Many sales people will tell you one of the biggest worries in sales, besides prospecting, is dealing with customer objections.  Its true many people do not like dealing with objections or conflict, however, it is also true that many people unintentionally create objections and conflict by not understanding a customer’s real needs or priorities and failing to find common ground.

In my opinion ‘overcoming objections’ is often blown out of proportion in terms of the issue it claims to be. Too much time and attention is spent on objections in sales meetings and sales training rather than focusing on the skills and resources needed to help sales people eliminate objections from the sales process in the first place.

The two key strategies to eliminating the issue of objections are: Having a sound, logical sales communication process that sets you up to understand where a customer or prospect is coming from, what they value, what their real priorities are, why and when they are ready to make a decision to buy, and how sophisticated they are; and a sound knowledge of your offerings and how it fits or serves your market.

Utilising your very best communication skills such as focused questioning, active listening, verifying and paraphrasing, and creative problem solving are keys to eliminating objections and creating a dynamic, productive sales and buying experience for you and the customer.

Let’s rethink labelling every customer question or concern as an objection.  A customer asking a question about your product or service, seeking further clarification on a matter, or expressing confusion over a new product are not grounds for an objection, they are merely trying to understand what you or the product/service does in more detail.

They are often trying to see if there is match between you and them.  As sales people we should welcome these enquiries as the customer is fully engaged, showing interest, and seeking to find common ground as to whether to work with us or eliminate us from the equation. This should not be grounds for fear and loathing.

So what is an objection? An objection, as defined by www.dictionary.com, is a reason or argument offered in disagreement, opposition, refusal, or disapproval.

Based on this definition, in many cases sales people are not trying to overcome objections, they are working with the customer who is seeking information or clarification for a mutually beneficial outcome, the sale.  Dealing with nonconforming ideas or helping a customer coordinate a viable solution requires understanding, collaboration, and creative problem solving skills on the part of the sales person, not overcoming objection skills.

There are four common areas sales people come across which can, if not properly dealt with, lead to objections (and reactions):

1.    Misunderstanding – correct it
2.    Doubt – resolve it
3.    Limitation – compromise or put it into perspective
4.    Question – answer it

The reality is if you and the customer have not found common ground or agreement on an action to move the sale forward to the next logical stage it does not necessarily mean you have encountered an objection.  It may just mean a viable sales opportunity may not exist.  However, if you have not listened to the customer, tried to force your ideas onto them without their consent, or tried to bully them into a sale then the customer may object, and rightly so.

If during any stage, especially the last stage of the selling process, you encounter strong objections or indecision from your customer, it likely means one or more of these problems may exist:

• You didn’t really understand your customer’s/prospect’s needs or priorities in the first place and tried to put forward solutions they do not want
• Your customer/prospect doesn’t perceive having a need i.e. they maybe an uniformed buyer
• Your customer/prospect is not looking for a solution, i.e. maybe they are just on a fact finding mission
• You have not shown your customer/prospect what they think they need, i.e. there is a clash due to a mismatch between what you perceive as important and what they perceive as important
• Your customer/prospect cannot see any real value in your offering
• Your customer/prospect is not ready to buy yet
• Your customer/prospect does not have confidence in you or your company
• Your customer/prospect has unrealistic expectations you will never meet
• Your customer/prospect has other agendas or loyalties that do not understood, i.e. they have biases and are unlikely to buy from your not matter what

These situations and others like them are the realities of selling.  Our job as sales people it to properly understand our customers, their situation, their preferences, priorities, challenges, goals, and come up with viable solutions that are a win:win for both parties, or determine that a ‘no sale’ exists.  Either way everyone is in the know about what to expect which should reduce the need to object.  However, sometimes there is no simple solution to a customer’s concerns.  A customer will hesitate to move forward and if you can’t find a solution, maybe you can negotiate a resolution.

If you do happen to come across a real objection, below is a seven step process for handling objections:

1. Deal with the objection straight away, don’t ignore it.
2. Be trustworthy and empathise with feelings that are expressed; Use an appropriate manner by remaining calm, showing respect, and using positive language (talk about what can be done rather than what can’t be done).
3. Utilise your most effective communication skills, remembering to:  actively listen, question, solve problems, avoid making personal judgments, be flexible, and work together.
4. Ask questions to determine the real objection.
5. Restate objections to clarify the issue and gain agreement from the customer that this is their real concern.
6. Work towards seeing the situation from the customer’s point of view
7. Select a course of action which may include negotiating a resolution.

