“Billy, please clean your room! Are you listening to me, Billy?”

“Yes, mom I'm listening.”

But next morning reveals that Billy did not clean his room. He was listening, but he didn't hear message. It didn't register in a significant enough way for him to remember it, and take action upon it. Mom expressed herself and Billy listened, but he didn't hear her.

Overcoming Objections Sales training literature often speaks of overcoming objections. Sales people are taught various techniques for overcoming customer’s resistance to buying product or service now. And herein lies rub. The sales person is taught to listen to customer, except when he says that he doesn't want to buy product or service now.

Too often, sales people take a short-sighted view of sales process and press to overcome customer’s objections by pestering customer to change his mind. He wants sale today. But pressing to overcome objections requires abandonment of listening process at point that listening is most critical.

While it is true that overcoming objections requires careful listening, it is also true that such effort to overcome objections refuses to hear essential fact that customer doesn't want to buy now. To press to overcome objections requires not listening, but manipulation—and people don't like to be manipulated.

Back off, Dude! So, what is sales person to do when confronted with objections? He should back off sale and work to develop a genuine personal relationship or friendship with customer. And short of that, he should find someone who doesn't object to buying his product or service, and not waste any more of his time—or theirs!

There will be another day. If there isn't, he has not only lost sale, he has lost customer.

©2003 Phillip A. Ross

An amazing thing occurs if you demonstrate even a tiny bit of interest in your customer. They'll begin to open up! They'll provide you with information you may not have learned otherwise. They'll talk. They'll tell you everything you need to know in order to close sale. People love to talk about themselves and they'll start to feel more comfortable with you as they talk. When people feel more comfortable they relax. We all know that a prospect who is relaxed will be more likely to buy than someone who is tense and uptight.

The second reason for not gathering sufficient information is that we feel it takes too much time. In my training sessions I frequently hear that this time is better used overcoming objections. My response is that if we gain more information and fully understand customer's motives and needs, we can often overcome objections before they occur. Use your time more effectively during sales process. Instead of spending so much time overcoming objections find out what your customer's true concerns are beforehand. This will help you adapt your sales presentation to meet their specific needs, address their concerns, and move you closer to closing sale. Ask yourself, "What information do I still need to help customer make appropriate buying decision?"

We've all heard expression that information is power. Gain extra leverage in sales process by investing time gaining extra information from your customer. Do it consistently and you'll develop stronger relationships with your customers, which, in turn, will help you close more sales.