“Listen.Do not have an opinion while you listen because frankly, youropinion doesn’thold muchwater outside ofYour Universe.Just listen.Listen until theirbrain has been twistedlike a dripping towel andwhatthey have tosayis all overthefloor”.
HughElliot, authorofThe StandingRoom OnlyWeblog.
Thefirstpartofan auto-response,as with handlinganobjection, is thatyou need tohavea neutralacknowledgment oftheprospect’s concern.An idealphrase, “Iunderstand how you feel” works forany technologyorsolution you may beselling.Itis best toembellish itand showempathy forthe prospect,as,“I understand how youfeel.IfI was in your shoes,I’d probably want to thinkaboutitaswell.”The second partdepends uponwhatIthinkthe concernsmightbe. IfI think thestumbling blockisreasontwo(price/value)I mightask,“Tell me,are youconcerned aboutthecost?”If the prospectsays,“Frankly,yes,”then I knowI’mdealingwith aprice objection and I’dbettergiveadditionalbenefitsorit’sano-sale.Another approach is to do theBen Franklin orWeighing Close wherewe reviewall ideas opposed tobuying and weigh themagainstthe reasons forclosing.
If the prospect’sreasonfor wantingtothink aboutit stemsfrom somehidden concern (reason one),thebest thingyou can do is getthe concern intothe open whereyou may be abletodo somethingabout it.That means you have toget themtalkingabout it.Mostofall,you havetoask questionsand LISTEN. Thesamerulesapply.
Thefirstthing outofyourmouthisaneutralacknowledgmentfollowed by:
“MayI askwhatconcernsyoustillhave?” “May Iask what’s causing you tohesitate?”“May Iaskwhatquestions I’veleftunanswered?” “May Iaskwhatyour finaldecision will be based on?”So theauto-responsesoundssomethinglike this:“I understandhowyou feel. IfIwas in your shoes, I’d probablywanttothinkaboutitas well.(Briefpause). MayIask what concerns you still have?”
ItLooksGoodBut…
Sometimesyou get the sense theprospecthas positivefeelingsabout your solution butsomethingstopsthe close(free “gifts of Knowledge”).You can helprebuild asense of urgency andrekindletheirdesire forthe product/service byhavingthem restatethe benefitsto you.Thisisdoneby: after youacknowledgethe concern,saysomethinglikethis:“Which partsof the proposal do you likebest?” (Thenask,“Why?”) “Or”“Howdo you see yourselfbenefitingfromour product/service?” “Or”“Which benefitsdo you feelare mostimportanttoyou?”
Itiseasy tosee howthisworks…so be prepared!There isno doubtthat you’regoingto hear“Iwanttothink aboutit”manytimesduringyoursales careersoyoumightaswellpreparefor it now.Writeoutyourresponse on a three-by-fivecard and carry itaround in yourpocketuntilyoumemorizeitand itbecomes your auto-response toone oftheworld’s mostpopular put-offs.
What do you do next? Send us an email and we’ll arrange for you to speak with Ed to chat about how these learnings can help build more sales just for your business.