Why Prospects Object | Consultative Selling Skill Sales Training

Professionals suggest that the sale does not begin until the prospect raises an objection. Objections may be real and logical, or purely psychological.

Psychological Reasons for Objections

Much sales resistance is largely psychological:

• Dislike of making a decision

• Reluctance to give up something familiar

• Difficulty of changing habits or procedures

• Unpleasant associations with a particular company or sales representative

• Resistance to domination (symbolized by accepting the seller’s recommendations)

• Perceived threat to the self-image

• Fear of the unknown

Psychological resistance must be handled through anticipation and preparation ahead of time.

Logical Objections

Consider the possibility that the objection arises from one of these three logical sources:

• A portion of the presentation was misunderstood. Usually, the prospect lacks knowledge about the product itself, the seller, or the company. The seller must accept responsibility for this type of objection and learn to do a better job of relating benefits to the prospect’s needs.

• The prospect is not convinced. Professional selling is believing something yourself and convincing others. If the prospect is not convinced, the seller has produced too little evidence to establish credibility in the prospect’s mind. As a result, the prospect hesitates to buy. Objections are often an attempt to gain more evidence to support the seller’s buying recommendations. Evidence is justification for the emotional decision the prospect is struggling to make.

• The prospect has an underlying hidden reason to object. Sometimes the objection voiced is not the real one. Perhaps the prospect does not wish to share some information with the seller. Answering this type of surface objection without probing for the underlying reason results in additional sur- face objections and consequent postponing of a buying decision.

Selling Something the Prospect Doesn’t Want

For example, you may assume that a business owner is primarily interested in saving money or reducing costs and base your presentation on showing evidence that your services provide those benefits. However, the prospect may be more concerned with looking good and with maintaining status and prestige and not at all cost conscious.

Selling is tough enough without creating your own stum- bling blocks. Play the role of detective; learn to watch what is going on and be sure that you and the prospect are looking for the solution to the same problem.