, I will come
back to you. I wonder whether I can trust all this “sales talk?”
Gitomer lists the following ten objections (stalls or white lies)
that potential customers or prospects generally give1:
• I want to think about it.
• We have spent our budget.
• I have to talk it over with my partner (my husband, wife,
cat, mistress, broker, lawyer, accountant, psychologist or
whoever).
• I need to sleep on it.
• I never buy on impulse – I always give it time to sink in.
• I am not ready to buy yet.
• Get back to me or I will get back to you in a week or two.
We will be ready to buy then.
• Quality is not important to me.
• Business is slow right now (or in South Africa, we are
entering a recession – I need to think carefully about
every cent that I spend).
• Our advertising agency handles that.
Price, obviously, is the classic objection (“The pharmacy in
the other suburb currently has a special offer. I am rather
going to buy from them”). To overcome this objection, find
out how much higher your price is, and what price they
consider to be “too high”. Many times “too high” may be 15
or 20 cents higher which is a lot less than the cost of the
petrol to drive to the other pharmacy. The best solution with
price is to increase the perceived value rather than to lower
the price, since price is also closely related to trust.
Most objections come down to risk. Often it is financial risk,
but also other risks such as the risk to look foolish, which
may be a big risk for the decision maker.
SA Pharmaceutical Journal – April 2009
If you want the sale (and you obviously want the sale,
because you are in business!), you need to find the real
objection.
Solutions to objections
Overcoming sales objections is the true test of a salesperson.1 The customer is not necessarily saying “no”, he or she
may just be saying “not now yet”. An objection may actually
indicate buyer interest.1 Objections occur because there are
doubts or unwanted questions in the mind of the buyer
(sometimes these doubts are created by the salesperson, so
be careful of your use of words). If you say to a potential
buyer that this new product really has miracle properties, and
the buyer knows it is not true, you have created the doubt
and the person will not buy. Objections can also occur
because the prospect wants to buy or is interested in buying,
but needs clarification, wants a better deal or make sure that
this is a good deal, or want a third party to approve. Objections can obviously also occur because the prospect does
not want to buy, but is forced into a situation to buy.
How to identify and handle the true
objection
The literature on objection-handling is vast and many
sources give “recipes” in the form of acronyms of how to
handle sales objections. Some examples are1,2:
• LAARC: Listen, Acknowledge, Assess, Respond, Confirm.
• LACE: Listen, Accept, Commit, Explicit action.
• LAIR: Listen, Acknowledge, Identify objection, Reverse it.
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MANAGEMENT
The following steps are a summary of what is recommended
when faced with an objection1:
Listen carefully to the objection being raised
When someone trusts you enough to tell you what is bothering him or her, do them the courtesy of at least listening to
them. Determine if it is a true objection or only a stall. It is
said that a prospect will only repeat an objection if it is real.
Give the prospect time to talk, and listen carefully. Agree
with the prospect at first, because this will allow you to
tactfully disagree without starting an argument later in the
conversation. If you classify it as a definite stall, find out what
the real objection is – without it you cannot progress. If you
are convinced it is a stall you can try one of the following
lead-in phrases to get to the real objections1:
• “Don’t you actually mean …”
• “You are telling me _______, but I think you might mean
something else.”
• “Usually when customers tell me that, experience has
shown me that they actually really have a price objection.
Is that true for you?”
Find out if there is only one true objection
You need to carefully question the objection. You need to
know if there are other reasons as well why the person does
not buy from you (for example, a rude sales assistant, a
problem with a previous sale, or your bad image in the
community).
Confirm it again
Rephrase your question to ask the same question again but
differently, or affirm the objection by restating it in the form of
a question to be answered. For example, ask, “In other
words, if it was not for the colour of the product, you would
have bought it?” or “What you are saying is that the delivery
service is a concern for you. Is that what bothers you?” You
may also “tip the bucket” at this stage, and ask if there are
any other concerns (objections) that they have, and if you
can resolve them, whether you might be able to close the
sale.2 This may cause you more work now. Although it may
seem that it is better to let sleeping dogs lie, if you do not do
so, you may find that when you get to what you may think is
closure these questions and concerns may be raised.
other businesses, you will never close this sale (and many other
sales!). You must give assurance, be sincere and show
conviction to get the prospect to agree with you and mean it.
The golden rule is not to focus on price – show cost, demonstrate value, list comparisons and prove benefits.
Ask a closing question, or communicate to the prospect in an
assumptive manner
Ask a closing question in such a way that it will confirm the
sale, that is communicate to the prospect in an assumptive
manner (“I have the sale in hand”-manner), for example:
• The classic question at this stage is, “If I could … would
you …?”
• “I am pretty sure we can do this for you. I have to check
one fact with the person in charge, but it is definitely a go
on my part. I am assuming we have a deal”? or “I could
meet with all the decision makers to finalise our deal?”
• Another technique is to quote similar situations when you
close. People like to know about others in the same
situation.
• Ask, “Why is this/that important to you?” Then use, “If I
could …, would you …?”
Confirm the answer and the sale (and do it in writing if
possible)
Get the prospect to convert to a customer with a confirming
question such as:
• When do you want it delivered?
• When is the best day for you to begin using the product?
• Is there a better day to deliver than others?