In short, the key to handling and eliminating objections effectively can only occur when open communication, cooperation and collaboration exist, however it is important to check and make sure it is a legitimate objection first.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

What’s happened to having a pleasant, hassle free customer experience in this country? We are hearing more and more war stories from customers.  Some go to buy something and are met with whinging, whiny staff or others return to a supplier (retailer or B2B) with a query, return, or problem to be resolved to be met by resistance, apathy, excuses, and, worst of all, customers being informed of their lack of understanding about how the company in question works.

I mean, do we really expect our customers to be fully aware of and understand the following:

• The reasons why we haven’t got our stationary supply yet and can’t process a gift voucher because someone forgot to put the order in and head office sent the wrong forms?
• Why we are frustrated, grumpy, or agitated from an earlier customer interaction?
• Why we haven’t taken leave for ages, are stressed out, and can’t cope with dealing with customers at the moment?
• Why we let our best people take leave during the busiest time?
• Our reasons for being in business in the first place? i.e. it’s only a hobby which somehow makes it less of a business
• The internal processes and procedures we need follow to fulfil and service a sale?
• Why we think head office ‘sucks’?
• Our business strategy and how we are having problems making it work?
• Our staff roster or staffing retention issues?
• Our ordering and stocking procedures?

I think you get the picture. The personal dramas on display by some sales and service people, and even business proprietors, would have you thinking they are doing you a favour or that you are there as a counsellor rather than a customer.  It makes being a customer very unpleasant indeed.   I’m all for empathy and understanding, however a number of the issues raised here are just not relevant to the customer and never should be.  We do not need to know about these as part of our customer experience.

While other areas such as returns policies should be made explicit in clear, simple language customers can understand before the sale is made, even if it means having it on display for people to read.  For instance, if you run out of exchange vouchers and can’t process them immediately you need to have an alternate strategy in place to deal with that.  Or if you can’t answer the query straight away and promise to follow up with a phone call then do it.  Leaving a customer hanging not knowing whether it is good news or bad and then having them to do all the leg work to follow up because of you forgot to call is not good enough.

Then there is the customer experience of being met with a surly attitude or a roll of the eyes in response to a query.  If it falls outside a standard procedure it just all seems too hard to deal with.

I am left asking, what has happened to customer service standards in this country?  And I am sure that this is a common question many people are asking. With so many buying choices, managing expectations and modelling proactive, professional customer service and sales activities in a polite, constructive, and helpful way can make  a huge difference to whether a customer returns or not.  We may have the best product or service but if we treat our customers in an offhand manner or take them for granted they are not likely to come back anytime soon, if at all.

A Few Facts about Customers

• Only 4% of customers ever complain directly to the supplier; some simply suffer in silence, while most simply go elsewhere.
• People who stop buying from or dealing with a particular business do so because:
• 1% die
• 3% move away
• 5% seek alternatives or develop other business interests
• 9% begin doing business with the competition
• 14% are dissatisfied with the product or service
• 68% are upset with the treatment they have received.
• It is 6 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an old one.
• Happy customers, or customers who have their complaints satisfactorily resolved, will tell 3 to 5 people.  One study revealed that 1 unhappy customer told 11 other people, who in turn told 5 other people.
• Between 54-70% of customers who complain will nevertheless continue to be customers if their complaint is resolved to their satisfaction.

Customers have more options than ever before and feel less loyalty as a result. I wonder why?  They want products and services faster, cheaper, and better from whoever will provide them. That means that as a customer service provider, the competitive advantage for our companies rests with all of us.

Why is this important to everyone?

It’s important because customer service does more than simply provide a means to drive sales. When companies have a commitment to customer service it raises the bar of competition. The only way companies can effectively accomplish this is through their employees. As the competitive bar goes up, the quality of employees must go up equally.

Having a better team is good for the individual employee, good for the company and very good for the customer. When a company is committed to customer service, its corporate culture will change to absorb this new dimension, first becoming an integral part, and then becoming the driving force causing amazing results take place.

