There are a number of useful techniques that you can learn for answering objections that a customer might raise. 

Before listing these, there are one or two general aspects to be considered. 

When preparing your sales presentation, try to forestall an objection before it arises. For example, if you know that customer is using a particular product or has particular products in mind, then you can plan your sales presentation to prevent this coming up as a possible objection.

In order to do this, of course, you have to know your customer, know your facts, and know how to present them.

Remember that because the customer asks a lot of questions or raises a number of objections, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re participating in a meaningful and useful discussion.  It may be that your presentation is a bad one, or perhaps they’re just being kind.

Make sure you listen to the customer.   It’s often the case that we don’t answer a question or deal with an objection effectively because we simply haven’t really listened to what the other person is saying.   Make sure you listen in order that you can get the right answer. Make sure you listen in order to pick up valuable information and cues. Make sure you listen in order to discover what the real objection is. Make sure you listen, because sometimes letting the client speak makes the objection disappear.

Always relates your answer to the client’s problem, to your own product and to the client’s experience. Remember that the answer to practically all objections lies in one or more of the main benefits of your product or offering.

There are a number of reactions that you must guard against when answering a client’s objections.

The more obvious ones are: 

• Don’t sneer or laugh at the customer, no matter how stupid you think they’re being.
• Don’t blatantly knock a competitor.  Remember, the client may be thinking about that product or even using it. You gain nothing by telling them how awful it is.
• Don’t talk about competitors.
• Talk about the benefits of your own product.
• Don’t talk down or lecture to the customer.
• Don’t appear impatient, angry or bored.
• Don’t be a humble, nervous or uncertain.
• Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know.

Remember, however, that a genuine objection from the client should be welcomed since they show that they’re interested in what you’ve been saying and are genuinely searching for further information.

Techniques for Handling Objections

Here are a number of different techniques that you can consider for dealing with objections.

The Suppose Technique.

This is a useful way of determining whether the client’s objection is a genuine one. For example, if the client was to say, “That’s too expensive”, you can use the supposed technique by saying, “I suppose if my product wasn’t too expensive, then you would be willing to consider buying it.” 

If the customer’s reply to this is “Yes”, then the chances are that their objection was a genuine one.

However, if they respond with something, “Well, I really like a competitive product that I’ve been considering or I’ve been using, and it seems all right”, then they’re bringing up another objection, which demonstrates that their original one wasn’t genuine.

The Plus Technique.

This technique is particularly suitable when a customer brings up a competitor within their objection.  The principle behind this method is to take advantage of the competitor, add a benefit of your own product and, finally, at the disadvantage of the competitor’s. 

For example, if the customer says that they use a particular product and they’ve been using it for years, using the Plus Technique in your answer might be something like, 

“You obviously appreciate the benefits of this particular product and what it will do. Our product offer similar benefits, but in addition offers these benefits, which I’m sure you will find useful in addressing some of your current issues.”

Turning It Into a Question Technique.

The idea behind this method is to convert or turn whatever the client says into a question, which you can answer.  For example, if a customer tells you that they prefer a competitive product, the Turn It Into a Question Technique would go something like this.

“So what you want to know is what the advantages of my products are over this competitor? Well, I think the answer to your question is….”

The Third Party Technique. 

With this method you’re attempting to use the third party to make your point for you. By doing this, you stand a better chance of avoiding a direct confrontation and argument with the client. For instance, a client might say, “I don’t seem to have any problems with what I’m using currently or what I’m considering currently.”

The Third Party Technique might be used in the following way.

“Yes, the benefits from this product are really useful. But interestingly enough, research has shown from this particular university that there are issues with the product under certain conditions. And on further investigation, they went as far as to recommend that the product that I’m offering does not have the same issues under similar circumstances.”

The Agree, but…. Technique.

In this method, you merely agree with what the client is saying, but add another factor that they may not have considered.

For example, the client might say that they’re very happy using a particular product or service, and some of the reasons being are this…… Using the technique, you might say, 

“I think you’re absolutely right, but wouldn’t you agree the way you have to decide it’s important to have this particular benefit, it might be worth considering my product and this will help you to deal with some of the issues that you’re working with.”

The Feel, Felt, Found Technique.

Imagine that a client has commented that your product is expensive. Your reply could be,

“I can understand why you feel that way. And in fact, just a short while ago, I was talking to a client in another organisation who once felt exactly the same as you do. However, they found that my product was probably less expensive in the long run because of these particular benefits. This, of course, is one of the major advantages of the product that I have to talk to you about today.”

Take The Blame Yourself Technique.

This is a fairly simple technique. Irrespective of whether you’re at fault or not, accept the responsibility and use this as a reason for repeating the main benefits.

For example, a client might say, “We’ve used your product before and we’ve moved on. We’ve moved to a competitor product.”

You could use this technique in the following way.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I obviously forgot to explain to you that our product has been developed since you last used it in order to give you these benefits and these outcomes.

One of the major advantages is…..”

The purpose of mastering various techniques for overcoming objections is to afford yourself the opportunity to get back to your sales presentation and talk about the benefits of the product.

You should avoid, wherever possible, becoming involved in a technical discussion that divert from your main purpose in visiting the client in the first place.

There are probably many other techniques for overcoming objections, which have not been mentioned, and you must remember that some people feel more at ease using one technique than another.

The main thing is that you should learn and practice several of these techniques which you feel you could be comfortable in using, and then get into the habit of using them almost instinctively.

A well learnt and practiced technique can make your selling job so much easier and so much more effective.