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Ann Barr's Weekly Sales Tips - Issue 276

Does Your Advertising Reach the Right People?

Ann Barr's Weekly Sales Tips is a subscription based e-digest (newsletter), and features articles on effective marketing and increasing telephone sales.

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TWO WORDS CRITICAL TO HANDLING OBJECTIONS

How you respond to an objection can either kill a sale or help you to make a sale.

There are two words that are critical to use when responding to an objection.

And two words NOT to say.

What are these words?

Examples

When you hear the objection:

"We buy all of our imaging supplies from (your competitor), the XYZ Company."

Some may respond (and the natural inclination could be to say):

"Yes, but the XYZ Company doesn't stock Ricoh brand copier toner and we can supply you with Ricoh products."

Two words NOT to say: "Yes, but . . ."

Because it sounds argumentative.

Words Count

How quickly you capture a customer’s attention depends on how carefully you choose your words, according to Maura Schreier-Fleming, author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results (First Books Library, 2002).

"If a customer has a concern, our job as salespeople is to listen, to acknowledge and to hear that concern. Using the word *but* negates everything you’ve said before it," warns Schreier-Fleming. "What your customer hears is the disagreement that precedes an argument."

A Better Way
from 102 Tips for Profitable Telephone and Direct Mail Marketing

These words will get better results when responding to most objections:

"I understand."

These two words can make a huge difference in the way prospects respond to you.

Example:

"I understand. Some of my other customers used to buy their imaging supplies from XYZ and what they found was, XYZ didn’t stock Ricoh Brand toner. We stock most Ricoh products on a regular basis here in our warehouse in addition to [insert another type of products you stock]. Do you need any Ricoh toner today?"

NOTE: In order to be able to respond this way, you must know what your competitors sell and what they do not sell.

"I understand" is a non-threatening cushion statement and will work extremely well as your first two words when responding to most objections. It lets the prospect know you don’t intend to argue.

Calming Irate Customers

A customer service representative in Dallas, Texas uses two different words when a customer calls with a complaint: Thank you.

"Thank you for calling to let us know about this."

Why should you THANK a customer for complaining?

Because if s/he didn’t come to you with the problem, s/he might take it to one of your competitors.

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I'll see you next week!

Ann Barr