chapter 28 using objections to close the sale how many do you answer many times I am asked how many objections should you answer before you attempt to close in my judgment 2 to three should be the maximum number and in most cases it will just be two remember there is a difference between questions and objections when your prospect raises either the second or third objection it will vary according to the circumstances look your prospect in the eye your training in tone and voice inflection covered earlier will be invaluable at this point and say Mr Prospect let me ask you a question is this the only thing which stands between you and ownership of or is there something else you need to consider if the prospect says no this is the only thing I'm concerned about at that point you cover the objection and make a positive statement in question form I believe that answers your question doesn't it if you get no response or a positive response you you continue I'm delighted I was able to answer your question because I know you are going to love the product you assume the cloth because the prospect had said only one objection stood between them and ownership and you had secured agreement from them that the barrier question objection had been removed the talking pad close many times a prospect has more than one question or objection so they could respond to the question in the last paragraph like this well no in addition to not being convinced the price is fair I seriously question your ability to service the account and frankly your guarantee leaves much to be desired when your prospect has expressed these three objections you reach for your talking pad and write them down in abbreviated form as you say if I understand you correctly Mr Prospect your Prime questions are number one price write the word price number two you are concerned about our service write the word service and number three you question our guarantee write the word guarantee now you have only three words on your talking pad price service and guarantee look your prospect in the eye and say in other words Mr Prospect if you could convince yourself the price is competitive that we have the ability to properly service the account and our guarantee is more than fair you would be comfortable in making a yes decision concerning our product is that what you're saying get a commitment if the prospect says yes then you go to the price objection and deal with it I remind you that in chapters 5 and 24 I have dealt in great detail with how to handle this objection so at this point you utilize that information when you complete the handling of the price objection you look at the Prospect and make the statement in the form of a question surely Mr Prospect this satisfies you on the price doesn't it if it does Mr Prospect then with your permission I would like to remove price as one of the questions is that all right nod your head as you cross out the word price incidentally is that fair enough does that make sense and is that all right are three of the strongest trial closing questions remove the barriers one by one next you deal with the service question or objection at this point there is nothing more convincing than reviews from satisfied customers who have specifically dealt with the service aspect of your business since this is a question of company stability and integrity your membership in the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau as well as references to the size age and integrity of your company is important as you get the verbal and Body Language feedback from your prospect you conclude the service presentation by asking Does this answer your question as it relates to our service reputation if it does then ask may I then remove the question concerning our service capability as you ask the question you assume a positive answer and literally cross it out with your felt tip or ballpoint pen the third question Mr Prospect had to do with the guarantee which we offer let me start by saying that any guarantee is only as good as the company which offers that guarantee as I have already demonstrated we do represent a viable solid business establishment one thing I emphasize Mr Prospect is that unless the guarantee is fair to both buyer and seller it has no value if we as a company couldn't live with it we would be out of business then regardless of how extensive the guarantee might be it would have no value our guarantee protects you from virtually everything but human error and carelessness as well as abuse of the product our product as I have demonstrated is built for use but not abuse we protect you from all manufacturing defects as well as normal use I believe Mr Prospect that's your major concern isn't it parade your strengths because each company has its own strong points I urge you to learn what yours are and handle them accordingly the prime consideration in dealing with objections like this is not to become defensive or in any sense of the word attack your prospect or Raise Your Voice Mr Cool is the phrase here calm quiet Assurance is what the prospect is seeking to repeat myself it is at this point in the negotiation that your qualities as a person are just as important as your sales skills if you're the right kind of person and have acquired the professional skills you should lose very few sales because of objections after you have covered those objections including that third one look the prospect in the eye and say I believe Mr Prospect in your own mind you feel pretty good about our guarantee don't you again you assume the positive answer and with a big smile cross out the final objection at this juncture you will have utilized the information provided for you by your own company trainer and your company literature one more time secrets of closing the sale was written primarily to reinforce your company efforts not to replace them when you have covered all three of the objections you look at the Prospect and say you know Mr Prospect I wish everyone I deal with was as concise with their questions as you are because if a person knows their own feelings it makes it easier and more fun to demonstrate our products I know that you're going to love this product with a big smile you extend your hand as you assume the sale caution don't over answer any one objection first it could indicate in the mind of the prospect you are defensive to the point you are uncertain about your product even worse you could so overwhelm the objection that your prospect could be made to feel like an idiot for mentioning it as we'd say down home that ain't the way to sell M Kevin's exponential Insight number 15 shine a light on your competition most people want to avoid even mentioning alternative or competitor products but people are going to want to shop around and ensure they've found the best product so make it easy for them go ahead and make the comparison by shining a light on your competition for example when we sold the Dual saw we hired an