Need more convincing? It is also well documented that organisations which provide superior customer and sales service can charge more, create greater profits, and achieve greater market share because customers will generally perceive more value and be willing to pay a premium for superior service.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

Style adaptability is where a person can read another person’s preferred communication style and adjusts their own communication style to that of the other person, thus making shared communication and understanding easier.  It is imperative to the principle of exchange and critical to any sales role, yet it is often one of the most poorly executed skills.

Time after time we come across teams of sales people who have no conscious idea about how to adapt their style to that of another.  Instead when they come across differences, communication usually breaks down and they will speak about the other using derogatory terms such as calling them an idiot, or moron, etc.  Sound familiar?

Those who are adaptable often do so unconsciously, it just seems to work for them.  For the rest of us, we are often left wondering if we have landed on another planet when we meet with people who are different.  These interactions often leave everyone confused and worse off.  People make judgments about difference claiming them to be difficult because they are seeing things from their own perspective and missing vital clues that could have been dealt with simply and easily.

A case study

We worked with a Customer Service team who supply scientific instrumentation equipment and consumables to scientific and medical laboratories.  Our role was to help improve their customer service and telephone selling skills.   When we started discussing dealing with customers, they told us that almost all their customers were difficult and rude.  When asked why this was, they advised:

“They are so abrupt and blunt.  They never say ‘hi’ or ‘how are you going’.  They are cold and seem to ignore us.  Some are really pushy and always seem to be in a hurry, while others always want too much information and take forever to make a decision. It drives us crazy.”

We acknowledged their feedback and then introduced them to a 4-quadrant Communication Style model. We use this as a starting point to help people understand and adapt to different communication styles.  The first place is to understand where you are, so we got the team to identify their own individual communication styles (both what their preferred style at work and at home or in their personal lives).  NB: It is true that some people like to communicate a certain way at work that differs in their personal lives.  We then asked them to identify what communication styles they thought their clients were.

The findings were as follows:

• With a few exceptions, the customer service team was very people friendly and quite fast paced in their preferred communication style.  They are bubbly and enthusiastic, warm and social and readily shared stories and feelings.
• Their customers on the whole, who were either lab mangers, scientists or lab technicians, were very task oriented, liked facts over social conversation, were direct, to the point, on the other hand others were slow paced, methodical, liked a lot information, and didn’t like to be rushed.

When asked to consider the differences, silence fell over the room.  It became clear to the team what had been happening.

We can clearly see that difference does not necessarily equate to difficult. We ran a series of follow-up sessions with this team and to their credit two weeks later during the first follow-up session we asked them how they were going with their ‘difficult’ customers:

“We don’t have rude customers anymore.  We adjusted our communication style to how they like be approached and they are really easy to deal with now.  And what is even more amazing is when we did that some of them then started to warm up and become friendlier which we never expected.”

So, as illustrated, it is possible to learn how to adapt your own style of communication to other people.

We taught the team some simple tips and techniques they could remember and apply easily. But they needed to listen and tune in very quickly to clues the other person was giving them and adjust their style to meet that of another without changing who they are as a person. It was all was about speed, tone, and topic.

Another term that is used to describe style adaptability is Mirroring.  As described in Wikipedia, Mirroring is a human behaviour in which one copies a person while communicating with them. It is often observed among couples or close friends. It may include miming gestures, movements, body language, muscle tensions, expressions, tones, eye movements, breathing, tempo, accent, attitude, choice of words, metaphors, or other features discernible in communication.

Mirroring is common in social interactions and awareness of the process is a powerful way to influence other people’s behaviour while maintaining your own position and intent.  The best rapport may be gained by mirroring not too exactly, but close enough so they get that comfortable feeling without feeling mocked.

By simply tuning into your customer or colleague you can quickly work out how they like to be communicated with and adjust your style accordingly, whilst remaining sincere to your own authentic self.

Rather than venture any further into the topic of style adaptability at this point, I would like to acknowledge that much has been written about how to relate to and read people.  Some of it is valid, practical, and useful.  Some is valid but very complex and for experts only and some of it is downright dubious and boarders on deceitful and manipulative.  I would suggest that whatever method you use you should ensure that it does no harm to you or others and is backed up by sound research.

