BASELINE SELLING WEEKLY TIPS

Overcoming Objections

Last week I conducted a live Baseline Selling seminar on Overcoming Objections. Today I'll provide you with the lessons learned from the Objections seminar.  Use it as a checklist to gauge how you're doing and if there's something you don't understand, email me for more info at dave@baselineselling.com.

• Most objections, like "We're all set" or "Not Interested" or "Send me something", occur on the way to 1st Base when you don't get the prospect talking about their issues or problems.  Refer to Baseline Selling for instructions on creating Positioning Statements and using The Cycle.
• Most objections that occur when attempting to Score could have been eliminated, without all the pressure, on the way to 2nd or 3rd Base.
• Most salespeople fail to get their prospects engaged on the way to 1st Base. Salespeople who take incoming calls are most guilty of this.  Prospects are usually calling for prices and availability and you must engage them so you can begin asking questions of your own.
• If you often get an objection but your prospect hasn't brought it up, introduce it yourself after you've reached 2nd base and your prospect has compelling reasons to do business with you.
• Most price objections can be eliminated if you ask, "And are you willing to spend a little more with me to get this problem solved, once and for all?" after you've reached 2nd Base and you've identified your prospects' compelling reasons for doing business with you.
• Objections cease to be objections once you affirm that "There's no such thing as Objections".  Then they're simply opinions.
• The most common two objections when attempting to score are, "we need to compare your proposal to the others" and "we need to think about it".
• You can eliminate the "comparison to others" objection by being the last one to present. Refer to Baseline Selling for instructions on how to be last using the Rule of Lines.
• You can handle the "think it over" objection by using the Inoffensive Close, the Rule of Triple Elimination and the Rule of Habits in Baseline Selling.
• Becoming effective at eliminating objections requires that you have confidence in your ability to handle everything that a prospect can say or ask.
• You must practice eliminating objections by role playing those you find most difficult on a weekly basis.