outside expert in tools from a well-known DIY store and Home Improvement Channel and filmed them comparing the tools we didn't want customers to think they had to visit a store first to make an informed purchasing decision we asked the question for them what other options are out there our expert identified the top five Alternatives then we showed each one of them in action in our commercial more specifically we showed each of them trying and failing to do something our product could do for example an alternative to the Dual saw was a basic handsaw sure it cuts through wood but watch as we try to cut through Stone the blade would break this other product slices thin metal but box at a steel rod then we would show how our bad boy cut right through stone or steel like butter by showing the limitations of our top competitors we increased the value of our product in the mind of the customer one thing we did not do was put down the other products in fact we built them up in some way noting what they could do but then demonstrating how our product was better this way the viewers who may at one point have purchased a comparison product felt empowered to decide for themselves especially today in the a digital era when everyone can click to Amazon to compare prices it's important to preempt that objection with the bad boy close affirm their ability to make good decisions and then Empower them to make a new decision based on new information if you need to compare your products or service with others to get people to commit consider using the bad boy close to get the job done this safety valve or Punt and prey close in handling objections I personally believe we all need to have what Dick Gardner called safety valves how Krauss calls this the punt and prey approach all experienced salespeople have been asked questions or have been confronted with objections which they know how to handle but unfortunately can't recall at the moment of need when this happens you can't just clim up for a couple of minutes nor is it advisable to say I know the answer but can't think of it so give me a minute or two and I'll give you the answer since you know the answer assuming you do you should develop some safety valves or Punt and prey fillers here's the way they work the prospect asks the question or raises the objection for which you have an answer but cannot immediately recall so you Punt and Pray by saying I'm delighted you raised this question because in my mind it is quite important I commend you for having the interest and insight to explore this facet of our offer obviously if you can't sincerely say this then the prey part of Punt and prey needs to be literal this interest and insight will enable you to more completely utilize the services which we offer so you'll get the maximum benefit by this time you should have recalled the specific answer to the objection so go ahead and answer it the same approach can be taken when you have the answer ready for use but you want to phrase it in the best possible way for example a doctor might need to think through the gentest manner in which to deliver distressing medical news a loving parent or mate will want a soften distressing ORS setting news so voice tone words and manner play an important part you know the answer but delivering that answer is the tough part play it cool use a safety valve occasionally a prospect will make a dogmatic statement which necessitates a built in safety valve for example your prospect might say I wouldn't do business with that outfit you represent in a 100 years they're dogmatic even a little vehement in a statement your safety valve procedure is is simple and effective lower your voice look them in the eye and say Mr prospect it's obvious you feel quite strongly about this issue so you must have an excellent reason for feeling as you do would you mind sharing with me why you feel this way very soft very quiet but when you follow this procedure you will remove much of the vehement and emotion from the scene interestingly enough in most cases you will discover the problem involves a personality conflict a Communications gap or some insignificant detail however regardless of its actual size if it's big in the eyes of the prospect it's big regardless of its size or significance this procedure brings the objection into the open so that you can deal with it the key to this approach is not to take it personally when the prospect attacks your company its procedures and policies or a past incident remember if you lose your cool you lose the sale the alternate of choice close Revisited much of this has been dealing primarily with the direct or in-house salesperson who has more time and who works under different circumstances from the salesperson who is in a regular retail outlet hence the answers and procedures are different there also is the factor that virtually all direct sales whether in cosmetics cookware life insurance vacuum cleaners encyclopedias some types of commercial printing Girl Scout cookies raffle tickets Etc are generally sold on a one call basis if the prospect is in a retail store after you have answered the objections you handle the final part in a slightly different way you assume the close but you do so with an alternative Choice by saying always pleasantly I'm delighted I was able to answer that particular question because it's our function here at company to give our customers the best possible service I know you will enjoy this product a great deal and of course we're here to service it should there be any need now let me ask you you would you like to take the product with you or would you prefer that we deliver it to your door assuming it's a product the customer could take with them or merchandise that you deliver other alternates of choice on the clothes you seem to be leaning toward the red or do you prefer it in blue yet another did you want us to use your credit card or were you going to handle it by check or cash the wheeler witch close the alternate of choice clothes was originally identified during the 1930s by sales trainer Elmer wheeler who called it the wheeler witch he was commissioned by the Walgreen drug chain to help their business in those days all drugstores had soda fountains which contributed considerably to the profit structure as well as to the flow of traffic in the store malted milks which sold for 15 cents were an extremely popular item in those Depression years one of the things they added to malted milks was eggs the price of each egg was an extra nickel and since Walgreens bought them for 15 cents a dozen the more eggs they sold in malted milks the greater their profit when a customer ordered a malted milk Elmer taught the clerks to hold up two eggs smile and ask one egg or two in the vast majority of cases though they had not planned to order even one egg the customers would take the easy way out and say one Walgreens discovered that as many customers said two as said none the number of eggs they