My intention here was to highlight the importance of style adaptability in sales and its power to enhance honest and open communications with others and to help improve our chances of working effectively with our customers and colleagues.  Understanding how we and others like to communicate and acknowledging that there are differences, rather than difficulties, can make the life cycle of sales and customer attraction and retention easier. Remember, if one can understand and respect oneself, one is more likely to understand and respect others.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Sue Barrett is Managing Director of BARRETT

Run a mental checklist over your client base right now.  Who fits into the ‘good’ client list and who falls into the ‘bad’ client list?

It all really depends on what you define as good and bad.

As we know not all clients are good for your business. Some clients are a wrong fit for your business but could be a good fit for someone else;  therefore in of themselves they are not necessarily ‘bad’.

However, others are just downright bad for your business.

It is important to consider how much your ‘bad’ clients are costing you in terms of time, money, frustration, people and product resources, lost productivity, bad press, angst, legal fees, and tarnished reputation?

If you have too many customers falling under the ‘bad’ column you need to ask yourself, “How did this happen?”

Have you set yourself up as a magnet for overly demanding, time consuming, nit picking, miserly clients who do not see value in what you do or offer and seem to want a slave rather than a legitimate business partner?

Have you set yourself up to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous and unethical people looking for victims?

It is difficult to focus on your best clients if you cannot shed your ‘bad’ ones.

For example, there has been recent media attention on the rise in Businesses Pheonixing; the act of Phoenixing is where a new company is formed to buy the assets, contracts, and goodwill of the failing business for a reasonable market rate. The legacy debt is left within the old business which is then liquidated thus allowing the new Phoenix business to trade on, debt free. Creditors and Suppliers to the old business are often left with unpaid debts which may in turn lead them to suffer their own financial difficulties.  I am sure no one wants to be put at the mercy of Businesses Pheonixing (‘bad’ clients) if they can help it.

Chasing the ‘easy’ or ‘quick’ sale may be more trouble than it is worth especially if the prospect or client is not properly investigated in relation to their legitimate needs or their intentions are clearly defined.

So, what constitutes a ‘bad’ client?

Besides the obvious impact of bad debts, there are other criteria which constitute ‘bad’ clients. Here are some examples:

• They are bad credit risks with a track record of always paying late or not at all – they can be checked out by using reputable credit agencies that keep track of people and companies’ credit ratings.
• They are a poor fit with what you offer and what they need thus leading to misunderstandings, poor relationships and confusion – this is usually due to a poor sales approach and not properly understanding your client and their needs in the first place.
• They are overly demanding on your QA or Customer Service departments – the ‘nothing is ever right’ syndrome and all they want to do is complain.
• They ask for expensive prototypes or very detailed proposals with little probability of a significant purchase – what is usually happening here is that they are siphoning you for your Intellectual Property at no cost to them so they can either do it in-house or get someone cheaper to implement your idea.
• They only want to deal with ‘you’ and expect levels of service that do not go with their purchasing level – they expect first class service when they are buying ‘no name’ or house brand products at very small volume.
• They complain loudly, often, and publically to anyone who will listen and usually only for ‘effect’ not fact.
• They do not keep their promises and break contract conditions regularly.
• They take your IP and claim it as their own.
• They say one thing and then another – you never know where you stand with them and they seem to play games, trick you or set traps.

Don’t be fooled by these types of clients they are not worth it, no matter how attractive they look on the surface and how desperate you might be to get a sale.  Unfortunately, when times are toughest we can fall prey to these types of prospects or clients which can lead to more stress and less return on investment.

An experienced business banker once told me a story about an entrepreneur and business owner who was looking for a new bank to work with. On the surface this individual and his business looked plausible, charming and sincere, but when the business banker did his investigation, he discovered a litany of evidence – failed businesses, bad debts, frequent changing of banks, poor staff retention and staff legal issues and a myriad of other things that did not bode well for this prospect becoming a valid business banking client.  As you could imagine the aforementioned business banker did not proceed with that prospect.

If these types of business people continue to behave in this manner they will eventually run out of legitimate business suppliers or partners to work with and sadly if they do, they will usually pull up stumps and go and find fresh victims to exploit.

Another tell tale sign is that they will not have a history of any longstanding, viable relationships of any value or substance.

Many people have slated the sales profession as being ‘shifty’ but in truth most sales people and their clients are out to do the right thing by each other.  So, it pays for the sales person to also be on the lookout for the potential ‘bad’ client and do proper investigations. So don’t believe everything you hear. Do your homework.

