101 Marketing Strategies Phần 6 pot

53 Why Prospects Object

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 anticipa￾tion 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

Handling Objections

125

Waugh 11 2/4/04 10:36 PM Page 125

seller, or the company. The seller must accept responsibility

for this type of objection and learn to do a better job of re￾lating benefits to the prospect’s needs.

• The prospect is not convinced. Professional selling is believ￾ing 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 emo￾tional 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 de￾cision.

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.

101 Marketing Strategies

126

Waugh 11 2/4/04 10:36 PM Page 126