Subscribe to Simonsen Sales & Marketing’s free monthly newsletter on publishing sales.

Titles of Recent Newsletters

• Accessing Decision Makers
  
• Insightful Questions
  
• Active Listening
  
• Closing
  
• Marketing Partnerships
  
• Time & Territory Management
  
• The Value of Advertising
  
• All Star Coaching
  
• Management Made Excellent
  

Sample Newsletter

Dancing with the Objections

Handling customer objections -- this is everyone's favorite subject. OK, so you've studied your customer's industry, asked good questions, discovered some needs, written quality letters, made a dynamic presentation and now you go for the close only to be met with the objection. Don't despair. Learning International has discovered that a sales call is 50% more likely to close if there is an objection stated at some point along the way. Why? Because an objection shows buyer interest. The passive buyer, the one who just stares at you and nods, is usually just waiting for an opportunity to end the appointment, while the active buyer, who throws out objections, is showingthat he is interested. If he wasn't, why would he waste his time posing an objection? He would either cut the meeting short or zone off during your presentation.

So what do you do with the objection? It is helpful to remember that instead of being discouraged by objections, you can have fun with them. Dance with the objections. I don't mean dance around the objections, but rather, with them. Engage them, interact with them and lead them back to the close. View this as something of a sport. The acronym DANCER will help you remember the aspects of this concept. D stands for determing the real objection, A for asking questions and N for neutralizing emotions. C stands for clarifying the underlying problem, E for explaining the benefits and R stands for reversing the objection. Let me explain how this works.

Most of the time the first objection thrown at you is not the real objection. Experienced buyers have learned that a formidable objection such as "we have no money" will get rid of most salespeople quickly and leave them in peace to do their work. Your first order of business is to find out if this is truly the real objection. The easiest way is to simply ask.

For example you might say, "if your budget wasn't spent for the year would you advertise with my magazine?" Very often this flushing out of the real objection can save the sale. Their reply might be "probably not, your editorial is not positioned to reach our market". You might come back with, "and if it were, would you buy?" If they reply yes, then you may have discovered the real objection.

You should never deal with surface objections. They are designed as roadblocks. As you trip over them you never get to the real issue. If you accept that your prospect has no budget, you might wait six months and go back only to discover too late that they've spent their new budget elsewhere because they didn't see your magazine targeting their market.

Once you discover the real objection, you must go back to your best questioning skills. "Why do you believe that we are not appropriate for your market?" Or, "as I understand it, your objection is ... Or, "Have you considered that our magazine will...?"

For certain intensely voiced objections it may become necessary to neutralize emotions. For instance they may say, "I didn't get any response from your magazine." You might ask what kind of response they expected. It might be that their boss gets angry when the magazines don't bring in response, leaving them in an awkward position.

Answer the objection with information that supports your assertion. For example, the Feel, Felt, Found technique could work in this instance. It goes like this: "I understand how you feel. I have had other customers who have initially felt the same way. But what they have found is that it takes time to create a presence in the marketplace. There can be no sale until someone finds you. This happens when you advertise consistently over time."

Research like the Cahners Advertising Research Reports and the American Business Media "Case For" Series shows that you need at least three to six ads to create a presence. Both of these reports are valuable tools. They are resources for helping potential customers to understand the value of advertising and how color, frequency and a number of other factors come into play to affect response.

After you have determined the real objection, asked good questions, neutralized the emotion and clarified needs, you are ready to explain your benefits as they pertain to felt needs once again.

It may also become neccessary to use a technique for handling objections called reversing. For example, you have a potential client that says your prices are too high. You respond with, "that's exactly why you should buy from us. Quality editorial and circulation require investment. Our price is a little bit higher because we bring you the best possible ad environment." and continue to explain the benefits of your proposal.

Think positively about objections. You may have to run through the Dancer acronym more than once. This is the dance. Have fun coming up with better ways to do it. Objections are just one more step toward closing.

The Acronym DANCER helps you dance gracefully with the objections.

Determine the real objection. Don't take objections at face value.

Ask questions consistently. Objections are often raised because you have not analyzed the situation thoroughly.

Neutralize the emotions. What is the source of an intense reaction? Listen between the lines.

Clarify the hidden need/problem areas. Objections are often needs that can be uncovered.

Explain benefits that match the felt needs. What are they really looking for? Which of your benefits is most appropriate?

Reverse objections. "Quality cost money. This value is the reason to buy."