So why not have a conversation with your sales team and run your collective eye over your client base to see if you do have any of these types of ‘bad’ clients on board?  Then work out a strategy to let them go, learn from your mistakes and don’t get mixed up with these types again if you can help it.

Maybe it’s time for a client spring clean.   It might just free up your time to find and work with more productive clients

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Sue Barrett is Managing Director of BARRETT.

Sales numbers and sales processes should be understood and owned by everybody in your organisation.   In today’s world if you are not directly in sales you are supporting someone who is.  This is why sales really is a team effort.

Rather than being just about a feel good factor and great staff alignment, this has practical applications as well.   For instance with the ability for customers (or anyone)  to find and connect with anyone in your organisation through many difference channels (i.e. social networks, Google, etc.) the whole business needs to be sales fit.

With anyone being able to contact anyone anywhere anytime it is critical that all your staff understand:

• What your company stands for (in language they and the customers understand)
• What  your company sells and how it supports your customers
• How they need to sell and service customers
• That everyone in the business either sells directly or supports someone who sells

If not problems may arise that cause more issues than they are worth.  For example imagine a customer, unhappy with a software product they have purchased, finds the name and number of the lead person who developed or designed the software and calls them directly to complain.

What happens here?  One of several things could happen.  Here are some examples:

1)    The Software designer/ developer actively listens to the issues of the customer, empathises with and understands their issues completely, helps the customer resolve their issues in the most effective manner possible, the customer feels heard, understood and able to work in collaboration with the person and the business. In addition the software engineer may take on board the new suggestions and consider them for future upgrades.
or
2)    The Software designer/ developer is stunned by the out-of-the-blue call and doesn’t know how to deal with the customer so after some mutterings hangs up on the customer.
or
3)    The Software designer/ developer tells the customer they don’t know what they are talking about and gets into an argument with the customer resulting in either the customer or software engineer hanging up.
or
4)    The Software designer/ developer tries to help the customer but gets too technical using jargon the customer doesn’t understand leaving the customer feeling more confused and perhaps frustrated or even angry.

This issue and others like it are becoming more common place leading to more customers voicing their disquiet in all sorts of public ways – just think Twitter for example.  Customer complaints are no longer residing in the domain of the customer service department anyone can read about them these days – thus leaving businesses brand and reputation exposed to ridicule rightly or wrongly.

How we handle difficult customer situations says a lot about us and our companies.

So how many of the key people in your organisation (read CFO, CEO, Operations Manager, Product Mangers, Distribution Manager, Sales Manager etc.) are skillful at communicating and handling customer enquiries, complaints, and feedback?

How many of them have been specifically trained in communication, customer service and selling skills?

How many of them can model these skills for the rest of your team?

The communications skills training most senior managers would receive is in how to handle the media but I think they would be better served if they were trained in contemporary customer service and selling skills first.

Not handling  customer issues, feedback or requests well leads to many of these media issues in the first place, so why not address it at the core?   Let’s train everyone in contemporary customer service and selling skills and processes and make sure we all understand how our actions can enhance or detract our company.

We all need to make sure that we have the sales and customer service processes in place that people can follow and apply effectively.  All our people need to be trained in the necessary sales and customer service skills so they are in the best position to handle and manage customers calls and ensure that our organisations are well placed to best serve our customers.   Even if the customer is wrong about something it’s all in how we handle it that means the difference between a positive and negative experience.

I was taught a valuable lesson early on in my career when I was working in recruitment.  The lesson was this: I was told you are going to tell more people they did not get the job than you will tell those who did so make sure that every contact you have with anyone is always done in a constructive and positive manner.  Try to be of help no matter what and ensure the person knows you did you best even if the best meant delivering bad news.  People will appreciate your honesty and the effort you took to be of service to them.

I would highly recommend that core sales and service competencies be defined and included in everyone’s job and person descriptions and be made a conscious part of all our roles through effective, relevant training and on-the-job coaching support so they become a way of life not just a fad.

So, next time you decide to train your sales staff in selling skills and processes, make sure they are the right selling processes and skills suitable for your business environment and do yourself, your team and your customers a favour by also including all your other staff in the same training.  The rewards are great in terms of teamwork, customer satisfaction, staff alignment, customer retention and, of course, better sales results and brand currency.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Sue Barrett is Managing Director of BARRETT