sold ran into hundreds of crates each week the impact on their profit structure was dramatic sometimes the alternative Choice involves a very simple decision which will carry a major decision example in the sale of a home the real estate person can say one of the things I like to provide for my customers is a beautiful door knocker with your name inscribed on it tell me Mr Prospect would you want it an Old English modern American or Corinthian script automobile sales salesmen who sell the luxury cars can offer personalized Monograms for the dashboard or door using the same basic approach obviously no one buys a home or luxury automobile to get a door knocker or monogram and no close will really work if the customer does not want to buy what this clothes as well as the other closes does for those people who want to buy and plan to buy as simple it gives them an additional nudge in the form of a reason or excuse to go ahead and take the action now in short a good cloth is designed to get a decision and get the decision in your favor really good closing makes every customer feel that they're buying you're not selling that feeling is what helps make them a permanent customer the alternative Choice clothes is used hundreds of times every year by all of us again regardless of what your job or profession might be you sell every day parent to child do you want to cut the grass or wash the windows teacher to student do you want to settle for ab or would you prefer to complete the assignment physician to Patient would you like to live longer or keep smoking attendant to car owner would you like for me to rotate the tires and give you an extra 5,000 m or leave them as they are suor to date shall I pick you up at half 7 or would 8:00 be better waiter to diner would you like soup or salad with your dinner patrolman to speeder would you like to pay the speeding ticket now or do you prefer to go to court on the 1st of August Point since all of us sell every day doesn't it make sense to learn how to do it more effectively specific objections one question frequently Asked in my personal visits with salespeople around the country and during seminars when I'm having an open discussion on objections is this one how do you deal with a prospect who is currently buying from an old and trusted supplier who offers virtually the same product at roughly the same price gives approximately the same same service and has the added advantage of being a friend or a relative with many years experience in satisfactorily handling the account this is a tough one and what I'm going to say will not answer all of the objections nor will it get the sale every time but I'm convinced it will enable you to make some of the sales and will always give you the feeling you are at least in the ballpark of possibility in short hope is there when the prospect says basically the things I've mentioned above the worst thing you can do is attack The credibility of the supplier or the quality of their product that guarantees you will never make the sale nor will you have much of a chance with a frontal assault however I believe the possibility for a sale is good with this next approach it's the method discussed in two or three different sections of the book and it involves asking a lot of questions the obligation close you might convince a person with the frontal assault that you have some advantages but the only way you are going to get their business is to persuade them as previously mentioned you persuade only by asking questions so the prospect literally leads themselves into a yes decision in this particular instance you handle it this way Mr Prospect if there were a way for you to buy the same product from your current supplier at a better price and get better service in the process you would be interested in knowing how to do that wouldn't you wait for an answer which undoubtedly will be yes how could I do that you before I answer Mr Prospect two more questions please number one at this precise moment do you feel any obligation whatever to buy anything from me a complete stranger whom you've never seen before wait for the answer it's going to be no second question Mr Prospect do you feel any obligation or inclination to continue buying from your current supplier who is a close friend and with whom you've been dealing for years wait for answer it's going to be yes or some basically Mr Prospect it goes without saying that your first loyalty is to yourself and your family and not necessarily what is best for any supplier would you agree with this premise Mr Prospect if you can get them to agree with this you've taken one small step toward the sale if you can't then obviously you're not dealing with someone who has an open mind I'll try harder when you get the answer you respond then Mr Prospect since you are not oblig at to me but feel obligated to him does it make sense that I would be willing to work harder give you better service and take care of the account in a more anxious to please manner doesn't it make sense that I would keep you at the top of my list of priorities so that I can earn your business in the only way open to me which is giving you a good product at a good price with even better service this kind of logic has got to hit a hot button somewhere without being presumptuous Mr Prospect would I be wrong to assume you have considerable interest in the bottom line get answer then if you could get a better price better quality and or better service any one of those three things would have a direct bearing on your satisfaction and your profitability wouldn't it now Mr Prospect two of them would have a big bearing and three of those factors could make quite a difference in the bottom line with this in mind Mr Prospect and since you've already recognized your first loyalty is to yourself don't you feel it would be in your best interest to at least give me a chance to prove I can and will give you more for your money this way I have to earn the business which automatically makes you a winner please understand I'm not asking for all of your business I am simply encouraging you to give me a chance to earn part of your business you do have a lot to gain and nothing to lose when you receive the shipment you should display it in a prominent spot so your current supplier will be absolutely certain to see it when they do one of two things will happen one they will determine in their own mind that they've got to do a better job or give you a better price in order to keep your business or two you will discover we really can give you better service and or a better price could we start you with one gross or would you go for three and the larger discount which goes with it that's what Bill said many years ago bill go one of my early mentors covered a simple and effective way to handle this I'm buying from a friend or relative objection however it wasn't until John Hammond offered it as a suggestion for this book that the real impact hit me here it