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Sales Tip: Turn Every Objection into a Relationship Builder
 

     What is the most important element in any relationship?  Truth. 

     And what does this have to do with sales?  Aren’t sales people untrustworthy?  Don’t we train sales people how to lie with statistics?  NO!

     Successful media sales is a relationship business.  Those relationships are built on truth and trust.  The first opportunity the sales person has to build trust is when the first objection is brought forth.  If the prospect airs an objection and the sales person responds well, trust begins to grow.  If not, the prospect will hesitate to offer honest objections, and the sales person will have lost the ability to communicate in a constructive way, that can grow into a consultative selling conversation, and grow sales.

     The sales process is filled with these relationship building – objection handling opportunities.  The first one is often when the prospect says “I’m too busy to see you.”  A sales person’s reaction to that first objection immediately tells the prospect whether the sales person will listen in the future.  When a sales person shows a prospect that he or she is a good listener, it increases the likelihood that the prospect will tell the sales person something important.  Without agreeing with the objection, the sales person can show the prospect that she is taking their feedback seriously.    

     For example, there are several objections to scheduling an appointment.  They range from “I don’t have time,” to “We don’t need to meet because I know all about your property,” to some version of “We’re not buying your category.”  In every case the response needs to be tailored to what is said, but can always start with empathy;  “I know how you feel” is the classic beginning to the “Feel, Felt, Found” approach to objection handling. 

     The most skilled sales people can empathize with an objection and use that as a platform to draw out the truth -- more information about the objection -- looking for an opening to answer the objection or solve the problem.  Sometimes it is about listening between the lines and helping the prospect articulate a vague objection into a clear, and solvable, problem.  The most highly valued sales people in relationship selling do just that.  They help the client formulate their problems and needs in clear ways that lend themselves to solution.

     In so many situations, but truth is complicated.  But drawing out the real truth pays dividends.  Simple objections like “I don’t have time” can be re-articulated to “I don’t have time between 9 and 5, and the prospect might be open to a breakfast meeting and the beginning of a relationship.

     “I know everything I need to about your property” can be re-articulated to “Unless something changed since our last meeting, I don’t need a meeting.” This lends itself to the solution that the meeting will be about how the market is changing, how your property is changing content and strategies to adapt to those changes, and how the sales person can help a prospect understand and adapt to the changes, too.

     If clients and prospects feel genuinely listened to they are more likely to share the truth. Knowing the truth empowers the sales person.  The (hard) truth may be it’s time to work on a different account for now.   If the truth is that the client’s daughter’s boyfriend is working for the competition you need to know that.  Will the agency media buyer tell you that if they don’t trust you?  No.  You’ll get an evasive answer that tries to put a ‘professional’ face on a personal decision.  And all the efforts of the sales person to address the professed objection will be to no avail.

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