The first thing you should do when you handle an objection: a practical example

An effective Objections Handling strategy is made of several elements such as Listening, Questioning or Negotiation (just to mention some of them).

Today I’d like to talk about the first thing to do when handling an objection: isolating it, in order to analyze it fully.

This strategy helps the salesperson in understanding the true reason behind the objection, going to the root of the problem.

A salesperson who goes to the root of a problem can better qualify the prospect and develop creative solutions to help him and close the deal.

Let’s start with a practical example: a prospect who would like to buy but has no budget.

The example will be simple: I’ll consider a conversation with just one prospect who’s also the economic buyer and the decision-maker.

The advice is certainly applicable to complex sales in which salespeople negotiate with buying committees.

After validating the objection (I mean that you understood you’re dealing with an objection and not with an excuse) you should isolate it in order to analyze it deeply.

Prospect : “I’d like to buy but I have no budget now.”
Salesperson : “It seems a valid reason. Just one question: Is this the only thing standing between you and the purchase?”
Prospect : “Yes, I don’t see any other limitation.”
Salesperson : “Great. What about moving further considering alternative payment solutions?”

If the prospect agrees you just have to find alternative and more creative solutions for financing the purchase.

It’s worthless to say that in reality it will never be that simple but isolating the objection will help you in handling them in a better way.