is Mr Prospect I understand what you are saying and I can appreciate your interest in maintaining that relationship I'm not suggesting you take business from them and give to me however from time to time I have ideas which I believe will increase your business which increases the need for my products if I share those ideas with you which I'm willing to do would you be willing to give me the extra business which my ideas generate this way everyone wins you continue to do business with your friend and your business increases so you and your friend both win the increase in your business means you must buy more of the product I sell and so I would benefit because of your increase does that sound like a good idea and a fair exchange Mr Prospect the similar product close occasionally a prospect will say your product is just like and then name another product when this happens you don't disagree completely or categorically state that your product is totally different instead you find an area of agreement which is easy to do you calmly look at your prospect and say yes I agree with you there are some similarities which I believe is what you are saying isn't it Mr Prospect get answer along these lines let me state that the visible difference between an original rembrand and a reproduction or imitation is small however if you put the imitation and the original up for sale there would be a substantial difference in price which wouldn't there with this in mind Mr Prospect let me show you the little differences which make ours the rembrand of the field as far as performance and quality are concerned you do want the best product at the best price don't you Mr Prospect if your prospect has a good sense of humor and they state that your product or service is just like if you're a Salesman you go back to the similar approach and say yes they are similar but I might also point out that my wife and I are very similar each of us has two arms two legs and a head but there are some intriguing differences to tell you the truth it's the differences which got us together and it's the differences which are keeping us together it's true there are similarities in our products but it's the differences which make our product the Best Buy for you now identify the differences spell out why those differences make your product the best bu and close by saying you do want the best for your money don't you Mr Prospect effect there are many objections and even more answers but in the final analysis it boils down to this if you are the right person selling the right product at the right price and you are convinced the customer is the big winner then you are in the driver's seat now to this add the professionalism of knowing and using the right words with the right voice inflection the right intent and the right followup and you will increase your closing percentage the right experience close getting a job obviously involves selling this example of handling a major objection is primarily aimed at the teenager entering the job market but with some variations much of it is applicable to any job applicant since I have emphasized from the opening chapter that the salesperson is the most important part of the sales process I am going to start with the basic assumption the applicant has been taught the importance of honesty character integrity Faith love and loyalty they have also been taught to accept responsibility to be dependable and to have a good attitude objection what is your experience the typical teenager has had no sales training so when they are asked what is your experience they're likely to reply I don't really have any regular job experience I've done some babysitting and looked after the neighbors pets while they were on vacation but this will be my first job a young person may think that is the only answer they can give to such an objection and as long as they think that and reply in that way they will find it very difficult to secure a job because they haven't answered the primary objection of this wouldbe employer but the truth is they do not have to reply as above if they have received some sales training or attended a sales class they can say thank you for asking me about my experience I realize that's important to you you want to know if I'm really the kind of person who can do the job so that your customers get the best possible product and service do I understand you correctly wait for an answer sir I've had a lifetime of experience which will help me be a better employee for example I've learned the importance of being dependable and telling the truth in everything I do in addition I've learned the importance of getting along with other people and I know by experience that everybody does their work better when they're getting along with others I also know that certain things will be expected of me if you hire me I expect to do the work you give me to do with a positive attitude and in a responsible manner I know also so that if I want to raise I must be willing to come in early work a little harder and stay late if necessary another thing I understand is that businesses have to make a profit in order to stay in business and pay their employees it's clear to me that if the employees do a good job chances are excellent the company will make a profit in order to keep my job and get ahead in my job I am ready to work hard and do my very best I believe your business and every business needs that kind of experience you told your story now close the sale once they have said that and it only takes a minute or two this experienced teenager can go for the clothes I suggest a statement and a question sir or ma'am I need a job and I'll make you a promise I'll work hard for you and you will never regret having hired me in fact you will be proud that you were the one who gave me my first job in training I'm ready to go to work immediately or whenever it best suits your needs when do you want me to St start right away or would the first of the week be better say no more the ball is in their Court this sales talk won't guarantee a job because that company might not have an opening but if you give that presentation enough times I'm confident you'll get a job fairly soon obviously I don't expect a teenager scared to death on their first job interview to calmly give that sales talk but I do believe this if you as a Teenage job applicant will convey that information I don't believe there's an employer in the country who would not be impressed they might not hire you but if you work hard enough to learn that presentation I believe they will do everything they can to send you to an employer who will give you a job I also believe if you are temporarily unemployed and there are no openings in your specialty or your field you can use this basic approach to get a job in other fields you do have the kind of experience and lots of it that thousands of employers need they will buy you and your experience if you sell yourself to [Music] them