Play #30 Handling An Objection Part Dos!

First and foremost, if you are new to my blog, please stop what you are doing and read the previous post

I’d like to offer you some generic responses that I have successfully used in response to generic objections.

The first thing I would like you to do is develop a reflex response of automatically saying “Why don’t we get together anyway”

The point of the statement is to help you move past the prospect’s auto objection to get you off the phone. It also buys you a few seconds to think how the hell you are going to respond if you are a dumb ass and don’t have 3 responses to each common objection.

One caveat: use your head when you use this. One size doesn’t fit all, but this one can and will throw a prospect off balance.

You can use this as a stand alone rebuttal or you can use it to segue into most of the following responses:

Upside/Down: This is when you give them the upside and downside of taking a meeting with you. Let’s say someone just told me they already have a vendor. I’m going to start with “(name of prospect) Why don’t we get together anyway. The upside is that I have a few ideas that can impact your business, the downside (pause) other than a few minutes of your time, I can’t really think of one”

That’s Exactly Why: Let’s say someone says “Would love to meet with you Ruth, but I’m really swamped” You (after correcting them on your name) “(name of prospect) That’s exactly why we should get together. I have some thoughts that could save you lots of time”

Monopoly of Ideas: I use this one for all the variations of I have a vendor, all set, under contract, the cross dresser up the road does our work etc. I simply say “(name of prospect) Why don’t we get together anyway. After all, nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, and I’d like to think I have a few that could help you and your team.”

Compliment/Augment: “(name of prospect) I really appreciate your loyalty. I have a few ideas that could compliment/augment what you are doing now”

Whatever you do, make sure you don’t use the word “but” in your response. The word “but” negates everything you said prior to it. You know, like “Teddy, you are a righteous dude, but . . .” “Rody, you run a kick ass Leadership program, but . . .”
The same thing goes for “however” “However” is simply a but with a nicer looking ass.

Think I’m kidding about those two words? Try the following experiment. Go over to someone you know and start off like you are agreeing with them and use one of those words. See the “oh shit” look in their eyes and shift in body language? That’s French for you just conditioned me to put my guard up, A-Hole!

Remember, once you answer an objection, don’t wait for them to take another swing at you. Immediately redirect the conversation towards a commitment by saying “(name of prospect) Why don’t we do this, let’s set aside 30 minutes next week to brainstorm some ideas. Are mornings or afternoons better for you?”

I have some very specific responses to certain objections such as “Not Interested” and “send literature” that I will share with you once we know each other better. My fear is that if I give it all up to you on the first date, you won’t call me again or even leave cab fare for me on the night table.

This Jedi ain’t that easy!

Try these new responses on for size. Make a few extra calls today and remember someone out there right now has had it with their vendor. Our job is to find them! Check this out for some added inspiration! http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/01/play-8-how-to-avoid-case-of-mondays.html

Castain respectfully salutes his followers with the ceremonial rock horns and leaves his blog with “Crazy Train” cranked to 11 on the house PA!

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Play #29 How To Handle An Objection Part I

Dudes, dudettes and aspiring rock stars, this week we’re going to talk about every sales person’s favorite . . . handling objections!

I have a 4 step process I follow. I’ll spare you the cheesy acronym or clichés such as “The 4 D’s of objection handling”. Here it is “cheese free” for your objection handling pleasure


Step 1 Take a chill: Seriously! Did you really think they were sitting playing with the dinger on the cash register thinking “Golly Andy, there’s nothing to do since Floyd kicked us out the Barber shop. I sure hope someone will call selling me something” And another thing, It aint personal! In fact “no” is a conditioned response to any offering made by phone.

While you are taking a chill, understand that most prospects have an auto eject response that they like to fire across your bow to get you off the line. Once you get past auto eject you dramatically improve your chances!

Step 2: Answer the objection I will be offering ideas later this week on how to handle the most common objections. Meanwhile, take a knee ‘cause we need to have a chat.

Stop with the seat of the pants, I’m gonna wing it shit, when you get on the phone. You know damn well that there will be people who tell you not interested, too busy, all set, under contract, send literature, that’s the day I get my back waxed etc. Do you have at least 3 good responses for each? I call this the Triad Theory and you can learn more here. http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/01/play-10-creating-your-playbook.html


Homework: Come up with 3 good responses to the objections you face on a regular basis. Bonus points if you brainstorm this with another rep or your sales team!