• Where do you want it delivered (or installed)?
Techniques for handling sales objections
There are a multitude of techniques that can be used to
handle sales objections. Only a selected few are listed
below2,3,4:
Boomerang: Bounce back to them the objection that they
give you. Take what they say and use it to get them closer to
the objective. By using what they say, you are saying that
they are right. And when you attach what you want to what
they say, then by association, what you want is right.
Qualify the objection to set up the close of the sale
Ask a question in a way that incorporates the solution, for
example “If I get the red-coloured product for you by next
Wednesday, will you then buy it from me?” or “If I come to
your house and demonstrate to you and your wife how to use
the device, will that be enough for you to make a decision?”
Objection chunking: You take a wider or narrower view than
their objection (a higher or lower viewpoint). This helps the
prospect to see the situation from a different perspective.
Taking a different perspective has a dual effect, namely to
firstly reframe to create a different attention and a new
understanding, and secondly, of distracting from what might
be a difficult issue to resolve.
Answer an objection in a way that completely resolves the
issue, and confirm that it has been resolved
You want to close the sale – at this point therefore, you must
use every tool in your toolbox. If you have trump cards to play,
this is the time to use them. If, at this point, you cannot answer
the prospect in a way that is different or that sets you apart from
Conditional close: In this case you are accepting the
objection and getting them to agree to purchase the product
if you can resolve the objection. If they say they want a red
one, you respond by saying that if you can get a red one
whether they will buy the product today. In other words, you
make closure a condition for resolving their objection.
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SA Pharmaceutical Journal – April 2009
MANAGEMENT Curiosity: Do not ask them “why”, but act curious as to why
the objection exists so that they have an opportunity to
explain the reason. This gives you the information you need
to resolve the objection and make the sale. You are therefore not threatening, just curious and exploring why and you
do not look as being a “hard closer”. In other words, you do
not seem to be sad for “losing the sale, just curious”.
Deflection: Avoid responding to the objection by just letting
it pass without comment. By accepting their objection, you
are accepting them as a person, and the additional harmony
and rapport created may be enough to overcome the
objection.
Feel, felt, found: This is a classic technique of moving them.
Talk about how they feel and then mention how others have
felt. This technique identifies the feelings of the prospect and
then attaches those same feelings to others so that they feel
part of the group. Then you show how others changed their
mind and this allows them to change their minds too. For
example, “I understand what you are saying. Another
customer asked me the same question. Here is what we did
to satisfy his concern …”. It is similar to reframing, where you
try and change their cognitive frame.
Humour: Respond with humour rather than frustration. This
takes the pressure off the moment and allows them to relax
so that you can continue the conversation. This also allows
you to relax because objections can get frustrating.
Justification: Confirm their objection by saying how reasonable the objection is. Then you can follow-up by saying that
it may appear that way or it seems that way and then show
them the value of the product or service that you are selling.
You have now justified their concern and then showed why it
really should not be a concern.
Objection writing: As the prospect list their objections, write
them down. Then, as you handle each objection, cross out
the objection. This shows the prospect that you are listening
and you want to cover all of their concerns. You can then
show them that all of their concerns are not really concerns
and they have no reason not to purchase.
Pre-empting: After a few months in any business, salespeople have heard most of the objections they will hear over
and over again for years.3 Handle the objections before they
come up. If you know from experience that many people
have the same objection, you can bring it up first and get it
out of the way. The objection is then already handled so the
person has to come up with something else. However, be
careful because you may bring up objections that the person
has not even considered and this may influence them not to
buy.
Pushback: Object to their objection. Give them the opportunity to “defend” their objection. Often the real objection will
SA Pharmaceutical Journal – April 2009
become clearer in their explanation.
Renaming: Change the words of the objection to change the
meaning.
Reprioritise: Assist the prospect to reprioritise so that the
objections that you cannot handle are placed lower on the
list and focus on the ones that you can resolve.
Conclusion
Sales objections are sales opportunities. Do not take no for
an answer. The key for overcoming objections lies in1:
• Your knowledge of selling skills.
• Your knowledge of your product.
• Your knowledge of your prospect.
• The relationship you have with your prospect.
• Your creativity.
• Your attitude.
• Your sincere desire to help your prospect.
• Your persistence.
Interestingly, none of these things have anything to do with
price. Some may relate to cost, but not to price per se. All of
these things have to do with value.
Lastly, remember to apply these ideas to your own style and
personality. Ideally a person will buy from you because they
trust you, respect you and value the relationship that you
have with each other. Sometimes, however, it is necessary
to use selling tactics because although you are a professional person you are also a businessperson. Handle
objections wisely – an objection may be the most important
clue on how to get the sale.
References:
1. Gitomer J. 2008. Sales Bible. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
2. Objection-handling. 2009. Changing Minds.org. http://changingminds.org/
disciplines/sales/objection (date accessed: 7 March 2009).
3. Lontos P. 1998. Eliminating Sales Objections. Available on the web:
http://www.bluinc.com/news/eliminating.html (date accessed: 2 March
2009).
4. Gavin Ingham. 2008. 10 Tips for Handling Sales Objections. Available on
the web: http://www.salesobjection.com/2008/03/10-tips-for-han.html (date
accessed: 3 March 2009).
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