The Art of Handling Objections: 5 Ways You Can Overcome Common Concerns and Make That Sale

In any kind of relationship, it’s guaranteed that there will be disagreements, tensions, and painful moments at some point or another. By nature, we try to avoid discomfort by almost any means possible. But in many cases, working through those tough times brings a new level of understanding, depth, and trust to the relationship.

There is similar cross-over in the relationships a company builds with a client. A sales interaction without any kind of objection from the client is about as rare as keeping a plant alive (…wait, just me? Oh well). 

If you understand this and prepare for handling objections ahead of time, there’s a good chance you can take a potential conflict and transform it into an amazing experience that builds trust with your client—and might even score you a sale.

What Are the Most Common Sales Objections?

We all wish we had a magical crystal ball that could predict every possible objection a prospect might have ahead of time. But alas, in the absence of such a treasure, we prepare for handling objections with the knowledge currently available to us.

While we can’t anticipate every random question that might be thrown our way, most objections fall within a few categories.

• Trust.  Before a prospect can feel comfortable sealing the deal, they need to build trust in you, your company, and the product or service being offered. More than ever, trust in business drives sales and creates loyal customers and organic brand ambassadors.

• Money. Questions surrounding budget and pricing are almost always on the forefront of your lead’s mind when going into a sales call. 

• Current Need. Some customers are unsure if they actually need what you’re offering, and require solid stats and your knowledge of their industry to explain why they should buy.

• Timing. Sometimes you make a call and you catch a really good lead at a really bad time. Or perhaps what you’re selling wasn’t on their radar and they aren’t prepared to buy. Either way, time (or, more accurately, the lack thereof) can bring up objections from your lead.

• Product/Service Features. Many times a lead is interested, but they have questions or concerns about how a product actually works, or how a certain service is going to fit into their business plan. 

• Behind the Scenes Holdups. This could be as simple as your contact needing to check with a higher-up, or a little more complicated (“We already have a contract with someone else”). 

With your industry, target audience, and product/service in mind, invest some time in considering the most likely questions, concerns, and objections that may come up during a sales call. Preparing ahead of time and training your agents accordingly will ensure your callers enter into each interaction with clarity and confidence.

Handling objections in a positive way encourages your lead to move past these common concerns and, ideally, into something beautiful with your company. So what are some practical tips for helping you prepare for and counter objections with skill and tact?

1. Always Do Your Research.

This is the first step for so many aspects of the sales experience, and it’s especially important when handling objections. The more you understand about your lead, the better you can anticipate their specific questions and concerns.

Check out any current websites and social media channels for an inside view of your lead. Consider points such as:

• State of the company. Is it new, or well-established? Did they have any recent changes in brand, location, staffing, etc? Are they currently facing any specific challenges in their company or industry? Are there any consistent issues arising among others in their field?

• Company culture. How do they portray themselves publicly? What is their brand voice? Do they appear to prefer casual communication or are they strictly professional? 

• Values, needs, and desires. What are they passionate about? Can you assess potential pain points? What topics are those in leadership weighing in on? 

You won’t be effective when handling objections if you don’t even know who you’re talking to. The investment of time spent in research and preparation will always pay off in the end.

2. Embrace Empathy When Handling Objections.

Your attitude and mindset toward handling objections can make or break the interaction. If you take the question personally or counter with a combative response, your lead is going to bail faster than you can say “lost opportunity.” (For this author, that takes about 1.39 seconds so yeah. Pretty fast.)

If you have some sticky notes, grab one, write the words “understanding” and “empathy” on it, and put it in a place of honor where you’ll see it every day. The goal of any sales call, beyond simply making a sale, is to understand and serve your potential client. A huge part of that is entering into the customer’s concerns and treating them with genuine respect and care. 

Whatever you do, don’t brush off the question, make the client feel stupid, or be dismissive. If something is important to your lead, it should be important to you, too. Period.

3. “Put on Your Listening Ears.”

Mom was right—you have to listen to other people carefully. And this couldn’t be more relevant than when you’re handling objections.

Sometimes a lead is frustrated and “the message is getting lost in the mess” of their current emotions. Or a client may not be communicating very clearly, and you’re having trouble really understanding what they’re trying to say. This is a great time for you to ask some questions of your own, specifically open-ended questions that will help narrow your target and guide you and your client to the heart of the issue.

You also want to listen carefully and “read the room” as you place your calls. Discern whether an objection is an honest inquiry, or if the prospect is simply uninterested and not a good fit. You don’t want to waste your time or theirs, and a few qualifying questions should make that distinction quickly. 

4. Validate the Concern.

If a friend came to you with a genuine concern about your relationship and you consistently dismissed them with a flippant “oh, you’re being too sensitive” or “don’t overthink it,” chances are you wouldn’t have that friendship for very long. Handling objections or difficult questions requires humility and the ability to enter into another person’s point of view.

There’s a very simple way to instantly validate a customer and make them feel heard and cared for When they open up and voice a question or concern, before you dive into your answer, respond with something like:

• “That’s a valid question.”
• “I completely understand your concern.”
• “I really appreciate you bringing that up.”

This immediately sets an empathetic tone and creates an atmosphere of teamwork. You’re on their side, and you want to work together to come to a solution. Plus it makes it clear that objections are welcomed by your company, not avoided.

5. Respond with Respect.

Handling objections comes down to a very simple point: no matter what, respond to the inquiry with respect. 

Even if the person on the other end of the line is volatile, rude, or disrespectful themselves, that doesn’t give you a right to respond in kind. Fire + more fire = bigger fire. Everyone gets burned. 

Don’t be fire. Be a glass of ice water. When you dump a calm, cool response on a hotheaded prospect, the flames will sizzle out. 

In general, consider a few points when you reach the point of response:

• Don’t pressure—persuade! No one likes the feeling of being pushed into something, and the moment your lead experiences this they will naturally push back. Instead, come alongside your lead and guide them down a reasonable path that encourages them to make a new decision on their own.

• Show value. Numbers speak for themselves. While you want to be careful to not blast your client with a bunch of numbers they won’t remember, a  well-timed statistic or shared case study can speak loudly to the skeptical mind.

• Be proactive. Some leads are hesitant to bring up objections on their own. If your lead is on the timid side, bring up the subject yourself! Ask them directly if they have any questions or concerns and make it clear that you really care and want to know. You never know…they might be holding back on something that could fester and lead to a lost sale. But if you give them a safe space to open up, you can resolve the issue before it even becomes an issue and save the sale. 

Trust Squeeze to Save the Sale

Handling objections can be one of the scarier parts of sales calls. The fear of the unknown causes stress and anxiety for some callers, and many get so nervous that they freeze up and lose the sale.

We totally understand. And we want to help take that burden off your team so they can breathe and focus on the things they love and do best. When you work with our skilled, qualified teams, we get to know your leads inside and out so we can anticipate objections and meet them head-on with confidence and care.

We will make a serious difference in your sales and marketing teams, guaranteed.  Drop us a message today and let’s get started.