When you address the objection make sure you don’t over talk your rebuttal. Think guerrilla warfare and get in and get out. Failing to do so gives the prospect another objection on a platter.

Step 3: Redirect the conversation towards a commitment. There is an old sales scripture that states “Thou shall shutteth your pie hole after answering an objection. The first one who speaketh, hath screweth da pooch!”. I have to cry bullshit on that one because they will speak first and you; as the wielder of the silent close will lose fo shizzle. And why the hell would you wait for them to take another swing at you?

My friend Kyle Richardson wrote about a funny experience he had recently when he unknowingly engaged in one of those “Whoever speaks first, loses” pissing contests.

http://allthatsfit2print.blogspot.com/2009/02/ice-cold-call.html


Here’s what Uncle Paul suggest you do after answering an objection: Immediately, redirect by saying : “Why don’t we do this, let’s plan to get together next week. How’s your Tuesday looking or would the end of the week work better for you?”

Don’t ever answer an objection and stand there like a punching bag. Redirect and regain control!

Step 4: Take your lesson. Ask yourself one of the questions I like to call “A million dollar question” which is “What could I have done differently?” Consider taping your end of the conversation with a digital recorder. Coaches play back the video tape after the game. So should you! Jot down some notes in your journal. What did you do right? Obviously you will want to duplicate the good stuff. The key is to make new distinctions each and every time you get on that phone.

That’s how you get lethal!

Stay tuned. More to come on this subject.

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Related posts:

http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/01/play-8-how-to-avoid-case-of-mondays.html

http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/02/old-school-selling.html

http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/01/play-14-what-tommy-boy-taught-me-about.html

http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/01/play-13-does-your-can-of-whoop-ass.html

http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/01/play-10-creating-your-playbook.html

http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/01/long-long-time-ago.html

Play #26 Setting An Appointment The Right Way!

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There are no less than a hundred thousand telemarketing tips out there waiting to help you overcome objections, reach the decision maker, get by the gatekeeper etc.

How about some advice on how to set a proper appointment once you get to that magical word “YES”?

I’d like for you to think about an imaginary website www.lf.com. In fact, don’t just think about it, print it out and keep it by your phone for easy reference.

Let’s go through each letter of this crazy acronym, shall we?

The first "W" stands for Where you will be meeting. I know this may sound basic, but is it possible that you are calling from a list that is like the ancient sea scrolls of prospecting lists? Could they have moved? Is it possible that they are in building #4 on a large campus? How about floor number 3 of a large building? So the first “W” is a reminder to confirm the address and check on the building, floor etc. I say something like this “Becky, will we be meeting at your 1,2,3 Main St. Facility?” She might say something, like “No, Jackass, we moved from there back in 1972. Why the hell aren’t you taking Castain’s advice?”

The second "W" is one of my favorites (I feel like I’m on Sesame St getting excited about the letter W but what the hell) This is your way of tactfully trying to get a key decision maker or additional decision makers in the room without making your contact feel like Skippy in the mail room. It stands for Who Else as in “Who else besides yourself should join us?”

The third "W" is a critical component. Before I tell you, did you ever get the feeling that while you are setting the appointment the other party was committing it to memory? If you never had that feeling, let me ask you . . . Did you ever show up to a meeting and get that “What in the hell are you doing here, I forgot we had an appointment, ha ha you wasted your time” look? This is simply a tactful way of asking Forrest to write it down if he was planning on leaving it to chance. I simply say “Forrest (just kidding) I am going to write this down, if you would like to do the same, my name is spelled C, A, S as in Sam, T, A, I, N like No F’n way I will let you forget the appointment”.

LF is my cue to utilize my Jedi like gorilla warfare tactics which state: Get in and get out. Don’t chit chat your way out of the appointment. Keep it short and to the point. The LF stands for . . . Looking Forward as in “Becky, I am looking forward to meeting with you on Tuesday, March 17th at 3:30 at your 123 Main St facility, 3rd floor.

COM simply means complete the call, ring the bell, moon walk, moon the others in the bull pen and get your ass back on the phone to do it again!

