When an OBJECTION is More than Just Another Objection
Are you letting common sales objections tank your career?
A few days ago I had to bring my car into the dealer for normal service. While there I went and said “Hi” to the sales manager. As we chatted, I noticed their “up” log (it’s a form that has the salespersons name, the prospects name that came in that day, and the reason for why they left, according to the salesperson, without a new car)
One of the “ups” reasons for not buying was “not happy with the trade-in amount offered. Will come back tomorrow with husband”
Now for all you B2B Phone Sales reps saying “Hey I don’t sell cars”, hang with me here because I’m talking directly to you.
Here’s what really bothered me about the salespersons “reason” for why the prospect didn’t buy…
Instead of writing:
“prospect isn’t happy with the trade-in amount offered. Will come back tomorrow with husband”
The salesperson should have written:
“I failed to get confirmation that the prospect is 100% sold on wanting the new car, that the trade-in price being offered was the only objection stopping her from buying and what number we would have to be at to make the deal happen now”
This salesperson accepted a common stall as an acceptable explanation when in fact nothing could have been farther from the truth.
So why is this salespersons “reason” for a no-sale under my skin? Because I remember when I used to accept “reasons” just like that early in my sales career. And I did it thinking it was the truth and if my sales manager tried to tell me differently, I simply had the attitude of “what does he know… he gets to sit behind the desk all day”.
If that same attitude had stayed with me, I most likely would still be where I was back then… living just above the poverty level.
Now, the objection being used in this post should never have happened if the proper sales process was followed. But today’s post isn’t how to solve or avoid the objection. It’s about something much BIGGER than that… It’s about graduating from having a “sales job” to having a “record career in sales”.
I can’t remember exactly what triggered my “change in attitude” (Now that I think about… I got fired, and was running low on alternatives and cash) but in the same vein as Foreigners “JUKEBOX HERO” song, “Like a trip through the past” I saw myself long ago in this persons “excuse” of a sales objection and wanted to share this story with you in case you are in need of a wake-up call like I was long ago.
“Selling” isn’t rocket science, but there is a science to it and to excel at it, you need to study it inside and out. Otherwise, you’ll simply have a sales job (and probably not for very long)
Keep on Rockin!
– Michael Pedone
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