Sales Process Preapproach Approach the customer Determining Needs Presenting the Product Handling Questions & Objections Closing the Sale Suggestion Selling Reassuring & Follow-Up

Handling Objections Objections are concerns, hesitations, doubts, or other honest reasons a customer has for not making a purchase Objections should be viewed as positive because they give you an opportunity to present more information to the customer Excuses are insincere reasons for not buying or not seeing the salesperson Customers often use excuses to conceal real objections Always try to differentiate between objections and excuses so that you can address the real issues

Handling Objections Analyze your presentation in advance, and anticipate possible objections Incorporate anticipated objections into your presentation Most common objections: need, product, source, price, and time Need Objections: occur when customer has a conflict between wanting something but not truly needing it. “I really like this sweater, but it doesn’t match anything I own.” Product Objections: are based on the product itself. Concerns about size, fit, style, etc “I’m not sure this dress is appropriate for work.”

Handling Objections Source Objections: occur because of negative past experience with the firm or brand “The last time I purchased from your firm, the order was three weeks late.” Price Objections: based on the price. Common with high-quality goods “That’s more than I wanted to spend.” Time Objections: a hesitation to buy immediately Could be excuses

Handling Objections Listen carefully There are four basic steps to handling objections from customers: Listen carefully Acknowledge the customer’s objections Restate the objections Answer the objections

Handling Objections Specialized methods for handling objections: Boomerang –return the objection to the customer in as a selling point Ex.- Customer: “This ski jacket is so lightweight. It can’t possibly keep me warm.” Salesperson: “The jacket is so lightweight because of an insulation material called Thinsulate, which will keep you warmer than fiberfill.” Question – ask the customer questions to learn more about their objection Ex: Customer: “I don’t think my sister will like it.” Salesperson: “Why don’t you think she’ll like it?”

Handling Objections Superior Point – acknowledge objections as valid and offset them with other features and benefits that are superior Ex: Customer: “You’re prices are higher than other clothing stores.” You respond: “That’s true, but we offer the highest quality material and fabrics.” Denial – answer objection with proof and accurate information Ex: Customer: “I think that this shirt will shrink.” You respond “Actually it won’t because the fabric is made of 50% cotton and 50% polyester

Handling Objections Demonstration – answer objection by illustrating the features. “Seeing is believing” Ex: “I can’t believe that food won’t stick to the beaters.” You respond “Let me demonstrate for you.” Third Party – use a previous customer who can offer testimonial about the product Ex: “I can’t imagine that this will save me $1000 in my dry cleaning bills.” you respond “You know Ms. Smith, I had a customer say the same thing last year and now he praises the machine.”