OK, it’s a brand new week. You are now armed and dangerous. Go sell something!
Before I forget, we have a brand spanking new group on Linkedin called Sales Playbook. Come join us!
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Play #8 How To Avoid A Case Of "The Mondays"

I've never been one to get caught up in the motivational, "turn that frown upside down" bs. If I'm having a bad day at the very moment when you ask me how I'm doing, I won't belt out an artificial "TERRIFIC".

On the other hand . . .

The thing I needed to learn the hard way was that when it's game time, I better lose (real quick) any hints of what they called "The Mondays" in Office Space!

For several years now, I've kept something by my phone to inspire me to get off my ass and get after the money. I thought it might be apropos as we we begin a new week of opportunity and move closer to our 2009 aspirations!

Everyday . . .

A new business is born that requires your product or service.
A business wants to grow and they need your help.
A sales rep goes M.I.A. leaving an orphaned account for the taking.
A business moves into your area finding it easier to deal with a local company.
A new buyer joins the company looking to make a name for themselves.
That old buyer who used to tell you “No!” may have left.
A vendor drops the ball creating an opening for you.
A vendor gets complacent creating opportunity for you.
A rep fails to offer an idea that you have that could impact your prospect’s business.
A buyer just doesn’t like their rep.
A buyer hates the buying process with their vendor.
A buyer wants to deal with someone who isn’t just about the commission check.
A buyer feels like they are over paying for what they are getting.
A rep misses a deadline
A rep fails to communicate properly giving you an opening.
A company needs the benefits of your offering to help them streamline their process.
A buyer wishes they could find a vendor that would “get it right the first time”.
A referral from an existing account is there for the taking
A “low ball” company can’t sustain quality
A sales rep gets caught in a lie to a customer losing credibility
A vendor implements some stupid, non customer friendly policy
A vendor raises their price making the buyer reevaluate the situation

A buyer gets FED UP!

Our job, in its simplest form, is to find and leverage these situations

Safeguard your attitude from getting a case of “The Mondays” by taking action!

Play #2 The Sanders Study Of Persistence

We've all heard the statistics that it takes 5-9 touches in order for a prospect to feel comfortable enough to take an appointment with us. Whenever I address a group of sales professionals I ask them if they feel the numbers are accurate and very few seem to agree. Some tell me less, some tell more and if you're like me, you'd just like to know what the magic number is.

Let's just say that it turns out that the magic number is in fact 9. Do I give up after 9? Is this prospect useless after 9? Do I suck if it takes me 150 touches? I was reading an article by someone in my industry who says he removes companies from his list after 4 attempts. Lot's of conflicting opinions, huh?

Time for a story.

Once upon a time, there was this retiree who received his first social security check and it was not enough for him to make ends meet. He faced the music and decided he needed to get back to work, but what could he do for a living at his age? All he had was a family recipe so he decided to take action. He went to a local Diner and offered to give them the recipe for free in exchange for a percentage of every meal they served with his recipe. He was quickly turned away. He went to the next eatery and was told "no" there as well. He kept at it and next thing you know 100 no's, 200 no's. He began sleeping in his car travelling all over the US and soon hit 300 no's, 500 no's, 1000 no's. When the smoke cleared, he took 1009 no's and then something magical happened on the 1010th attempt . . . a YES!

The man's name . . . Colonel Sanders founder of KFC!

So, as the experts cling to studies from Dartnell or Gitomer, I cite a study by Sanders (Colonel Sanders that is) which states that the answer is clearly Whatever It Takes! I believe there are similar studies by Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln and most of today's top business icons!


Today's Reflection: "No" is not a door slammed shut for all eternity; it simply means NOT NOW!

Play #1 Differentiate Or Die!

According to fastcompany magazine the average consumer is exposed to over 3,000 ads per day, abcnews.com tells us that there are well over 170 billion (yes billion with a “b”) emails circulating worldwide each and every day! Add that to all the phone calls, voicemails and interruptions our average decision maker deals with daily and one can easily scratch their head in a “WTF” frenzy wondering how we could ever expect them to have us on the brain.

Play #1: Differentiate!

Rethink how you approach your prospects. Are you just “smiling and dialing” and “checking in” or do you have a compelling message? While we’re at it, I hope you aren’t just embracing a telemarketing strategy. Hopefully, you are calling, emailing, snail mailing, networking, doing creative stuff etc.

Today’s reflection: Is my message compelling and do I differentiate? What will I do to stand out in from all the things tugging at my prospect/client's attention?