How to handle sales objections in 2021
Making a sale is one of the best feelings a salesperson can get. But only he knows the difficulty and struggle of handling the objections put forward by the customers, commonly known as sales objections. Great salesmen always keep themselves occupied with brilliant strategies in order to handle these objections. In this article, we are going to explore what sales objections are, are sales objection strategies important, and whether they are still relevant in 2021.
What are sales objections?
Sales objections are the concerns put forward by the customers that stop them from closing the deal. It might be related to price, issue, quality, availability of funds, etc. It is for the salesperson to address those concerns and help the customer to arrive at a reasonable conclusion.
Sales objections are inevitable. A salesperson can either just brush it aside by ignoring it, argue with the customer, or help the customer to solve his concern. Ignoring or arguing with the customer simply makes his belief stronger and the chances of sales being made reduce marginally. That’s why it is important to come up with sales objection handling strategies to ensure that the salesperson leaves no stones unturned to close the deal.
What are sales objection handling strategies?
As the name itself suggests, sales objection handling strategies are the strategies designed to address sales objections and help the customer clear his concerns. A well-designed strategy leads to a higher confidence level in sales personnel and a marginal increase in sales.
There is no hard and fast rule regarding the formation of such strategies. Every company can form its own strategy based upon their work environment and customer type and general sales objections faced by them.
However, there is a very popular strategy adopted by many known as LAER. That is Listen, Acknowledge, Explore, and Resolve.
- Listen: The first step is to listen to the objections put forward by the customer. It is important to listen to them attentively because only then can they be addressed properly.
- Acknowledgment: The salesperson must acknowledge the concerns of the customer otherwise the customer will feel ignored. The acknowledgment can be as simple as the nod of the head or a reasonable reiteration of the concern.
- Explore: The salesperson must explore the query of the customer and think of a solution to the same. The solution must be logical and prove beneficial to the customer.
- Resolve: In this final step, the salesperson resolves the concern of the customer and tries to close the sales. However, the chances of success are always greater when the salesperson helps the customer to arrive at the decision on his own accord rather than simply pressuring him to do so.
This is just a standard model. Changes based on circumstances are bound to be made in order to make the strategy more effective.
Do we still need sales objection handling strategies in 2021?
After the elaborated discussion above, this question does not need a separate answer. Sales objection handling strategies have always been important and they are just as important now. Yes, we definitely still need sales objection handling strategies in 2021.
However, finally, it is the quality of the product and service and the honesty of the salesperson that matters the most. The better the product, the less effort that needs to be made by the salesperson to close the deal. And sales made by deceitful means don’t help the company in the long run.
So, if there is enough potential in the products and if the company is having a talented sales staff, an amazing sales objection handling strategy can make all the difference the organization might be waiting for.